Verb Tenses

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Verb Tenses
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You Should Know

• 11 Verb Tenses
• How and When To Use These Tenses In Your Writing!

• Present
• Past
• Future
• Present Progressive
• Past Progressive
• Past Perfect Progressive
• Future Progressive
• Future Perfect Progressive
• Present Perfect
• Past Perfect
• Future Perfect

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Present TenseThe action takes place in the
present.

• I grade the papers.
• You write the paper.
• The dog eats the paper.

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Past TenseThe action takes place in the past.

• I failed the test.
• You passed the test.
• They cheated on the test.

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Future TenseThe action takes place in the future.

• I will listen to the music.
• You will complain about my music.
• They will love to listen to the music at the
  concert.

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Present ProgressiveThe action is going on in the
present.

• I am running right now.
• He is waiting for a treadmill so he can run.
• The dog is begging to be taken out so he can run
  after the cat.

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Past ProgressiveThe action is going on in a
previous time.

• I was craving spaghetti with meatballs.
• He was hoping I would make spaghetti with
  meatballs.
• They were ordering spaghetti with meatballs.

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Past Perfect ProgressiveAn ongoing action is
completed before another past time.

• I had been planning the bridal shower until they
  decided not to get married.
• She had been hoping for a big diamond before she
  learned he had no money.
• He had been saving up for a tuxedo until he
  realized he could rent one.

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Future ProgressiveThe continued action will be
occurring in the future.

• After I plant the seeds, the plants will start
  growing.
• When it is time for the harvest, he will be
  picking apples off of the trees.
• As it gets cooler, the trees will begin changing
  colors.

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Future Perfect ProgressiveThe continued action
is seen as completed before a later time.

• By Friday I will have been waiting for him to
  call me for thirteen days.
• On Tuesday she will have been looking for a
  boyfriend for two whole years!
• Next month they will have been dating for three
  years.

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Present PerfectThe action occurred in the past
and includes the word have.

• I have washed the car.
• You have paid too much for someone to change your
  oil.
• They have lost the gas cap.

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Past PerfectThe action was completed before
another past time.

• I had eaten the eggplant before she could tell me
  it was rotten.
• He had stepped in the dog poop before I could
  warn him it was there.
• They had hoped that their football team would
  make the play-offs, before they saw the first
  game.

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Future PerfectThe action is regarded as
completed at a later time.

• By Saturday night, I will have worked over fifty
  hours.
• By the time he graduates, he will have finished
  over one-hundred and twenty credit hours.
• By the end of this lesson, you all will have
  learned the eleven verb tenses.

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LET US REVIEW

• There are how many verb tenses?
• Name them.

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References

• Finegan. Language Its Structure and Use
• 3rd edition (1999).