12/3/2019 Verb Tenses and Forms on SAT Writing

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Verb Tenses and Forms on SAT Writing

Posted by Justin Berkman | Jul 12, 2015, 5:00:00 PM

SAT WRITING

Get excited for this article all about verbs!!! Tenses!! Gerunds!! In nitives!! In my next
article, I may write about not overusing exclamation points!!!

Extreme punctuation aside, knowing when to use di erent verb tenses and forms will be
extremely bene cial to you on the SAT Writing section, since these concepts are tested
repeatedly on the SAT. There’s a lot of information in this article, but I promise that it’s
all valuable and knowing it will help you maximize your SAT score.

In this post, I’ll do the following:

De ne the verb tenses and forms that are tested on the SAT.
Provide information about when to use di erent verb tenses.
Detail how to construct verbs in di erent tenses.
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12/3/2019 Verb Tenses and Forms on SAT Writing

Explain and demonstrate how verbs are tested on the SAT.

Provide practice questions to test you on what you’ve learned.

Verb Tenses You Need To Know

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While
you don’t need to know the names of verb tenses for the SAT, you do need to know
when and how to properly use di erent verb tenses. We'll go through them one at a
time.

Present

Function

The present tense is the verb tense you use when for discussing things that are currently
happening or for statements of fact. Examples of verbs in the present tense are "runs,"
"plays," and "talk."

Also, the present progressive is considered a form of the present tense. The present
progressive is formed with the present tense of “to be” + the gerund (“ing”) form of the
word. Examples of present progressive verbs are "am talking," "is explaining," and "are
jumping."

Typically, words like “currently” and “now” indicate that you should use the present tense
of a verb. Here's an example sentence for you:

Currently, I am writing this amazing article.

Construction

Let's conjugate a verb in the present tense. This is the conjugation of the verb "walk".

Singular Plural
I walk We walk
You walk You walk
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He/She/It Walks They walk

 

 The present tense is not speci cally tested on the SAT Writing section, but you do need
to know how to properly conjugate verbs in the present tense for subject-verb
agreement questions.

 
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Simple Past

Function

Generally, any sentence that describes a completed action should contain a verb in
the past tense.

Construction

Typically the simple past tense of a verb is formed by adding “ed” to the verb. The past
tense of “destroy” is “destroyed”. The past tense of “talk” is “talked” and the past tense of
“explain” is “explained.” Check out this example sentence:

Yesterday, George watched seven hours of Net ix.

Many verbs are irregular and do not follow this construction. For example, "buy"
becomes "bought" in the past tense, "come" becomes "came," and "grow" becomes
"grew." However, the SAT will not speci cally test you on irregular verbs.

Good stu

Present Perfect 
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Function

Use the present perfect tense for actions that began in the past but are still
continuing in the present.

Construction
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The present perfect is formed with has/have + the past participle. For regular verbs, the
past participle is formed by adding "ed" to the verb. Examples of present perfect verbs
include "has talked", "have done", and "has brought".

Here is an example sentence with a verb in the present perfect tense.

For the past seven hours, George has watched Net ix.

As in this example, the words “for” and  “since” often indicate that the present perfect
tense is needed. Be aware, however, that there are other instances when context
determines that you should use the present perfect tense.

Past Perfect

Function

When a sentence describes two completed actions, the past perfect is used for the
action that came rst.

Construction

The past perfect tense is formed with had + the past participle. Examples of past perfect
verbs include "had talked," "had danced," and "had grown."

Look at this sentence that correctly uses the past perfect tense:

By the time his mom came home from work, George had watched seven hours of
Net ix.

The seven hours of watching were completed before George's mom came home, so we

use the past perfect for the verb "to watch." The action that comes rst should be in
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the past perfect tense.

Conditional

Function

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The conditional tense is used to describe things that could occur or things that haven't
yet occurred from the perspective of the past.

Construction

The conditional tense is formed with "would" + the verb. Examples of verbs in the
conditional tense are "would talk," "would sing," and "would write."

Future

Function

The future tense is used to describe things that have not yet occurred or could occur in
the future.

Construction

The future tense is formed with "will" + the verb. Examples of verbs in the future tense
are "will talk," "will sing," and "will write."

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12/3/2019 Verb Tenses and Forms on SAT Writing

Gerunds and In nitives 

Gerund and In nitive Function

Both gerunds and in nitives are verbs that act like nouns. While gerunds and
in nitives can often be used interchangeably, certain idiomatic expressions require you
Sharesto use one or the other.

Gerund Construction

Gerunds are formed by adding "ing" to a verb. Examples of gerunds include "running,"
"jumping," and "singing."

In nitive Construction

In nitives are formed by adding "to" + the verb. Examples of in nitives include "to play,"
"to run," and "to jump."

How Are Verb Tenses and Forms Tested on the SAT?

Now that you're familiar with the di erent verb tenses and forms, we can discuss how
they are tested on the SAT.

Consistency

Most of the verb questions in the SAT Writing section have to do with consistency. The
basic consistency rule regarding verbs is that verbs should remain consistent in tense
or form throughout a sentence. Sentences that start in the past should stay in the past

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and sentences that start in the present should stay in the present. Check out this
incorrect sentence that does not follow the consistency rule:

Jerome attends study hall and played the violin.

The verb "attends" is in the present tense and "played" is in the past. The verb tenses
should be consistent. Here is a correct version of the sentence:

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Jerome attends study hall and plays the violin.

We could have corrected the sentence by changing "attends" to "attended". The

important thing to remember is that the verb tenses should be consistent.

Sometimes, however, you can have a shift in tense and the sentence can still be correct.
This kind of construction is only possible if the verbs are in di erent clauses. Take a look
at these examples:

Jeremiah bought a Lexus and impresses his peers.

Jeremiah bought a Lexus because he wants to impress his peers.

The rst sentence is incorrect since "bought" and "impresses" are in di erent tenses but
the same clause.

The second sentence, on the other hand, is correct. The tense shift takes place in a
di erent clause and the two verbs are occurring at di erent times: Jeremiah bought the
car in the past, but he still wants to impress people in the present.

Strategy

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12/3/2019 Verb Tenses and Forms on SAT Writing

If a verb is underlined in either the sentence improvement or identify the error

subsection, make sure the verb follows consistency rules. If there are multiple verbs in
the sentence, identify the tenses to make sure they're consistent.

If there's a shift from past to present or vice versa, determine if the variation is
acceptable given the context of the sentence.

Here's an actual SAT Writing question that tests verb tense consistency.
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Real SAT Example

Try to answer the following question from a real SAT.

 Explanation: The verb “has been” is part of the underlined phrase. Whenever you see a
verb underlined, check for verb tense and subject-verb agreement errors.

“Has been” is in the present perfect tense. However, we know that the sentence should
be in the past due to the verb “was” in the sentence. The verb tenses should be
consistent. Also, the present perfect is used for something that is still going on, and,
based on the context of the sentence, we know that we’re dealing with a completed
action.

Similarly, because there is not a sequence of completed actions, we know that we

shouldn’t use the past perfect tense, "had been". After eliminating wrong choices, we’re
left with C and D. Due to parallel structure rules, the in nitive “to conceive” should be
used to be parallel with “to espouse” on the other side of the conjunction.  The answer
is D.

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On the SAT Writing section

Let's take a look at another common type of verb form question on the SAT.

Gerund Vs. In nitive

On the SAT, gerunds will be switched with in nitives. While both gerunds and
in nitives are verbs that function as nouns, certain idiomatic expressions require you to
use either a gerund or an in nitive. Typically, you have to rely on knowing what sounds
right to determine whether to use a gerund or an in nitive. Here is an example of
an sentence with an error:

Luis has decided playing football next year.

To x the error, you have to know that the verb "decide"requires an in nitive to follow
it.  This is the corrected version of the same sentence:

Luis decided to play football next year.

How do you gure out gerund vs. in nitive questions on the SAT?

Strategy

Review the list of idioms with gerunds and in nitives. In sentences with a gerund or
in nitive underlined, replace one with the other to determine what sounds better.

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Use this strategy and your knowledge of gerunds and in nitives to answer this actual
SAT question.

Real SAT Example

Where is the error in the following sentence? Is there an error?

Shares
 

Explanation: I hope your ear for what sounds right helped you gure this one out. There
is a gerund, “working”, underlined. Replace the gerund with an in nitive to determine
what sounds better. Would you say “they had an inability working together” or “they had
an inability to work together”? The latter is correct, and the in nitive form should be
used. The answer is C.

Let's move onto some of the other commonly misused verb forms.

Simple Past Vs. Present Perfect

On the SAT, a verb will occasionally be in the simple past tense when it should be in the
present perfect and vice versa. As noted earlier, the past tense is used for completed
actions. The present perfect is used for actions that began in the past and are still going
on. 

Here is an example sentence with this sort of verb tense error:

For the past month, I wrote articles for PrepScholar.

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The action, writing, started a month ago and is still going on. Therefore, you should use
the present perfect tense. This is the corrected sentence:

For the past month, I have written articles for PrepScholar.

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Will make you holler!

I have a few tips to help you gure out whether to use the past or present present
perfect on the SAT Writing section.

Strategy

For both past and present perfect tenses, determine the function of the verb based on
the context of the sentence. Use your knowledge of how the tenses should be used to
determine if the given tense is being used correctly. Keep in mind that words like “for”
and “since” often indicate that the present perfect is required.

Simple Past Vs. Past Perfect

The simple past is for completed actions and the past perfect describes the rst of two
completed actions or events. On the SAT, occasionally, a verb will be in the simple past
when it should be in the past perfect and vice versa.

This is an example of an incorrect sentence:

I never saw such a disgusting meal until I went to Applebee's.

Because the “never seeing” happened before going to Applebee’s, the verb should be in
the past perfect tense. This is the corrected version of the sentence:

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12/3/2019 Verb Tenses and Forms on SAT Writing

I  had never seen such a disgusting meal until I went to Applebee's.

The following advice will help you when you encounter a simple past vs. past perfect
question on the SAT.

Strategy
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Any time a simple past tense verb or past perfect verb is underlined, make sure the verb
is being used correctly. The phrase “by the time” will often indicate that the past perfect
is needed.

Check out this past vs. past perfect question from the SAT.

Real SAT Example

Try to correctly answer this past vs. past perfect question that appeared on the identify
the error subsection.

Explanation: Let’s look at the underlined verb “had been”. It’s in the past perfect tense.
Should it be?  Well, the two actions, sharing the Nobel Prize and being the rst woman to
win, happened simultaneously. The past perfect should only be used for an action that is
completed before another completed action.

Therefore, the simple past should be used instead of the past perfect.  The answer is C.
The verb should be “was”.

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12/3/2019 Verb Tenses and Forms on SAT Writing

Would Vs. Will

On rare occasions, "would" and "will" will be switched with one another. Generally, you
only have to remember that "would" should be used with sentences in the past
tense and "will" should be used with sentences in the present or future tense.

SharesHere is an example of an incorrect sentence:

Bill Clinton, who will become president in 1992, was born in Hope, Arkansas.

Because the sentence is in the past, as indicated by a date in the past, you need to use
“would” instead of “will”. This is the corrected version:

Bill Clinton, who would become president in 1992, was born in Hope, Arkansas.

Strategy

Any time that “would” or “will” is underlined, make sure that “would” is used for
sentences in the past, and “will” is used for sentences in the present/future.

Let's take a look at more verb questions from the SAT Writing section.

More Real SAT Examples

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Try to correctly answer this identify the error question.

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 Explanation: On rst glance, nothing may seem incorrect. However, the phrase “twenty-
ve years after” indicates that the action is already completed. The event happened
twenty- ve years ago. The past tense should be used for completed actions. The verb
“stimulate” is in the present tense and should be changed to “stimulated”. The answer is
B.

Here's another example question for you. 

Explanation: When you see a verb underlined, make sure it’s in the proper tense.  The
phrase “during the last fty years” indicates that something started in the past and is still
going on. What verb tense should we use in this situation? We should use the present
perfect tense. “Come” is in the present tense.  Also, the verb “have seemed” is a clue that
“come” should be in the present perfect tense. In this situation, the tenses should be
consistent.

Therefore, “come” should be “have come”.  The answer is B.

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Here are some more general tips for verb questions on SAT Writing.

General Strategies for Verb Questions

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#1: If a Verb is Underlined, Check for Proper Tense and Form

Whether on the sentence improvement or identify the error subsection, if a verb is part
of an underlined phrase, there is a possible verb form error.

#2: Look for Words/Phrases That Indicate Which Verb Tense Should Be
Used

Often, words or phrases elsewhere in the sentence will let you know what tense to use.
If a date in the past is referenced, you should probably use a form of the past tense. If
the word “since” is written, there should probably be a present perfect verb. Context
clues are placed within a sentence to indicate the proper verb tense. Also, the other
verbs in the sentence can indicate which tense to use. Remember consistency rules.

#3: Replace Gerunds with In nitives and Vice Versa

If there is a sentence with a gerund or in nitive underlined, replace it with the other to
determine which would work best in the given sentence. Rely on your ear and
knowledge of idiomatic expressions for gerund/in nitive questions.

I created some realistic practice questions to test you on what you've learned.

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Additional Practice

Utilize your verb knowledge to answer the following SAT Writing practice questions.

1. When Toni Braxton performed (A) at the casino in Arizona (B), she sold (C) out
the venue and had been given (D) a standing ovation. No error. (E)

2. Until (A) recently, people talk (B) to each other instead (C) of relying on texting
and e-mail to communicate (D) with their peers. No error. (E)

3. For the past ve years, Josh has been listening toTupacShakur.

A. has been listening
B. listens
C. is listening
D. will be listening
E. listened

4. When (A) Mariah Carey released (B) her rst album in 1990, (C) no one knew that
she will (D) win 5 Grammy Awards and sell more than 60 million albums. No error.
(E)

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Answers: 1. D, 2. B, 3. A, 4. D

 
 

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What's Next?

Now that you've thoroughly reviewed verb questions, check out this article on the
complete parts of speech for SAT Writing.

For an in-depth post about questions related to speci c parts of speech, read this one
on adjectives and adverbs.

For those of you who are aiming for perfection, learn how to get a perfect score on SAT
Writing.

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About the Author

Justin has extensive experience teaching SAT prep
and guiding high school students through the
college admissions and selection process. He is
rmly committed to improving equity in education
and helping students to reach their educational
goals. Justin received an athletic scholarship for
Justin Berkman
gymnastics at Stanford University and graduated
with a BA in American Studies.

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Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!
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12/3/2019 Verb Tenses and Forms on SAT Writing

Chan Min Park 9/28/2015, 2:36:49 PM

In the article, you stated that the verb tense can be di erent when the words are located
in di erent clauses. However, does this mean that the verb tense can be di erent only
when there are two independent clauses, or does it also mean that the verb tenses can
be di erent between an independent clause and a dependent clause? Could you also
Sharesprovide some examples?

Thank You
Sincerely,
Chan Min Park

Reply to Chan Min Park

Justin Berkman 9/29/2015, 4:38:52 AM

Thanks so much for your comment. Verb tenses can be di erent if one verb is an
independent and the other is in a dependent clause. Here is the example sentence I
used in the article:

Jeremiah bought a Lexus because he wants to impress his peers.

The clause starting with "because" is a dependent clause. Pay attention to context if
there are di erent tenses in di erent clauses. Any tense shift has to make sense
based on the context. Knowing the function of di erent verb tenses can help you
spot any verb tense consistency errors.

Reply to Justin Berkman

Chan Min Park 9/28/2015, 2:43:46 PM

What is the di erence between the ____perfect tense and the _____perfect continuous
tense? Do we have to know how to distinguish them from one another?

Reply to Chan Min Park

Justin Berkman 9/29/2015, 4:52:14 AM

Examples of present perfect tense: have waited, have done, have listened

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12/3/2019 Verb Tenses and Forms on SAT Writing

Examples of present perfect continuous tense: have been waiting, have been doing,
have been listening

Often, perfect and perfect continuous tenses are interchangeable, but there are
instances where one is preferable. However, for the SAT, you won't be forced to
choose between perfect and perfect continuous tenses.

Reply to Justin Berkman

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