🎓SAT English
GRAMMAR 3
SAT Verb Forms for ESL Students
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SAT Verb Forms help ESL students learn how the verb is used in the types of question form the past, present or future, and if they are finishing or continuous in SAT English questions.
Why Learn Verb Forms
English language learners should learn the form of verbs because
- clear communication – verbs are a most important part of a sentence
- clear timing – Verb forms help with when an action takes place (g. “I eat” or “I ate”)
- improved vocabulary – understanding the different forms allows the use of a greater range of words (e.g. exhausted, broken).
- advanced communication – to express differences in action, state of being, and time.
Grammar Rules: Verb Forms
Regular Verb Forms
Simple past
- She locked the door before she left the house.
- Time: she left is past
- Verb: past = -ed = locked
- Locked (Simple Past) = Left (Simple Past)
Past participle
- She had finished her dinner before the guests arrived.
- Time: before arrived
- Verb follows: had
- Verb: -ed = finished
- (Earlier): had finished (had + finished) = (Later): arrive
Irregular Verb Forms
Simple past
- I ate lunch before the meeting started.
- Time started is past
- Verb: past = ate
- Ate (Simple Past) = Started (Simple Past)
Past participle
- I had written the email before my computer crashed.
- Time before crashed
- Verb follows: had
- Verb: -en = written
- (Earlier): had written (had + written) = (Later): crashed
Exercise 1 Introduction to Verb Forms
Q1 Yesterday, Mia ______ to the library after school.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- a) go
- b) goes
- c) going
- d) went
Q2 Tom dropped his phone while he ______ to his friend.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- a) talks
- b) was talking
- c) will talk
- d) talked
Q3 Many university students hope to ______ abroad during their studies.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- a) study
- b) studies
- c) studied
- d) studying
Q4 The company ______ online training courses for new employees.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- a) offer
- b) offering
- c) offered
- d) offers
Verb Forms Strategies
SAT Verb Forms Example
How do you answer questions on SAT verb forms? Here is an example with “elimination” where you remove the wrong 3 answers, in 3 steps:
The 3-Step Strategy
How do you answer questions on SAT verb forms? Here is a very simple strategy in 3 steps:
Detailed Strategy Approach
Exercise 2 Verb Forms - SAT Style
Q1 In 2018, a group of students ______ a community garden behind their school.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- a) creates
- b) created
- c) create
- d) will create
Q2 The rough frog is a species of amphibian native to Australia. Currently, the frog’s range ______ parts of northern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- a) includes
- b) included
- c) will have included
- d) had included
Q3 With residents from Mexico, China, El Salvador, and many other countries, Los Angeles has long been a city of cultural diversity. Even back in the 1860s, nearly 30% of the city’s population ______ from outside the United States.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- a) is being
- b) was
- c) is
- d) will be
Q4 The First Folio, published in 1623, is the first collection of William Shakespeare’s plays. The collection ______ 18 plays that might otherwise have been lost, such as Julius Caesar and Macbeth.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- a) to be including
- b) including
- c) to include
- d) includes
More Help on Alps Academy
- See the types of verb forms and types of verb forms questions, with answers and explanations: Verb form examples and practice questions
- Additional information on subject modifier placement and verb forms: Tackle verb forms
Helpful Vocabulary
To help ESL students understand SAT verb forms questions, here are some useful terms
- Base form / root form of the verb: the simple form (e.g., eat)
- Third person singular form: adds -s(e.g., eats)
- Past tense form / past form: shows past time (e.g., ate)
- Present participle form: ends in -ing(e.g., eating)
- Past participle form: used in perfect tenses (e.g., eaten)
- Infinitive: to+ base form (e.g., to eat)
- Gerund: -ingform used as a noun (e.g., Eating is fun.)
- Helping verb / auxiliary verb: supports the main verb (e.g., has, is, was)
- Modal verbs: show ability, possibility, permission (e.g., can, must, should)
- Passive voice: verb form where the subject receives the action (e.g., The book was written).
Exercise 1 & 2 Answers Explained
SAT questions
Do you wish to try Khan Academy SAT practice questions now? Verb Forms | Lesson
Tip: When practicing on Khan Academy, locate the subject and find the time-marker word