Mariana froze. Her cursor moved on its own. The file expanded, swallowing her desktop icons one by one. Suddenly, her room dissolved. She was standing in a gray, infinite void—and in front of her stood a stern-looking, animated letter with tiny feet.
“Tonight,” she told her cat, Mittens. “Tonight, we conquer tenses.” 501 English Verbs.pdf
Here’s a short story inspired by 501 English Verbs.pdf . The Conjugation Crisis Mariana froze
Mariana laughed nervously. “That’s the first one in the book.” She took a breath. “I am, you are, he/she/it is, we are, they are. Past: I was, we were. Future: I will be. Present perfect: I have been. Past perfect: I had been. Future perfect: I will have been. Present progressive: I am being. Past progressive: I was being. Present perfect progressive: I have been being…” Suddenly, her room dissolved
“Begin.”
The final word appeared: .
The screen flickered green, and a robotic voice crackled from her laptop speakers: “You have neglected 501 verbs. Now they will neglect you.”