VERB TENSES

MODULE 2

General Objective

To correctly express meaning through the use of proper tense

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Chart—Active Verb Tenses

Past Present Future

Simple An action that ended at a An action that exists , A plan for future
point in the past. is usual, or is action.
repeated.
cooked cook / cooks will cook
(time clue)* e.g. He cooked e.g. He cooks dinner e.g. He will cook
yesterday. every Friday. tomorrow.
Progressive An action was An action that is An action that will be
be + main happening (past happening now. happening over time,
verb +ing progressive) when in the future, when
another action happened something else
(simple past). happens.
was / were cooking am / is / are cooking will be cooking
(time clue)* e.g. He was cooking e.g. He is cooking e.g. He will be cooking
when the phone rang. now. when you come.
Perfect An action that ended An action that An action that will end
have + main before another action or happened at an before another action
verb time in the past. unspecified time in the or time in the future.
past.
had cooked has / have cooked will have cooked
(time clue)* e.g. He had cooked the e.g. He has cooked e.g. He will have
dinner when the phone many meals. cooked dinner by the
rang. time you come.
Perfect An action that happened An action occurring An action occurring
Progressive over time, in the past, over time that started over time, in the
have + be + before another time or in the past and future, before another
main verb + action in the past. continues into the action or time in the
ing present. future.
had been cooking has / have been will have been
cooking cooking
(time clue)* e.g. He had been e.g. He has been e.g. He will have been
cooking for a long time cooking for over an cooking all day by the
before he took lessons. hour. time she gets home.

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Time clues: These are words that give some information about when an action occurs. Some
examples are:
simple past
yesterday
simple present
every day
simple future
tomorrow
past progressive
while
present progressive
now

.
Chart—Time Clues and Verb Tense

Past Present Future

Simple Simple Past Simple Present Simple Future
every morning / day / tomorrow
yesterday
etc.
last year/ month/ tonight
always
etc. next week/month/etc.
usually
before
frequently soon
for five
sometimes in the future
weeks/days/etc.
one year/ month ago

Progressive Past Progressive Present Progressive Future progressive

while now when
when right now
after
this week/minute/etc.
as soon as
before
Perfect Past Perfect Present Perfect Future Perfect
before until now by the time you go
already since
(somewhere)
by the time ever
until then/last never by the time you do
week/etc. many times/ (something)
after weeks/years/etc. already
for three hours/
minutes/etc/
Perfect Past Perfect Present Perfect Future Perfect
progressive Progressive
Progressive Progressive
before for the past year/ month/ by the time
for one etc.
for ten days/weeks/etc.
week/hour/etc. for the last 2 months/
since weeks/etc. by
up to now
for 6 weeks/hours/etc.
since

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 Partial List of Irregular Verbs

Present Past Past Present Past Past

Participle Participle
1 be been 36 hold held
2 become became become 37 hurt hurt
3 begin began begun 38 keep kept kept
4 blow blew blown 39 know knew known
5 break broke broken 40 lay laid laid
6 bring brought brought 41 lead led led
7 build built built 42 leave left left
8 burst burst 43 let let
9 buy bought bought 44 lose lot
10 catch caught caught 45 make made
11 choose chose chosen 46 meet met met
12 come came 47 pay paid paid
13 cut cut 48 quit quit
14 deal dealt dealt 49 read read read
15 do did done 50 ride rode
16 drink drank drunk 51 ring rang rang
17 drive drove driven 52 see saw seen
18 eat ate eaten 53 seek sought sought
19 fall fell fallen 54 sell sold
20 feed fed 55 shake shaken
21 feel felt felt 56 shine shone shone
22 fight fought fought 57 spend spent spent
23 find found found 58 swim swam
24 fly flew flown 59 take took taken
25 forbid forbidden 60 teach taught taught
26 forget forgot forgotten 61 tear tore
27 forgive forgave forgiven 62 think thought thought
28 freeze froze frozen 63 throw threw thrown
29 get got 64 understand understood
30 give gave given 65 wake woke woken
(waked) (waked)
31 go went gone 66 win won won
32 grow grown 67 swing swung
33 have had had 68 wear wore worn
34 hide hidden 69 write wrote
35 land landed 70 yank yanked

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Exercise 1: Simple Tenses. Choose the appropriate verb in the following sentences. Check
your answers below.

1. Citizens in a democratic country (has, have) to select a leader through election process.

2. Pump prices (go, goes) up rapidly depending on the scarcity of supply.

3. Terrorists groups (behead, beheaded) foreign journalists last year.

4. Transport group (express, expresses) fare hike if oil prices (will continue, continues) to rise next

week.

5. Overseas workers (is expected, are expected) to increase in the coming years.

6. Today’s youth (know, knows) the difference between real friendships from mere acquaintances.

7. Typhoon Hayan (was, were) the most destructive typhoon last year.

8. Merchandises from China (will continue, continue) to flock the global market.

9. Persona non-grata (is, are) declared whenever a person / an individual utters or behaves

inappropriately in a particular place or country.

10. Global warming (become, becomes) an alarming problem worldwide.

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Exercise 2: Perfect Tenses. Choose the correct form of the perfect tense for each of the following

sentences.

1.) Ebola virus (has, have) spread in countries like Africa.

2.) The reinforcement team (arrived, had arrived) after the forty-four Special Action force members (has

died, had died) in the encounter.

3.) The country (will have experienced, will experience) drought before the summer comes next year.

5.) The government of China (expressed, has expressed) its desire to end the territorial row with the

Philippines.

6) Melinda (will have become, had become) a lawyer before her mother retires.

World Health Organization (WHO) (warned, had warned) the public about the MERS-COV before it

became widespread.

7.) The government (ordered, has ordered) recall of a certain brand of apples in the market because of

its toxic contamination.

8.) Food and Drug Administration (has advised, have advised) the public against the proliferation of

untested diet pills in the market.

9.) The US government (has tested, had tested) all its local produce before it reached the market.

10.) Two years from now, Melinda (will have been, will become) a licensed physical therapist.

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Exercise 3: Present Progressive. Write the correct form of the present progressive tense of the verb in

the parentheses.

1.) Charina (speak) as a representative of the faculty members.

2.) The Filipinos (express) their frustration over the death of the 44 SAF members.

3.) There are rumors that some militant groups (want) the president’s resignation.

4.) Claire (expect) her fiancé to come home in two weeks time.

5.) The teacher (call) Nancy to recite the Desiderata.

Exercise 4: Past Progressive. Use the correct form of the verb inside the parentheses.

1. Melissa (sing) her contest piece when the audience (shout) delightfully at her performance.

2. The GLEE Club members (prepare) their repertoire when the adviser (ask) them to revise the list.

3. The ballerina (practice) her routine when her partner accidentally (slip) on the floor.

4. The news reporter (deliver) the news when a storm surge (reach) his place.

5. The militant groups (ask) for a signature campaign against the president when the presidential

spoke person (call) for a press conference.

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Exercise 5: Future Progressive. Use the correct form of the verb inside the parentheses.

1. By the time she (finish) cleaning the yard, the unexpected visitors (arrive) to give her a surprise

birthday party.

2. Students (flock) the public schools a few months from now.

3. The family (expect) another baby by the year ends.

4. By the time the candidate (file) his protest, the people (elect) a new president.

5. By the time she (submit) the report, the fact finding committee (release) its own report of the probe.

Exercise 6: Present Perfect Progressive. Write the correct form of the present perfect progressive tense

of the given verb inside the parentheses.

1. The president (express) sympathy over the imminent execution of the convicted Filipina since last

week.

2. Different countries all over the world (donate) to help Nepal on the road to their recovery since the

strong earthquake happened.

3. The couple (pray) to have a child for six years now.

4. The students (submit) requirements

5. My Canadian friend (travel) Asian countries for five years now.

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Exercise 7: Past Perfect Progressive

Write the correct form of each verb inside the parentheses.

1. The Philippine government (try) diplomatic tactics to solve territorial dispute over China when Visiting

Forces Agreement (begin) its “Balikatan Exercises”.

2. The people (support) the call for peaceful settlement when the opponent country (start) aggressive

action towards our military.

3. Before my brother (join) the band, he (sing) in a five star hotel.

4. When the rain (pour), my family (pack) our things to go home.

5. I (do) my laundry when my sister (ask) me to accompany her to the mall.

Exercise 8: Future Perfect Progressive

Write the correct future perfect progressive form of the given verb inside the parentheses.

1. By tomorrow, the patient (recover) from the trauma.

2. Four years from now, my friend (complete) her papers to Australia.

3. By the next decades, scientists (explore) different planets.

4. A few weeks from now, teachers (train) for the K12 seminar for this coming school year.

5. By tomorrow, Myrna (visit) her sick mother for a long time.

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