Lesson 18—Tense and voice problems 1. Tricky tenses The tense of a verb must logically indicate the time and extent of an action or state of being. It must coordinate with the other time references in the sentence. Since the early 20th century, the United States was the world’s wealthiest nation. The phrase since the early 20th century indicates a condition that has lasted from the distant past to the present. However, the verb in this sentence, was, is in the past tense. To indicate a condition that extends from the past to the present, you must use the present perfect tense. Since the early 20th century, the United States has been the world’s wealthiest nation. Fortunately, most of us can spot and correct most tense problems, so we won’t discuss every single English verb tense in detail. We will discuss just the trickiest situations. 2. The perfect tenses The perfect tenses are usually used to indicate that an event or state of being is completed before some other point in time. (The word perfect in this case means completed, not flawless.) In English, the perfect tenses always use the helping verb to have together with a past participle, as in has eaten, have begun, and will have swum. Perfect tenses are relative tenses; that is, they show a relationship between actions or states of being. The past perfect tense, which uses the helping verb had, indicates that an event was completed before another point in the past. You can think of it as the “before the past” tense. www.cracksat.net By the time we arrived at the reception, Glen had already given the toast. This sentence contains two verbs: arrived and had given. The first is in the simple past tense, and the second is in the past perfect tense. This suggests that the second event mentioned, the giving of the toast, was completed before the first event mentioned, the arrival at the reception. It may help to visualize the events on a timeline. When a sentence contains two past tense verbs, check whether one event was completed before the other. If so, the earlier event should be in the past perfect tense. We ate the entire pie by the time Ellen realized it was missing. This sentence contains two verbs in the past tense: ate and realized. The sentence suggests, however, that the eating of the pie was completed before Ellen realized it was missing. Therefore you need the past perfect tense to indicate the proper sequence. We had eaten the entire pie by the time Ellen realized it was missing. The present perfect tense, which uses the helping verb has or have, indicates that an event or condition either extends from the past to the present or possibly extends from the past to the present or beyond. You can think of it as the “past plus present or future” tense. She has been very nice to me. We have taken only two tests this semester. The first sentence contains the present perfect verb has been. This indicates that something was true in both the past and the present—she was nice to me and she still is nice to me. The present perfect tense here combines past and present. In the second sentence, the present perfect verb have taken indicates that we took the tests in the past, but also that we might take more in the future. www.satpanda.com If a single event or condition starts and finishes in the past, it is best described with the past tense. If an event or condition extends from the past to the present, it is best described with the present perfect tense. In the short time since her sixteenth birthday, she became a best-selling artist. The phrase since her sixteenth birthday suggests a condition that is still true in the present. Therefore, the present perfect tense works better than the past tense. In the short time since her sixteenth birthday, she has become a best-selling artist. The future perfect tense indicates an event or condition that will have been completed before some time in the future. By Friday, we will have completed the entire project. The verb will have completed suggests that the project will be complete before some future point in time— Friday. Present participles can be perfect also. A participle must be in the perfect form, using the helping verb having, whenever it indicates an action or condition completed before the event or condition expressed in the main part of the sentence. Walking all night, we were desperate to find rest at dawn. The sentence indicates that the walking occurred at night, but the main idea of the sentence, that we were desperate, happened at dawn. Therefore, the walking was completed by dawn, and should be expressed with the present perfect participle. Having walked all night, we were desperate to find rest at dawn. www.cracksat.net 3. Verbs expressing ideas or works of art A verb indicating a theory, artistic work, or a non-historic fact is usually given the present tense, to indicate that these ideas and works are still available. The ancient Greek philosopher Zeno believed that all motion was an illusion. This sentence contains two verbs, believed and was. Since Zeno isn’t around to believe things anymore, the first verb must be in the past tense. But Zeno’s theory is still available to us. We can still wonder whether motion is an illusion or is not an illusion. Therefore, the second verb should be in the present tense. The ancient Greek philosopher Zeno believed that all motion is an illusion. In Macbeth, Shakespeare portrayed the madness that accompanies the pursuit of power. Although Shakespeare wrote Macbeth centuries ago and is long dead, the play is still available to us, so you should use the present tense to indicate its life today. In Macbeth, Shakespeare portrays the madness that accompanies the pursuit of power. Verb tense practice Circle the correct verb. 1. Glen (came/has come) to work exhausted this morning because he (stayed/had stayed) up all last night. 2. Already, and without (spending/having spent) so much as an hour on research, Dale (wrote/has written) the first draft of her essay. 3. (Developing/Having developed) the first compressed-air automobile, he (hoped/had hoped) to reveal it to the world at the exposition. Fix any tense problems in the following sentences. 4. Right after school, we had gone to Mario’s for a pizza and a few Cokes. www.satpanda.com 5. Finding no evidence against the accused, the detective had to release him. 6. When I got home, I wrote an essay about the baseball game that I saw that afternoon. 7. By the time the committee had adjourned, it voted on all four key proposals. 8. In the evening, we ate a nice meal with the same group of people we skied with that afternoon. 9. By the time I am done with finals, I will write four major papers. 10. It surprised us to learn that Venus was almost the same size as Earth. 11. Over the last three years, real estate values increased by over twenty percent. 12. Buyers often worry too much about finding a good mortgage rate and will forget to scrutinize the terms of the contract. 13. By the time we arrived at the tent where the reception would be held, the caterers set up all the chairs. 4. The passive voice The passive voice is a way of phrasing an idea to emphasize the object of an action rather than the subject of an action. For instance, the sentence Ellen rode the roller coaster is in the active voice, but The roller coaster was ridden by Ellen is in the passive voice. In the active voice, the subject of the verb is the subject of the action: Ellen is the one who rode. In the passive voice, the subject of the verb is the object of the action: the roller coaster is what received the riding. In general, active voice verbs are preferable to passive voice verbs because they are more concise and clear. The passive voice should only be used to indicate that the subject of an action is unknown, or to emphasize deliberately the object of an action. The necklace was mysteriously returned. This sentence clearly indicates that the action was a mystery, so the passive voice is required to indicate that the subject of the action is unknown. www.cracksat.net Having known Jose for years, we were astonished to hear that he had been arrested. This sentence clearly emphasizes the idea that Jose was the object of the arrest, so the last clause, he had been arrested is properly in the passive voice. Placing this in the active voice would change the emphasis inappropriately. 5. Tip for improving your essay As we discussed in Lessons 7 and 13, the effectiveness of a sentence often depends on its verbs. Your verbs should be clear, forceful, and logical. Use strong, active verbs, and minimize the use of to be and passive verbs. 6. Tips for the multiple-choice questions When a verb is underlined on a multiple-choice question, check that it agrees not only with its subject, but also with any other verbs in the sentence. If a sentence has more than one verb, their tenses must be related logically. Verbs showing actions or states of being with the same time and extent must have the same tense. If one is completed before another, it must take a perfect tense. The harvest was hardly meager to meet the needs of the villagers the the growing season. The only verb underlined in this sentence is was, a verb in the past tense. It agrees with its subject rain, but it does not coordinate with the other verb in the sentence. Since the growing season is an extended period before the harvest, it is “perfect” relative to the harvest. Therefore the second verb should be changed to the perfect had been. www.satpanda.com When deciding between two good-sounding choices on Improving Sentences questions, check the voice and precision of the verbs. Active and precise verbs are generally preferable to passive and wordy verbs. Answer Key Verb tense practice 1. came; had stayed 2. having spent; has written 3. having developed; hoped 4. Right after school, we went to Mario’s for a pizza and a few Cokes. Since there is only one event being discussed, there is no need for the past perfect tense. 5. Having found no evidence against the accused, the detective had to release him. The search for evidence was completed before the release. 6. When I got home, I wrote an essay on the baseball game that I had seen that afternoon. The seeing was completed before the writing. 7. By the time the committee adjourned, it had voted on all four key proposals. The voting was completed before the adjournment. 8. In the evening, we ate a nice meal with the same group of people we had skied with that afternoon. The skiing was completed before the eating. 9. By the time I am done with finals, I will have written four major papers. The writing will be completed before the finals. 10. It surprised us to learn that Venus is almost the same size as Earth. This fact is true even now. 11. Over the last several years, real estate values have increased by over twenty percent. The increase occurred from the past to the present. 12. Buyers often worry too much about finding a good mortgage rate and forget to scrutinize the terms of the contract. Tense consistency requires the present tense. 13. By the time we arrived at the tent where the reception would be held, the caterers had set up all the chairs. 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