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Tense
Verb Tense
8d. The tense of a verb indicates the time of the action or of the state of being expressed by the verb.
Every verb in English has six tenses.
PAST We were singers. We sang. [existing or happening in the past]
PRESENT We are singers. We sing. [existing or happening now]
FUTURE We will be singers. We will sing. [existing or happening in the future]
PAST PERFECT We had been singers. We had sung. [existing or happening before a
specific time in the past]
PRESENT PERFECT We have been singers. We have sung. [existing or happening sometime
before now; may be continuing now]
FUTURE PERFECT We will have been singers. We will have sung. [existing or happening
before a specific time in the future]

EXERCISE A Write the missing forms of the verbs on the lines provided.
Present Past Future

Example 1. repair repaired will repair [To form the past tense of repair,

–ed is added. The helping verb will is added to form the future tense.]

Present Past Future

hiked will hike
1. hike
2. serve/serves served will serve

3. revise revised wil revise

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

practiced will practice

4. practice
5. study/studies studied will study

TIP Helping verbs are used with the future, present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect tenses.
FUTURE The birds will migrate. [The birds are going to migrate at some future time.]
PRESENT PERFECT The birds have migrated. [The birds have already migrated.]
PAST PERFECT The birds had migrated. [The birds migrated before a specific time in the
past.]
FUTURE PERFECT The birds will have migrated. [The birds will have migrated before a
specific time in the future.]

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EXERCISE B Write the missing forms of the verbs on the lines provided.
Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect
Example 1. have spoken had spoken will have spoken [The helping verb have

is used with the past participle form of speak to form the present perfect tense. The help-
ing verbs will and have are used to form the future perfect tense.]

Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

6. have recorded had recorded will have recorded

7. have baked had baked will have baked

8. have swept had swept will have swept

9. have assigned had assigned will have assigned

10. have locked had locked will have locked

EXERCISE C Identify the tense of the underlined verb in each of the following sentences. On the line
provided, write past, present, future, past perfect, present perfect, or future perfect.

Examples past perfect 1. Had they heard about the hard lives of circus elephants? [This
action happened before a specific time in the past.]
present perfect 2. Since 1995, people have brought several former circus
elephants to a special place in Tennessee. [This action

happened sometime before now.]

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simple past 11. On the Internet, I found a Web site for The Elephant Sanctuary. [Did this
action happen in the past or before a specific time in the past?]
simple present 12. Jenny and Bunny are elephants. [Is this state of being occurring now?]
simple present 13. The two elephants live in The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

past perf 14. Had Bunny lived in an animal park before?

present perf 15. All of the elephants in this sanctuary have worked in circuses or parks.
simple future 16. Now, however, they will roam the two hundred acres of their new home.
present perf 17. Bunny and the other elephants have enjoyed their healthy habitat.

simple present 18. During the cold winters, they sleep in a warm barn.

future simple 19. Will they play in the mud holes in the rainy springtime?

future perf 20. The sanctuary will have improved the lives of many elephants.

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Progressive Forms of Verbs

Each verb tense has a form called the progressive form. The progressive form is not a separate
tense. It is another form of each of the six tenses and expresses continuing action or state of being.
The progressive form of a verb consists of two parts: (1) a form of the verb be in the
appropriate tense—present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, or future perfect—and
(2) the present participle (–ing form) of the verb.

The Present and Present Perfect Progressive Forms

The present progressive form indicates that an action is or has been occurring in the present.
EXAMPLES The attendant is cleaning the windshield. [The present progressive form
consists of the present tense of be and the present participle cleaning.]
The attendant has been cleaning the windshield. [The present perfect
progressive form consists of the present perfect tense of be and the pres-
ent participle cleaning.]

EXERCISE A Using the directions in parentheses, write the correct form of the verb on the line provided.
Example 1. The store has been closing at six o’clock. (present perfect progressive form of

close.) [The present perfect progressive form of close is has been closing.]

1. The neighbor’s dog is barking at a squirrel on our roof. (present progressive

form of bark) [How is the present progressive form of a verb formed?]

2. We have been filling the recycling bins almost once a week. (present perfect

progressive form of fill)

are galloping
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3. Three horses along the ravine. (present progressive form of gallop)

4. Now that the storm’s winds have died down, many trees are leaning to one side.
(present progressive form of lean)

5. Their class has been studying the development of early stone tools. (present perfect

progressive form of study)

The Future and Future Perfect Progressive Forms

The future progressive form of a verb indicates that an action will be occurring or will have
been occurring at some time in the future.
FUTURE PROGRESSIVE will be singing
FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE will have been singing

Developmental Language Skills 87