Tenses - New Grammar Book

Present tense is used to express an action or condition that is occurring at the present
time.
* He eats bread.
* The child plays basketball.
* She is ill.
B. Past tense shows an action or condition in the past.
* He ate bread.
* The child played basketball.
* She was ill.
C. Past participle of the verb is a verb form that is used with has, has or had formed
the perfect tenses.
* He has eaten bread.
* The child had played basketball with me.
* She had been ill.

The Tenses of Verbs
A verb tenses is a form of a verb that shows a time of action or a state of being.
Tense means time and it is a property of verbs.
Six Basic Forms (tenses of verbs)

A. Present tense shows an action presently or habitually happening, or a fact or
general truth.
Use s/es + V1 or V1
He/She/it/This/That/Singular – s/es + V1
I/we/they/you/Plural- V1
He likes to read books.
I read books.
In case of Negative and Interrogative (singular): does not + v1
In case of Negative and Interrogative (Plural): do not + V1
The boys do not play cricket.

The boy does not play cricket.
I. If the sentence expresses a permanent action.
• The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
II. If the sentence shows habitual action.
• He goes to church every Sunday.
B. Past tense shows past action or a state or condition that occurred in the
past.
He/she/it/we/they/you/Singular/plural: V2
- They finished the work.

For Negative and Interrogative: did not + V1
- They did not finish the work.
• They transferred to a new building yesterday.

• They danced last night.
• Jannette recited the poem well.
C. Future tense- expresses an action that is yet to be done, or shows that

something will happen or will be done in the future.
-a verb phrase using the auxiliary verbs will/shall+ the simple form of the verb.
• Will you visit me tonight?

• They will pass their project next month.
• I shall return.
• Mae Ann is going to Cebu next week.
D. The present perfect tense denotes
I. An action which started in the past and is continuing in the present. This tense uses
has/have + the past participle of the main verb.
* Cha-cha has eaten her dinner.
* Don-don has submitted his project.
II. An action which is completed at the time of speaking.
* I have just taken my examination.
E. The Past perfect tense denotes
I. An action completed before another past action.
* He had left when I arrived. (In this case the first action uses the perfect tense while
the second uses the simple past.)
* A condition that was true in the past but is no longer at the time of speaking.
* She had seen that before.

F. The future perfect tense denotes.
I. An action that will be completed before another action.
* Before I leave, Monique will have gone.
II. An action that will have completed at some definite future time.
* By next week, the court will have decided on the case.
* This tense uses shall/will + have and the past participle of the main verb.
Six Tenses in Progressive Forms of Verbs
A verb has a special form to show that the action is continuing or

progressing at the time indicated by a particular tense.
* I am studying English grammar.
* She is contemplating marriage.
A. Present progressive tense shows continuing action, something going on

now. It may also show that something will happen in the future. It is
formed by combining the present tense of the verb to be with the present
participle of another verb (the form of the verb that ends in ing.)
- Is/am/are + V1+ing
He/She/it/Singular: is + V1+ing / is not + V1+ing
I: am + V1+ing / am not + V1+ing
We/they/You/Plural: are + V1 + ing / are not + V1+ing
* I am speaking as a representative of my people.

* He is playing with one of the famous players of football.
The verb "am" is the present tense of the verb to be and is
combined to the present participle of the verb speak (actually
the ing form).
*We are going to London.
The verb "are" is the present tense of the verb to be and is

combined to the present participle of the verb go (actually the
ing form).
* Our classmates are arriving in 30 minutes.
* You are irritating me.
* This parrot is calling my name.
B. Past progressive tense shows continuing action, something

that was happening at some point of the past. It is formed by
combining the past tense of the verb to be with the present
participle of another verb (again the ing form).
* I was singing when you came.
The verb was is the past tense of the verb to be and is

combined to the resent participle of the verb sing (actually
the ing form).
- Was /were + V1 + ing

He/she/it/I/Singular: was + V1+ing / was not + V1+ing
They/We/You/Plural: were + V1+ing / were not + V1 + ing
* We were drinking beer when the cop barged inside.
* Jolina was smiling when he gave her his picture.
* You were chatting in the internet when your manager came.
C. Future progressive tense shows continuing action

something that will be happening at some point in the future.
It is formed by combining the future tense of the verb to be
with the present participle of another verb.
Will be / shall be + V1 +ing
I/We: Shall + be + V1 + ing / shall + not be + V1 + ing
They/You/He/She/It: will be + V1 + ing / will + not be + V1 + ing
* I shall be calling you every day.
* In another six years, politicians will be running in another election.
* By the end of the day, we shall be paying you.
D. Present perfect progressive tense shows a continuous

action that has been finished at some point of the past at that
was initiated in the past and continuous to happen. It is
formed by combining the present perfect tense of the verb to
be with the present participle of another verb (ing form).
* I have been calling you.
* She has been checking the papers of our students.

E. Past perfect progressive tense shows a continuous action
completed at some point in the past. It is formed by
combining the past perfect tense of the verb to be with the
present participle of another verb (ing form).
* I had been running but I felt tired.
* Joshua had been recording his songs all morning.
F. Future perfert progressive tense shows a continuous action

that will be completed at some point in the future. It is
formed by combining the future tense of the verb to be with
the present participle of another verb (ing form).
* On my retirement day, I shall have been teaching for thirty years.
* By sunset, we shall have been working on this project for eight hours.

Tenses - New Grammar Book

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Tenses - New Grammar Book

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Tenses - New Grammar Book

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Present tense is used to express an action or condition that is occurring at the present

* The child plays basketball.

B. Past tense shows an action or condition in the past.

* The child played basketball.

* She was ill.

* He has eaten bread.

* The child had played basketball with me.

* She had been ill.

Tense means time and it is a property of verbs.

Six Basic Forms (tenses of verbs)

The boys do not play cricket.

I. If the sentence expresses a permanent action.

• The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

II. If the sentence shows habitual action.

• He goes to church every Sunday.

- They finished the work.

• They transferred to a new building yesterday.

C. Future tense- expresses an action that is yet to be done, or shows that

• Will you visit me tonight?

D. The present perfect tense denotes

* Don-don has submitted his project.

II. An action which is completed at the time of speaking.

* I have just taken my examination.

E. The Past perfect tense denotes

I. An action completed before another past action.

* She had seen that before.

I. An action that will be completed before another action.

* Before I leave, Monique will have gone.

* By next week, the court will have decided on the case.

A verb has a special form to show that the action is continuing or

* I am studying English grammar.

* She is contemplating marriage.

A. Present progressive tense shows continuing action, something going on

* I am speaking as a representative of my people.

*We are going to London.

The verb "are" is the present tense of the verb to be and is

* Our classmates are arriving in 30 minutes.

* You are irritating me.

* This parrot is calling my name.

B. Past progressive tense shows continuing action, something

* I was singing when you came.

The verb was is the past tense of the verb to be and is

- Was /were + V1 + ing

* Jolina was smiling when he gave her his picture.

* You were chatting in the internet when your manager came.

C. Future progressive tense shows continuing action

* I shall be calling you every day.

* In another six years, politicians will be running in another election.

* By the end of the day, we shall be paying you.

D. Present perfect progressive tense shows a continuous

* I have been calling you.

* She has been checking the papers of our students.

* I had been running but I felt tired.

* Joshua had been recording his songs all morning.

F. Future perfert progressive tense shows a continuous action

* On my retirement day, I shall have been teaching for thirty years.

You might also like