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Tense of Verbs

The tenses of a verb are the forms that help to show time. There are sixtenses in English: present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect and futureperfect.

Present Tense

The present-tense form of a verb is the same as the verb’s base form, exceptfor the third-person singular, which adds -s or -es. Exception are the verbs be andhave. The present tense expresses a constant, repeated, or habitual action orcondition. It can also express a general truth.

Example:

Molly puts horseradish on ham sandwiches. (Not just this ham sandwichbut every ham sandwich; a repeated action)

Example:

The Yazoo River flows in to the Mississippi River. (Always; habitual action)

Example:

Ice melts at thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit. (A general truth) The present tense can also express an action or a condition that exist only now.

Example:

Mindy has a headache. (Not always but just now)

Example:

The fireplace wall feels dangerously hot. (At this very moment) The present tense is sometimes used in historical writing to express pastevents and more often, in poetry, fiction, and journalism (especially in sportswriting) to convey to the reader a sense of “being there”. This usage is sometimescalled the historical present tense.

Example:

Though he is aware of the danger, Benjamin Franklin decides to riskelectrocution to verify his theory.

Example:

The runner on his first base inches toward second.

Past Tense

Use the past tense to express an action or a condition that was started andcompleted in the past.

Example:

General Lee shook General Grant’s hand.

Example:

T he Confederate troops unloaded their supplies.

Future Tense

Use the future tense to express an action or a condition that will occur in thefuture. You form the future tense of any verb by using the auxiliary verb shall or willwith the base form: I shall wait; you will telephone. Note: in modern AmericanEnglish, shall is very seldom used except for question in which I or We is thesubject: Shall I meet you there? Shall we have lunch now?

Example:

Ignacio will mask the woodwork.

Example:

Elaine will paint the room. There are three other ways to express future time besides using the future tense. They are as follows:1.Using going to with the present tense of be and the base form of a verb.

Example:

Ignacio is going to mask the woodwork.2.Use about to with the present tense of be and the form of the verb.

Example:

Ignacio is about to mask the woodwork.3.Use the present tense with an adverb or an adverb phrase that shows futuretime.

Example:

Elaine paints the room tomorrow.

Example:

Elaine paints the room next Tuesday morning.

Perfect TensesPresent Perfect Tense

Use the present perfect tense to express an action or a condition that occurredat some indefinite time in the past. Do not be confused by the word present in thename of the present perfect tense. This tense expresses past time. The wordpresent refers to the tense of the auxiliary verb has or have. You form the present perfect tense by using has or have with the past participleof a verb: has studied, have known.

Example:

The cake has fallen in the oven.

Example:

I have promised to bring cakes for the bake sale. The present perfect tense can refer to completed action in past time only inan indefinite way. Adverbs such as yesterday cannot be added to make the timemore specific.

Example:

WE have seen this movie.

Example:

The beans have grown taller. To be specific about completed past time, you would normally use the simplepast tense.

Example:

We saw this movie during spring break.

Example:

The beans grew a foot taller over the weekend. The present perfect tense can also be used to express the idea that an actionor a condition began in the past and still happening. To communicate this idea,you would normally add adverbs (or adverb phrases or clauses) of time.

Example:

Lionel has studied ballet for two years.

Example:

Beth Ann has hit three home runs in a row.

Past Perfect Tense

Use the past perfect tense to indicate that one past action or condition beganand ended before another past action or condition started. You form the past perfect tense by using the auxiliary verb had with the pastparticiples of a verb: had painted, had sung.

Example:

Frank won the race in the car whose carburetor he had rebuilt. (FirstFrank rebuilt the carburetor; the rebuilding was complete; then he won the race.)

Example:

La Verne had perfected her dance routine before she entered thecontest. (She practiced until her routine was perfect; the perfecting wascomplete; then she entered the dance contest.)

Future Perfect Tense