Verb forms exercises

Tenses

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the verbs given in brackets.

One day a wolf was drinking (be drink) at a stream. He saw (see) a lamb who was (be) farther down. The wolf made up his mind to eat the lamb, but he thought (think) that he would find (will find) some excuse for doing so. He ran ( run) up to the lamb and said, "How dare you muddy the water that I am drinking (be drink)". The lamb replied, "I do not see (do not see) how that can be, since the water of the stream is running (be run) from you to me and not from me to you."

It was a curious trunk. When the lock was pressed (be press), the trunk would fly. The merchant's son crouched (crouched) inside, pressed ( press) the lock and up flew ( fly ) the trunk through the chimney into the clouds. After a while the lower part cracked, which frightened (frighten) him, for it had broken (have break) in two, he would have had ( will have have) a nasty fall. However, it descended (descend) safely and he found himself in Turkey.

Explanation:

Whenever you find “be” with verbs in brackets such as (be drink), you are replacing “be” with one of the to be forms of the helping verbs.

To be forms of Helping Verbs:

Present Tense - am, is, are

Past Tense - was were

The main verb takes ‘ing’ or Past Participle form depending on the time of action.

Ex:

One day a wolf was drinking (be drink) at a stream.

Here, the tense is Past. Hence, be form takes was and the main verb takes ing referring to the continuous action in the past.

When the lock was pressed (be press), the trunk would fly.

Here, the subject is passive. The verbs used are be + past participle referring to action done on the subject in the past.

"How dare you muddy the water that I am drinking (be drink)".

It looks like the verbs should be used in the past continuous tense based on the paragraph which begins with a Past tone. But, the quotation marks used indicate that the speaker’s words are quoted directly in the Present Tense.

***

Comments

'To the Foot from its Child' Summary

Click for Questions and Answers Introduction Pablo Neruda is a Chilean poet, diplomat and politician. He has written in a variety of styles. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. His poem To the Foot from its Child is a translation in English by Alastair Reid who is one of Scotland's foremost literary figures well-known for his poetry, prose and translation. Theme / Summary To the Foot from Its Child is rich and deep in its meaning and message. The poem portrays the journey of a child or child's foot from its birth to its death. Neruda begins the poem stating that the child's foot is not aware of the reality but dreams to be a butterfly or an apple. Then the passage of time exposes the foot to such hardships of life that they teach the foot that it cannot become a butterfly or an apple. It then loses the battle and remains condemned to live in the shoe. Here the poet shows how an individual is controlled by society. The foot then starts to understand

Watchman of the Lake Summary

Click for Questions & Answers Introduction R.K. Narayan is a well-known Indian writer who has written a series of books creating characters and situations that revolve around a fictitious town Malgudi. He is one of the three most prominent writers of early Indian literature in English. He showcased Indian Literature in English to the rest of the world. R.K. Narayan is regarded as one of India’s greatest English novelists. “Watchman of the Lake” is a dramatized version of his story, “The Watchman”. Synopsis “Watchman of the Lake” is a beautiful dramatic adaptation of R.K. Narayan’s story which narrates the legend about a great rustic Mara’s sacrifice made for the conservation of a lake for the sake of the lives that depended on it for their survival. This play also highlights the invaluable gift of folk wisdom to humanity. Theme Scene 1 The play is set in a village near BabaBudan Hills in Karnataka. Mara, the protagonist and an innocent rustic presents hims

Too Dear Summary

Introduction Click for the Questions and Answers “Too Dear!” is a st ory written by count Leo Tolstoy, a famous Russian writer, master of realistic fiction and is widely considered one of the world’s greatest novelists. The story “Too Dear!” is a parody of one of the modern systems of governance. It ridicules the ways of punishing criminals and dispensing justice in modern states. The story is narrated in a matter-of fact-tone but with an undercurrent of sarcasm. Leo Tolstoy satirizes the thirst for power, exercised by men of upper class, and how it affects society. In addition, it also raises a serious question on capital punishment. Summary / Theme / Story background All is well in the kingdom of Monaco until a man commits a murder. The king had never had to deal with the murder until the man was sentenced to death. He runs into considerable trouble trying to carry out the sentence. Monaco had neither guillotine nor an executioner, so they requested the government of Fran

English Notes

Search This Blog