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    Overview of Verb Tenses

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    peungk
    The document provides an overview of English verb tenses, describing their uses and formations. It outlines the present simple, present continuous, past simple, past continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous, future simple, future continuous, future perfect simple and future perfect continuous tenses. Key uses include talking about general truths, ongoing actions, plans and predictions. The summary concludes by noting some verbs that are rarely used in the progressive/continuous form.

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    Overview of Verb Tenses

    Uploaded by

    peungk
    163 views3 pages
    The document provides an overview of English verb tenses, describing their uses and formations. It outlines the present simple, present continuous, past simple, past continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous, future simple, future continuous, future perfect simple and future perfect continuous tenses. Key uses include talking about general truths, ongoing actions, plans and predictions. The summary concludes by noting some verbs that are rarely used in the progressive/continuous form.

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    The document provides an overview of English verb tenses, describing their uses and formations. It outlines the present simple, present continuous, past simple, past continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous, future simple, future continuous, future perfect simple and future perfect continuous tenses. Key uses include talking about general truths, ongoing actions, plans and predictions. The summary concludes by noting some verbs that are rarely used in the progressive/continuous form.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    163 views3 pages

    Overview of Verb Tenses

    Uploaded by

    peungk
    The document provides an overview of English verb tenses, describing their uses and formations. It outlines the present simple, present continuous, past simple, past continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous, future simple, future continuous, future perfect simple and future perfect continuous tenses. Key uses include talking about general truths, ongoing actions, plans and predictions. The summary concludes by noting some verbs that are rarely used in the progressive/continuous form.

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    Overview of Verb Tenses

    Present Simple
    • used to talk about things in general
    • used to talk about facts
    • used to talk about something that happens repeatly
    • used for timetables

    We use the base form of the verb and for the 3rd person singular which adds ‘s’.

    eg. Coca-cola is a multinational company with branches all over the globe.
    The company regularly updates their technology.

    Present Continuous
    • used for something happening at or around the time of speaking
    • used to emphasise something that is happening in the present
    • used to indicate future plans

    am/is/are + V_ing

    eg. The government is investing a lot of money in the new transport link.
    Companies are becoming serious about fighting credit card fraud over the Internet.
    We are having a party at our house tomorrow night.

    Past Simple
    • used to talk about a completed action in the past (and often includes a time expression)

    Verbs usually end in –ed unless they are irregular

    eg. All of the necessary data was collected and analysed.


    I wrote more than 20 e-mails yesterday.

    Past Continuous
    • used to show what somebody was in the middle of doing at a certain time in the past
    • used to show that something happened in the middle of another past action
    • used to establish the context of a past situation

    was/were + V_ing

    eg. At eight o’clock last night I was having dinner.


    She was watching television when the telephone rang.
    The sun was shining and we were all feeling very excited.

    Present Perfect Simple


    The present perfect connects the past to the present. It is used:
    • to indicate experience
    • to explain the result of a past event
    • to show an action which began in the past and has recently finished or is still continuing

    Note: We do not use this tense if we are referring to a specific point in the past (eg., last week, in
    1999… We use the past simple instead).
    have/has + past participle

    eg. IBM has recently spent $2 million on research and development.


    I have never been to Russia.
    She has written three letters already today.
    I have had a headache all day.

    Present Perfect Continuous


    • is used for an action which has recently stopped or just stopped
    • is used for an action which began in the past and is still continuing

    Note: Present perfect continuous actions are usually more temporary than present perfect simple
    actions.

    have/has + been + V_ing

    eg. The government has been encouraging businesses to expand globally.


    I have been eating chocolate.
    It has been raining non-stop for 2 hours.

    Past Perfect
    • is used to talk about an action which happened before another past action

    had + past participle

    eg. When we got home last night, we found that someone had broken into our house.
    The man sitting next to me on the plane was very nervous. He hadn’t flown before. / He had
    never flown before.

    Past Perfect Continuous


    • is used to talk about an action that had been happening for a period of time before something
    else happened

    had + been + V_ing

    eg. At last the bus came. I had been waiting for more than an hour.
    Ann was sitting in an armchair watching television. She was very tired because she had been
    working very hard.

    Future Simple
    • is used to make predictions
    • is used to express commitment
    • is used when we decide to do something at the time of speaking

    will/shall + verb

    eg. Countries will start using nuclear power if oil runs out.
    We shall/will reduce unemployment and cut taxes.
    ‘Did you phone Ruth?’ ‘Oh no, I forgot. I’ll phone her now.’
    Future Continuous
    • is used to show an action which is expected to cross a point or fill a period of future time

    will + be + V_ing

    eg. This time tomorrow he’ ll be lying on the beach.


    I’ll be working when you arrive.
    I will be watching television from 8 o’clock to midnight.

    Future Perfect Simple


    • is used to say that something will already to complete in the future

    will + have + past participle

    eg. The film will already have started by the time we get to the cinema.
    The company will have spent all their training budget by the end of the month.
    They won’t have arrived by the time you get there.

    Future Perfect Continuous


    • is used to express the predicted duration of an event, viewed from a future time

    will + have + been + V_ing

    eg. By this time tomorrow, I’ ll have been travelling for 10 hours.


    This time tomorrow she’ ll have been working for 24 hours straight.

    NOTE: The verbs listed bellow are almost never used in the present or past progressive
    (continuous), although it is possible in some cases.

    know believe hear see smell wish


    understand hate love like want sound
    have need appear seem taste own

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