VERB TENSE

Definition of Tense

• TENSE indicates the time of action or state of being indicated by the verb.

• English has 6 tenseso 3 basic tenses o 3 perfect tenseo Each tense also has progressive form

• Each tense is used to express time in a specific way

Three Basic Tenses

Past Present Future

Basic tenses - Why do I use them?

• Present: an action or state of being that is occurring right now at the present ANDo to show a habitual action or state of being

I walk to school every day. o to state a general truth

Two plus two equals four. o to summarize literary action.

In Chapter 3, Nick meets Gatsby. o to express basic future time

School ends in June. • Past: an action or state of being that occurred at a definite point in

the past AND did not continue into the present. • Future: an action or state of being that will occur; usually formed

with helping verb will or shall + the base form.

Basic Tenses: How do I use them?

Person Present (Base) Past Future

1st person singular: I

walk walked will walk

2nd person singular: you

walk walked will walk

3rd person singular: he, she, or it

walks walked will walk

1st person plural: we

walk walked will walk

2nd person plural: you

walk walked will walk

3rd person plural: they

walk walked will walk

Three Perfect Tenses

Past Present Future

Past Perfect Present Perfect Future Perfect

Perfect tenses - Why do I use them?

• Present perfect: expresses an action or state of being that occurred at an indefinite time in the past OR an action that began in the past and continues into the present. o formed: have/has + past participleo She has visited New York several times. o I have walked to school since freshman year.

• Past perfect: expresses an action or a state of being that ended BEFORE another past action. o formed: had + past participleo Mr. Smith had driven a taxi before he became a teacher.

• Future perfect: expresses an action or state of being that will end before another future actiono formed: will or shall + have/has + past participle. o By the time you receive this postcard, I will have returned

home from my vacation.

How do I form perfect tenses?

Person Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

1st person singular: I

have walked had walked will have walked

2nd person singular: you

have walked had walked will have walked

3rd person singular: he, she, or it

has walked had walked will have walked

1st person plural: we

have walked had walked will have walked

2nd person plural: you

have walked had walked will have walked

3rd person plural: they

have walked had walked will have walked

Remember in Slide #2, I referred to a progressive form?

• The progressive form is used to express continuing action or state of being

• Walk ==> walking (present participle) o present progressive: am/are/is + present participleo past progressive: was/were + present participleo future progressive: will/shall + be + present participleo present perfect progressive: have/has + been +

present participleo past perfect progressive: had + been + present

participleo future perfect progressive: will/shall + have/has +

been + present participle

Consistency of Tense

• Do not change tense unnecessarily.• When describing events that occur at the

same time, use verbs in the same tense. • When describing events that occur at

different times, use verbs in different tenses to help indicate the sequence of events.

What about these helping verbs (called modals)?

• CAN and COULD --> indicate ability to do something• MAY --> expresses permission or possibility

o MIGHT --> also expresses possibility, but less likely than MAY

• MUST --> indicates a requirement or an explanation• OUGHT --> expresses an obligation or likelihood• SHOULD --> indicates a recommendation, an

obligation, or a possibility• WOULD --> expresses the conditional form of a verb;

o used with IFo future timeo a repeated action in the pasto an invitation or offero a polite request