Present Day English

1. Present Day English How we use and label verbs

2. Principal Parts of PDE Verbs • Verbs in all Germanic languages have few inflections ( except “to be”) • all English verbs have 4 principal parts • simple present indicative “ walk” • simple past indicative “walked” • present participle “walking” • past participle “(have) walked” • sample irregular: “lie, lay, lying, (have) lain”

3. PDE Verbs have Person and Number • Three persons • first: I, we • second: [thou], you • third: he, she, it, they • Two numbers • singular: I, [thou], you, he, she, it • plural: we, you, they

4. PDE Verbs have Mood • Indicative • statements -- Jane walks the dog. • Imperative • commands -- Walk the dog please, Jane! • Subjunctive • wishes, prayers, curses -- I wish Jane would walk the dog -- God bless the dog -- Damn that dog! • Interogative • questions -- Does Jane walk the dog?

5. PDE Verbs have Voice • In active voice, the subject performs the action of the active verb on the direct object. • John doctored the sick cat. • In passive voice, the subject receives the action of the active verb, but the performer of that action need not be named. • Dinner was cooked by my grandmother. • That ink bottle was broken all over the couch.

6. PDE Verbs haveTense/Aspect: present • Simple present: walk, walks • Emphatic present: do walk • this is used often in interrogative sentences • Present progressive: am/are/is walking • progressive tenses may also indicate ongoing action • Present perfect: have/has walked • this indicates “just completed this minute” action, or action completed just before a present action. • Present perfect progressive: have/has been walking • In OE, all these were fulfilled by one single simple present tense.

7. PDE Verbs haveTense/Aspect: past • Simple past: walked • Emphatic past: did walk • Past progressive: was/were walking • Past perfect: had walked • this indicates an action completed before another action completed in the past: She had done the dishes before she went off to the film. • Past perfect progressive: had been walking • OE has one simple past tense!

8. PDE Verbs have Aspect: future • Simple future: will walk • Future progressive: will be walking • ongoing future action • Future perfect: will have walked • a future action that will be completed before another future action: I will have graded 1000 essays before the end of the term. • Future perfect progressive: will have been walking • OE had no future tense at all. Future was indicated with an adverb of time: “I drive the sheep tomorrow” literally.

9. Be & Linking verbs vs. Action verbs • Be and Linking verbs link the subject to a noun or an adjective in the preposition. • He is my doctor / Amy seems pleased • Action verbs describe an action taken by the subject • Peter wrote the essay.

10. (In)Transitive verbs in PDE • A transitive verb is able to take a direct object (a receiver of the action of the verb) • Patricia ate the hamburger. • An intransitive verb is never able to take an object. • The baby slept fitfully. • Some verbs have both transitive and intransitive meanings. • The baby seldom cried. • The baby cried “Mama.”