VERB TENSE REVIEW

There are three forms of the present tense.

• Simple Present: He takes vitamins every day.

• Present Progressive: We are working on a project right now.

• Present Perfect: I have driven there many times.

 Forming the Simple Present

• I / You / We / They leave at 5:00.

• I / You / We / They do not leave at 5:00.

• He / She / It leaves at 5:00.

• He / She / It does not leave at 5:00.
 Using the Simple Present

1. General truths or facts:

• It takes five hours to fly to New York.
2. Habits or routines:
• Louise gets up at 7:00 every morning.
3. Book or movies:
• In the novel Kindred, Dana travels back in time and lives the life of a slave.
Use the following time words with the simple present:

always rarely often

normally seldom sometimes
usually never on Fridays
regularly daily annually
occasionally monthly every week
Practice using the simple present. Correct the errors in verb tense.

1. My sister don’t like to read.

2. Water is freezing at 32° Fahrenheit.
3. Steve is belonging to the economics club.
4. We have gone there all the time.
5. Colleen have a new computer.
 Forming the Present Progressive

Use the simple present form of be (am, is, are) + the present participle (-ing)
form of the verb.
• I am reading a good book.
• I am not reading a good book.

• You / We / They are studying in the library.

• You / We / They are not studying in the library.

• He / She / It is taking a long time.

• He / She / It is not taking a long time.
 Using the Present Progressive

1. Current actions or states:

• Nicholas is studying for a test right now.

2. Current actions over a period of time:

• Tae is majoring in economics at USC.

3. Temporary actions:
• John is speaking Spanish. (right now)
• Miguel speaks Spanish. (permanent ability)
 REMEMBER!

With non-action verbs, use the simple present.

• The soup tastes very good.

Not
• The soup is tasting very good.
Use the following time words with the present progressive:

now right now at present

today these days nowadays
currently presently this week
this year at this moment
at this time
Practice using the present progressive. Correct the errors in verb tense.

1. She is knowing the correct answer.

2. At this moment, Mia listens to her iPod.
3. Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving in November.
4. I take two history classes this semester.
5. Paul is drive to San Francisco today.
 Forming the Present Perfect

Use the simple present form of have (have, has) + the past participle (-
ed/-en) form of the verb.

• I / You / We / They have lived here since 1998.

• I / You / We / They have not lived here since 1998.

• He / She / It has lived here since 1998.

• He / She / It has not lived here since 1998.
 Using the Present Perfect

1. Unspecified time(s) in the past:

• They have seen that movie (many times) before.

2. Began in the past, continues to the present, and

possibly into the future:
• Mrs. Alvarez has lived here since 1972.

3. Recently completed:
• I have just finished a very difficult test.
Use the following time words with the present perfect:

since for recently

yet* already until now
so far just several/many times

*Yet is only used in questions and negative statements.

Practice using the present perfect. Correct the errors in verb
tense.

1. Alex and Hamid didn’t sleep since yesterday.

2. In recent years, I drive the coastal highway many times.
3. He is president for almost eight years.
4. I am sick recently.
5. Marco never went to Costa Rica before.
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There are three forms of the past tense.

• Simple Past: He went to the movies last night.

• Past Progressive: We were living in Indonesia in the 1990s.

• Past Perfect: I had made the plans before I talked to him.

 Forming the Simple Past with Regular Verbs

For all subjects add –ed or –d to the base verb.

• I cleaned the house last night.

• I did not clean the house last night.

• You walked at nine months old.

• You did not walk at nine months old.

• He lived in Fullerton two years ago.

• He did not live in Fullerton two years ago.

• We danced until midnight.

• We did not dance until midnight.

• They looked tired after final exams.

• They did not look tired after final exams.
 Irregular Past Tense Verbs

Irregular verbs have the same past tense form for all subjects.

do → did buy → bought

have → had eat → ate
come → came run → ran
go → went take → took
 Forming the Simple Past with Be

• I / He / She / It was in Hong Kong last year.

• You / We / They were in Hong Kong last year.

 Using the Simple Past

1. Actions that ended in the past:

• Alvin graduated last June.

2. Habitual past actions*:

• My parents ate at the same restaurant every Friday night for 20 years.

*Used to and would can also be used for habitual past actions.
Use the following time words with the simple past:

• yesterday
• the day before yesterday
• last week/month/year
• a few minutes/hours/days ago
• in 1980
• in the 90s
• in the past
Practice using the simple past. Correct the errors in verb
tense.

1. As a child, I used to watching a lot of TV.

2. Richard didn’t completed the essay on time.
3. A few years ago, he gets married.
4. Francoise only speaks French when she lived in
Paris.
5. When Katherine and Lee finished the test?
 Forming the Past Progressive

Use the past form of be (was, were) + the present participle (-ing).

• I / He / She / It was sitting in the garden.

• You / We / They were sitting in the garden.

 Using the Past Progressive

1. Actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past:

• In 1995 she was living in Washington DC.

2. One past action interrupted by another past action:

• While I was eating dinner the phone rang.

3. An ongoing action:
• Last December, I was failing the course. (At this point in time, I was failing; perhaps I didn’t fail the course.)
• Last December, I failed the course. (I definitely failed the course.)

4. Use the simple past with non-action verbs.

• During the test, I knew all the answers.

Not
• During the test, I was knowing all the answers.
Use the following time words with the past progressive:

• as
• at that time/moment
• during
• at the time
• in the 1950s/70s
Practice using the past progressive. Correct the errors in
verb tense.
1. Lia was having many friends by the end of the
semester.
2. Ann was take a pronunciation class but dropped it.
3. I saw my favorite teacher while I ate lunch in the
cafeteria.
4. At 11:00 this morning, I still slept.
5. On the second day of the semester, I was joining
the class.
 Forming the Past Perfect
Use the simple past form of have (had) + the past participle (-ed/-en) form of
the verb.

• I / You /He / We / They had started before everyone arrived.

Many verbs have irregular past participles.

Some end in –en (taken, given, eaten, driven, written).
Others end in –t (built, meant, slept).
Common irregular past participles include been, done, drunk, gone, and read.
 Using the Past Perfect
1. Past actions that happened before another past
action:
• The rain had stopped by the time we left work.
• The students saw the movie after they had read the
book.
2. Past actions that happened before a specific past
time:
• Susan had never seen this movie before.
• By midnight the party had ended.
The simple past can often replace the past perfect with no change in meaning.

• She went to dinner after she had finished the work.

Or
• She went to dinner after she finished the work.
IMPORTANT NOTE:

When only one past event is mentioned, use the simple past, not the past
perfect.

• We used a dictionary during the test.

Not
• We had used a dictionary during the test.
Use the following time words with the past perfect:

• before
• after
• until
• when
• by then
• by the time
Practice using the past perfect. Correct the errors in verb
tense.
1. When the movie ended, Joan realized her friends left.
2. Grace had realized that she had left the house unlocked.
3. She wrote the essay by the time it was due.
4. We had attended the last lecture yesterday.
5. The child didn’t see a lion before that day.
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There are four forms of the future.

• Simple Future: We will get home about 10:00.

• be going to: I am going to take a class next semester.

• Present Progressive: I am eating at Ki’s house tonight.

• Simple Present: Our plane leaves at 5:00.

 Forming the Future

Simple Future

• I / You / He / It / We / They will arrive later today.

• I / You / He / It / We / They will not [won’t] arrive
later today.
 Using the Simple Future
1. Scheduled events:
• The movie will begin at 8:30.
2. Predictions:
• It will be very hot tomorrow.
3. Promises:
• I will never tell your secret.
4. Offers:
• I will drive you to school tomorrow.
5. Request:
• Will you take a walk with me?
 Forming the Future

be going to

I am going to move next summer.

I am not going to move next summer.

You / We / They are going to move next summer.

You / We / They are not going to move next summer.

He / She / It is going to move next summer.

He / She / It is not going to move next summer.
 Using the future with be going to

1. Planned events:
• I am going to take five classes next semester.

2. Predictions:
• I think this class is going to be very difficult.
 Forming the Future

Present Progressive

I am eating dinner with Elena tonight.

I am not eating dinner with Elena tonight.

You / We / They are eating dinner with Elena tonight.

You / We / They are not eating dinner with Elena tonight.

He / She / It is eating dinner with Elena tonight.

He / She / It is not eating dinner with Elena tonight.
 Using the future with the present progressive

1. Plans already made:

• I am having a vocabulary test tomorrow morning.
 Using the future with the simple present
1. Schedule events or events on a timetable:
• The bus departs at 6:00 tomorrow morning.
• The performance begins in 15 minutes.

Verbs commonly used in the simple present to refer to

the future are: arrive, begin, depart, finish, leave,
and start.
Use the following time words with the future:

• tonight
• tomorrow
• the day after tomorrow
• later
• next week
• later today
• this afternoon/evening
Practice using the future. Correct the errors in verb tense.

1. Tomas and Ruben going to leave for Mexico.

2. Zack is a year old next summer.
3. The final exam tomorrow is difficult.
4. We will remodeling our house next summer.
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