Sequence of Tense

Sequence of Tenses: The relationship between verbs in a main clause and verbs in dependent clauses is important. These verb tenses don’t have to be identical as long as they reflect, logically, shifts in time and meaning: “My brother had graduated before I started college.” “My brotherwill have graduated before I start.” Click HERE for a chart describing various time relationships and how those relationships determine the appropriate sequence of verb tenses.

Verbals

Verbals are words that seem to carry the idea of action or being but do not function as a true verb. The are sometimes called “nonfinite” (unfinished or incomplete) verbs. Because time is involved with all verb forms, whether finite or nonfinite, however, following a logical Tense Sequence is important. Click HERE for a chart describing the time elements involved in choosing the correct verbal form. Verbals are frequently accompanied by other, related words in what is called a verbal phrase.

There is a whole section on how verbals connect with other words to form phrases. Be sure to visit the always pleasant GARDEN OF PHRASES.

Participle: a verb form acting as an adjective. The running dog chased the fluttering moth. A present participle (like running or fluttering) describes a present condition; a past participle describes something that has happened: “The completely rotted tooth finally fell out of his mouth.” The distinction can be important to the meaning of a sentence; there is a huge difference between a confusing student and a confused student. See the section on Adjectives for further help on this issue.
Infinitive: the root of a verb plus the word to. To sleep, perchance to dream. A present infinitive describes a present condition: “I like to sleep.” The perfect infinitive describes a time earlier than that of the verb: “I would like to have won that game.” See the section on Sequencebelow for other forms as well.

The Split Infinitive

If there is one error in writing that your boss or history prof can and will pick up on, it’s the notorious split infinitive. An infinitive is said to be “split” when a word (often an adverb) or phrase sneaks between the to of the infinitive and the root of the verb: “to boldly go,” being the most famous of its kind. The argument against split infinitives (based on rather shaky historical grounds) is that the infinitive is a single unit and, therefore, should not be divided. Because it raises so many readers’ hackles and is so easy to spot, good writers, at least in academic prose, avoid the split infinitive. Instead of writing “She expected her grandparents to not stay,” then, we could write “She expected her grandparents not to stay.” Sometimes, though, avoiding the split infinitive simply isn’t worth the bother. There is nothing wrong, really, with a sentence such as the following:
He thinks he’ll be able to more than double his salary this year.
The Oxford American Desk Dictionary, which came out in October of 1998, says that the rule against the split infinitive can generally be ignored, that the rule “is not firmly grounded, and treating two English words as one can lead to awkward, stilted sentences.” (“To Boldly Go,” The Hartford Courant. 15 Oct 1998.) Opinion among English instructors and others who feel strongly about the language remains divided, however. Today’s dictionaries allow us to split the infinitive, but it should never be done at the expense of grace. Students would be wise to know their instructor’s feelings on the matter, workers their boss’s.
Both gerunds and infinitive phrases can function as nouns, in a variety of ways. Noun uses are covered in a separate document, a section that should be helpful to students who want to understand why some verbs take gerunds, others take infinitives, some take either. (In addition, there is a section on the use of the infinitive as adjective complement — free at no extra charge.) Click the button to enter.
Gerund: a verb form, ending in -ing, which acts as a noun. Running in the park after dark can be dangerous. Gerunds are frequently accompanied by other associated words making up a gerund phrase (“running in the park after dark”).
Because gerunds and gerund phrases are nouns, they can be used in any way that a noun can be used:

• as subject: Being king can be dangerous for your health.
• as object of the verb: He didn’t particularly like being king.
• as object of a preposition: He wrote a book about being king.

Infinitives and Gerunds and Sequence

Although they are not, strictly speaking, verbs, infinitives and gerunds carry within them the idea of action. Combined with auxiliary verb forms, like verbs, they also express various shades of time.

Simple Forms	We had planned to watch all the events of the Olympics Seeing those athletes perform is always a great thrill. The women’s hockey team hoped to have won a gold medal before they were done. We were thrilled about their having been in contention in the world championships before. To be chosen as an Olympian must be the biggest thrill in any athlete’s life. Being chosen, however, is probably not enough. The women did not seem satisfied simply to have been selected as players. Having been honored this way, they went out and earned it by winning the gold. To have been competing at that level, at their age already, was quite an accomplishment.
Perfective Forms
Passive Forms
Perfective Passive Forms
Perfective Progressive Infinitive

Actual and Potential Meanings

Although a gerund and an infinitive will often have practically the same meaning (“Running in the park after dark can be dangerous” and “To run in the park after dark can be dangerous”), there can be a difference in meaning. Gerunds are used to describe an “actual, vivid, or fulfilled action” whereas infinitives are better used to describe “potential, hypothetical, or future events” (Frodesen & Eyring 297). This is especially true with three kinds of verbs: verbs of emotion, verbs of completion/incompletion, and verbs of remembering.

EMOTION
Actual Event	Potential Event
I hated practicing my violin while the other kids were playing outside.	I prefer to work during the day.
COMPLETION/INCOMPLETION
Actual Event	Potential Event
We began working on this project two years ago. We finished working on this project a month ago. (Finish always takes a gerund.)	We will continue to work on this project for the next four months. I wonder when we will start to wrap up this project.
REMEMBERING (such as remember, forget, regret)
Juanita forgot to do her homework. (meaning that Juanita failed to do her homework because she didn’t remember to do it)	Juanita forgot doing her homework. (meaning that Juanita did her homework but that she forgot she had done so)