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Uses of Different Forms of Verbs

We now know that Verb has six forms:

1. Present Form

2. Past Form

3. Present Participle

4. Past Participle

5. Infinitive

6. Gerund

For example, we can take a Verb ?to go?.

Go Present Form

Went Past Form

Going Present Participle This is the Paradigm of the Verb ?To go?.

Gone Past Participle

To go Infinitive

Going Noun

Except Modal Auxiliaries all the Verbs have the same Paradigm of six Forms and we have to have a clear and logical idea what Form we should use in a Sentence. Actually it is the main task to choose the correct Form of the Verb from the Paradigm to form a correct Sentence. To choose the right Form of Verb from the Paradigm solely depends on the situation.

But to choose the right Form of a Verb, firstly we have to know the functions of the different Forms of the Verb.

1. Present Form:

A Present Form of a Verb must have a Subject. Present Form is never used in a Sentence without any Subject. It always indicates the Present Tense of the action. So to indicate the Present Tense of any action, we must have to use the Present Form of a Verb in any Sentence.

I eat rice. Here ?eat? is in Present Form. So the Sentence is in the Present Tense.

I am going. Here ?am? is in Present Form. So the Sentence is in the Present Tense.

I have eaten rice. Here ?have? is in Present Form. So the Sentence is in the Present Tense.

He has been reading. Here, ?has? is in Present Form. So the Sentence is in the Present Tense.

That is all about the Present form of the Verb.

2. Past Form:

Like Present Form, a Past Form of any Verb must also have a Subject. Without any Subject no Past Form of any Verb can be used in a Sentence.

Past Form of any Verb always indicates the Past Tense of any action. So to indicate the Past Tense of any action we must have to use the Past Form of a Verb in any Sentence.

I ate rice. Here ?eat? is in Past Form. So the Sentence is in the Past Tense.

I was going. Here ?was? is in Past Form. So the Sentence is in the Past Tense.

I had eaten rice. Here ?had? is in Past Form. So the Sentence is in the Past Tense.

He had been reading. Here, ?had? is in Past Form. So the Sentence is in the Past Tense.

That is all about the Past form of the Verb.

A Subject always take a Finite Form of a Verb and never a Non-finite From. Only the Present Form and the Past Form are the Finite Form.

3. Present Participle Form (?Verb + ing? but never used as a Noun):

(a) Present Participle Form of any Verb is used as an Adjective to indicate the continuity of an action.

I see a flyingbird. Here flying. Here ?flying? is the Present Participle Form used as an Adjective and indicates the continuity of the action.

(b) Preset Participleis also used in Continuous Tense to indicate the continuity of the action because no other Form of any Verb can indicates the Continuity of any action.

But as the Subject never takes any Non-finite form of any Verb, the Present Participle has to take an Auxiliary Verb ?to be? to fulfill the demand of the Subject. A Subject always demands a Finite Form of a Verb after it.

And whenever the Present Participle takes any Form of the Auxiliary Verb ?to be?, the Present Participle is turned into a Verb.

BE + Present Participle = Continuous Tense.

The old man is walking. Here, ?is? is the Present Form of the verb ?To be?. So ?to be + Present Participle? indicates that the Sentence is in Continuous Tense. And the Present Form of the verb ?to be? i.e. ?is? indicates that the Sentence is in Present Tense. So ?is + Present Participle? indicates that the Sentence is in Present Continuous Tense.

Likewise, ?The old man was walking? is in the Past Continuous Tense because ?was? is the Past form of the verb ?to be?.

And ?The old man will be walking? is in the Future Continuous Tense because ?be? is the Infinitive Form that indicates futurity of an action. And as it is a Non-finite Form. So it has taken another Auxiliary verb ?will? which is one of the Modals.

So whenever a Non-finite Form is used as a verb, it must take an Auxiliary Verb.

The old man is walking with a walking stick. Here both of the words ?walking? are in Present Participle Form (none of them is used as a Noun). But as the former one has taken an auxiliary Verb, it is playing a role of a verb. But the latter one is used without an Auxiliary Verb, and so, it is an Adjective.

So we can say that Present Participle can be used in a Sentence in two ways.

i) BE + Present Participle = Continuous Tense, used as a Verb.

ii) Without an Auxiliary Verb ?to be?, it is used as an Adjective.

In both cases it indicates the continuity of an action.

4. Past Participle:

i) Past participle is used in a Sentence generally to indicate the perfection or the finished condition of any action.

We saw a burnt car. Here, ?burnt? indicates that the action is already over or finished. And as it, a Non-finite Form, is used without an Auxiliary Verb, it is an Adjective.

ii) But when it takes an Auxiliary Verb, either ?to be? or ?to have?, it is turned into a Verb.

I have eaten an eaten mango. Here the former one with an Auxiliary Verb ?to have? is used as a Verb to form a Perfect Tense indicating the action is over or finished. And the latter one without an Auxiliary Verb is used as an Adjective to qualify the Noun ?mango?.

So we can say, HAVE + Past Participle = Perfect Tense.

I have eaten?Present Perfect Tense, because ?have? is in Present Form.

I had eaten --- Past Perfect Tense, because ?had? is in Past Form.

I shall have eaten --- Future Perfect Tense, because after the modal ?shall?, ?have? is in bare infinitive Form to indicate Futurity.

iii) Again, with the Auxiliary Verb ?to be? Past Participle is used in Passive Voice.

BE + Past Participle = Passive. Such as: Rice is eaten by me.

So Past Participle is used in three ways:

i) Without any Auxiliary Verb, it is used as an Adjective.

ii) Have + Past Participle = Perfect Tense.

iii) BE + Past Participle = Passive.

5. Infinitive (To + V = Noun / Adj.):

The Infinitive Form of a Verb is formed with a ?to?. In an Infinitive the ?to? before the Verb is never a Preposition. A ?Verb? cannot be preceded by a Preposition. It can be just called the sign of Infinitive.

Sometimes, the ?to?, sign of Infinitive, is silent or understood, and then the Infinitive is called a ?bare Infinitive?.

i) To + Verb = Full Infinitive, used as a Noun. And as a Noun, the Full Infinitive can be used in a Sentence as the Subject of a Verb or as the Object of a Verb. But an Infinitive can never be used as the Object of a Preposition.

To walk is good for health. --- Infinitive as a Noun, Subject of the Verb ?is?.

I like to walk. --- Infinitive as a Noun, Object of a Verb.

ii) Infinitive without ?to? i.e. the bare Infinitive is used as an Adjective

I saw him go to market (= I saw him going to market). The bare Infinitive ?go? is used as an Adjective and qualifies the Pronoun ?him?.

iii) Shall/will + bare Infinitive = Simple Futurity. ---- I shall/will go.

Can + bare Infinitive = Ability. --------------------- I can buy a car

May + bare Infinitive = Probability. ---------------It may rain today.

Must + bare Infinitive = Compulsion. -------------I must go there.

Ought + Full Infinitive = Obligation. ------------- I ought to go.

DO + bare Infinitive (with ?not?) = Negative ---- I do not go.

DO + bare Infinitive (before Subject) = Interrogative ?Do you know me?

DO + bare Infinitive = Emphasis ---------------- I do believe you.

BE + Full Infinitive = Arrangement ------------- He was to go to America.

HAVE + Full Infinitive = Compulsion ---------- I have to go = I must go.

So there is a great variation in the uses of Infinitive. Infinitive can be combined with all the Auxiliary Verbs with variation of sense.

6. Gerund (Verb + ing = Noun):

Gerund is always used as Noun and never takes any Auxiliary Verb to be used as a Verb.

So, gerund is used as a Subject and an Object of a Verb and also as an Object of a Preposition.

Walking is good for health. Gerund as a Noun, Subject of the Verb ?is?

I like walking.Gerund as a Noun, Object of the Verb ?like?.

I like to read in stead of playing. Gerund as a Noun, Object of a Preposition ?of?.

Both Full Infinitive and Gerund are used as Noun but Full Infinitive cannot be used as a Prepositional Object.

Thanks all.

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