Verbs can feel tricky at first glance, especially on the ACT. The good news is that the rules are learnable and predictable.
In English (and in many languages), verbs change form based on:
- who is doing the action (the subject)
- how many subjects are doing it (singular vs. plural)
- when the action happens
The phrase verb tense refers to that last point: the time of the action.
Simple tenses
English has three basic verb tenses, plus several more complex ones.
- Simple past - the action happened before the speaker is talking about it.
- Simple present - the action happens at the same time the speaker is talking about it.
- Simple future - the action will happen after the speaker is talking about it.
In the descriptions above, we used the verb take:
- Simple past: took
- Simple present: takes
- Simple future: will take
If the ACT only tested these three forms, verb questions would be straightforward. In practice, you’ll also see more complex tenses, so you need to recognize those forms too.
Complex tenses
In addition to past/present/future, English also uses perfect and continuous (sometimes called imperfect) forms.
- Perfect tenses emphasize that an action is completed.
- Continuous tenses emphasize that an action is ongoing.
Here are the common forms using take:
- Past perfect: had taken
- Past continuous: was/were taking
- Present perfect: have/has taken
- Present continuous: am/is/are taking
- Future perfect: will have taken
- Future continuous: will be taking
Every verb in English can appear in these tenses. Many verbs follow regular patterns, but some are irregular (they don’t follow the usual rules). You don’t need to memorize every irregular verb for this lesson, but you do need to recognize correct forms when you see them.
If English isn’t your first language, you’ll want to review verb tense forms carefully (especially perfect and continuous tenses), since the ACT tests them often.
Considerations and commonly confused words
- Relating to the examples above, “tooken” is not a real word. Use the correct forms listed for take.
- Don’t use a perfect tense when you simply mean the simple past. For example, don’t choose “She had taken four hours to get home” when you mean “She took four hours to get home.” The first may sound natural in casual speech, but it doesn’t mean the same thing.
Let’s look at a commonly confused pair that the ACT does sometimes test.
Examples for “lay”
Use lay when you mean to put an object somewhere (it takes a direct object).
- Simple Present: lay: He lays down his badge thoughtfully.
- Simple Past: laid: He laid down his badge thoughtfully.
- Simple Future: will lay: They say he will lay down his badge and authority.
- Past Perfect: had laid: He had laid down his badge.
- Past Continuous: was/were laying: He was laying down his badge, when suddenly…
- Present Perfect: has/have laid: He has laid down his badge.
- Present Continuous: am/are/is laying: He is laying down his badge as we speak.
The future tenses are pretty easy to put together from here so we won’t list them.
Examples for “lie”
Use lie when you mean to rest or recline (it does not take a direct object).
- Simple Present: lie: I should lie down.
- Simple Past: lay: I lay down after I was injured.
- Simple Future: will lie: He said he will lie down when he gets there
- Past Perfect: had lain: He had lain there for hours.
- Past Continuous: had/have been lying: He had been lying there for hours.
- Present Perfect: have/has lain: The dog has lain on that couch before.
- Present Continuous: am/are/is lying: The dog is lying on the couch again.
The difficult thing here is that some forms overlap (for example, lay is the past tense of lie, but lay is also a present-tense verb meaning “to put”). If this isn’t natural to you, you’ll need to memorize which verb matches which meaning.
Other tricky words:
- “Wake”: While this is debated a lot in verbal speech, don’t stress about whether “woken” or “waked” should be used. The ACT almost certainly will not ask this since it gets into a gray area. Technically, as of this writing, both are acceptable forms.
- The word “seen” should only be used with tense that use “has,” “had,” or “have.” We don’t say “I seen that movie.” We say “I have seen that movie” where appropriate, or simply “I saw that movie” where it is appropriate.
- The past tense for “hang” is “hung,” except where one is referring to the method of execution. Then, “hanged” is preferred.
Use consistent verb tense
Verb tenses need to stay consistent within a sentence as long as the time focus doesn’t change.
I woke up yesterday and had a splitting headache that bothered me all day.
This sentence describes one continuous time frame: yesterday. Because the time frame doesn’t shift, the verbs stay in the simple past.
It is acceptable to shift time. When the time frame changes, the verb tense should change to match it:
I woke up yesterday and realized that I had forgotten to take my medicine the day before.
Here’s what’s happening:
- woke up and realized describe events that happened yesterday, so they use the simple past.
- had forgotten describes something that happened before yesterday (“the day before”), and it was already completed by the time the “yesterday” events occurred. That’s why it uses the past perfect.
