Present
Simple present	Jack walks	verb (+ s/es for third person)
Present progressive	Jack is walking	am/is/are + present participle
Present perfect	Jack has walked (doesn't sound like present to me?)	has/have + past participle
Present perfect progressive	Jack has been walking	has/have been + present participle
Past
Simple past	Jack walked	verb + d/ed/t (except for irregular verbs)
Past progressive	Jack was walking	was/were + present participle
Past perfect	Jack had walked	had + past participle
Past perfect progressive	Jack had been walking	had been + present participle
Future
Simple future	Jack will walk Jack is going to walk	will + verb am/is/are going to + verb
Future progressive	Jack will be walking Jack is going to be walking	will be + present participle am/is/are going to be + present participle
Future perfect	Jack will have walked Jack is going to have walked	will have + past participle am/is/are going to have + past participle
Future perfect progressive	Jack will have been walking Jack is going to have been walking	will have been + present participle am/is/are going to have been + present participle

Tense	Affirmative Statement	Emphatic Statement
Simple Present	I work.	I do work.
Present Continuous	I am working.	I am working.
Present Perfect	I have worked.	I have worked.
Present Perfect Continuous	I have been working.	I have been working.
Simple Past	I worked.	I did work.
Past Continuous	I was working.	I was working.
Past Perfect	I had worked.	I had worked.
Past Perfect Continuous	I had been working.	I had been working.
Simple Present of to be	I am ready.	I am ready.
Simple Past of to be	I was ready.	I was ready.

Present Simple: Affirmative: I, you, we, they + verb (Infinitive without "to") He/she/it + verb (Infinitive without "to") + "-s" Negative: I, you, we, they + do + not + verb (Infinitive without "to" He/she/it + does + not + verb (Infinitive without "to") Interrogative: Do + I, you, we, they + verb (Infinitive without "to" Does + he/she/it + verb (Infinitive without "to")?

Past Simple: Affirmative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + verb (Past Participle) Negative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + did + not + verb (Infinitive without "to") Interrogative: Did + I, you, he/she/it, we, they + verb (Infinitive without "to")?

Present continuous: Affirmative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + be (Present Simple) + verb (Present Participle (verb+"-ing")) Negative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + be (Present Simple) + not + verb (Present Participle) Interrogative: Be (Present Simple) + I, you, we, they + verb (Present Participle)?

Past continuous: Affirmative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + be (Past Simple) + verb (Present Participle) Negative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + be (Past Simple) + not + verb (Present Participle) Interrogative: Be (Past Simple) + I, you, we, they + verb (Present Participle)?

Present perfect: Affirmative: I, you, we, they + have + verb (Past Participle) He/she/it + has + verb (Past Participle) Negative: I, you, we, they + have + not + verb (Past Participle) He/she/it + has + not + verb (Past Participle) Interrogative: Have + I, you, we, they + verb (Past Participle)? Has+ he/she/it + verb (Past Participle)?

Past perfect: Affirmative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + had + verb (Past Participle) Negative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + had + not + verb (Past Participle) Interrogative: Had + I, you, he/she/it, we, they + verb (Past Participle)?

Present perfect continuous: Affirmative: I, you, we, they + have + been + verb (Present Participle) He/she/it + has + been + verb (Present Participle) Negative: I, you, we, they + have + not + been + verb (Present Participle) He/she/it + has + not + been + verb (Present Participle) Interrogative: Have + I, you, we, they + been + verb (Present Participle)? Has+ he/she/it + been + verb (Present Participle)?

Past perfect continuous: Affirmative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + had + been + verb (Present Participle) Negative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + had+ not + been + verb (Present Participle) Interrogative: Had + I, you, he/she/it, we, they + been + verb (Present Participle)?

Future: Affirmative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + will + verb (Infinitive without "to") Negative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + will + not + verb (Infinitive without "to") Interrogative: Will + I, you, he/she/it, we, they + verb (Infinitive without "to")?

Future Perfect: Affirmative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they +will + have + verb (Past Participle) Negative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they +will + not + have + verb (Past Participle) Interrogative: Will + I, you, he/she/it, we, they + have + verb (Past Participle)?

Future continuous: Affirmative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + will + be + verb (Present Participle) Negative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + will + not + be + verb (Present Participle) Interrogative: Will + I, you, he/she/it, we, they + be + verb (Present Participle)?

Future perfect continuous: Affirmative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + will + have + been + verb (Present Participle) Negative: I, you, he/she/it, we, they + will + not + have + been + verb (Present Participle) Interrogative: Will + I, you, he/she/it, we, they + have + been + verb (Present Participle)?

There are 12 verb tenses in English. The verb action can take place in the past the present or the future. There are usually word clues that give a guide as to when the verb action occurs. Within each of these times there are four different situations that occur. Simple tenses occur at a point in time, or on a repeated or habitual basis. A progressive or continuous tense indicates that the action takes place over time and these tenses always use part of the verb “be” as the first part of the verb phrase and end with the main verb + ing. A perfect tense always uses part of “have” as the first part of the verb phrase and ends with the past form of the main verb. A perfect progressive tense starts with the relevant part of the verb “have” followed by “been” and ends with the main verb + ing. If you remember these basic rules, you can always identify the verb tense being used, or use the verb tense you need without having to continually refer to a text book or table. Meanwhile, a chart like the one given here, can provide a quick and easy reference until you feel comfortable using the various verb tenses. Also pay attention to the time clues in the following chart; while some of them can be used with more than one verb tense, they do restrict the number of possibilities and help you to understand which verb tense is being used, or which verb tense you should use. Among the irregular verbs are the modal verbs. Modals are special verbs which behave very irregularly in English. For example they do not add "-s" in the third person in Present Simple tense.

Problems in sequencing tenses usually occur with the perfect tenses, all of which are formed by adding an auxiliary or auxiliaries to the past participle, the third principal part. ring, rang, rung walk, walked, walked The most common auxiliaries are forms of "be," "can," "do," "may," "must," "ought," "shall," "will," "has," "have," "had," and they are the forms we shall use in this most basic discussion. Present Perfect The present perfect consists of a past participle (the third principal part) with "has" or "have." It designates action which began in the past but which continues into the present or the effect of which still continues. 1. Betty taught for ten years. (simple past) 2. Betty has taught for ten years. (present perfect) The implication in (1) is that Betty has retired; in (2), that she is still teaching. 1. John did his homework. He can go to the movies. 2. If John has done his homework, he can go to the movies. Infinitives, too, have perfect tense forms when combined with "have," and sometimes problems arise when infinitives are used with verbs such as "hope," "plan," "expect," and "intend," all of which usually point to the future (I wanted to go to the movie. Janet meant to see the doctor.) The perfect tense sets up a sequence by marking the action which began and usually was completed before the action in the main verb. 1. I am happy to have participated in this campaign! 2. John had hoped to have won the trophy. Thus the action of the main verb points back in time; the action of the perfect infinitive has been completed. The past perfect tense designates action in the past just as simple past does, but the action of the past perfect is action completed in the past before another action. 1. John raised vegetables and later sold them. (past) 2. John sold vegetables that he had raised. (past perfect) The vegetables were raised before they were sold. 1. Renee washed the car when George arrived (simple past) 2. Renee had washed the car when George arrived. (past perfect) In (1), she waited until George arrived and then washed the car. In (2), she had already finished washing the car by the time he arrived. In sentences expressing condition and result, the past perfect tense is used in the part that states the condition. 1. If I had done my exercises, I would have passed the test. 2. I think George would have been elected if he hadn't sounded so pompous. Future Perfect Tense The future perfect tense designates action that will have been completed at a specified time in the future. 1. Saturday I will finish my housework. (simple future) 2. By Saturday noon, I will have finished my housework. (future perfect)

Present tense. It is a group of different sentences. What are different types of present tenses? How do you write a "present perfect tense" question? How do you write a "simple past tense" question? What types of tenses are used most commonly in newspapers? What types of tenses are used most commonly in spoken language and letters? What types of tenses are used most commonly to write a book? Simple Present Tense I like tea. I do not like coffee. I am not old. Am I correct? Present Perfect Tense - For and Since I have done Present Continuous Tense I am doing, I am doing tomorrow Present Perfect Continuous Tense I have been doing Past Tense Simple Past Tense I did do, I did Past Continuous Tense I was doing Past Perfect Tense I had done Past Perfect Continuous Tense I had been doing Future Tense Simple Future Tense I will do Future Continuous Tense I will be doing Future Perfect Tense I will have done Future Perfect Continuous Tense I will have been doing

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses.htm

I have some questions for the head of your English department. What didn't you understand? What don't you understand? What is the difference between the two? In what situation do we use these questions? Can you give some examples? For and Since for Time We often use for and since when talking about time. for + period A period is a duration of time, for example: 5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years. For means "from the beginning of the period until the end of the period." For can be used with all tenses. since + point A point is a precise moment in time, for example: 9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday. Since means "from a point in the past until now." Since is normally used with perfect tenses. for a period (from start to end) >===< since a point (up to now) x===>| for 20 minutes for three days for 6 months for 4 years for 2 centuries for a long time for ever etc since 9am since Monday since January since 1997 since 1500 since I left school since the beginning of time etc all tenses perfect tenses only For can be used with all tenses. Here are a few examples: Both for and since also have other meanings, with no reference to time. Here are some examples: This is for you. Is this the train for London? Since you ask, I'll say yes. Since he didn't study he didn't pass the exam. They study for two hours every day. They are studying for three hours today. He has lived in Bangkok for a long time. He has been living in Paris for three months. I worked at that bank for five years. Will the universe continue for ever? For is NOT used with "all day", "all the time" etc. I was there all day. (not *for all day) Since is normally used with perfect tenses: He has been here since 9am. He has been working since he arrived. I had lived in New York since my childhood. Since can also be used in the structure "It is [period] since...": It is a year since I saw her. 1 My grandparents walk for twenty minutes a day. 2 How long is it since you wrote to your penpal? 3 That lady has been waiting for the bus since noon. 4 I studied for this test for three days straight. 5 My family has lived here since last March. 6 I have been calling you for half an hour. 7 Lisa and Jill have been at the library for a long time. 8 My teacher has been sick since last Monday. I have been waiting since 4 o'clock. Sue has only been waiting for 20 minutes. Tim and Tina have been learning English for six years. Fred and Frida have been learning French since 1998. Joe and Josephine have been going out together since Valentine's Day. I haven't been on holiday since last July. Mary has been saving her money for many years. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast. You have been watching TV for hours. We have been living here for 2 months. Tenses in the English Language Verb Conjugation Even though there are many tenses there are only two different conjugations of verbs: the present, and the past. Each verb has an infinitive, the form of the verb you use with "to ...", e.g. to be, to have, to eat. Each verb has a past participle which is used in some tenses. The past participle often ends in -ed, such as learned, finished, arrested, but many don't (sung, lost, done). Each verb also has a gerund, which is the infinitive of the verb plus an -ing ending. The gerund is used in continuous tenses.

PRESENT Simple We use the present simple to talk about things in general. We are not thinking only about now. We use it to say that something happens all the time or repeatedly, or that something is true in general. It is not important whether the action is happening at the time of speaking. We use "do/does" for negative statements (I do not ...) or questions, by putting it in front of the pronoun (Do you drive ...?). When using "do/does" the verb following it must be in the infinitive (drive, go, love, etc.). FORM: pronoun + present tense of VERB EXAMPLES: Nurses look after patients in hospitals. I usually go away on weekends. The earth goes around the sun. Did you go to the movies? She didn't steal that necklace. PRESENT Continuous This tense is used when something has started in the past and is still continuing at the present time. To form questions we reverse the order of the pronoun and "am/are/is" (Are you ...?). Contractions are often used, such as I'm = I am, etc. FORM: pronoun + present tense of be + infinitive of VERB -ing (gerund) EXAMPLES: Ann is driving to work. I am writing a letter. I'm going to bed now. Is she braiding her hair? PRESENT Perfect When we use the present perfect there is always a connection to now. The action in the past has a result now. You can use the present perfect with just, already and yet. To form questions we reverse the order of the pronoun and "have/has" (Has he ...?). Often the past participle of a verb is the same as the past tense of the verb. FORM: pronoun + present tense of have + past participle of VERB EXAMPLES: Have you seen my bag? He has cut his finger. I have finished my coffee. PRESENT Perfect Continuous The present perfect continuous is very similar to the present perfect. It refers to a past event that has recently ended. This tense can be used with for and since. The simple and continuous forms of present perfect can often be interchanged, but in those circumstances the continuous form is often used or preferred. To form questions we reverse the order of the pronoun and "have/has" (Has he ...?). Contractions are often used, such as I've = I have, etc. FORM: pronoun + present tense of have + been + infinitive of VERB -ing (gerund) EXAMPLES: I have been doing my homework. He has been talking to Carol. They've been singing all morning. PAST Simple The past simple is used when talking about something that happened in the past. We use "did" for negative statements (I didn't go ...) and questions (Did they eat ...?). When using "did" the verb following it must be in the infinitive (pass, eat, invite, etc.). The past tense of many words end in "-ed" (invited, passed, greeted, etc.). FORM: pronoun + past tense of VERB EXAMPLES: We invited them to our party. I ate the green apple. She passed her examination. Did she pass her examination? I didn't eat the cake. PAST Continuous The past continuous is used to say that somebody was in the middle of doing something at a certain time. The action or situation had already started before this time but had not finished. To form questions we reverse the order of the pronoun and "was/were" (Was she ...?). FORM: pronoun + past tense of be + infinitive of VERB -ing (gerund) EXAMPLES: She was playing tennis. They were working on the project. She wasn't looking at me. PAST Perfect The past perfect is taking the present perfect and putting it in the past. We are talking about some point in the past, and an event started before that and just ended at that time in the past. Similarly, the form is the same as the present perfect except it is put in the past, i.e. we use had instead of have/has. To form questions we reverse the order of the pronoun and "had" (Had he made ...?). FORM: pronoun + had + past participle of VERB EXAMPLES: When Sarah arrived at the party, Paul had already gone home. At first I thought I had done the right thing, but I soon realised that I had made a serious mistake. We weren't hungry. We had just had lunch. PAST Perfect Continuous The past perfect continuous is the past of the present perfect continuous. At some point in the past some event or action that started before that time has just finished or ended. Similarly, we use the past tense of have, i.e. had instead of have/has. To form questions we reverse the order of the pronoun and "had" (Had he been playing ...?). FORM: pronoun + had + been + infinitive form of VERB -ing (gerund) EXAMPLES: We had been playing for half an hour before it started raining. It has been raining. He'd been smoking for 20 years. FUTURE We can take the four present tenses (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous) and make them future tenses by inserting a will after the pronoun. What is does is move the point of time we are talking about (in the present tense it is now) some time into the future. Otherwise, the concepts are all the same. The form is almost identical. Besides inserting the "will" after the pronoun, in the continuous tense you change "is/am/are" to "be", and in the perfect tenses you change "have/has" to "have". FORM: Simple: pronoun + will + present tense of VERB Continuous: pronoun + will + be + infinitive of VERB -ing (gerund) Perfect: pronoun + will + have + past participle of VERB Perfect Continuous: pronoun + will + have + been + infinitive of VERB -ing (gerund) EXAMPLES: I will read my book. He will sing a song to us. I will be reading my book. He will be singing a song to us at that point. I will have read my book by then He will have sung a song by then. I will have been reading by then. He will have been singing a long time by then. Some Helpful Clues There are some helpful clues to look out for in sentences. They can help you quickly figure out what tense the sentence is in. Clue Tense Type Past Present to be + verb Continuous was/were am/is/are to have + verb Perfect had have/has

Verb Tenses I. Conjugation of the Regular Verb “To Walk” (Twelve Active Tenses) Simple Present Tense I walk, You walk, He, she, it walks, We walk, You walk, They walk Simple Past Tense I walked, You walked, He, she, it walked, We walked, You walked, They walked Simple Future Tense I will walk, You will walk, He, she, it will walk, We walked, You walked, They walked Present Perfect Tense I have walked, You have walked, He, she, it has walked, We have walked, You have walked, They have walked Past Perfect Tense I had walked, You had walked, He, she, it had walked, We had walked, You had walked, They had walked Future Perfect Tense I will have walked, You will have walked, He, she, it will have walked. We will have walked, You will have walked, They will have walked Present Progressive Tense I am walking, You are walking, He, she, it is walking, We are walking, You are walking, They are walking Past Progressive Tense I was walking, You were walking, He, she, it was walking, We were walking, You were walking, They were walking Future Progressive Tense I will be walking, You will be walking, He, she, it will be walking, We will be walking, You will be walking, They will be walking Present Perfect Progressive Tense I have been walking, You have been walking, He, she, it has been walking, We have been walking, You have been walking, They have been walking Past Perfect Progressive Tense I had been walking, You had been walking, He, she, it had been walking, We had been walking, You had been walking, They had been walking Future Perfect Progressive Tense I will have been walking, You will have been walking, He, she, it will have been walking, We will have been walking, You will have been walking, They will have been walking II. Some Passive Voice Constructions Simple Present – The seeing-eye dogs are trained by the kennel staff. Simple Past – The red roses were delivered by the florist yesterday. Simple Future – The old Buick will be painted tomorrow. Present Perfect – The hotel reservations have been made for us by my parents. Past Perfect – The first place medal had already been awarded before we arrived. Future Perfect – By next month this construction project will have been finished. Present Progressive – The dessert is being served. Past Progressive – The school gym was being constructed with donations from the church members.

Verb Tenses Quiz 1 Directions: Match each sentence with the verb tense. 1. I will call you tomorrow. 2. Stan was working last night. 3. I will have been studying English for two years Friday. 4. I hadn't seen that movie before last night. 5. Susan is going to buy a new car. 6. I always do my homework. 7. John has been working here for three years. 8. Are you taking a quiz now? 9. Kate and Jack went to the zoo last week. 10. We will have finished chapter 4 by next week. 11. Have you studied verb tenses before? 12. The students will be studying chapter 5 next week. 13. Had you been living there very long? a. Simple present tense b. Simple past tense c. Present progressive tense d. Past progressive tense e. Present perfect tense f. Past perfect tense g. Future with -going to- h. Future with -will- i. Present perfect progressive j. Past perfect progressive k. Future perfect l. Future progressive m. Future perfect progressive #1 Correct answer is h #2 Correct answer is d #3 Correct answer is m #4 Correct answer is f #5 Correct answer is g #6 Correct answer is a #7 Correct answer is i #8 Correct answer is c #9 Correct answer is b #10 Correct answer is k #11 Correct answer is e #12 Correct answer is l #13 Correct answer is j

1. ......... any one object if I turn the heating down? (a) Do (b) Does (c) Did (d) Doing 2. I ......... come to the conclusion that nowadays nobody cares about anything. (a) will (b) had (c) do (d) have 3. No matter what happens next I ......... help you. (a) am (b) have (c) will (d) would 4. They ......... for 3 hours when the storm suddenly broke. (a) had been running (b) have been running (c) are running (d) will be running 5. I assumed you ......... paying for the repairs until the end of last year. (a) have been (b) was been (c) are being (d) had been 6. ......... get tired of answering the same questions every day? (a) Have you ever (b) Had you ever (c) Do you ever (d) Are you ever 7. She ......... working on that manuscript for 2 years now. (a) will be (b) has been (c) had been (d) is 8. I ......... there once a long time ago and haven't been back since. (a) went (b) go (c) have gone (d) was going 9. She ......... trying to pass her ______ test but ______ every time. (a) kept (b) is keeping (c) had kept (d) keeps 10. I ......... complete silence now while I try this experiment. (a) am wanting (b) want (c) did want (d) have wanted 1. Does any one object if I turn the heating down? Correct answer: (b) Does 2.I have come to the conclusion that nowadays nobody cares about anything. Correct answer: (d) have 3.No matter what happens next I will help you. Correct answer: (c) will 4.They had been running for 3 hours when the storm suddenly broke. Correct answer: (a) had been running 5.I assumed you had been paying for the repairs until the end of last year. Correct answer: (d) had been 6.Do you ever get tired of answering the same questions every day? Correct answer: (c) Do you ever 7.She has been working on that manuscript for 2 years now. Correct answer: (b) has been 8.I went there once a long time ago and haven't been back since. Correct answer: (a) went 9.She keeps trying to pass her ______ test but ______ every time. Correct answer: (d) keeps 10.I want complete silence now while I try this experiment. Correct answer: (b) want

Table of English Tenses