When a newspaper makes the mistake on the front page of the sports section, you know an error has spread. The writer, copyeditor, and proofreader all missed it. Can you recognize it?
When I saw that error in a Seattle TImes headline, I cringed, but I wasn’t surprised. Just a couple of nights earlier, I had heard a pundit on a talk show use the same incorrect verb phrase: have came.
Here’s the problem: Came is a past tense verb. But when you use a helping verb such as has, have, or had (or variations such as could have, will have, etc.), you need the past participle form: come. The headline should have read “may have come of age.”
To avoid mistakes like that one, you need to know your past tense and past participle verb forms. And you probably do. But there are a few tricky ones that I have sprinkled into the test below.
Fill in the blanks below with the correct verb forms. Then compare your answers with mine.
Example: Verb=go. I had ______ to lunch before I realized you needed the report right away. (The blank needs the verb form gone.)
- Verb=write. Has anyone _____ to Dr. Crabbe about the system?
- Verb=run. No one knew that Dale Richards had _____ for City Council.
- Verb=swim. Katy has _____ this race several times before.
- Verb=lend. This morning the bank _____ Diane’s business $25,000.
- Verb=begin. The program has already _____.
- Verb=take. Has Reetha _____ the bar exam yet?
- Verb=lead. The teacher already _____ the students in singing the national anthem.
- Verb=drive. Naomi has _____ from Chicago to Philadelphia before.
- Verb=see. Has Pablo _____ a specialist about the pain in his arm?
- Verb=choose. Tisha has already _____ the colors for the logo.
- Verb=buy. Ask Gina where she has _____ the lanyards in the past.
- Verb=come. Our team has _____ from behind many times.
- Verb=ride. Rob _____ his bike every day last week.
- Verb=lie (recline). I should not have _____ in the sun so long.
- Verb=forecast. The team _____ this problem last year.
My answers, based on Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary:
- Verb=write. Has anyone written to Dr. Crabbe about the system?
- Verb=run. No one knew that Dale Richards had run for City Council.
- Verb=swim. Katy has swum this race several times before.
- Verb=lend. This morning the bank lent Diane’s business $25,000.
- Verb=begin. The program has already begun.
- Verb=take. Has Reetha taken the bar exam yet?
- Verb=lead. The teacher already led the students in singing the national anthem.
- Verb=drive. Naomi has driven from Chicago to Philadelphia before.
- Verb=see. Has Pablo seen a specialist about the pain in his arm?
- Verb=choose. Tisha has already chosen the colors for the logo.
- Verb=buy. Ask Gina where she has bought the lanyards in the past.
- Verb=come. Our team has come from behind many times.
- Verb=ride. Rob rode his bike every day last week.
- Verb=lie (recline). I should not have lain in the sun so long.
- Verb=forecast. The team forecast or forecasted this problem last year.
If you need to confirm a past tense or past participle verb form, use a dictionary. It will show you both forms in addition to the –ing form. If it shows just one past tense form, then the past tense and past participle are the same.
Here you can see that lay is the correct past tense of lie, lain is the correct past participle, and the –ing form is lying.
Which verbs fooled you?
I wish you an error-free 2019!
Lynn