College Admission Essays: Getting the Grammar Right the Second Time Around - Verbs

Verbs

Every grammar check should start with verbs, because they’re “where the action is,” as we used to say in the sixties. Here’s the definition, so you know what you’re checking: A verb is a word that expresses action or state of being. In a sentence, the verb may be one word or a couple of words. Note the verbs, which are in italics, in these sentences:

I would like to attend Silly Nutty University because of my interest in humor. (would like = verb expressing action)

For the past two years I have been an active member of my school’s Class Clown Appreciation Society. (have been = verb expressing being)

Your major in Farcical Face Painting attracts me because I love disguises. (attracts, love = verbs expressing action)

I will be the Picasso of farcical face painting one day. (will be = verb expressing being)

Verbs have three characteristics that may cause problems: tense, number, and voice.

Tense

No, I’m not talking about the sort of mood that calls for scented candles and a massage. I’m talking about time. The past, present, and future are indicated in an English sentence by the tense of the verb. Even if you don’t know one iota of fancy grammar terminology, you use verb tenses with every statement you make, and most of the time you’re probably correct. If you hang out with reasonably fluent speakers of English or if you watch a moderate amount of television, the proper tenses seep into your brain without any conscious effort at all. Unfortunately, even the best students of English sometimes trip over a small number of tense rules — but you won’t, if you follow these guidelines. (Note: In the following examples I’ve placed all verbs in italics so you can zero in on them easily. Don’t italicize anything in your essay unless you’re emphasizing a particular word or idea or indicating a title.)

•  Don’t change tenses without a reason for doing so. If you’re discussing the effect on your worldview of your Uncle Elmer’s invention of a special toupee glue, you probably want past tense:

Elmer spent the rest of his life attached to the living room couch, but his discovery eased the life of millions. . . .

Or, if you love drama, you may choose present tense:

Elmer stares into the pot of sticky white liquid. “This revolutionizes the world of baldness,’ he thinks. ‘Now I have no fear of the wind whipping off my toupee!”

What you can’t do is hop frivolously from one to the other. Surprisingly, this practice is quite common, especially over the course of a three-page essay. Here’s an example of an invalid switch from present to past:

Elmer patents his discovery, but he never used it. He died in 1983.

Just to show you the difference, here is a paragraph with valid tense switches:

I think about Elmer every time I count the few remaining hairs on my head. I will never forget what he said the last time I saw him. “My boy,” he declared, ‘Forget the toupee tape and dump the implants. Glue will be our family’s choice forever.” Because of my uncle’s experience, I want to major in chemistry. (think, count, forget, dump, want = present; will forget, will be = future; said, saw, declared = past)

• Add “had” to a verb to indicate that one event in the past took place before another past event. Suppose that you’re writing about the experiences that prompted you to apply to the Institute for Advanced Jailhouse Studies. You’re describing the profound impression made by your childhood visits to Aunt Cleo’s cell. Check out this excerpt, noting the verbs that I’ve placed in italics:

I will use my degree from the Institute for Advanced Jailhouse Studies for the betterment of the human race. My determination to do so stems from my visits to Aunt Cleo’s cell. Every Saturday we visited her, often toting a cake I had baked the night before. Aunt Cleo was not particularly fond of cake, but she always thanked me politely before asking if I had inserted a file.

Notice that in the third sentence, the cake baking precedes the visiting, so the proper verb is had baked, not baked. In the fourth sentence, the insertion takes place before the thanking, as indicated by the verb hadinserted.

The most common mistake with “had” is to place it everywhere, as in this paragraph:

When she had asked me about the file, I had replied that I didn’t believe in jail breaks. I had told her that she had done the crime and must now do the time.

Too many had’s. Here’s the correct version:

When she asked me about the file, I replied that I didn’t believe in jail breaks. I told her that she had done the crime and must now do the time.

Now you’ve got one had, to show that the crime took place before the conversation.

• Add “has” or “have” to a verb to show a link between past and present. If you’re writing about your most bizarre hobby, this sentence is correct:

I have devoted the past five summers to collecting cat hats.

The have, added to the verb devoted, shows that you are still a collector. Contrast the preceding example with this one:

I devoted five summers to collecting cat hats. Since 2002, my cousin Aphra has been studying dog earmuffs, and I plan to join her next expedition.

The plain verb, devoted, indicates that the cat-hat hobby is over. (What a relief!) In the second sentence, has been studying shows that the dog hobby is on-going.

• If you’re writing about a work of literature, use present tense. Some colleges ask you to discuss “a poem or novel that affected you.” Because events in literature never took place, they can’t be in the past. They begin again every time a reader opens the book. Hence, present tense is appropriate when you talk about events in a literary work, and past tense is best when you talk about the experience of reading it. (Note: The verbs are italicized here to make them easier to find. A play title is also italicized. Don’t italicize anything in your essay unless you want to add special emphasis or indicate the title of a full-length creative work.)

My junior English class studied Shakespeare’s Macbeth. I was profoundly impressed by Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of her husband. She tells him that he is not manly, and he immediately gives in to her requests.

Notice that the first two sentences have past-tense verbs because they describe the act of reading, which took place in the past. The last sentence has present-tense verbs because it discusses Shakespeare’s play.

Number

Number is the English-teachers’ term for singular (one) or plural (more than one). To choose the number of the verb, check out the subject — generally who or what is doing the action or is in the state of being expressed by the verb. (Don’t worry about the small number of sentences in which the subject receives the action. They’re unlikely to cause number problems.) Singular subjects are paired with singular verbs, and plural subjects with plural verbs. Most English verbs (thank goodness!) have the same form for both singular and plural, with one important exception. If you’re talking about someone or something, the present-tense form changes, as in these examples:

Cousin Hyperbia eats all day and sleeps all night.

They eat two entire goat herds before sundown and then sleep until dawn.

In the first example I’m talking about Hyperbia (fortunately, there’s only one), so she’s singular. The two verbs associated with her, eats and sleeps, are also singular. In the second example, they is plural and so are the verbs (eat, sleep).

Sometimes a verb form contains has or have. Has is singular and have is plural. Similarly, some verb forms include does or do. Does is singular and do is plural.

I bet that you automatically choose the correct number for 99 percent of the verbs in your essay. However, a couple of tricky situations may trip you up:

• Two singular subjects connected by “and” create a plural. If you are answering a question about your dream job (“Identify an individual whose job you would like to have for a day” — a real question), you may say the following (the verb is italicized for easy identification):

The staple and the paperclip intrigue me, so I want to be Herman Gooberblue, the CEO of Office Stuff Inc. for a day. (staple and paperclip = plural subject, intrigue = plural verb)

A couple of expressions — as well as, in addition to, along with — appear to add to the subject and create a plural. Appearances are deceiving! These words don’t affect the singular/plural issue at all. Ignore these expressions and check the subject. If it is singular, you need a singular verb. If it is plural, you need a plural verb.

• Either/or and neither/nor join two subjects. Match the verb to the nearest subject. Check out this example, drawn from a (fictional) essay answering a real question about “working for a year with unlimited resources”:

If I had a year with unlimited resources, I would build amusement parks for the needy. Either skydives or a parachute jump is first on my agenda. The poor need hobbies as well as housing and food, but too few public agencies recognize this fact.

The either/or pair joins two subjects, skydives (plural) and parachute jump (singular). The singular subject is closer to the verb, so the verb is singular. If you reverse the sentence, you need a plural verb:

Either a parachute jump or skydives are first on my agenda.

• Each and every always take a singular verb, no matter what these words precede. The logic (yes, grammar has some logic, but not much) is that when you write each and every, you’re talking about the members of the group one by one. Note the singular verb in this sentence:

Each ride and attraction in the amusement park is free.

Voice

Verbs may be in active voice, when the subject is doing the action:

I beg you to accept me to your school.

Verbs may also be in passive voice, when the subject is receiving the action:

The gym was demolished by my graduating class.

The rule on voice is extremely simple: Whenever possible, use active voice. Passive is awkward and, well, passive . . . not qualities you want to communicate to the admissions committee. If you don’t know who did the action in the sentence or you don’t want to admit that you did it (though I advise honesty above all in your application), then passive is okay. Switching from passive to active is easy. Just figure out who is doing the action or is in the state of being discussed in the sentence and insert him or her (or them) into the sentence:

Original, passive version: Many books were read and papers written for that course.

What you must insert: Who’s reading and writing? The students, of course. They always get stuck with the work, right?

Revised, active version: In that course students read many books and wrote several papers.

One more verb rule

Last one, I promise. This oft-broken rule involves “condition contrary to fact” — an idea that isn’t true or an event that didn’t happen, as in “If I were a rich man” (I’m a poor woman) and other such expressions. Here’s how to express these concepts correctly:

• Place had or were in the “if” portion of the sentence. Check out these examples:

If I had known about your stamp-collecting major . . . (but I didn’t know)

If I were happy at the University of Hard Knocks . . . (but I’m so miserable I could scream)

• Place would in the other portion of the sentence, never in the "if" section.  Check out these additions attached to the preceding examples:

If I had known about your stamp-collecting major, I would have accepted your first offer of admission. (I didn’t know, and I didn’t accept.)

If I were happy at the University of Hard Knocks, I would not seek a transfer. (I’m not happy and I am seeking a way out of this awful place.)

The most common mistake, by the way, is to place “would” in the "if" section of the sentence. Penalty box! Would and if don’t get along (something about an affair, jealousy, a stolen necklace . . . I forget. Just keep them separate).