TENSES

tense (noun): a verb-based

method used to indicate the
time, and sometimes the
continuation or
completeness, of an action
or state in relation to the
time of speaking.
VERBS AND TENSE

1. The Infinitive
This is the raw verb of action. It has no tense and is preceded by the preposition ‘to’ e.g.:
to run, to drink, to swim etc.

2. The verb ‘to be’

This verb consists of three forms:

a) To be – am, are, is
b) To become – be, being, been
c) To remain – was, were
NOTE: forms (a) and (b) above are finite verbs when used alone e.g. ‘I am sad’

3. The Auxiliary verb

These verbs are used in the formation of tenses. When an auxiliary verb is added to a non-
finite verb, a finite verb is created.

NB! A finite verb must contain the following:

Subject

Number (is it singular or plural)

Tense

The following are examples of finite verbs:

She is thinking * He was going to be there. * They like chocolate.

(Note the role that the auxiliary plays in the formation of the tense of the finite verb.)

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 4. The non-finite verb
Non-finite verbs have no tense when standing alone and are also known as present or past
participles. They may also function as a verbal noun (gerund) or a verbal adjective
(gerundive).

Look at the examples below and see the different ways that they are used:

(a) I am swimming. (here ‘swimming’ is a non-finite verb/ present participle)

(b) I like swimming. (here ‘swimming’ is a gerund as it is functioning like a noun)
(c) I had a swimming lesson. (here ‘swimming’ is a gerundive because it acts as an adjective)
(d) I have swum. (here ‘swum’ is a non-finite verb/ past participle)
Note: in the examples above both of the non-finite verbs (participles) are preceded by an
auxiliary verb which gives it a tense.

5. The finite verb

This is a complete verb and contains the tense of the sentence. It may consist of more than
one word.

Read the examples below where the finite verbs have been underlined:

(a) I ride.
(b) I have ridden.
(c) I am riding.
(d) I will have been riding
(e) I will have continued to ride.

TENSES

1. Simple Form
The simple form of a tense is used when a statement is made which is true at the time and
for all time.

For example:

(a) I brush my teeth before I go to bed.

(b) I will swim every morning, while I am in training.
(c) The Earth revolves around the sun.

2. The continuous form

The continuous form of tense is used to indicate an action that is occurring at that time.

For example:

(a) I am phoning him now. (present tense)

(b) I was swimming when he called. (past tense)

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 (c) I will be writing exams when he arrives. (future tense)
You will notice that all of the actions in the examples above, whether in the present, past or
future tense, are busy taking place and have an ‘ing’ at the end.

3. The perfect form

The perfect form of tense is used to indicate that an action has been completed at that
time.

For example:

(a) I have brushed my teeth. You will notice that the auxiliary ‘have’ indicates that the
brushing is complete in the present tense.
(b) I had brushed my teeth already when he offered me some food. In this example, the
auxiliary ‘had’ shows us that the brushing was already finished in the past tense.
(c) I will have brushed my teeth by the time I go to bed. In this example, the auxiliaries
‘will have’ show us that the action will already be complete in the future.

Exercises:

Look at the example below and then complete the rest of the tables.

SIMPLE CONTINOUS PERFECT

PAST The boy sang The boy was singing The boy had sung

PRESEN The boy sings The boy is singing The boy has sung
T

FUTURE The boy will sing The boy will be The boy will have
singing sung

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 1 SIMPLE CONTINOUS PERFECT

PAST Charlie clapped

2 SIMPLE CONTINOUS PERFECT
his hands

PAST
PRESEN
T
3 SIMPLE CONTINOUS PERFECT
PRESEN Jock is eating a bone
FUTURE
T
PAST
4 SIMPLE CONTINOUS PERFECT

FUTURE
PAST
PRESEN
T

PRESEN I have jumped

FUTURE
T The party will
have begun

FUTURE

Further explanation on the varied uses of the tenses

Present Simple

take / takes; read / reads

The simple present tense is used in the following contexts.

To express a general truth

• Birds fly
• Animals run.
• Trains go very slowly uphill.

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To express some habitual actions

• My father goes for a walk in the evening.

• I get up at six o’clock every day.

To denote a universal truth

• Honesty tastes sweet.

• The sun rises in the east.

Note: When the subject is third person singular we add ‘s’ or ‘es’ to the main verb for simple
present tense.

• I (we/you/they) walk quickly.

• He (she/it) walks quickly.

Keywords: generally, usually, often, hardly, rarely, every day.

Action that occurs in fiction or art

 Huck Finn learns that his friendship with Jim is more important that loyalty to his old
values.
 Macbeth learns that power has the ability to corrupt.

Past Simple

took / ate
We use the past simple to refer to actions, thoughts or feelings finished before the time of
speaking.
• I saw a thrilling football match yesterday.
• My uncle came here last Monday.

Future Simple

will take / shall take / will see / shall see

It is used to express a simple future action.
• I shall see you tonight.
• The flight will take two hours.

Keywords : tomorrow, next week, next month.

Things that have just been decided

 I will go to the shop later.

Predictions based on opinion

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 South Africa will win the rugby tomorrow.

Present Continuous

is / am / are verb+ing
I am eating. She (he/it) is eating. You (we/they) are eating.

The present continuous tense is used to denote an action which is going on at the time of
speaking.

• She is writing a letter now.

• Please don’t shout. The baby is sleeping.

It is also used to denote a future action.

• The Governor is leaving for the States on Sunday.

• Are you playing for the Free Birds this year?

Keywords : now, at present.

Things happening around now (but not right at the moment)

 I am reading a great book at the moment.

Past Continuous

was / were verb+ing

• I (she / he / it) was running fast.

• They (you / we) were running fast.

The past continuous is used to indicate an action going on at some past time.

• They were working in the field when the lightning struck.

• Rosy fell down while she was climbing the stairs.

Future Continuous

will be verb+ing / shall be verb+ing

The future continuous is used to denote an action which will be going on at some future
period.

• She will be lecturing at the college auditorium tomorrow.

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• By this time tomorrow we shall be writing the English test.

Present Perfect

have + past participle / has + past participle

• I (we / you / they) have finished the work.

• He (she / it) has finished the work.

The present perfect tense is used to indicate an action just completed and the consequence of
which are still present.

• I have already seen this film. I have been to Ceylon.

Keywords : just, yet, already, so far.

Things which started in the past but are still continuing

 They have lived here for twenty years now

Past Perfect

had + past participle

It is used to describe a time before the past time being discussed.

• I had spoken to the Secretary before the meeting began.

When two past actions happened, the action that took place first is denoted by past perfect.

• The thief had escaped before the police came.

• When we reached the airport the plane had already left.

Future Perfect

will have + past participle / shall have + past participle

The furure perfect denotes that a certain action will have been completed at some future
period.

• They will have finished the work before sunset.

• I shall have completed all the assignments by the end of this month.

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Present Perfect Continuous

have been verb +ing / has been verb+ing

The present perfect continuous tense expresses an action that began sometime ago and is still
going on without break and is not yet completed.

• She has been writing means ‘She was writing before and she is writing still’.

Keywords : since, for.

It is also used for current short-term situations

 I have been working here since January.

It is used for activities taking place in the current time period.

 The have been writing their exam all morning.

Past Perfect Continuous

The past perfect continuous tense is used to express an

action that had been going on for sometime previous to the point of time mentioned.

 Mr Joe had been working in a school before he came to this college.

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Read the table below which has included the Perfect Continuous tense and
then complete the table below it.

PAST PRESENT FUTURE

SIMPLE I studied I study English I will study

English English

CONTINUOUS I was studying I am studying I will be studying

English English English

PERFECT I had studied I have studied I will have studied

English English English

PERFECT I had been I have been I will have been

CONTINUOUS studying studying English studying English
English for five for five years for five years in
years when it now. 2017.
happened.

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 5 PAST PRESENT FUTURE

SIMPLE

CONTINUOUS I will be
jumping

PERFECT

PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
Exercise 6
Complete the table below (based on the verb “fight”) by filling in the relevant spaces.
TENSE WORD

Simple present

Simple past

Present perfect continuous

Future perfect

Exercise 7
Complete the table below (based on the verb “dive”) by filling in the relevant spaces.

TENSE WORD

Simple future

Present perfect

Future perfect continuous

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 Past continuous

Exercise 8

Complete the table below (based on the verb “divide”) by filling in the relevant spaces.

TENSE WORD

Past perfect

Present continuous

Past perfect continuous

Future simple

Exercise 9
Identify the tenses of the following sentences.

1. I will have been attending school for eleven years next year.
2. I was singing when it happened.
3. I am not sure whether I am making the correct decision.
4. I had been wanting to audition for years.
5. They were dating for two years before they were married.
6. I want to go to school because education is a valuable tool to me.
7. We cannot go outside and play because it is raining cats and dogs.

Exercise 10
Fill in the missing words in the correct tense.

1. Janet ______ karate class every Saturday. ( attend )

2. The market ______ usually noisy in the morning. ( to be )
3. The delivery man ______ the parcel already. ( delivery )
4. The athletes ______ for Canada tomorrow. ( leave )
5. Aida ______ her room for the past hour. ( paint )
6. The gardener ______ to our housing estate every evening. ( come )
7. Warren ______ badminton since primary school. ( play )
8. The meeting ______ due to lack of quorum. ( postpone )
9. You are late. The bus ______ already. ( leave )
10. Everyone ______ about Lin Dan's achievement in the Beijing Olympics. ( talk )
11. When in season, we ______ durians almost every other day. ( eat )
12. Be patient. The circus ______ in a few minutes' time. ( start )
13. Jessie is not in. She ______ a seminar in Kansas City. ( attend )
14. I ______ the orphan a number of times since I first met him. ( help )

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15. The eldest brother _______ the family since his father passed away. ( support ).

Exercise 11
Write the words in brackets in the correct tense.

1. Since I began acting, I (perform) in two plays, a television commercial and a TV drama.
However, I (speak, never even) publicly before I came to Hollywood in 1985.

2. By the time I got to the office, the meeting (begin, already) without me. My boss (be)
furious with me and I (be) fired.

3. When I (turn) the radio on yesterday, I (hear) a song that was popular when I was in high
school. I (hear, not) the song in years, and it (bring) back some great memories.

4. Last week, I (run) into an ex-girlfriend of mine. We (see, not) each other in years, and both
of us (change) a great deal. I (enjoy) talking to her so much that I (ask) her out on a date. We
are getting together tonight for dinner.

5. When Jack (enter) the room, I (recognize, not) him because he (lose) so much weight and
(grow) a beard. He looked totally different!

6. The Maya established a very advanced civilization in the jungles of the Yucatan; however,
their culture (disappear, virtually) by the time Europeans first (arrive) in the New World.

7. I (visit) so many beautiful places since I (come) to Utah. Before moving here, I (hear,
never) of Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, or Canyonlands.

Exercise 12

Identify and correct the tense errors in the following paragraphs:

1. Harry and Sally have been in love for many years now. They will often go the the
movies together and enjoyed many romantic dates over the years. Even though they
are deeply in love, the will have many fights over issues.

2. I had thought that I studied hard enough for that exam, but it has definitely got the
better of me. It was so difficult that I have left out many questions and worry about
the marks I will get.

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