TYPES

1. By lexicality
- main/lexical vs auxiliary
- delexicalised (verbs that have no or little meaning when they occur on their own, but get a new
meaning when combined with other words; ex: take a shower, get ready)
2. By form
- regular vs irregular
3. By being combined with other words
- linking/copular/complement (used to join an adjective or noun complement to a subject;
complement is usually an adjective or an adjective phrase; ex: You look good.)
- transitive vs intransitive (can take an object or cannot take an object; an object is usually a noun,
a pronoun, or a noun phrase)
- ditransitive (verbs that can take 2 objects, direct and indirect; ex: I sent the children a card)
- complex transitive (verbs that can take both an object and a complement; ex: I consider the
government responsible)
- ergative (verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive; ex: I broke the lamp; The lamp broke)
- catenative (verbs that can be followed directly by another verb, i.e., full infinitive, bare infinitive, or
present participle; ex: He deserves to win the cup)
- reflexive (verbs that are used with reflexive pronouns; ex: Could you please introduce yourself?)
4. By modality
- core modal
      a. extrinsic (= refers to the speaker’s/writer’s view of how likely the situation is)
 logical deduction (can, must, have (got) to)
 possibility (could, may, might, should)
 prediction (will, would, shall)
b. intrinsic (= refers to a range of meanings to do with how necessary or desirable the
speaker/writer views the situation)
 ability (can, could)
 permission (can, could, may, might)
 volition (will, would, shall)
 obligation (should, must, have (got) to, ought to)
 necessity (need (to))
- semi modal (ex: need to, ought to, have to)
- modal auxiliaries (= indicate the attitudes of the speaker/writer towards the state expressed by
another verb) (ex: I would have done it)
5. Multiword/phrasal
      a. intransitive (ex: The plane took off)
      b. transitive inseparable (ex: look after children)
      c. transitive separable (ex: put something on)
      d. transitive with two particles (ex: look up to someone)
      e. multiword verbal expressions (ex: to set a good example, to give a hand with something)
6. By function
- dynamic vs state/stative
- reporting (ex: tell, say, claim, explain, etc.)
- factitive (ex: elect, appoint, make, choose, assign, name, select, etc.)
- causative (verbs that show the reason that something happened; ex: let ‘allow,
permit’, make ‘force, require’, have, get, help)
- and many other types, including verbs suggesting a change of state, verbs of movement, and
even verbs of cooking

WHEN ANALYSING VERBS FOCUS ON:

1. Type: [see above]
2. Form:
 Infinitive: bare (ex: I will do it) or full (ex: I'm going to do it)
 Participle: present (aka gerund) (ex: I am thinking) or past (ex: I have done it)
3. Voice: active vs passive (ex: I stole it; It was stolen)
4. Aspect: continuous/progressive or perfect
5. Tense: present, past, (and future)
6. Mood: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive
7. Irregular spelling in present/past tense and continuous aspect

TENSES (the way the base verb form changes in order to place the event in a specific time frame)
1. Present Simple
a) Refers to an action that occurs repeatedly in the present; a habit
Ex: I play football every Sunday.
b) Refers to a future even which has been scheduled already
Ex: A major Picasso exhibition opens next week.

2. Present Continuous
a) Refers to a current temporary situation, in progress now
Ex: How’s it going?
b) Refers to a future event that has already been decided/arranged
Ex: I’m starting a new job next week.

3. Past Simple
a) Refers to an event in the past which occurred repeatedly
Ex: When I was a child, we always went to the beach for summer.
b) Refers to a hypothetical situation in the present; expresses a wish
Ex: If only I had more time.

4. Past Continuous
a) Refers to a longer background action, which was interrupted by a shorter action, the
main event in the past simple; typically narrative
Ex: She was watching TV when he came home.
b) Refers to a temporary situation in the past
Ex: I worked there last year when I was living in London.

5. Present Perfect Simple

a) Refers to a finished action, which affects the present, it has some importance now
Ex: He can’t possibly play. He’s hurt his leg.
b) Refers to a situation which started in the past and continues up to the present
Ex: We’ve known each other since we were children.

6. Present Perfect Continuous

a) Refers to a present temporary action starting in the past and continuing in the period up
to now; it focuses on duration
Ex: He’s been sleeping on a friend’s sofa for 2 weeks.
 b) Refers to a recent activity which took place over a period of time and has probably
recently stopped
Ex: Sorry about the mess. I’ve been sorting things out.

7. Past Perfect Simple

a) Focusses on the fact that something took place and finished before something else in
the past
Ex: He wasn’t exactly a friend, I’d only met him once before.
b) Used in reported speech and refers to something already completed when another
event took place
Ex: She told him she’d had enough and walked out.

8. Past Perfect Continuous

a) Used for a longer action that continued up to the past moment referred to and stopped
then
Ex: By the time she turned up, I’d been waiting for 2 hours.
b) Used when the action continues beyond the specified past point of time
Ex: They’d been living here for 3 years before they did anything about the garden.

9. Will
a) Refers to a future prediction
Ex: Don’t worry. He’ll get here on time.
b) Refers to a repeated and habitual behaviour in the present; no future meaning; usually
used in a disapproving way
Ex: He’ll often start something and then abandon it half way through.

10. Future Continuous

a) Refers to a prediction about the present based on knowledge of someone’s habits and
routines or plans
Ex: Don’t ring him now. He’ll be having dinner.
b) Refers to a future action which will be in progress at a particular moment in the future
Ex: Don’t come round before eight, I’ll be working.

11. (To be) going to

a) Refers to an event we can see now and are certain will happen, a prediction based on
present evidence
Ex: Help! I’m going to fall.
b) Refers to a planned future event; it’s often used interchangeably with the present
continuous for future
Ex: We’re going to spend a couple of weeks relaxing in the sun.

12. Future Perfect Simple & Continuous

a) Shows an action will be completed by a certain time in the future
Ex: I’ll have finished by nine, and then we can go home.
b) In the continuous form, things are being viewed again from a certain point in the future;
the focus is on how long they have been happening and it often collocates with for +
period
Ex: I’ll have been teaching for 20 years by the end of the year.
ASPECT (the internal nature of the event, i.e., whether it has duration or not, whether it is
completed or not, repetitive or not)
1. Continuous
- Refers to events ‘in progress’
- Refers to actions or situations which are temporary, incomplete or of limited duration
2. Perfect
- Refers to the event or state that is occurring in a period of time up to and related to a
point of time (i.e., retrospective)
- Present perfect -> the present moment
Past perfect -> the past moment
Future perfect -> the future moment

VOICE
Passive
a) Meaning:
- We start sentences with what is already known or ‘given’ and to place ‘new’ and thus
important information at the end
- Can be used to avoid having a long complex noun phrase as the subject of a sentence
(we prefer to put ‘heavier’ phrases at the end of a sentence)
- Used when we want to focus on an action, not who or what did it
- Much more common in writing, especially in EAP and ESP context
b) Form:
- With an agent (by + agent)
- Agentless (because the agent is now known, or is irrelevant, or is obvious) (used in EAP
and ESP writing)
- With the auxiliary get (more informal)
- Only transitive verbs can form passive
c) Causative / Pseudo-passive:
- More common in spoken language
- Use get or have
- Typically talks about some sort of service caused by the subject
- Can also be used to talk about experiences where no cause is implied
Ex: We’re getting the bathroom refitted next month.
I’ve finally had my computer fixed.
Julian had his bike stolen on Friday.

INFINITIVE VS PRESENT PARTICIPLE / GERUND

1. Full infinitive
a) After certain verbs (e.g., agree, appear, arrange, attempt, decide, expect, fail, hope, offer,
promise, refuse, want, wish)
Ex: I wanted to meet him.
b) After verb + object combinations (e.g., like advise, allow, ask, cause, enable,
encourage, forbid, force, instruct, invite, order, permit, persuade, prefer, recommend,
remind, require, teach, tell, tempt, warn)
Ex: She asked him to help her.
c) After certain adjectives
 personal feelings or attitude (e.g., anxious, determined, delighted, eager, sad, sorry)
  aspects of possibility, probability, necessity or ability (e.g., certain, crucial,
imperative, likely, necessary, possible)
 adjective + for everyone
 too + adjective
Ex: I’m too old to do this.
 too much/many + noun
Ex: There’s too much information to digest.
 adjective + enough or enough + noun
Ex: I’m fit enough to play. ; Do you have enough money to get home?
d) After certain nouns and noun expressions
 Personal feelings or attitude (e.g., desire, wish)
 Aspects of possibility, necessity and ability (e.g., ability, capability, possibility, need)
e) After a direct object
Ex: He borrowed the drill to put up some shelves.
f) After ‘question words’ in indirect questions
Ex: I don’t know how to respond.
g) Subjects and complements
Ex: To eat that much is bad for your health. -> It’s bad for your health to eat that much.
h) ‘Going to’

2. Present participle / Gerund

a) After certain verbs (e.g., avoid, bear, be/get used to, consider, deny, detest, dislike,
endure, enjoy, imagine, involve, mention, mind, miss, practise, resent, risk, postpone,
stand)
Ex: He enjoys travelling alone. ; I can’t stand being on a crowded train.
b) After many multiword verbs (e.g., give up, look forward to, put off, put up with)
c) After certain verb + object combinations
Ex: Do you mind me smoking?
d) After prepositions
Ex: Is she still interested in dancing?
e) Subjects and complements
Ex: Lying is a bad thing to do.
f) Items in lists of activities
Ex: The following are completely forbidden on school premises: spitting, shouting,
running in the corridors, and pushing and shoving.
g) Continuous tense

3. Full infinitive vs present participle / gerund

a) Interchangeable (no change in meaning)
Ex: start, begin, need to, prefer
b) With change in meaning
 Try
Infinitive to suggest some kind of effort involved in an action
-ing to make suggestions
 Stop, remember, forget, regret, and go on
Infinitive to look forward
-ing to look at the present or past
 Love, like, and hate
Infinitive in AmE
-ing in BE + occasional actions
 Allow, permit, advise, and forbid
 Infinitive when specifying an object or using passive
-ing after these verbs on their own

4. Bare infinitive
a) In simple present and past negatives
Ex: He didn’t see me yesterday.
b) After verb + object combinations with make, let, and ‘inert perception’ verbs
Ex: My mother makes me tidy my room. ; My parents never let me get a cat. ; Do you
hear the people sing?
c) After try / come / go / other verbs and <…>
Ex: Try and get some help.
d) With verbs of perception: see, feel, hear, notice, sense
Ex: I saw him play piano.
e) With why to question someone’s intention or suggestion and why not to make a
suggestion
Ex: Why not get a boat trip?
f) After modal verbs
g) After auxiliaries

5. Bare infinitive vs -ing

After verbs of ‘inert perception’ + object
Bare infinitive for momentary actions and completed events
-ing for extended actions and actions in progress

CONDITIONALS
1. Zero
Form: (If + present), [present]
Use: to describe universal truths, scientific facts, habits and routines dependent on a condition
being fulfilled. The consequence is an inevitable result.
Ex: If you leave ice-cream out in the sun, it melts.
Variations:
 Modals in either or both clauses
Ex: If a boss can’t manage their stuff, they shouldn’t be a boss.
 Provided (that), providing, on condition that, and unless can be used to emphasise the
condition
 Past tense for habitual real past situations
Ex: As a boy, I holidayed on the coast, and if it was sunny, I would go to the beach
and swim.

2. Type 1
Form: (If + present), [future]
Use: to describe likely or possible specific present/future conditions and their consequences.
Ex: If I decide to go there, I’ll let you know.
Variations:
  will can be replaced by:
- a modal (might, may, could, must, should, ought to)
Ex: If you’re late, you could call me.
- an imperative
Ex: If you’re late, call me.
- other future forms (e.g., Present Continuous, going to)
Ex: If he’s late, he’s going to call.
 should can be added to the conditional clause to show that the action is less likely to
happen
Ex: If you should feel unwell, please call me.
 if can be replaced by:
- should (formal)
Ex: Should you feel unwell, please notify…
- as long as and only if to add emphasis to the condition
- supposing to make the condition sound less likely
- provided (that)… [see Zero variations]
 sometimes, will is used in the conditional clause:
- politeness
Ex: If you’ll wait here, I’ll fetch the manager.
- irritation
Ex: If you will keep coming home late, of course you’ll be tired.
- willingness / negotiation
Ex: If you’ll work hard, I’ll help you.
- result in the if-clause
Ex: If you think it’ll help, I’ll speak to her.

3. Type 2
Form: (If + past simple), [would + base form]
Use: to describe unlikely, impossible or hypothetical specific present/future conditions and their
consequences.
Ex: If I were you, I’d get go to bed early the night before your exam.
Variations:
 The modal would can be replaced by:
- could or might to make the consequence seem less likely
Ex: If you had more time, we could / might go.
- should after I and we
Ex: If I knew her name, I should tell you.
 were can be used:
- as part of the lexical chunk for offering advice (was is less formal)
Ex: If I were you, I’d…
- in the if-clause in place of if and inverted with the subject
Ex: Were you to discover a cure, it would represent a major breakthrough.
- to make the statement seem more polite, tentative or hypothetical
Ex: If you were to discover a cure, it would represent a major breakthrough.

4. Type 3
Form: (If + past perfect), [would + have + past participle]
Use: to speculate about past events and what did or did not happen
Ex: If he hadn’t left her, she wouldn’t have become depressed.
Variations:
 The modal would can be replaced by could or might to emphasise that something was a
possibility or to make the outcome seem less definite
Ex: If I had known, I could / might have told him.
 We can invert the auxiliary had and the subject of the conditional clause to add emphasis;
in this case, had is used in place of if
Ex: Had I known, I would have told him.

5. Mixed
a) Form: Type 2 + type 3
Use: shows a present/general fact with a past consequence
Ex: If I liked children, I would have had them.
b) Form: Type 3 + type 2
Use: shows a past action with a present consequence
Ex: If he hadn’t done well at university, he wouldn’t be working there now.