Verb Tenses Eng 105 What is a tense

Verb Tenses Eng 105

What is a tense? Tenses tell the action related to a time. Time can be present, past, or future. There can be four tenses (we will look at three) for each period of time. 1. 2. 3. 4. Simple Progressive Perfect Progressive

Present Tense � This is without doubt the most important tense in the English language and we use it in a great number of very different situations in our lives. � It is also the easiest form, as we hear it the most.

Uses for Present Simple � Facts and generalization � Habits and routines � Permanent situations � State verbs (e. g. be, have, think, know) � Fixed / official arrangement that we can't change

Present Simple Conjugation To know what form, you need to know the base form of the verb and the performer of the action: Person Singular Plural 1 st I dance We dance 2 nd You dance 3 rd He/She/It dances They dance As you can see, only verbs used with the 3 rd person singular conjugate differently. They will usually get -s but there are some exceptions.

Present Progressive � We use the Present Progressive (aka present continuous) tense when talking about actions that are happening at the moment (present or temporary activity) that will be done in the future (future arrangement).

Present Progressive To form sentences in this tense, you should know these: the proper conjugation of the auxiliary verb to be. Person Singular Plural 1 st I am We are 2 nd You are 3 rd He/She/It is They are the "-ing" form of the verb (Present participle) Examples: try + ing = trying go +ing = going

Present Progressive - use � Present or temporary activities � Future (personal) arrangements � You can also use the Present Progressive to show your irritation over something or somebody in the present. E. g. She is always asking me stupid questions.

Present or temporary activities � Mike is preparing to eat his big chicken

Present Progressive - use � USE 2 (future arrangements) might seem a little confusing � One mistake is to use the Future Simple to express future arrangements, while the correct tense would be the Present Progressive or the going to form. � I'm going to go to my grandma’s house. going abroad this summer.

Present Progressive - Form How to form the present progressive Subject Auxiliary verb + I/a dog etc. Verb + ing + is/are/am going/taking

Present Perfect � The Present Perfect is used to express actions that happened at an indefinite time or that began in the past and continue in the present. This tense is also used when an activity has an effect on the present moment.

Present Perfect - uses � Actions which happened at an indefinite (unknown) time before now � Actions in the past which have an effect on the present moment � Actions which began in the past and continue in the present

Time expressions - Since and for � Since and for are very common time expressions used with the Present Perfect. We use for with a period of time, for example: � I have lived here for 20 years. � When talking about a starting point, we use since with a point in time. � I have lived here since 1960.

Time expressions � Remember that in the Present Perfect you cannot use time expressions such as: � two months ago � one year ago � last week � yesterday � when I was five years old

Present Perfect - Form The structure of Present Perfect is not very easy because it requires some practice to get used to it. To correctly form Present Perfect sentences, you should know these: the proper conjugation of the verb "have" (=auxiliary verb) [1] Past Participle [2] Person Singular Plural 1 st I have We have 2 nd You have 3 rd He/She/It has They have

As seen in the table in the previous slide, only the third person singular (he/she/it has) is irregular: She has never seen my brother Neither of my brothers has ever driven a truck To correctly form a sentence in the Present Perfect, we also need the past participle. In short it is the verb from that is used with the perfect tenses. Same as the past form, the past participle can be either regular or irregular. The regular verbs are typically formed by adding –ed and the irregular forms must be memorized (see ch. 12)

Present Perfect - Form How to form the present perfect Subject Auxiliary verb + I/a dog etc. Past Participle + Have/has Studied/gone/slept, etc.

Past � The past tense is a verb tense expressing activity, action state or being in the past.

Simple Past � We use the Past Simple to talk about actions that happened at a specific time in the past. The actions can be short or long. There can also be a few actions happening one after another.

Simple Past - uses � Events in the past that are now finished (e. g. I went to school) * � Situation in the past (they lived a normal life until they won a lottery) ** � A series of actions in the past

Simple past - Form Subject Past + I/a dog etc. Verb w/ -ed ending for regular verbs (walked, talked, etc. )

Past Progressive We use the Past Progressive to talk about past actions in progress. The batter was swinging at the ball. The actions can also be interrupted by something. I was jogging in the street when somebody stopped me and asked what time it was. Actions in progress at the same time in the past. A rhinoceros was swatting flies with his tail when suddenly a fly bit him Timid /polite question I was wondering if you would like to go to the movies.

Past Perfect � The Past Perfect is quite simple and useful, we use it to show that one action in the past occurred before another action in the past.

Past Perfect - uses A completed action before another activity in the past Bob went to the store after he had gone to the bank. Third conditional (if clause) sentences and reported speech (when you say what someone else said) If I had known that you were coming, I would have met you at the railway station Ann had said that she ran a race. Dissatisfaction with the past I wish I hadn't gone there. John looked as if he had done something terrible.

Past Perfect - Form Subject Auxiliary Verb + I/a dog etc. Past participle + had eaten/given/gone

Future Tenses � Futurity in English is expressed either by using words that imply future action ("I go to Berlin next week. ") or by employing an auxiliary construction combined with the main verb which represents the true action of the sentence. � The most common auxiliary verbs used to express futurity are will, can, should, may, and must.

Simple Future � Among all future tenses, the Future Simple is the most common. It is used in many situations such as when making promises or predictions.

Simple future - uses � Promises (Use 1) � Unplanned actions (spontaneous decisions) (Use 2) � Predictions based on experience or intuition (Use 3) � Habits (obstinate insistence, usually habitual) (Use 4)

Simple Future- Form Subject Auxiliary Verb + I/a dog etc. Verb + will go/take etc.

Simple Future � CAUTION � Remember, you should never use will to say what somebody has already arrange or decided to do in the future: � - Mike is moving to New Jersey next month (not "Mike will move")

Future Progressive � We use the Future Progressive to indicate that we will be in the middle of doing something in a specified time in the future.

Future Progressive - uses � Future actions in progress. � Guesses about the present or the future. � Polite questions about somebody's intentions*.

Remember If you want to learn about somebody's intentions, you should never use the Future Simple. Using the Future Simple implies that you want to influence somebody's decision. Questions become much more objective if formed in the Future Continuous. Will you come home? (= I want you to come home) Will you be coming home?

Future Progressive - Form Auxiliary Verb Subject + I/a dog etc. Auxiliary Verb + will Verb + be go/take etc.

Examples � She'll be having a bath when I'm back home. (Use 1) � Tomorrow at nine, I will be hosing off (=washing with a hose) my car. (Use 1) � This time next week, I will be throwing a party. (Use 1) � I'll be watching TV when my mother arrives. (Use 1) � They will be getting home just about now. (Use 2)

Future Perfect � We use this tense to express an action that will be finished before some point in the future.

Common time expressions used in the Future Perfect: � Before � By tomorrow/7 o'clock/next month � Until/till

Future Perfect - Form Auxiliary Verb Subject + I/a dog etc. + will Past Participle Auxiliary Verb + be Gone/slept