The verbal group: tenses

1.2
The Structure of the Verbal Group
A second problem you may be having with verbs is that you are not familiar enough with
the elements that make up the structure of the verbal group. For example you may want
to use a particular tense but you don't know which elements of the structure to use.
This section expands on that covered in Unit 2A.
You will remember from Unit 2A that the verbal group has the following parts:

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Basic English Grammar Module: Unit 2B. Independent Learning Resources
© Learning Centre University of Sydney. This Unit may be copied for individual student use.
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main verb
contains the content information i.e. it tells us what type of activity is occurring.
finite verb
gives us information about the verb with respect to time (tense) or judgement
(modality).
auxiliary verb(s)
give further information about tense.
So when a verbal group is broken down into these parts it looks like this:
will
have
finish
ed
Finite
auxiliary
main verb
verb ending
You will also remember from Unit 2A that the finite part of the verb can be expressed in
two ways -­‐ using time operators (e.g.
did, was, is
etc.) or modal operators (
may,
should, might
etc.)
If we put these different parts together we get a finite verbal group structure that looks
like the following:
(finite operator)
^
(auxiliaries) ^
(main verb)
time or modal
have/ be /be
You choose elements from the brackets according to factors relating to the message you
are trying to give your reader:

If you are concerned about time you choose a time operator to show past, present
or future.
e.g. he