3.2-Verb Tense, verb mood and voice

Question 1

Tense

Answer 1

Related to the time expressed by the verb

three main tenses: past, present future

Question 2

Four main aspects of tense

Answer 2

• simple (recurring actions)
• continuous (on going actions at precise moment)
• perfect (completed PAST action leading to PRESENT events)
• perfect continuous (actions that have been, or will have been, going on, until now or then, but ended or will end)

Question 3

MOOD

Answer 3

Declarative
imperative
interrogative
subjunctive

Question 4

Examples of mood

Answer 4

1) ‘I like that cat’ is declarative, or indicative, and shows, suggests, or states that I am fond of that cat.
2) The second sentence, ‘do you like that cat?’, is interrogative, as I wish to determine your feelings on that particular cat.
3)’Be kind to that cat!’ is a command, and, therefore, takes the imperative mood. Disregard imperative sentences at your peril.
4) The conditional sentence, ‘If I were that cat, I would think myself lucky’, is in the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood is of interest, because some grammarians regard it as antiquated but many writers still use it.
The subjunctive mood is used for things that might happen, could happen, should happen,
or that I wish would happen. These can include conditional statements, suppositions, wishes, demands, commands, suggestions, proposals, and statements of necessity.
Some examples of the subjunctive mood include: ‘If only it were so’; ‘if I were you’; ‘long live the Queen’.

Question 5

Subjunctive mood

Answer 5

The subjunctive mood affects the form of the verb. For example, ‘am’ or ‘was’ become ‘were’, ‘is’ becomes ‘be’ and ‘are’ becomes ‘be’. Additionally, singular verbs lose their ‘–s’ and ‘–es’ endings.
Let’s take a look at some other examples.
‘We recommend that the department reform its financial systems’.
‘It is imperative that the copywriter be able to…’

Question 6

Voice

Answer 6

Property of the verb that tells whether the subject acts or is acted upon

Question 7

Active voice

Answer 7

A verb is in the active voice when the subject of the sentence is the doer or agent of the act. EXAMPLE: I wrote a book

Question 8

Passive voice

Answer 8

A verb is in the passive voice when its subject is acted upon. The passive voice will always
consist of a part of the verb to be; ‘am, is, was, are, were, been, or being’, plus a past participle.
If you think a verb is in the passive voice, look for a hidden actor. Often, the by-agent—that
is, who is actually performing the action—is not expressed. It might simply be understood
or implied. If you can put ‘by goblins’ after the verb, the sentence is passive. An example would be: ‘The magic was woven by the grammar goblins’.
Also, check whether what you think is a passive verb can be converted straight forwardly into the active voice. Only verbs that can be used transitively—that is, take a direct object—can
be converted to the passive.

Question 9

Impersonal PASSIVE

Answer 9

The impersonal passive is very common in the corporate world. Common sentences that you
may be familiar with include ‘It was decided’ and ‘it was agreed’. Another example: ‘It is
felt that your proposal is not able to be funded’. This particular sentence is a double passive.Another example of the double passive is this: ‘Athletes who are found to have taken drugs will be dropped from the squad’. This sentence does not explicitly state who discovers the athletes taking drugs or who drops them from the squad.
The passive voice can be useful when you need to soften the tone of a message. For example:
‘It has been decided that your report needs to be re-worked and re-submitted’, or when
you don’t know who the agent is.
Passive voice can also be used to avoid taking direct responsibility for something.
This is called the exonerative passive.