Sweating, Mariana recited: “Fly, flew, flown, am flying, was flying, have flown, had flown, will fly, will have flown, will have been flying…”
Here’s a short story inspired by 501 English Verbs.pdf . The Conjugation Crisis
“Begin.”
Verbius paused. “Acceptable. Next: .”
The screen flickered green, and a robotic voice crackled from her laptop speakers: “You have neglected 501 verbs. Now they will neglect you.” 501 English Verbs.pdf
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.
She passed the exam the next day. And she never, ever made fun of 501 English Verbs.pdf again. Sweating, Mariana recited: “Fly, flew, flown, am flying,
“Wait!” she screamed. “I drink. I drank. I have drunk . I had been drinking . I will have been drinking for three hours by noon!”
“That’s insane,” Mariana whispered. The file expanded, swallowing her desktop icons one by one
The red buzzer stayed silent. Verbius nodded. “One more.”