Atributies or Qualities of A Verb

1.    Voice

The voice (also called diathesis) of a verb describes the relationship between the action (or state) that the verb expresses and the participants identified by its arguments (subject, object, etc.). When the subject is the agent or doer of the action, the verb is in the active voice. When the subject is the patient, target or undergoer of the action, it is said to be in the passive voice.

The active voice is the "normal" voice. This is the voice that we use most of the time. You are probably already familiar with the active voice. In the active voice, the object receives the action of the verb:

active	subject	verb	object
		>
	Cats	eat	fish.

The passive voice is less usual. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb:

passive	subject	verb	object
	<
	Fish	are eaten	by cats.

The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb:

	subject	verb	object
active	Everybody	drinks	water.
passive	Water	is drunk	by everybody.

2.    Tense

Tense is that quality of a verb which denotes the time of the action or the being.

1. Simple Tense

Present tense

He sings in the choir

We study our lessons

Past tense

He sang yesterday

We studied our lessons yesterday

Future tense

He will sing tomorrow

They will study tomorrow

1. Compound Tenses

Present perfect tense signifies action or being completed or perfected in present time.

He has sung today

We have studied our lessons today

Past perfect tense signifies action or being completed or perfected before some definite past time.

He had sung in the choir in his early years

We had studied our lessons before father returned

Future perfect tense signifies action or being that will be completed or perfected before some specified time in the future.         

He wiil have sung the hymn before you return

We shall have studied our lessons before evening

3.    Mood

Mood is the form of the verb that shows the mode or manner in which a thought is expressed.

1. Indicative Mood: expresses an assertion, denial, or question:

Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas.
Ostriches cannot fly.
Have you finished your homework?

2. Imperative Mood: expresses command, prohibition, entreaty, or advice:

Don’t smoke in this building.
Be careful!
Don’t drown that puppy!

4.    Person and Number

Pronouns are divided into three grammatical persons. They are:

• First Person - refers to the one(s) doing the speaking. (I, me, mine, we, us, ours)
• Second Person - refers to the one(s) spoken to, i.e. directly addressed. (you, yours)
• Third Person - refers to the one(s) spoken about, be they human, animal, vegetable, mineral, or abstract. (it, its, they, theirs, them.)

All nouns belong to the Third Person; so we usually don't talk about person when referring to nouns

  

With the word number, we sometimes use a singular verb and sometimes a plural. A number of + plural verb A number of is used with a plural countable noun and a plural verb: A number of people have complained about the price increase. The same is true with a large number: A large number of protesters were outside the parliament building yesterday. The number of + singular verb It's a popular school and the number of students has risen again this year. The numbers of + plural verb The numbers of students are rising steadily.

Conjugation

Conjugation  of the verb "be"

The most irregular verb in the English language is be. It has eight different forms: am, is,

are, was, were, be, been, and being. The collection of all of these forms may be illustrated in a

precise table called a conjugation, which categorizes the different forms in proper order by

person (I, you, he, we, they), tense (time of action), and number (singular or plural).

Examples of various forms:

That may be true.                                           We were planning to meet last weekend.

I am a good student.                                       Atlanta has been my home for years.

He is my best friend.                           I was being quiet in class when I dropped my pen.

We are going to camp in the park.                She was a colleague of mine at one time. 

The following is a list of conjugations for the verb to be:

PRESENT TENSE: Action takes place now or in the present time.

PERSON                    SINGULAR                        PLURAL

First                                I am                                     We are

Seond                             You are                                You are

Third                               He, she, it is                       They are

Example: I am a student at DeKalb College.

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE TENSE: Actions or situations in progress at the moment of

speaking.

PERSON                   SINGULAR                         PLURAL

First                               I am being                       We are being

Second                          You are being                    You are being

Third                      He, she, it is being               They are being

Example: They are at a friend's house this afternoon doing homework.

PAST TENSE: Actions or activities that began and ended in the past.

PERSON                  SINGULAR                            PLURAL

First                               I was                                   We were

Second                      You were                                 You were

Third                        He, she, it was                          They were

Example: He was a teacher at DeKalb College in 1986.

PAST PROGRESSIVE TENSE: Actions or activities that happened at the same time in the past. The past progressive is rarely used in simple sentences.

PERSON                  SINGULAR                            PLURAL

First                           I was being                          We were being

Second                    You were being                    You were being

Third                      He, she, it was being            They were being

Example: While we were working full-time, we still took classses in the evenings.

FUTURE TENSE: Action will take place in the future.

PERSON                  SINGULAR                           PLURAL

First                       I will (or shall)                  We will (or shall)

Second                         You will                                You will

Third                        He, she, it will                          They will

Example: He will go to orientation for school.

*PERFECT TENSE: Action began in the past and continues in the present.

PERSON                 SINGULAR                            PLURAL

First                           I have been                         We have been

Second                   You have been                      You have been

Third                   He, she, it has been                 They have been

Example: He has been in pain ever since the accident.

*PRESENT PERFECT TENSE: Refers to indefinite past time. It is formed by using

have + the past participle.

PERSON                     SINGULAR                           PLURAL

Firs                                 I have +                                  We have +

Second                         You have +                              You have +

Third                            He, she, it has +                      They have +

Example: Up to now, we have lived here almost three years.

*PAST PERFECT TENSE: Actions or activities that were completed before another

action or activity in the past.

PERSON                      SINGULAR                        PLURAL

First                               I had been                         We had been

Second                        You had been                      You had been

Third                        He, she, it had been               They had been

Example: Before I was released from the hospital, I had to complete the insurance paperwork. 

*FUTURE PERFECT TENSE: Action will take place in the future and end at a definite

point in time.

PERSON                      SINGULAR                         PLURAL

First                     I will (or shall) have been     We will (or shall) have been

Second                     You will have been              You will have been

Third                   He, she, it will have been          They will have been

Example: We are planning to leave for Paris on Saturday.

Conjugation of the verb “see”

Active Voice                Passive Voice

PRESENT TENSE                                              He sees                        He is seen

PAST TENSE                                                     He saw                        He was seen

FUTURE TENSE                                                He will see                  He will be seen

PRESENT PERFECT  TENSE                           He has been                He has been seen

PAST PERFECT TENSE                                    He had seen                He had been seen

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE                               He will have been       He will have been seen