Tense forms term 1
Verbs come in three tenses: past, present, and future. The past is used to describe things that have already happened (e.g., earlier in the day, yesterday, last week, three years ago). The present tense is used to describe things that are happening right now, or things that are continuous. The future tense describes things that have yet to happen (e.g., later, tomorrow, next week, next year, three years from now).
The following table illustrates the proper use of verb tenses:
Simple Present | Simple Past | Simple Future |
I read nearly every day. | Last night, I read an entire novel. | I will read as much as I can this year. |
Present Continuous | Past Continuous | Future Continuous |
I am reading Shakespeare at the moment. | I was reading Edgar Allan Poe last night. | I will be reading Nathaniel Hawthorne soon. |
Present Perfect | Past Perfect | Future Perfect |
I have read so many books I can’t keep count. | I had read at least 100 books by the time I was twelve. | I will have read at least 500 books by the end of the year. |
Present Perfect Continuous | Past Perfect Continuous | Future Perfect Continuous |
I have been reading since I was four years old. | I had been reading for at least a year before my sister learned to read. | I will have been reading for at least two hours before dinner tonight. |
The Present Tenses
Simple Present
The simple present is a verb tense with two main uses. We use the simple present tense when an action is happening right now, or when it happens regularly (or unceasingly, which is why it’s sometimes called present indefinite). Depending on the person, the simple present tense is formed by using the root form or by adding ‑s or ‑es to the end. I feel great! Pauline loves pie. I’m sorry to hear that you’re sick.
The other is to talk about habitual actions or occurrences. Pauline practices the piano every day. Ms. Jackson travels during the summer. Hamsters run all night.
Typically, when we want to describe a temporary action that is currently in progress, we use the present continuous : Pauline can’t come to the phone right now because she is brushing her teeth.
How to Form the Simple Present
In the simple present, most regular verbs use the root form, except in the third-person singular (which ends in -s).
First-person singular: I write
Second-person singular: You write
Third-person singular: He/she/it writes (note the ‑s)
First-person plural: We write
Second-person plural: You write
Third-person plural: They write
For a few verbs, the third-person singular ends with -es instead of -s. Typically, these are verbs whose root form ends in o, ch, sh, th, ss, gh, or z.
First-person singular: I go
Second-person singular: You go
Third-person singular: He/she/it goes (note the ‑es)
First-person plural: We go
Second-person plural: You go
Third-person plural: They go
For most regular verbs, you put the negation of the verb before the verb, e.g. “She won’t go” or “I don’t smell anything.”
The verb to be is irregular:
First-person singular: I am
Second-person singular: You are
Third-person singular: He/she/it is
First-person plural: We are
Second-person plural: You are
Third-person plural: They are

Present Perfect Tense
The present perfect tense refers to an action or state that either occurred at an indefinite time in the past (e.g., we have talked before) or began in the past and continued to the present time (e.g., he has grown impatient over the last hour). This tense is formed by have/has + the past participle.
The construction of this verb tense is straightforward. The first element is have or has, depending on the subject the verb is conjugated with. The second element is the past participle of the verb, which is usually formed by adding -ed or -d to the verb’s root (e.g., walked, cleaned, typed, perambulated, jumped, laughed, sautéed) although English does have quite a few verbs that have irregular past participles (e.g., done, said, gone, known, won, thought, felt, eaten).
These examples show how the present perfect can describe something that occurred or was the state of things at an unspecified time in the past.I have walked on this path before.We have eaten the lasagna here.
Keep in mind that you can’t use the present perfect when you are being specific about when the action happens. I have put away all the laundry. I have put away all the laundry at 10:00 this morning.
You can use the present perfect to talk about the duration of something that started in the past is still happening. She has had the chickenpox since Tuesday.
Present Continuous
The present continuous verb tense indicates that an action or condition is happening now, frequently, and may continue into the future.
The Present Continuous Formula: to be [am, is, are] + verb [present participle]Aunt Christine is warming up the car while Scott looks for his new leather coat. They are eating at Scott’s favorite restaurant today, Polly’s Pancake Diner.
Key words: Verb, present participle, tense, dynamic verbs, stative verbs
The present continuous (present progressive) tense is a way to convey any action or condition that is happening right now, frequently, and may be ongoing. It adds energy and action to writing, and its effect helps readers understand when the action is happening. Imagine Aunt Christine has surprised her nephew Scott for his birthday and is going to take him out to his favorite restaurant, Polly’s Pancake Diner. If I wanted to tell the story after it happened, I’d use the past tense: They waited at the red light, and Scott worried they might miss their reservation. (Past tense)
But what I really want to convey is how the event unfolded, showing the action as it is happening: They are sitting at Scott’s favorite booth, the one with the sparkling red plastic seats.(For how long? We don’t know, but we do know they are sitting there now.)The waiter is standing behind the counter right now with a notepad in his hand and pencil behind his ear. (Will he ever make it over to the booth? Probably, but not now.)“Are you waiting to open your presents after you eat your pancakes?” said Aunt Christine, taking a sip from her root beer. (Here the present continuous is being used in question form.)
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
The present perfect continuous tense (also known as the present perfect progressive tense) shows that something started in the past and is continuing at the present time. The present perfect continuous is formed using the construction has/have been + the present participle (root + -ing). I have been reading War and Peace for a month now.
In this sentence, using the present perfect continuous verb tense conveys that reading War and Peace is an activity that began sometime in the past and is not yet finished in the present (which is understandable in this case, given the length of Tolstoy’s weighty tome).
Recently and lately are words that we often find with verbs in the present perfect continuous tense.Mia has been competing in flute competitions recently. (And she will continue to do so.)I haven’t been feeling well lately. (And I am still sick now.)Recently, I’ve been misplacing my wallet and keys. (Because I sure don’t know where they are.)
Of course, not all verbs are compatible with continuous action. Some examples of such verbs are to be, to arrive, and to own. I have been owning my Mazda since 2007.I have owned my Mazda since 2007. (present perfect tense)Gus has been being late for work recently. Gus has been late for work recently. (present perfect tense)
The Past Tenses
Simple Past Tense
The simple past is a verb tense that is used to talk about things that happened or existed before now. Imagine someone asks what your brother Wolfgang did while he was in town last weekend.
Wolfgang entered a hula hoop contest.
He won the silver medal.
Common Regular Verbs in the Past Tense

Common Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense

Past Perfect Tense
The past perfect, also called the pluperfect, is a verb tense used to talk about actions that were completed before some point in the past.We were shocked to discover that someone had graffitied “Tootles was here” on our front door. We were relieved that Tootles had used washable paint.
The past perfect tense is for talking about something that happened before something else. Imagine waking up one morning and stepping outside to grab the newspaper. On your way back in, you notice a mysterious message scrawled across your front door: Tootles was here. When you’re telling this story to your friends later, how would you describe this moment? You might say something like:
Common Regular Verbs in the Past Perfect Tense

Common Irregular Verbs in the Past Perfect Tense

*The past participle of “to get” is “gotten” in American English. In British English, the past participle is “got.”
I turned back to the house and saw that some someone named Tootles had defaced my front door!
The Future Tenses
Simple Future Tense
The simple future is a verb tense that’s used to talk about things that haven’t happened yet.This year, Jen will readWar and Peace. It will be hard, but she’s determined to do it.
Use the simple future to talk about an action or condition that will begin and end in the future.
Common Verbs in the Simple Future

The “Going to” Construction
