The Twelve Verb Tenses

The Simple Tenses

1. Simple present: Action/state is occurring now, a fact, or a habitual action. Ways it is formed are below:

· Base form (work)

· Base form + -s or –es (depending on person) (works)

· Present form of “to be” verb: is; am; are (is sick)

Occurring now: The cow is tired.

A fact: Cows live in pastures.

A habitual action: Cows eat grass.

2. Simple past: Action occurred and was completed in the past

· Base form + -d or –ed (irregular verbs will differ)

· Past form of “to be”: was; were

He ordered the tickets online.

We were tired.

3. Simple future: Action/state will take place in the future.

· “Will” + base form

· “Will” + be + adjective

· Present form of “to be” + going to + base form

He will eat after his night class.

He will be tired after his night class.

He is going to eat after his night class.

The Perfect Tenses

4. Present perfect: A past action took place at an unspecified time or is continuing (true now, happened in the past)

· “Has” or “Have” + the past participle

The bunny has eaten the cat.

The bunnies have destroyed the kitchen.

5. Past perfect: Action was completed in the past before some other past action

· “Had” + past participle

Because the bunny had not eaten in a week, she ate the cat.

6. Future perfect: Action will take place before some specified time in the future

· “Will” + “have” + past participle

By the time Danielle gets home, the bunnies will have destroyed the kitchen.

The progressive tenses

7. Present progressive: Action began in the past, is happening now, and will end some time in the future

· Form of “be” + present participle

They are waiting for summer to arrive.

8. Past progressive: Action was in progress at a specified time in the past

· “Was” or “were” + present participle

While we were waiting for summer to arrive, we made plans of how to spend those precious months of freedom.

9. Future progressive: Action will begin and continue in the future.

· “Will be” + present participle (ends in –ing)

· Present tense of “be” + going to be + present participle

I will be taking 9 units this summer.

He is going to be backpacking all summer.

The prefect progressive tenses

10. Present perfect progressive: Ongoing action that began in the past and continues into the present

· “Has” or “have been” + present participle

He has been competing in the rodeo every summer for over ten years.

11. Past perfect progressive: Action began and continued in the past and was completed before some other action.

· “Had been” + present participle

He had been taking classes every summer for over seven years before he finally graduated.

12. Future perfect progressive: Action will continue in the future for a specified amount of time before another future action

· “Will have been” + present participle

By the time summer gets here, I will have been sleeping only 4 hours a night for four months straight.