_A_ number of
children _have_ been playing in the sand pile].
6. The pronoun _you_ always takes a plural verb, even if its meaning is
singular: [You _were_ here yesterday].
7. A collective noun takes a singular or plural verb, according as the
collection is thought of as a whole or as composed of individuals.
+59. Tense.+--The power of the verb to show differences of time is called
_tense_. Tense shows also the completeness or incompleteness of an act or
condition at the time of speaking. There are three _primary_ tenses:
_present, preterite_ (_past_), and _future_; and three _secondary_ tenses
for completed action:_present perfect, past perfect_ (_pluperfect_), and
_future perfect_.
English has only two simple tenses, the present and the preterite: _I
love, I loved_. All other tenses are formed by the use of the auxiliary
verbs. By combining the present and past tenses of _will, shall, have,
be_, or _do_ with those parts of the verb known as infinitives and
participles, the various tenses of the complete conjugation of the verb
are built up. The formation of the _preterite_ tense, and the consequent
division of verbs into _strong_ and _weak_, will be discussed later.
+60. The Future Tense.+--The future tense is formed by combining _shall_
or _will_ with the root infinitive, without _to_.
The correct form of the _future tense_ in assertions is here given:--
SINGULAR PLURAL
1.
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