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Verb Tenses Review

Timeline:
____________________________________________________________________

_______________________

When do we use
1. Simple present tense: _____________________________________________
To express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can
be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that
often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets or
usually does not do.
Indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now,
and will be true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is correct
about the fact. It is also used to make generalizations about people or
things.
2. Present continuous (progressive) tense
_____________________________________________
Use the Present Continuous with Normal Verbs to express the idea that
something is happening now, at this very moment. It can also be used
to show that something is not happening now.
In English, "now" can mean: this second, today, this month, this year,
this century, and so on. Sometimes, we use the Present Continuous to
say that we are in the process of doing a longer action, which is in
progress; however, we might not be doing it at this exact second .
The Present Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly"
expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happens.
Notice that the meaning is like Simple Present, but with negative
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emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between
"be" and "verb+ing."
3. Simple past tense _____________________________________________
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and
finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not
actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in
mind.
We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past.
The Simple Past can be used with a duration,which starts and stops in
the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions
such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.
The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit, which stopped in
the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear
that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as:
always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger,
etc.
4. Past continuous (progressive) tense
_____________________________________________
Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was
interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple
Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in
time. For example: I was watching TV when she called.
5. Simple future tense _____________________________________________
"Will" often suggests that a speaker will do something voluntarily. A
voluntary action is one the speaker offers to do for someone else. Often,
we use "will" to respond to someone else's complaint or request for
help. We also use "will" when we request that someone help us or
volunteer to do something for us. Similarly, we use "will not" or "won't"
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when we refuse to voluntarily do something. "Will" is usually used in
promises.
"Be going to" expresses that something is a plan. It expresses the idea
that a person intends to do something in the future. It does not matter
whether the plan is realistic or not.
6. Future continuous (progressive) tense
_____________________________________________
Use the Future Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the future
will be interrupted by a shorter action in the future. Remember this can
be a real
interruption or just an interruption in time. For example: I will be
watching TV when she arrives tonight.
7. Present perfect tense _____________________________________________
We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an
unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. You
CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as:
yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in
Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN use the Present
Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many
times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.
8. Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense
_______________________________________
We use the Present Perfect Continuous to show that something started
in the past and has continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two
weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations, which can be used with
the Present Perfect Continuous.
9. Past perfect tense _____________________________________________
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The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before
another action in the past. It can also show that something happened
before a specific time in the past.
10. Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense
________________________________________
We use the Past Perfect Continuous to show that something started in
the past and continued up until another time in the past. "For five
minutes" and "for two weeks" are both durations, which can be used
with the Past Perfect Continuous. Notice that this is related to the
Present Perfect Continuous; however, the duration does not continue
until now, it stops before something else in the past.
11. Future perfect tense _____________________________________________
The Future Perfect expresses the idea that something will occur before
another action in the future. It can also show that something will happen
before a specific time in the future.

12. Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

We use the Future Perfect Continuous to show that something will
continue up until a particular event or time in the future. "For five
minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Friday" are all durations, which
can be used with the Future Perfect Continuous. Notice that this is
related to the Present Perfect Continuous and the Past Perfect
Continuous; however, with Future Perfect Continuous, the duration stops
at or before a reference point in the future.
Using the Future Perfect Continuous before another action in the future
is a good way to show cause and effect
How do we form a sentence based on very tenses?
1. Simple present tense
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____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
2. Present continuous (progressive) tense
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
3. Simple past tense
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
4. Past continuous (progressive) tense
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________
5. Simple future tense
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________

6. Future continuous (progressive) tense

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____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
7. Present perfect tense
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
8. Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
9. Past perfect tense
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
10. Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
11. Future perfect tense
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____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
12. Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
____________________________________________________________________
_______________________
Review Practice A: Filling the blank

1. You look really great! (you, work) _______________________out at the fitness center
recently?
2. A: What (you, do) _______________________ when the accident occurred?
B: I (try) _______________________ to change a light bulb that had burnt out.
3. I (have) _______________________ the same car for more than ten years. I'm
thinking about buying a new one.
4. If it (snow) _______________________this weekend, we (go)
_______________________skiing near Lake Tahoe.
5. A: What do you call people who work in libraries?
B: They (call) _______________________ librarians.
6. I came to England six months ago. I started my economics course three months
ago. When I return to Australia, I (study) _______________________ for nine months
and I (be) _______________________ in England for exactly one year.
7. Sam (arrive) _______________________ in San Diego a week ago.
8. Samantha (live) _______________________ in Berlin for more than two years. In fact,
she (live) _______________________there when the Berlin wall came down.
9. If Vera (keep) _______________________ drinking, she _______________________ (lose,
eventually) her job.
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10. 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.
11. Shhhhh! Be quiet! John (sleep) _______________________.
12. It (rain) _______________________ all week. I hope it stops by Saturday because I
want to go to the beach.
13. Listen Donna, I don't care if you (miss) _______________________ the bus this
morning. You (be) _______________________ late to work too many times. You are
fired!
14. I am sick of rain and bad weather! Hopefully, when we (wake)
_______________________ up tomorrow morning, the sun (shine)
_______________________ .
15. I have not traveled much yet; however, I (visit) _______________________the
Grand Canyon and San Francisco by the time I leave the United States.
16. I (see) _______________________ many pictures of the pyramids before I went to
Egypt. Pictures of the monuments are very misleading. The pyramids are
actually quite small.
17. In the last hundred years, traveling (become) _______________________ much
easier and very comfortable. In the 19th century, it (take) _______________________
two or three months to cross North America by covered wagon. The trip (be)
_______________________ very rough and often dangerous. Things (change)
_______________________ a great deal in the last hundred and fifty years. Now you
can fly from New York to Los Angeles in a matter of hours.
18. Joseph's English (improve, really) _______________________, isn't it? He (watch)
_______________________ American television programs and (study)
_______________________ his grammar every day since he first arrived in San
Diego. Soon he will be totally fluent.
19. When I (arrive) _______________________ home last night, I discovered that Jane
(prepare) _______________________ a beautiful candlelight dinner.
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20. If you (need) _______________________ to contact me sometime next week, I
(stay) _______________________ at the Sheraton in San Francisco.
Review Activity B: Filling the blank

1. When Carol (call) _______________________ last night, I (watch)

_______________________ my favorite show on television.
2. I (work) _______________________ for this company for more than thirty years, and I
intend to stay here until I retire!
3. Sharon (love) _______________________ to travel. She (go) _______________________
abroad almost every summer. Next year, she plans to go to Peru.
4. Thomas is an author. He (write) _______________________ mystery novels and
travel memoirs. He (write) _______________________ since he was twenty-eight.
Altogether, he (write) _______________________ seven novels, three collections of
short stories and a book of poetry.
5. We were late because we had some car problems. By the time we (get)
_______________________ to the train station, Susan (wait) _______________________
for us for more than two hours.
6. Sam (try) _______________________ to change a light bulb when he (slip)
_______________________ and (fell) _______________________.
7. Everyday I (wake) _______________________ up at 6 o'clock, (eat)
_______________________breakfast at 7 o'clock and (leave) _______________________
for work at 8 o'clock. However, this morning I (get) _______________________ up at
6:30, (skip) _______________________breakfast and (leave) _______________________
for work late because I (forget) _______________________ to set my alarm.
8. Right now, Jim (read) _______________________ the newspaper and Kathy (make)
_______________________ dinner. Last night at this time, they (do)
_______________________ the same thing. She (cook) _______________________ and
he (read) _______________________ the newspaper. Tomorrow at this time, they (do,
also) _______________________ the same thing. She (prepare)
_______________________ dinner and he (read) _______________________. They are
very predictable people!
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9. By this time next summer, you (complete) _______________________ your studies
and (find) _______________________ a job. I, on the other hand, (accomplish, not)
_______________________ anything. I (study, still) _______________________ and you
(work) _______________________ in some new high paying job.
10. The students (be, usually) _______________________ taught by Mrs. Monty.
However, this week they (be) _______________________ taught by Mr. Tanzer.

Review Activity C: Multiple Choice

1 Which sentence is an example of present progressive form of verb?

A. Harry Drove to Florida. B. Keith is riding his new bike.
C. Anne's dog was chasing my cat. D. She jogs every morning.
2 Which sentence is an example of simple past form of verb?
A. She is buying the groceries. B. Jason laughed at us.
C. Molly takes bus to school. D. They have left the hotel room.
3 Which sentence is an example of future progressive form of verb?
A. The leaves are falling down. B. The Bus will leave in the morning.

C. Rachael will be working from 8am to 5pm tomorrow.

D. She had left when we arrived.
4 Which sentence is an example of simple future form of verb?
A. I will bring the homemade cookies. B. He brought pizza for us.
C. Mom is baking cake for my birthday party.
D. She will be attending the evening classes.
5 Which sentence is an example of future perfect form of verb?
A. She will be visiting us tomorrow.
B. I am ordering few more copies of this book.
C. By tomorrow, I will have finished the last chapter.
D. He shipped the package yesterday.
6 Which sentence is an example of future progressive form of verb?
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A. They arrived very late. B. Mrs. Mathew will be coming home soon.

C. I went to bed after I had finished my project. D. He will mail the

letter tomorrow
7 Which sentence is an example of past perfect form of verb?
A. She had already eaten when her children came home.
B. We played card games all day.
C. We will go to the swimming pool tomorrow. D. She has cooked the
dinner.
8 Which sentence is an example of present perfect form of verb?
A. Dr. Collins will be moving to France. B. Angela has visited Taj Mahal
twice.
C. She called me twice yesterday. D. She runs very fast.
9 Which sentence is an example of present perfect progressive form of verb?
A. Lee has worked for that company for ten years.
B. She was playing tennis with her father.
C. I will be waiting for her at the station.
D. I have been working on this data for 5 hours.
10 Which sentence is an example of past progressive form of verb?
A. Jill has known Harold for 5 years. B. I ran faster than Peter.
C. He will call you tonight. D. She was planting tulips in her garden.