Anker Susan. Real Essays with Readings with 2009 MLA Update
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EDITING ESSAYS
Chapter 26 • Verb Problems 467
10. But he also realizes that, even after having several breakdowns, Carrie still
( will avoid / will be avoiding / will have avoided ) dealing with any car
problem until she absolutely must.
Irregular Verbs
Unlike regular verbs, which have past-tense and past-participle forms that
end in -ed or -d, irregular verbs change spelling in the past-tense and
past-participle forms.
Present-Tense Irregular Verbs
Only a few verbs are irregular in the present tense. The ones most com-
monly used are the verbs be and have.
BE HAVE
SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL
First person I am we are I have we have
Second person you are you are you have you have
Third person he/she/it is they are he/she/it has they have
the dog is the dogs are the dog has the dogs have
Chris is Chris and Chris has Chris and
Dan are Dan have
PRACTICE 10 USING BE AND HAVE IN THE PRESENT TENSE
In each of the following sentences, fi ll in the correct form of the verb indicated
in parentheses.
EXAMPLE: Disc golf
is
(be) played with Frisbees.
1. I (be) a fanatical disc golfer.
2. The game (have) eighteen holes, like regular golf, but uses a Fris-
bee instead of a ball.
3. A disc golf course (have) fairways and holes.
4. A tee (be) at the beginning of each fairway.
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EDITING ESSAYS
468 Part Four • The Four Most Serious Errors
5. Players (be) eager to get the Frisbee from the tee into a metal basket
in the fewest possible throws.
6. Some disc golfers (have) special Frisbees for teeing off and putting.
7. My brother, who also plays disc golf, (have) thirty different Fris-
bees for the game.
8. His wife (be) surprisingly patient with his enthusiasm for the sport.
9. “You (be) in the middle of a second adolescence,” she tells him.
10. However, she, too, (have) formidable Frisbee technique.
Past-Tense Irregular Verbs
As discussed earlier, the past-tense and past-participle forms of irregular
verbs do not follow a standard pattern. For example, they do not use the
-ed ending for past tense, although the past participle uses a helping verb,
just as regular verbs do.
PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE PAST PARTICIPLE
Tony makes hats. Tony made hats. Tony has/had made hats.
You write well. You wrote well. You have/had written well.
I ride a bike. I rode a bike. I have/had ridden a bike.
The verb be is tricky because it has two different forms for the past
tense — was and were.
The Verb Be, Past Tense
SINGULAR PLURAL
First person I was we were
Second person you were you were
Third person she/he/it was they were
the car was the cars were
Jolanda was Jolanda and Ti were
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EDITING ESSAYS
Chapter 26 • Verb Problems 469
PRACTICE 11 USING PAST-TENSE FORMS OF THE VERB BE
In the paragraph that follows, fi ll in each blank with the correct past-tense
form of the verb be.
EXAMPLE: The many visitors to President Lincoln’s White House
were
generally polite.
(1) Lincoln respectful of his visitors as well, but they took
up a great deal of his time. (2) Most of his visitors politicians,
army generals, journalists, job seekers, and relatives of Mrs. Lincoln. (3)
Nearly every visitor seeking something from the president, such
as promotions, policy changes, or pardons. (4) Whenever a visitor came
asking for nothing, Lincoln clearly relieved. (5) Mrs. Lincoln’s
relatives especially troublesome for the president. (6) Many of
the Todds Confederate sympathizers or even Confederate com-
batants. (7) Usually, though, a Todd visiting Lincoln looking for
a job. (8) Nearly everyone who had known Lincoln at some point in his
life welcomed by the president. (9) His manner almost
always so friendly and gracious that his visitors quickly put at
ease. (10) Contrary to the serious face in the Lincoln Memorial, whenever
the president greeted a visitor, he usually smiling.
As you write and edit, consult the following chart to make sure that you
use the correct form of irregular verbs.
Irregular Verb Forms
PAST PARTICIPLE
PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE (with helping verb)
am/are/is was/were been
become became become
continued
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EDITING ESSAYS
470 Part Four • The Four Most Serious Errors
PAST PARTICIPLE
PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE (with helping verb)
begin began begun
bite bit bitten
blow blew blown
break broke broken
bring brought brought
build built built
buy bought bought
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
come came come
cost cost cost
do did done
draw drew drawn
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feed fed fed
feel felt felt
fi ght fought fought
fi nd found found
forget forgot forgotten
freeze froze frozen
get got gotten
give gave given
go went gone
grow grew grown
have/has had had
hide hid hidden
hit hit hit
hold held held
hurt hurt hurt
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EDITING ESSAYS
Chapter 26 • Verb Problems 471
PAST PARTICIPLE
PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE (with helping verb)
keep kept kept
know knew known
lay laid laid
leave left left
let let let
lie lay lain
light lit lit
lose lost lost
make made made
mean meant meant
meet met met
pay paid paid
put put put
quit quit quit
read read read
ride rode ridden
run ran run
say said said
see saw seen
sell sold sold
send sent sent
set (to place) set set
shake shook shaken
show showed shown
shut shut shut
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
sit (to be seated) sat sat
sleep slept slept
speak spoke spoken
spend spent spent
stand stood stood
continued
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EDITING ESSAYS
472 Part Four • The Four Most Serious Errors
PRACTICE 12 USING PAST-TENSE IRREGULAR VERBS
In each of the following sentences, fi ll in the correct past-tense form of the
irregular verb in parentheses. If you do not know the answer, fi nd the word in
the chart of irregular verb forms on pages 469–72.
EXAMPLE: The Titanic
set
(set) out from England in 1912.
1. The White Star Line (build) the Titanic, which was the biggest
moving object in the world at that time.
2. The huge ship (hold) over 2,200 passengers on its maiden voyage.
3. The newspapers (write) that twenty lifeboats, which could hold
1,178 people altogether, hung from the upper deck of the Titanic.
PAST PARTICIPLE
PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE (with helping verb)
steal stole stolen
stick stuck stuck
sting stung stung
strike struck struck, stricken
swim swam swum
take took taken
teach taught taught
tear tore torn
tell told told
think thought thought
throw threw thrown
understand understood understood
wake woke woken
wear wore worn
win won won
write wrote written
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EDITING ESSAYS
Chapter 26 • Verb Problems 473
4. The shipbuilders ( feel) that the giant liner was the safest ship in
the world and that more lifeboats were simply unnecessary.
5. On April 14, 1912, during its fi rst trip across the Atlantic, the Titanic
(strike) an iceberg.
6. The sharp ice (tear) a gaping hole in the bottom of the ship.
7. Icy ocean water (begin) to pour into the hold, dragging the
Titanic down in the water.
8. Few passengers (understand ) the danger at fi rst.
9. Half-empty lifeboats (leave) the sinking ship while other passengers
(stand ) on deck, refusing to depart.
10. Hundreds of people ( freeze) to death in the ocean before the
nearest ship (come) to rescue the Titanic’s 705 survivors.
PRACTICE 13 USING PAST-TENSE IRREGULAR VERBS
In the following paragraph, replace any incorrect present-tense verb forms
with the correct past-tense form of the verb. If you do not know the answer,
look up the verbs in the chart of irregular verb forms on pages 469–72.
EXAMPLE: Dewayne faced a judge and jury of his fellow high school
students after he hits a boy in the classroom.
(1) Two years ago, my high school sets up a student court to give
students a voice in disciplining rule breakers. (2) Before the court opened
its doors, adults teach students about decision making and about court-
room procedures. (3) Some of us served as members of juries, and others
become advocates or even judges. (4) I sit on a jury twice when I was
a junior. (5) Then, last spring, my friend Dewayne appeared before
the student court after he loses his temper and strikes a fellow student.
hit
^
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EDITING ESSAYS
474 Part Four • The Four Most Serious Errors
(6) I agreed to be his advocate because I think he truly regretted his
behavior. (7) I tell the jury that he knew his violent reaction was a mis-
take. (8) The jury sends Dewayne for counseling to learn to manage his
anger and made him write an apology to the other student. (9) After hear-
ing the verdict, Dewayne shakes hands with all the jurors and thanked
them for their fairness. (10) The experience makes me eager to learn more
about America’s system of justice.
PRACTICE 14 USING PAST-PARTICIPLE FORMS
FOR IRREGULAR VERBS
In each of the following sentences, underline the helping verb (a form of have)
and fi ll in the correct past-participle form of the verb in parentheses. If you do
not know the correct form, fi nd the word in the chart on pages 469–72.
EXAMPLE: Hector has
found
( fi nd ) that a dot-com career has ups
and downs.
1. By the time Hector graduated from college in 1998, he had (take)
dozens of hours of computer courses.
2. He had (choose) a career in programming.
3. Before getting his diploma, Hector had (begin) to work for an
Internet service provider.
4. By the end of the summer, a rival online service had (steal )
Hector away from his employer.
5. His new bosses had (be) in business for only a few months.
6. After a year, the company still never had (make) a profi t.
7. However, hundreds of investors had (buy) shares of the com-
pany’s stock.
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EDITING ESSAYS
Chapter 26 • Verb Problems 475
8. By early 2000, the stock’s price had ( grow) to more than fi fty
times its original worth.
9. Hector often wishes that he had (sell ) his shares then and retired
a rich man.
10. Instead, the company went bankrupt, and Hector has ( go) to
work for an old-fashioned but secure banking fi rm.
Passive Voice
A sentence that is written in the passive voice has a subject that performs
no action. Instead, the subject is acted upon. To create the passive voice,
combine a form of the verb be with a past participle.
Be (helping verb)
+
Past participle
=
Passive voice
Be (helping verb) Past participle
PASSIVE The memo was written by an employee.
[The subject, memo, did not write itself. An employee wrote the memo, but the
subject in the sentence, memo, performs no action.]
In sentences that use the active voice, the subject performs the action.
ACTIVE An employee wrote the memo.
Use the passive voice when no one person performed the action, when
you don’t know who performed the action, or when you want to empha-
size the receiver of the action. Use active voice whenever possible, and use
passive voice sparingly.
PASSIVE The dog was hit by a passing car.
[If the writer wants to focus on the dog as the receiver of the action, the passive
voice is acceptable.]
ACTIVE A passing car hit the dog.
■ For more practice
on using past forms
of irregular verbs,
see Chapter 33.
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EDITING ESSAYS
476 Part Four • The Four Most Serious Errors
Language Note: Don’t confuse the passive voice with the
present-perfect tense or past-perfect tense. The passive uses a form
of the verb be (is, was, were), and the subject performs no action.
The present-perfect tense and the past-perfect tense have subjects
that perform an action, and they use a form of the verb have.
PASSIVE CORRECT The boat was crushed by huge waves.
[The subject boat performs no action. The verb uses was, a form of be.]
PASSIVE INCORRECT The boat was been crushed by huge waves.
[The verb in the passive voice should not use two forms of be (was, been).
Use was.]
PRESENT PERFECT Huge waves have crushed all the boats.
[The subject waves performs the action, crushed, using the present form
of have.]
PAST PERFECT Huge waves had crushed all the boats.
[The subject waves performed the action, crushed, using the past form
of have.]
PRACTICE 15 CHANGING FROM PASSIVE VOICE
TO ACTIVE VOICE
Rewrite the following sentences in the active voice.
Offi cers control the
EXAMPLE: The Queen Mary 2, the world’s largest cruise ship, can be
controlled with a joystick.
1. The Queen Mary 2 is equipped with a grand lobby and an old-style three-
story restaurant.
2. Its bridge, however, is fi lled with advanced consoles, screens, and joysticks.
3. The effects of the wind, waves, and ocean currents can be automatically
corrected by the ship’s computer systems.
4. During the ship’s fi rst docking in New York, the joystick was not touched
by the captain.
^
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