Why it matters on the HSPT
Verb errors are the third pillar of the usage items, after agreement and pronouns. The test does not ask you to name a tense. It shows a sentence with the wrong form of an irregular verb, such as he had went, or a sentence that jumps tenses without reason, and asks you to notice. A short list of irregular verbs and one rule about helping verbs cover most of what appears.
The rules
Three forms. Every verb has a present, a past, and a past participle. For regular verbs the past and the participle are the same and end in ed: walk, walked, walked. Irregular verbs are the whole problem. Learn these sets as three-word chants:
- begin, began, begun
- break, broke, broken
- choose, chose, chosen
- come, came, come
- do, did, done
- drink, drank, drunk
- eat, ate, eaten
- give, gave, given
- go, went, gone
- ring, rang, rung
- run, ran, run
- see, saw, seen
- swim, swam, swum
- take, took, taken
- write, wrote, written
The helping-verb rule. The past form stands alone: she saw the movie. The participle needs a helper, has, have, had, or a form of be: she has seen the movie; the movie was seen by millions. Never she has saw, never she seen it. When you see has, have, or had, the next verb must be a participle. When there is no helper, it must be the plain past.
Consistent tense. Stay in one tense unless the meaning requires a change. Yesterday she opens the door and walked in mixes present and past for no reason. A sentence may legitimately move between times: she said that she will come tomorrow.
The three confusable pairs. Lie, lay, lain means to rest and takes no object. Lay, laid, laid means to put and takes an object. Sit means to be seated; set means to place something. Rise means to go up on its own; raise means to lift something. The first verb of each pair has no object; the second always does.
Other forms. The present participle ends in ing and always has a helper: she is running. Could of, would of, and should of are always wrong; the word is have. Ain't is never accepted on the test.
Worked examples
Example 1
Which sentence contains an error in usage?
A. We had went to the museum before lunch.
B. She has taken the last cookie.
C. They swam across the lake yesterday.
D. No mistakes.
- A.A
- B.B
- C.C
- D.D
Show answer
Answer: A: A
After had, the verb must be the participle gone, not the past went. Sentence B correctly pairs has with taken, and sentence C correctly uses the plain past swam with no helper.
Example 2
Which sentence contains an error in usage?
A. I seen that movie twice.
B. I have seen that movie twice.
C. I saw that movie twice.
D. No mistakes.
- A.A
- B.B
- C.C
- D.D
Show answer
Answer: A: A
Seen is a participle and cannot stand alone; it needs have, as in sentence B. Sentence C uses the plain past correctly. Both B and C are right, and A is the error.
Example 3
Which sentence contains an error in usage?
A. The bell had rung before we reached the door.
B. He drunk the whole bottle in one gulp.
C. She has written three letters this week.
D. No mistakes.
- A.A
- B.B
- C.C
- D.D
Show answer
Answer: B: B
With no helping verb, the plain past is needed: he drank. Sentence A correctly uses had with rung, and sentence C correctly uses has with written.
Example 4
Which sentence contains an error in usage?
A. When the alarm rang, everyone jumps up and runs outside.
B. When the alarm rang, everyone jumped up and ran outside.
C. Whenever the alarm rings, everyone jumps up and runs outside.
D. No mistakes.
- A.A
- B.B
- C.C
- D.D
Show answer
Answer: A: A
Sentence A starts in the past with rang and shifts to the present with jumps and runs for no reason. Sentence B stays in the past and sentence C stays in the present; both are consistent.
Example 5
Which sentence contains an error in usage?
A. Please lay the towels on the bench.
B. The dog likes to lay in the sun.
C. I laid my keys on the counter.
D. No mistakes.
- A.A
- B.B
- C.C
- D.D
Show answer
Answer: B: B
The dog is resting, not placing anything, so the verb is lie: the dog likes to lie in the sun. Sentences A and C use lay and laid with objects, the towels and my keys, which is correct.
Example 6
Which sentence contains an error in usage?
A. You should of told me about the test.
B. You should have told me about the test.
C. You could have told me sooner.
D. No mistakes.
- A.A
- B.B
- C.C
- D.D
Show answer
Answer: A: A
Should of is a misspelling of the sound of should have. The verb is always have. Sentences B and C are correct.
Example 7
Which sentence contains an error in usage?
A. The sun rises at six this time of year.
B. Please raise your hand before speaking.
C. Bread dough raises in a warm kitchen.
D. No mistakes.
- A.A
- B.B
- C.C
- D.D
Show answer
Answer: C: C
Dough goes up on its own, with no object, so the verb is rises. Sentence A uses rise without an object, correct. Sentence B uses raise with an object, your hand, correct.
Common mistakes
- Using the past form after have or had. Has went, had took, have drank are all wrong.
- Using the participle alone. I seen, we done, she begun need a helper.
- Changing tense in the middle of a sentence without a reason.
- Confusing lie and lay. Lay always has an object; lie never does.
- Writing could of. It is could have.
Practice
Verb forms appear throughout usage and grammar items and in composition choices about consistency. The pronouns lesson and the subject-verb agreement lesson complete the usage set.