BACHILLERATO VERBAL TENSES

1. INTRODUCTION

In English there are 4 different verbal tenses for each time (present, past and future):

-the simple form,

-the continuous form,
-the perfect form and
-the perfect continuous form.

So it sums up 12 different verbal tenses that we review here below.

2. SIMPLE PRESENT

SPELLING

● Verbs ending in -SS, -SH, -CH, -X, -O add -ES, instead of just -S, to form the third person singular:

He kisses (KISS) He watches (WATCH) He does (DO)

He rushes (RUSH) He boxes (BOX) He goes (GO)

● Verbs ending in consonant + Y change -Y per -I and add -ES:

He carries (CARRY)
He hurries (HURRY)

● But verbs ending in vowel + Y keep on adding just -S:

He obeys (OBEY)
He says (SAY)

USE

● We use the simple present to talk about an habitual action: He smokes.

● To speak about natural and scientific laws or simple facts: Dogs bark. Cats drink milk. Birds fly.
● To achieve a dramatic effect of immediacy: The batsman hits the ball hard and it goes straight through the
window into the house.

The simple present quite often co-occurs with an adverb of frequency like: often, usually, sometimes, never,
always, occasionally, on Mondays, twice a day, every week, etc.:

I go to church on Sundays.
She goes abroad every year.
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3. PRESENT CONTINUOUS

SPELLING

● When a verb ends in a single -E, this -E is lost when adding -ING:

loving (LOVE) hating (HATE) arguing (ARGUE)

● It does not happen when the verb ends in double -EE:

agreeing (AGREE) seeing (SEE)

● If a monosyllabic verb ends in a vowel followed by consonant, the last consonant is doubled when adding -
ING:

hitting (HIT) running (RUN) stopping (STOP)

● If the verb is longer than one syllable and it ends in just one vowel followed by just one consonant, it doubles
the last consonant if the stress falls on the last syllable:

beginning (BEGIN) preferring (PREFER) admitting (ADMIT)

But: entering (ENTER), with the stress on the first syllable.

● Final single vowel + L always doubles:

travelling (TRAVEL) signalling (SIGNAL)

● A -Y ending does not affect to the present continuous form:

carrying (CARRY) playing (PLAY) studying (STUDY)

USE

● The present continuous is used to describe an action which is taking place right now:
It's raining.
What's the baby doing? He's tearing up a $5 note.
● To describe an action which is taking place some time around now, though not exactly now:
He is teaching French and learning Greek.
I am reading a play by Shaw.
● To talk about activities happening in the near future, especially for planned future events:
I'm meeting Peter tonight. He is taking me to the theatre.

Note that in the last case we need to add a time expression to convey distinctly a reference to the future.
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VERBS NOT NORMALLY USED IN THE CONTINUOUS FORM:

As the continuous form normally expresses an intended action, some verbs meaning a state rather than an
action do not normally appear in the continuous form:

● Verbs of the senses (involuntary actions): feel, hear, see, smell.

● Verbs telling emotions and desires: adore, appreciate, care, desire, detest, fear, like, loathe, love, mind,
value, want, wish.
● Verbs expressing mental states: agree, believe, expect, forget, know, mean, perceive, realize, recall,
recognize, recollect, remember, think (meaning opinion), trust, understand.
● Verbs meaning possession: belong, owe, own, possess.

4. PRESENT PERFECT

USE

This tense is a mixture of present and past. It ties up some way to the present something which has already
happened. When the time it happened is not clearly stated, it usually refers to a finished action which:

● Is still relevant in the present time: I have read the instructions but I don't understand them.
● Adds up to the subject's experience:

I have seen wolves in that forest several times.

John Smith has written a number of short stories.
Have you ever seen a wolf? No, I've never seen one.

When the time it happened is stated, it usually refers to an action which started in the past that:

● Keeps on going: He has been in the army for two years (he is still there).
● Has just finished now: This room hasn't been cleaned since summer (but we are cleaning it now).

The present perfect is used with the adverb JUST to tell about an action which ended recently:

He has just gone out.

The present perfect can also appear with an adverb or phrase indicating a period of time which has not finished
(this morning, this afternoon, this evening, this week, this month, this year, today):

Tom has rung three times this morning.

It is also very frequent with ALREADY:

She has already bought it.

And finally, it can also appear with YET, but only in interrogative and negative sentences:

Has the postman come yet? No, he hasn't come yet. We are still expecting him.
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5. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

The present perfect continuous form also refers to an action beginning in the past and somehow relevant to
the present. But unlike the present perfect simple, it focusses on the length of the action rather than on its
result or completion:

They have been playing tennis for the last three hours.
What have you been doing for the last 30 minutes?
Susan has been taking piano lessons since she was a child.
We have been waiting here for over two hours!

6. SIMPLE PAST

SPELLING

The same rules as for the formation of the present continuous apply here:

stopped (STOP) admitted (ADMIT) travelled (TRAVEL)

USE

The simple past is used to tell about actions finished in a certain moment in the past. For example:

● For an action in the past at an explicit moment: I met him yesterday.

● For an action which clearly took place in the past but the moment when is not explicit:
The train was ten minutes late.
How did you get your present job?
● For an action which took place in the past, the moment when is not said, but the period of time in which it is
included has already finished:
He worked in that bank for four years (but he doesn't work there now).
She lived in Rome for a long time (but is not living there now).
● For an habit in the past:
He always carried an umbrella.
They never drank wine.

The expression USED TO I used to / I didn't use to / Did you used to?

It is used to express habit in the past:

Tom and Ann were a young married couple. Every morning Tom used to kiss Ann and set off for work. Ann used
to stand at the window and wave goodbye. In the evening she used to welcome him and ask him about his day.
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7. PAST CONTINUOUS

The past continuous form is used to tell about an action in the past lasting a certain amount of time, its exact
boundaries are not known or are given no importance:

It was getting darker.

The wind was rising.
At eight he was having breakfast (action started before 8 and went on afterwards).

If the time expression is replaced by a verb in the simple past tense, we imply that the action told in the past
continuous started before the action told in the simple past, and that probably it went on afterwards:

When we arrived he was having breakfast.

8. PAST PERFECT

It is used to express an action which happened before a certain time in the past which may be explicit or not:

When I arrived Ann had just left.

Compared to the present perfect, it does not tell so clearly when the action finished. This way the past perfect
can express an action which started before a certain moment in the past and which...

● Was still going on in that moment:

Bill was in uniform when I met him. He had been a soldier for ten years.

● Stopped in that moment or a short time before:

The old oak, which had stood in the churchyard for 300 years, suddenly crashed to the ground.

9. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

The past perfect continuous can refer to a repetitive action previous to a certain moment in the past:

He had been trying to get her on the phone.

Compared to the past perfect simple, it focusses on the length of the action rather than on its result or
outcome:

We had been mending the puncture.

He had mended the puncture.

10. SIMPLE FUTURE and GOING TO

The simple future is formed with the auxiliary verb WILL. The auxiliary form SHALL, though unusual, is also used
in the first person singular and plural:
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You will do it very well.

We shall overcome.

The expression GOING TO is also used to express future. It is necessary to distinguish its use from the use of
WILL, specially when it is in a sentence meaning intention or prediction. Let's see several examples of
sentences meaning intention:

We will take the steak and the salad, please. (the decision is taken now).
We are going to have dinner at home and see a film for tonight. (the decision was previously taken)

In these examples, the sentence indicates prediction:

She will make a good career, because she's a very good student. (long-term prediction)
You are going to break the window, please don't play football so close. (very short-term prediction)

Other structures indicating future are the PRESENT CONTINUOS and the SIMPLE PRESENT, as we have already
seen:

The boys start school on Monday.

The boys are starting school on Monday.
They are going to start school on Monday.

11. FUTURE CONTINUOUS

It usually refers to an action which will take place in the future during an explicit period of time:

I will not be working tomorrow.

I will be helping Mary tomorrow.

Or it may refer to an action which will take place in the future around a certain moment or event:

This time tomorrow they will be sitting in the cinema.

12. FUTURE PERFECT

It refers to an action which at a certain moment in the future will be already finished or will have just
happened:

We should wait till 14 December. David will have had his exam by then so he’ll be able to enjoy himself.

13. FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Compare these sentences:

By the end of the month he will have been living here for ten years.
By the end of the month he will have trained 600 horses.
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Again, with the continuous form we focus on the period of time along which the action takes place rather than
on its result or outcome.