Tense
Grammatical tense refers
to the conjugation of a verb to reflect its place in time, that is, when the
action occurred. There are technically only three grammatical tenses in English
at your level: the past, the
present and the future.
We can then use auxiliary verbs and
verb participles to create different aspects
of the past, future and present tenses, which describe if an action
is or was continuous, or if it began at an earlier point in the past.
1. Present Tense
The present tense is mostly used to identify the action of a verb as taking place in
the present time. There are four forms of the
present tense that can accomplish these tasks.
a) Simple Present Tense
The simple present
tense is used to describe that
which is done habitually, that which is generally true, that which is always
the case, or that which is scheduled to happen. It is called "simple"
because it does not rely on any modal or auxiliary verbs to accomplish its
meaning.
Formular: Subject + Infinitive/ -es verb.
|
Examples: |
|
+ -es verb |
|
+ Infinitive verb |
|
I We You They He She It |
Present simple can be used in a variety of sentence
formations, such as positive, negative,
interrogative, and negative
interrogative.
Positive sentences
Simply put, positive sentences indicate what is the
case. In the present simple tense, they look like this:
• “I jog every
day.”
• “He lives in
Chicago.”
• “Dogs bark,
while cats meow.”
(Third-person plural.)
• “Janet writes songs
for a living.”
Negative sentences
A negative sentence describes what is not
(or no longer)
the case. We form these by adding the auxiliary verb do
(or does in
the third-person singular) and the word not after
the subject of the sentence. These can also be contracted to don’t
or doesn’t.
For example:
• “I don’t jog every
day.”
• “He doesn’t live in
Chicago anymore.”
• “Dogs do not meow,
and cats do not bark.”
• “Janet does not write many
songs these days.”
Interrogative sentences
Interrogative sentences ask a question and they are
marked by the question mark punctuation (“?”) at the end instead of a period. Also
it use the auxiliary verb do (or
does in the third-person singular), but
before the subject.
• “Do you
jog every day?”
• “Does he
still live in Chicago?”
• “Do dogs
bark, or do
cats?” (The second “bark” is implied.)
• “Does Janet
write songs anymore?”
Negative interrogative sentences
Negative interrogative sentences also ask a question,
but in negative form, by adding the auxiliary verb do/does before
the subject of the sentence and the word not after
the subject. Again, these can be contracted to don’t
or doesn’t
• “Do you
not jog every day?”
• “Does he
not still live
in Chicago?”
• “Don’t dogs
normally bark?”
• “Doesn’t Janet
write songs for a living?”
b) Present Continuous Tense (Progressive)
The present
continuous or
present progressive tense is
used to speak about actions that
are currently happening. Its created by using the present
participle (-ing
form) of the "main" verb after the present-tense form of the
auxiliary verb “be.”
|
+ am + -ing verb |
|
I We You They He She It |
|
Examples: • "She is running for
president next year." • "They are not watching
television." • "We are eating ice
cream." • "Are you reading that
book?" |
|
+
is
+ -ing verb |
|
+ are + -ing verb |
Present Continuous Tense
can be used in a variety of sentence formations, such as positive, negative, interrogative,
and negative interrogative
Negative sentences
A negative sentence in the present continuous
describes what is not currently
happening. We
form these by adding the word not after
the auxiliary verb be.
For second-person, third
person, and first-person plural (but
not first-person singular), be and
not can
also be
contracted. For example:
• “I am
not watching the
movie.”
• “He is
not crying.”
• “You aren’t
leaving until the house is clean.”
• “She isn’t
going home for Thanksgiving this year.”
Interrogative sentences
Interrogative (question) sentences in the present
continuous tense are formed by reversing
the verb be and
the subject. For
example:
• “Is
she sleeping?”
• “Are
you seeing this?”
• “Are
they going home
already?”
• “Is
it raining outside?”
Negative interrogative sentences
Negative interrogative sentences also ask a question
in negative form, by inverting be and
the subject, and then adding the word
not after
the subject. Again, be and
not can
be contracted; if they are, the contraction comes before the subject. For
example:
• “Is
she not painting
anymore?”
• “You want to play outside? Isn’t
it raining?
• “Wait, aren’t
they still dating?
c)
Present
Perfect Tense
Present perfect tense is
used to talk about things that happened sometime in the past, but which are not
given a specific time or date. We form the present perfect by using the present
tense of the auxiliary verb “have” or
“has” along
with the past participle of
the “main verb”.
Formular: Subject + have/has + past participle verb
|
+ have + past participle verb |
|
Examples: • “I have seen that movie
already.” • "She’s been to Prague.” • "He has lost his
keys." • "Jenny's lived in Dubai
for 10 years!" |
|
+ has + past participle verb |
|
I We You They He She It |
Present perfect tense can
be used in a variety of sentence formations, such as positive, negative, interrogative,
and negative interrogative
Negative sentences
We can also make the present perfect negative by
simply adding not (or,
in certain uses, never)
between have/has and
the main verb. For
example:
• “I have never
seen Titanic.”
• “I’m so hungry; I haven’t
had lunch yet!”
• “He has not
been home since he finished high school.”
• “I regret that we’ve
never travelled to
Paris.”
Interrogative sentences
If an interrogative (question) sentence is in the
present perfect tense, the subject and the auxiliary verb have are
inverted. For example:
• “Have you
seen this movie?”
• “Has she
heard any news?”
• “Have they
started the movie yet?”
Negative interrogative sentences
Negative interrogative sentences also ask a question
in negative form, simply with the negative word (usually not,
but also never)
placed after the subject. For example:
• “Have you
never seen this
movie?”
• “Has she
not heard any
news?”
• “Haven’t they
started the movie yet?”
• “Hasn’t his
license expired?”
d) Present Perfect Continuous Tense
The present perfect continuous (present
perfect progressive tense) is used to talk about event which began in the
past and is still happening in the present, with an emphasis on the continued
action and/or the amount of time it is taking. It is formed by using the
present tense of the auxiliary verb “have” or
“has,” (depending
on the person pronouns of the subject
used) along with “been”
(the past participle of the linking verb “be”)
and the present participle (-ing form)
of the “main” verb.
|
I We You They He She It |
|
+ have + been + -ing verb |
|
+ has + been +
-ing
verb |
|
Examples: • "We have been walking for
four hours!" • “They have been working in the
shop for 10 years." • “Bill has been coming into work
late a lot.” • "I'm so sweaty because I
have been exercising." |
Negative
sentences
Present
perfect continuous sentences can be made negative by using the word not. It appears
after have/has, and the two can be contracted.
•
“I have
not
been
writing much
recently.”
•
“She hasn't
been
trying to
find work since her divorce.”
•
“I need to get up earlier, because I haven't been making it to work on time lately.”
Interrogative
sentences
Interrogative
(question) sentence in the present perfect continuous has the subject
and the auxiliary verb have inverted. For example:
•
“Where have
you
been
living lately?”
•
“Has
she
been
feeling OK?”
•
“Why have
you
been
lying to
me?”
Negative
interrogative sentences
We
can form Negative interrogative sentences in the present perfect continuous by
adding not between the subject and been. We can also contract have/has and not:
•
“Haven't
you
been
writing a
new book?”
•
“Has
she
not
been
feeling well?”
•
“Why haven't
they
been
working on
their homework?”
2) Past
Tense
The
past
tense is
used to describe or indicate an action that began in the past. Depending on
how we form the past
tense, it might describe actions that happened or were completed in
the past, were occurring at the same time as something else in the past, or
continued to
happen until or near the present time. There are four forms of the past tense
that can accomplish these tasks.
a) Simple
Past Tense
The
simple
past tense is
used to express completed actions. It does not require any auxiliary verbs to
complete its meaning. The past simple tense only uses the auxiliary verb did when it is used in a question or becomes
negative.
Formular:
Subject + -ed verb
|
Examples • “I did not eat the cookie.” • “I called my sister over an hour ago, but she
didn’t call back.” • “Did they mow the lawn yet?” • “What did you wear last night?" |
|
+ -ed verb |
|
I We You They He She It |
Negative
sentences
In
contrast to positive sentences, negative sentences in past simple tense tell
the reader what
did
not
happen.
To form negative sentences in the past simple tense, we must use the
auxiliary verb did (the past tense of do) together with not before the main verb of the
sentence. The main verb, meanwhile, goes back to present simple tense. For
example:
•
“I did
not eat
the
cookie.”
•
“She didn’t
enjoy
the
movie.”
•
“He didn’t
have
to
leave so early.”
Interrogative
sentences (questions)
We
use the auxiliary verb did to make interrogative sentences (sentences that ask questions) in the
past simple tense. In this case, however, did comes before the subject, rather than the verb. For example:
•
“Did
you
go
to
the park?”
•
“Did
Janet
see
a
movie on Friday?”
•
“Did
they
mow
the
lawn yet?”
Negative
interrogative sentences
We
form Negative interrogative sentences by adding the auxiliary verb did before the subject of the sentence and
the word not after the subject. Did and not are very often contracted, in which
case didn’t comes before the subject:
•
“Didn’t
you
go
to
Europe last year?”
•
“Did
Jessie
not
try
the
cake we
baked for
her?”
•
“Did
I
not
tell
you
to clean your room an hour ago?”
•
“Didn’t
he
say
he
was leaving in the morning?”
b) Past
Continuous Tense
It
is used to describe something that was in progress at a certain moment in the
past and either finished in the past or continued until the present moment. It
is called the past
continuous because it uses the past tense of the auxiliary
verb be
(was or were) followed by the present participle of the main verb (-ing verb).
Formular: subject + was/were + -ing verb
|
+ was + -ing verb |
|
+ were + -ing verb |
|
Examples • “The phone rang as they were leaving.” • “She was writing her thesis at 2 o’clock in the
morning.” • “My roommates were fighting all the time.” • “His memory was fading as he got older.” • “I was working in the garden.” |
|
I He She It We |
Negative
sentences
To
make a sentence negative in the past continuous, we simply add “not” between
the
auxiliary verb (was/were) and the present participle of the
main verb. Not is often
contracted with the auxiliary verb to make wasn’t/weren’t. For example:
•
“I was
not feeling
well.”
•
“The kids weren’t sleeping.”
•
“She wasn’t
working
for
two years.”
Interrogative
sentences (questions)
To
form an interrogative sentence in the past continuous tense, simply invert the
subject with the verb. For example:
•
“Were
you sleeping?”
•
“Were
you
watching a
movie last night?”
•
“Was
she
working on
her thesis at the time?”
Negative
interrogative sentences
We
form Negative interrogative sentences by adding the word not after the subject. Was/were and not are very often contracted into wasn’t/weren’t, in which case they both come before
the subject:
•
“Was
she
not
looking
for
a new place to live?”
•
“Weren’t
you
watching a
movie last night?”
•
“Wasn’t
he
keeping track
of the inventory?”
c) Past
Perfect Tense
The
past
perfect tense expresses
the idea that something occurred before another action in
the past. It can also
show that something happened before a specific time in the past. To form
the past perfect, we use had (the past tense of the auxiliary verb have) and the past participle
of
the main verb.
Formular: subject+ had + past participle
|
I |
|
+ had +
past participle |
|
Examples: • “he had left his keys in the house when he
left.” • “The construction had been going quite smoothly.” • “I hadn’t dreamed of living in Ireland before.” • “Had you ridden a tractor before working on the
farm?” • “What had you done that forced you to move abroad?” |
Negative
sentences
Most
of the time, we make the past perfect negative by simply adding not or never after the
auxiliary verb had. For instance:
•
“I had never felt so alive.”
•
“she
had
not imagined that love like this could exist.”
•
“she
had
never before seemed so beautiful to him.”
Interrogative
sentences
To
form interrogative sentences in the past perfect, the auxiliary verb had again comes before the subject, which
is then followed by the past participle of the main verb. Most of
the time, we use the word ever before the main verb to ask if
something had happened or been the case at any time before something else. For
example:
•
“Had
you
ever been on a
tractor before
starting work on the farm?”
•
“had
you ever considered living abroad?”
Negative
interrogative sentences
We
form Negative interrogative sentences by adding the word not or never after the subject. Had and not are very often contracted, in which
case hadn’t comes before the subject. For example:
•
“Hadn’t
the
train arrived yet?”
•
“Hadn’t
you
at least gotten close
to finish?”
d) Past
Perfect Continuous Tense
The
past
perfect continuous tense is used to describe an action that began and was
still in progress in the past before another past action started. In contrast
to the past
perfect tense,
which describes a past action that finished before the second action started,
but the past perfect continuous emphasizes the continuous progress of that
action. To form the past perfect continuous, we use had been and the present participle of the main verb.
Formular: subject+ had been + -ing verb
|
+ had been +
ing verb |
|
Examples: • “My little sister had been sitting very quietly, but then she started to
cry.” • “I’d been cleaning all day, so I was too tired to go
out last night.” |
|
I |
Negative
sentences
Sentences
in the past perfect continuous tense can be made negative by using the word “not” after “had”; the two words are often contracted
into hadn’t. For example:
•
“I hadn’t
been getting
much
work done anyway.”
•
“She hadn’t
been living
there
for very long.”
•
“He hadn’t
been doing
very
well on his exams.”
Interrogative
sentences
When
we make questions with the past perfect continuous tense, the subject
and the auxiliary
verb had are inverted. For example:
•
“Had
you
been
working
at
the time of the incident?”
•
“Had
she
been
living
in
Italy for a long time?”
•
“Why had
they
been
telling
that?”
Negative Interrogative sentences
We can also make interrogative
sentences negative by adding not between the subject and
been, or we can contract had and not into hadn’t: For example:
•
"Hadn't
you
been
writing
a
novel before you got this job?"
•
"Had
he
not
been feeling
well
at the time?
•
"Why hadn’t you been paying your bills?”
3) Future
Tense (Approximation)
To
talk about other future events or actions, we use different sentence
constructions to
achieve a future point of view. This is most often accomplished by using the modal auxiliary
verb will or the verb phrase be going to. These constructions make up what are
commonly
referred to as the future tenses.
a) Future
Simple Tense
The
future simple tense is used to describe things that have not happened yet, it
can be used to predict something, to make promises, to describe a future fact,
to describe unplanned actions, or to offer to do something. The simplest way we
create the future simple tense is by using will/be going to + the base form (the infinitive without to) of the main verb of the sentence.
Formular: subject + will/shall + infinitive verb
|
+ will + infinitive
verb |
|
+ shall + infinitive verb |
|
Examples: • “I will walk to work.” • “The president will be in Portland tomorrow.” • “He shall drive to work tomorrow |
|
I We He She It |
Negatives
We can achieve strong
negative meanings for most of the above uses by adding not or never
to
will or shall, For example:
• “Our team will never win the game.”
• “I won’t wash the dishes later.”
• “He shall not drive to work tomorrow.”
• “I’ll never read a book.”
• “I won’t pay for the coffee.”
Interrogative
sentences (questions)
To form questions in
the future simple tense, we simply move will or shall before the subject of the sentence.
For example:
• “Shall it rain today?”
• “Will you come to the party?”
• “Shall the president be in Portland tomorrow?”
• “Will you get some milk the next time you are out?”
Negative Interrogative sentences
To
form negative questions in the future simple tense, we simply will or shall before the subject of the sentence
then we adding not or never to will or shall.
• “Won’t our team win the game.”
• “shall he not drive to work tomorrow.”
• “Will you not pay for the coffee.”
b) Future
Continuous Tense
The
future
continuous tense is used to describe an unfinished action occurring
in the future; this action can either begin in the future, or it can already be
in progress in the present and continue into the future. To form the future
continuous, we usually use will and the auxiliary verb be and the present participle of the main verb.
Formular: Subject + will/shall + be + -ing verb
|
+ will + be + -ing verb |
|
+ shall + be + -ing verb |
|
Examples: • “I will be running 10 miles tomorrow.” • “We will be buying our own house soon.” • “They’ll be sleeping by the time we return home.” |
|
I We He She It |
Negative
sentences
We form the negative
of the future continuous by adding not after will or shall in the sentence. (Will and not are often contracted to won’t.) For example:
• “The store shall not be closing in five minutes.”
• “He shall not be taking calls.”
• “I won’t be working past 5 o’clock.”
Interrogative
sentences (questions)
We create questions
in the future continuous by inverting will or shall with the subject. For example:
• “Will you be joining us after dinner?”
• “What will they be doing in Mexico?”
• “Who will be performing at the concert?”
Negative
interrogative sentences
We form Negative
interrogative sentences by using the interrogative form we looked at above, and
adding the word not after the subject.
• “Will you not be joining us after dinner?”
• “Won’t we be leaving after the concert?”
• “Shall he not be studying for an exam?”
c) Future
Perfect Tense
We
use the future
perfect tense to
say that something will finish or complete at a specific
point in the future. The most common way we create the future perfect tense is
by using will, have and the past participle of the verb.
Formular: Subject + will/shall + have + past participle
|
+ will + have + past participle |
|
Examples: • “I will have lived in New York for four years.” • “You will have heard that the company is going
bankrupt.” • “She shall have slept for the whole day if she doesn’t
get up soon!” |
|
+ shall + have + past participle |
|
I We He She It |
Negative
sentences
To describe something
that will not
be
completed at a point in the future, we make the future
perfect tense negative by adding not after the modal verb will or shall. For example:
• “Her flight shall not have arrived yet.”
• “At this rate, I won’t have finished half of the work.”
Interrogative
sentences
We can ask whether an
action will be complete in the future by inverting will or shall with the subject,
For example:
• “Will they have read the memo ahead of the meeting?”
• “Will you have had something to eat before you arrive?”
Negative Interrogative sentences
We form Negative
interrogative sentences by using the interrogative form we looked at above, and
adding the word not after the subject. For example:
• “Will you not have join us after dinner?”
• “Won’t we have leave after the concert?”
• “Shall he not have studying for an exam?”
d) Future
Perfect Continuous Tense
We use the future perfect continuous tense to indicate how long something has been
happening once a future moment in time is reached, emphasizing the continuous
nature of the action. The most common way we create the future perfect
continuous tense is by using will or shall, have been and the present participle of the verb.
Examples:
• “By June, I will have been living in New York for four years.”
• “She’s going to miss half the day because she’ll have been sleeping for so long!”
• “By the time I get there, she will have been waiting for over an hour.”
• “I will have been working on this ranch for more than half my
life when I turn 40.”
• “I’m not going to have any energy to play with
the kids because I’ll have been working so hard this week.”
Negative
sentences
We make the future
perfect continuous tense negative by adding not after the modal verb will or shall (usually contracted as won’t). For example:
• “We won’t have been waiting for very long before her plane
arrives.”
• “He will not have been working here for very long.”
Interrogative
sentences
We can ask whether an
action will be completed in the future after a certain duration by
inverting will or shall with the subject, For example:
• “Will they have been searching for us for very long?”
• “Will she have been working in Japan for the whole time she’s lived
there?”