Verb Tenses

3 distinctions in time
Past
Present
Future

4 types of actions for each tense

Simple: basic actions

Perfect: completed or perfected actions
Progressive: on-going actions
Perfect-Progressive: usually describes ongoing actions that end or are stopped by
another action

Simple Tenses: Basic Actions

simple usually means no helping verbs,
just the verb conjugated in past, present,
or future tense.
Simple Past Tense: -ed form of the Main Verb
Base Form
Fill
Trim
Splatter
*Break

Simple Past Tense

Filled
Trimmed
Splattered
*Broke

*The past tense form of irregular verbs like Break do not end in -ed

Simple Tenses Continued

Simple Present Tense: base or -s form of
the Main Verb
Depends on subject:
I live there vs. she lives there
Base Form
Start
Amuse
Evolve
Choose

Simple Present Tense

Start/Starts
Amuse/Amuses
Evolve/Evolves
Choose/Chooses

Simple Tenses Continued

Simple Future Tense: will + base form of Main
Verb
Base Form
Involve
Fly
Absorb
Peek

Simple Future Tense

Will Involve
Will Fly
Will Absorb
Will Peek

Perfect Tense
Used to describe a completed/perfected
action.
Implies that an action has been completed
before another (unnamed) action takes place

Past Perfect Tense

had + Past Participle (-en/-ed) form of Main Verb

Base Form Past Perfect Tense

Fill
had filled
Trim
had trimmed
Splatter
had splattered
Broke
had broken

Present Perfect Tense

has/have + -en/-ed form of Main Verb

Base Form
Start
Amuse
Evolve
Choose

Present Perfect Tense

has/have started
has/have amused
has/have evolved
has/have chosen

Future Perfect Tense

will + have + -en/-ed form of Main Verb

Base Form
Involve
Fly
Absorb
Peek

Future Perfect Tense

will have involved
will have flown
will have absorbed
will have peeked

Progressive
Describes on-going or continuous actions
Sometimes called continuous tense
Past Progressive Tense:
was/were + -ing form of Main Verb
Base Form
Fill
Trim
Splatter
Break

Past Progressive Tense

was/were filling
was/were trimming
was/were splattering
was/were breaking

Progressive Tenses continued

Present Progressive Tense:
Am/Is/Are + -ing form of Main Verb
Base Form
Start
Amuse
Evolve
Choose

Present Progressive Tense

am/is/are starting
am/is/are amusing
am/is/are evolving
am/is/are choosing

Progressive Tenses continued

Future Progressive Tense:
will + be + -ing form of Main Verb
Base Form
Involve
Fly
Absorb
Peek

Future Progressive Tense

will be involving
will be flying
will be absorbing
will be peeking

Perfect-Progressive Tenses
Describes a completed on-going action.
Implies that another action follows it
an on-going action completed before
another action

Perfect-Progressive Tenses
Past Perfect-Progressive Tense: describes an
on-going past action that is completed before
another past action, or ended by another past
action
had + been + -ing form of Main Verb
Base Form
Fill
Trim
Splatter
Break

Past Perfect-Progressive Tense

had been filling
had been trimming
had been splattering
had been breaking

Perfect-Progressive Tenses Cont.

Present Perfect-Progressive Tense: usually
describes something you recently felt or were
doing up through the present moment.
Can also be used to describe an on-going
action when you want to emphasize the
duration of time.

Perfect-Progressive Tenses Cont.

Present Perfect-Progressive Tenses:
-have/has + been + -ing form of Main Verb
Base Form
Start
Amuse
Evolve
Choose

Present Perfect-Progressive Tense

have/has been starting
have/has been amusing
have/has been evolving
have/has been choosing

Perfect-Progressive Tenses Cont.

Future Perfect-Progressive Tense:
will + have + been + -ing form of Main Verb
Base Form
Involve
Fly
Absorb
Peek

Future Perfect-Progressive Tense

will have been involving
will have been flying
will have been absorbing
will have been peeking