Chapter 4- Verb Forms and Moods

Topic 1- Regular and Irregular Verbs

Regular and Irregular Verbs

Verbs are action words, like run, eat, play, etc. Verbs can be divided into two main groups: regular verbs and irregular verbs. Let’s learn about them!

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1. Regular Verbs

• What are regular verbs?
  Regular verbs are verbs that follow a simple rule when we change them into the past tense or past participle. We just add -ed to the base form of the verb (the present tense form).
• How do they work?
• To change a regular verb into the past tense, you just add -ed (e.g., play becomes played, walk becomes walked).
• If the verb already ends in -e, just add -d (e.g., love becomes loved).
• Examples of regular verbs:
  • Play → Played
  • Talk → Talked
  • Clean → Cleaned
  • Jump → Jumped

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2. Irregular Verbs

• What are irregular verbs?
  Irregular verbs do not follow the regular rule of adding -ed to change to the past tense. They have special forms that you must remember.
• How do they work?
• Irregular verbs have different forms for the past tense and past participle, and you have to learn them. There’s no pattern like with regular verbs, so you need to remember the changes.
• Examples of irregular verbs:
  • Go → Went (past)
  • Eat → Ate (past)
  • See → Saw (past)
  • Have → Had (past)
  • Come → Came (past)

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How to Remember Them?

• Regular Verbs: Just add -ed to the base verb.
  • Example: I work → I worked
  • Example: She talk → She talked
• Irregular Verbs: These verbs don’t follow the -ed rule and need to be memorized.
  • Example: I run → I ran
  • Example: We go → We went

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Quick Review

• Regular Verbs: Follow a simple rule—add -ed to the verb.
  • Example: I play → I played
  • Example: I watch → I watched
• Irregular Verbs: Don’t follow the rule and have different forms.
  • Example: I eat → I ate
  • Example: I write → I wrote

Topic 2- Finite and Non-Finite Verbs

Finite and Non-Finite Verbs

Verbs can be finite or non-finite.

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1. Finite Verbs

• What are finite verbs?
  Finite verbs are verbs that show tense (like present, past, or future) and can stand alone in a sentence. They agree with the subject of the sentence (whether it’s singular or plural).
• How do they work?
  A finite verb tells you when the action happened (past, present, or future), and it changes depending on the subject (who or what is doing the action).
• Examples of finite verbs:
  • She plays soccer. (Present tense, singular subject)
  • They played soccer yesterday. (Past tense, plural subject)
  • I will go to the park tomorrow. (Future tense)

In these examples, the verb changes depending on the subject and the time.

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2. Non-Finite Verbs

• What are non-finite verbs?
  Non-finite verbs are verbs that do not show tense and cannot stand alone in a sentence. They are like the base form of a verb, and they often need to be paired with another verb to make sense.
• How do they work?
  Non-finite verbs don’t change with the subject, and they don’t show if the action happened in the past, present, or future. These verbs can be infinitives, gerunds, or participles.
• Types of non-finite verbs:
  1. Infinitive: The base form of the verb, often preceded by to.
     • Example: I want to play soccer.
     • To play is the infinitive verb.
  2. Gerund: The verb ending in -ing that acts like a noun.
     • Example: Swimming is fun.
     • Swimming is the gerund verb.
  3. Participle: A verb form used as an adjective, often ending in -ing or -ed.
     • Example: The broken toy is on the table.
     • Broken is the past participle verb.

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Quick Review

• Finite Verbs:
  • Show tense (past, present, future).
  • Change depending on the subject.
  • Example: She runs fast. (shows present action)
• Non-Finite Verbs:
  • Do not show tense.
  • Don’t change with the subject.
  • Examples:
    • I like to run. (Infinitive verb)
    • He enjoys running. (Gerund verb)
    • The broken toy is on the table. (Participle verb)

Topic 3- Active and Passive Voice

Active and Passive Voice

When we make sentences, the active voice and passive voice show us who is doing the action. Let’s learn about them in a simple way!

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1. Active Voice

• What is active voice?
  In the active voice, the subject of the sentence is doing the action. The subject is the doer of the action.
• How do we make it?
• The subject comes first, followed by the verb (action), and then the object (who or what is receiving the action).
• Examples of active voice:
  • The dog chased the ball.
    (The dog is doing the action—chasing the ball.)
  • She ate an apple.
    (She is doing the action—eating the apple.)
  • They played soccer.
    (They are doing the action—playing soccer.)

In these sentences, the subject (dog, she, they) is doing the action.

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2. Passive Voice

• What is passive voice?
  In the passive voice, the object of the action becomes the subject of the sentence. The person or thing doing the action is either not mentioned or comes later in the sentence.
• How do we make it?
• The object comes first, followed by the verb (with “by” if needed), and then the subject (the doer of the action).
• Examples of passive voice:
  • The ball was chased by the dog.
    (The ball is now the subject. The dog, the doer, comes later.)
  • An apple was eaten by her.
    (The apple is the subject, and she, the doer, comes after “by”.)
  • Soccer was played by them.
    (Soccer is the subject, and they, the doers, come after “by”.)

In these sentences, the object (ball, apple, soccer) is now the subject.

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When Do We Use Active and Passive Voice?

• Active Voice:
  • We use the active voice when we want to say who is doing the action.
  • Example: The teacher taught the lesson. (We know the teacher is doing the action.)
• Passive Voice:
  • We use the passive voice when we want to focus on the action or the object of the action, not the doer.
  • Example: The lesson was taught by the teacher. (We focus on the lesson, not the teacher.)

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Quick Review

• Active Voice:
  • Subject → Verb → Object.
  • The subject does the action.
  • Example: Tom kicked the ball. (Tom is doing the action.)
• Passive Voice:
  • Object → Verb → (by) → Subject.
  • The object becomes the subject, and the action is done to it.
  • Example: The ball was kicked by Tom. (The ball is now the subject.)

Topic 4- Modal Verbs

Modal Verbs

Modal verbs are special verbs that help us express things like ability, permission, possibility, or requests. They don’t show action by themselves but change the meaning of the main verb in the sentence.

Here are some common modal verbs and what they mean:

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1. Can

• What does “can” mean?
  “Can” is used to talk about ability (what we are able to do) or permission (what we are allowed to do).
• Examples:
  • Ability: I can swim. (I am able to swim.)
  • Permission: You can have a cookie. (You are allowed to have a cookie.)

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2. Could

• What does “could” mean?
  “Could” is the past form of “can,” but it is also used to show possibility or to make polite requests.
• Examples:
  • Past ability: When I was younger, I could run fast. (I was able to run fast before.)
  • Possibility: It could rain tomorrow. (There’s a chance of rain.)
  • Polite request: Could you help me? (A polite way to ask for help.)

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3. May

• What does “may” mean?
  “May” is used to ask for permission or to talk about possibility in a more formal way.
• Examples:
  • Permission: May I go to the bathroom? (Can I go to the bathroom?)
  • Possibility: It may snow tonight. (There’s a chance it will snow.)

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4. Might

• What does “might” mean?
  “Might” is similar to “may,” but it shows that something is less likely to happen. It’s used for talking about possibility.
• Examples:
  • Possibility: It might rain later. (There’s a small chance it will rain.)
  • We might go to the park tomorrow. (Maybe we will go to the park.)

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5. Will

• What does “will” mean?
  “Will” is used to talk about future actions or to make promises and decisions.
• Examples:
  • Future action: I will study tomorrow. (I’m going to study tomorrow.)
  • Promise: I will help you with your homework. (I promise to help you.)

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6. Would

• What does “would” mean?
  “Would” is used to talk about polite requests, offers, and hypothetical situations (imaginary or possible situations).
• Examples:
  • Polite request: Would you like some juice? (A polite way to offer juice.)
  • Hypothetical situation: If I had a million dollars, I would travel the world. (Talking about an imaginary situation.)

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7. Shall

• What does “shall” mean?
  “Shall” is used to make suggestions or to offer help, especially in formal situations.
• Examples:
  • Suggestion: Shall we go to the movies? (Let’s go to the movies.)
  • Offer help: Shall I open the door for you? (Would you like me to open the door?)

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8. Should

• What does “should” mean?
  “Should” is used to talk about advice or something that is a good idea.
• Examples:
  • Advice: You should eat healthy food. (It’s a good idea to eat healthy food.)
  • Expectation: You should be home by 7 p.m. (It’s expected that you will be home by then.)

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9. Must

• What does “must” mean?
  “Must” is used to talk about something that is necessary or really important to do.
• Examples:
  • Necessity: You must wear a helmet when riding a bike. (It’s very important and necessary.)
  • Strong suggestion: You must try this cake! It’s delicious! (I really think you should try it.)

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Quick Review

• Can: Ability or permission (e.g., I can swim).
• Could: Past ability, possibility, or polite request (e.g., Could you help me?).
• May: Permission or possibility (e.g., May I go?).
• Might: Smaller possibility (e.g., It might rain).
• Will: Future action or promise (e.g., I will study).
• Would: Polite request, offer, or hypothetical situation (e.g., Would you like some juice?).
• Shall: Suggestion or offer (e.g., Shall we go?).
• Should: Advice or expectation (e.g., You should eat vegetables).
• Must: Necessity or strong suggestion (e.g., You must wear your seatbelt).

Topic 5- Subjunctive Mood

Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive mood is a special way we use verbs to talk about things that are imaginary, wishes, suggestions, or things that could happen but aren’t certain. It’s like talking about things that aren’t real right now, but might happen or be wished for.

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When Do We Use the Subjunctive Mood?

We use the subjunctive mood when we talk about:

1. Wishes or things we want to happen.
2. Suggestions or advice.
3. Something that is not real or is just imagined.
4. Certain expressions that suggest necessity or importance.

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1. Wishes

When we want to say something that we wish or hope for, we use the subjunctive mood.

• Example:
  • I wish he were here.
    (We’re imagining that he is here, but he’s not.)
  • She wishes that it were sunny today.
    (She is imagining it’s sunny, but it’s not.)

Note: We use were instead of was in these sentences, even if we’re talking about one person (he, she, I).

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2. Suggestions or Advice

We also use the subjunctive mood when we give suggestions or advice, especially after words like suggest, recommend, ask, or insist.

• Example:
  • I suggest that he study harder.
  • She recommends that we be on time.
  • They insisted that I come early.

In these sentences, the verb does not change based on the subject. For example, we say “study” even though it’s “he” or “she” in the sentence.

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3. Imaginary or Hypothetical Situations

The subjunctive is also used to talk about imaginary or unreal situations.

• Example:
  • If I were a bird, I would fly high in the sky.
    (This is not true. I am not a bird, but it’s an imagined situation.)
  • If he were rich, he could buy anything he wanted.
    (This is just imagined. He’s not rich right now.)

Note: We use were for all subjects, even with “I” or “he” in these imaginary situations.

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4. Expressions of Necessity or Importance

We use the subjunctive mood after certain words that express necessity or importance, like it is important, it is necessary, or it is essential.

• Example:
  • It is important that she be careful.
  • It is necessary that you study for the test.

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Quick Review

• Wishes: We use “were” even for things that aren’t true.
  • I wish I were taller.
• Suggestions/Advice: The verb stays in its base form.
  • I suggest that you do your homework.
• Imaginary situations: We use “were” for things that are not real.
  • If I were a superhero, I would save the world.
• Necessity or Importance: After certain expressions like “It is important.”
  • It is essential that he be on time.

PLEASE GO AND READ CHAPTER 5. *#THANKS FOR VISITING, VISIT AGAIN#* 😊