Verbs and Verb Tenses

There are two main types of verbs used in the English language: Regular Verbs
and Irregular Verbs. These verbs are not a different tense, but they are very important
nonetheless. There are three basic forms of verb tenses: simple, perfect, and progressive.
These three forms also work together. In this handout we will explain all of the verb tense
combinations, as well as the Regular and Irregular verbs, and give examples.

Verb Tenses
Simple Tense:

These are verbs that can take the place of past, present, and future. These verb
tenses are the easy ones to remember. Simple Tenses have three uses, Simple
Past, Simple Present, and Simple Future.

For Example:
Simple Past Tense Verbs

We played football in the backyard.

The boy tripped on the step.

Simple Present Tense Verbs

We play football in the backyard.

The boy trips on the step.

Simple Future Tense Verbs

We will play football in the backyard.

The boy will trip on the step.

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Perfect Tenses:

The next three tenses are Perfect Tenses. Perfect Tenses are formed using the helping
verbs has, have, will, and shall. These verb tenses also use the past participle of the verb.
These three verb tenses are Past Perfect Tense, Present Perfect Tense, and Future Perfect
Tense.

For Example:

Past Perfect Tense

We had played football.

The boy had tripped on the step.

Present Perfect Tense

We have played football.

The boy has tripped on the step.

Future Perfect Tense

By tomorrow, we will have played football.

By noon, the boy will have tripped on the step.

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Progressive/Continuous Forms:

We have talked about the two categories of verb tenses, simple and perfect. Both
the simple and perfect tenses may be modified and made into progressive or continuous.

 The reason for using progressive form is to show an action that is in progress or
continuing.

For Example:

Present Progressive

We are playing. (Present Progressive)

We were playing. (Past Progressive)

We will be playing. (Future Progressive)

We have been playing. (Present Perfect Progressive)

We had been playing. (Past Perfect Progressive)

We will have been playing. (Future Perfect Progressive)

Present Continuous

He is sleeping.

I am visiting grandpa in the afternoon.

You are always coming late for the meetings!

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Regular Verbs:

 Regular Verbs are verbs that add –d or –ed to their present form to change the
tense from present to past.

For example:

The dog jumped toward the squirrel.

We all noticed the stain on his shirt.

My grandmother knitted me a scarf.

(Notice that -ed is added to the verb to show that the action was performed in the past.
See also Verbs that end in –ed handout for more information.)

Irregular Verbs:

Irregular Verbs are not tense specific. What makes these verb types irregular is that the
past tense is unpredictable. These verbs do not use –d or –ed to signify past tense.

For Example:

I ate my vegetables.

We swam across the lake.

My mother read me a story.

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 Irregular verb chart

SIMPLE SIMPLE PAST SIMPLE SIMPLE PAST

FORM PAST PARTICIPLE FORM PAST PARTICIPLE

Be was, were been lie lay lain

Become became become light lit (lighted) lit (lighted)
Begin began begun lose lost lost
Bend bent bent make made made
Bite bit bitten mean meant meant
Blow blew blown meet met met
break broke broken pay paid paid
bring brought brought put put put
broadcast broadcast broadcast quit quit quit
build built built read read read
buy bought bought ride rode ridden
catch caught caught ring rang rung
choose chose chosen rise rose risen
come came come run ran run
cost cost cost say said said
cut cut cut see say seen
dig dug dug sell sold sold
do did done send sent sent
draw drew drawn set set set
drink drank drunk shake shook shaken
drive drove driven shot shot shot
eat ate eaten shut shut shut
fall fell fallen sing sang sung
feed fed fed sit sat sat
feel felt felt sleep slept slept
fight fought fought slide slid slid
find found found speak spoke spoken
fit fit fit spend spent spent
fly flew flown spread spread spread
forget forgot forgotten stand stood stood
forgive forgave forgiven steal stole stolen
freeze froze frozen stick stuck stuck
get got gotten (got) strike struck struck
give gave given swear swore sworn
go went gone sweep swept swept
grow grew grown swim swam swum
hang hung hung Take care, teach took taken
have had had tear taught taught
hear heard heard tell tore torn
hide hid hidden think told told
hit hit hit throw thought thought
hold held held understand threw thrown
hurt hurt hurt upset understood understood
keep kept kept wake upset upset
know knew known wear woke waked (woken)
lay laid laid win wore worn
lead led led withdraw won won
leave left left write withdrew withdrawn
lend lent lent wrote written
let let let

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 VERB TENSE CHART
Simple Present Tense
Singular Regular / irreg. / be Plural Regular / irreg. / be
I talk, give, am we talk, give, are
you talk, give, are you talk, give, are
he/she/it talks, gives, is they talk, give, are

Simple Past Tense

Singular Regular / irreg. / be Plural Regular / irreg. / be

I talked, gave, was we talked, gave, were

you talked, gave, were you talked, gave, were
he/she/it talked, gave, was they talked, gave, were

Simple Future

Singular Regular / irreg. / be Plural Regular / irreg. / be

I, you, he/she/it will talk, will give, will we, you, they will talk, will give, will
be be
Present Perfect
Regular / Irregular / be
I, you, we, they have talked, have given, have been
he/she/it has talked, has given, has been

Past Perfect
Regular / Irregular / be
I, you, he/she/it, we, they had talked, had given, had been

Future Perfect
Regular / Irregular / be
I, you, he/she/it, we, they will have talked, will have given, will have been

Present Progressive
Regular / Irregular / be
I am talking, am giving, am being
he/she/it is talking, is giving, is being
you, we, they are talking, are giving, are being

Past Progressive
Regular / Irregular/ be
I, he/she/it was talking, was giving, was being
you, we, they were talking, were giving, were being

Future Progressive
Regular / Irregular/ be
I, you, he/she/it, we, they will be talking, will be giving, will be being

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Exercises and Practice

Draw a circle around the action verb in each sentence. On the line, tell whether the verb
is past tense, present tense, or future tense.

1. Daniel will choose a baseball bat. _________________________________

2. He steps up to the plate. __________________________________

3. The pitcher tossed the ball. __________________________________

4. Daniel will swing hard. __________________________________

5. The ball struck the bat. ___________________________________

Fill in the spaces with the correct form of the verb in present progressive, past
progressive, and future progressive tenses.

1. I (play) _______ _______ the piano now.

2. You (play) _______ _______ the guitar now.

3. We (play) _______ _______ violins now.

4. It (play) ________ _______ the drums now.

5. When I was young, Grandma (usually, bake) _______ _______ _______ bread on
Monday morning.
6. Seagulls (frequently, steal) _______ _______ _______ from the fishermen's nets
as they pulled them in.
7. As he sat by the sunny window, the novelist (quickly, write) _______ _______
_______ the first chapter of his new book.
8. The class (listen) _______ _____ ________ closely during the review for the test.

9. The sergeant (train) _______ _____ ________ the new recruits for the next
month.

10. The scientists (launch) _______ _____ ________ a satellite in November.

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More Practice:

Fill in the blanks with appropriate verb tenses.

I can't believe I (get) that apartment. I (submit) my application last

week, but I didn't think I had a chance of actually getting it. When I (show) up to

take a look around, there were at least twenty other people who (arrive) before

me. Most of them (fill, already) out their applications and were already leaving.

The landlord said I could still apply, so I did.

I (try) to fill out the form, but I couldn't answer half of the questions. They (want)

me to include references, but I didn't want to list my previous landlord because I

(have) some problems with him in the past and I knew he wouldn't recommend

me. I (end) up listing my father as a reference.

It was total luck that he (decide) to give me the apartment. It turns out that the

landlord and my father (go) to high school together. He decided that I could have

the apartment before he (look) at my credit report. I really lucked out!

This handout was based on the following texts:

Berry, Chris, Allen Brizee, and Elizabeth Angeli. "Verb Tenses." Purdue OWL. Purdue University, 14 Sept.
2013. Web. 09 Mar. 2015. <https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/601/01/>.

"Verb Tenses." Grammar Revolution. Elizabeth O'Brien, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2015. <http://www.english-
grammar-revolution.com/verb-tenses.html>.

All of the above texts are available in The Writing Center.

Please visit our website at www.lavc.edu/writingcenter/index.html for additional resources and services.