Pace work
8 form
07/04/2020
Тема: «Дієслово to be в
різних часових формах»
The Forms of “To Be”
The Greek sea god,
Proteus, was (like the sea) capable of changing form in an instant. In order to
get any decent information out of him, you had to grab him and hold on tight
while he went through his various forms — lion, wild boar, snake, tree, running
stream — it wasn't easy. The verb “To be” is said to be the most protean of
the English language, constantly changing form, sometimes without much of a
discernible pattern. Considering that we use it so often, it is really too bad
that the verb “To be” has to be the most irregular, slippery verb in the
language.
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Present Tense
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I am
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We are
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You are
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You are
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He/She/It is
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They are
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Past Tense
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I was
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We were
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You were
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You were
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He/She/It was
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They were
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Perfect Form (past participle)
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I have been, etc.
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Progressive Form (present
participle)
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I am being, etc.
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In
Passive Constructions
A form of the verb “To be” is combined with a past participle to form
the passive. Passive verb constructions are
useful when the subject of an action is not as important as what the subject
did (the action of the sentence) or when the subject is unknown. For instance,
the police might report that “The professor was assaulted in
the hallways” because they do not know the perpetrator of this heinous crime.
In technical writing, where the process is more important than who is doing the
activity, we might report that “Three liters of fluid is filtered through
porous glass beads.” Regardless of the verb's purpose, only the auxiliary form
of “To be” changes; the participle stays the same. The “To be” will change form
to indicate whether the subject is singular or plural:
·
The foundation is supported by enormous floating
caissons that keep it from sinking into the swamp.
·
They were constructed by workers half submerged in the
murky waters.
Notice how the information about who did the action is frequently found
in a prepositional phrase beginning with “by.” Passive constructions do not always include this
information:
·
Wooden caissons were used until fiberglass structures were developed in
the 1950s.
·
Caissons were also designed to function under water in the construction
of bridges.
The “To be” will also change to indicate the time of the action and the
aspect of the verb (simple, progressive, perfect).
·
Water is pumped out of the caisson to create an
underwater work chamber. (simple present)
·
Some caissons were moved to other construction sites. (simple past)
·
While the water was being pumped out, workers would
enter the top of the waterproof chamber. (past
progressive)
·
Many other uses of caisson construction have been explored. (present perfect)
·
Caissons had been used by the ancient Romans. (past perfect)
·
Other uses will be found. (future)
The “To be” verb can be combined with other modal forms (along with the
past participle of the main verb) to convey other kinds of information. See the
section on modals for the
various kinds of information conveyed by modals (advisability, predictability,
guessing, necessity, possibility, etc.).
·
The wall joints may be weakened if the caissons can't
be rebuilt.
·
Perhaps the caissons should be replaced; I think
they ought to be.
·
These ancient, sturdy structures might have been rotted
by constant exposure to water.
Visit our section on the passive for
advice on when to use the passive and when to substitute more active verb
forms.
When “To be” verbs are combined with modal forms in this
manner, the construction is called a phrasal modal. Here are some more examples:
·
Rosario was able to finish her degree by taking online
courses.
·
She wasn't supposed to graduate until next
year.
·
She will be allowed to participate in commencement,
though.
·
She is about to apply to several graduate programs.
·
She is going to attend the state university next fall.
Sometimes it is difficult to say whether a “To be” verb is linking a
subject to a participle or if the verb and participle are part of a passive
construction. In “Certain behaviors are allowed,” is "are” linking
“behaviors” to "allowed" (a participle acting as a predicate
adjective) or is “are allowed” a passive verb? In the final analysis, it
probably doesn't matter, but the distinction leads to some interesting
variations. Consider the
difference between
·
The jurists were
welcomed.
and
·
The jurists were
welcome.
In the first sentence, the participle “welcomed” (in this passive
construction) emphasizes the action of welcoming: the smiles, the hearty
greetings, the slaps on the back. In the second sentence, the predicate
adjective “welcome” describes the feeling that the jurists must have had upon
being so welcomed.
Progressive Forms
to describe actions already in progress at
the moment "in focus" within the sentence, as in “I was doing my
homework when my brother broke into my room, crying.” or “I will be
graduating from college about the same time that you enter high
school.”
to describe actions at the moment of focus in contrast to habitual
actions, as in “We usually buy the most inexpensive car we can find, but this
time we're buying a luxury sedan.”
to express repeated actions, as in “My grandfather is forever retelling the
same story about his adventures in Rangoon.”
to describe temporary situations in contrast to permanent states, as in
“Jeffrey goes to the University of Connecticut, but this summer he is
taking courses at the community college.”
to express uncompleted actions, as in “Harvey and Mark are working on
their deck.”
H/W: Do these worksheets!!!!
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