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.