VERB TENSE

VERB TENSES

There are six verb tenses:

Present Tense Present Perfect TensePast Tense Past Perfect Tense

Future Tense Future Perfect Tense

PRESENT TENSE

Present tense is happening now.EXAMPLES

Jake is walking the dog.

Samantha is doing her homework.

Karen is cooking Thanksgiving dinner.

Cash likes to run around the yard.

Hannah draws very well.

They are running to the store.

We are expecting a big crowd.

PAST TENSE Past tense already happened.

EXAMPLES

Jake walked the dog.

Samantha did her homework.

Karen cooked Thanksgiving dinner.

Cash liked to run around the yard.

Hannah drew very well.

They were running to the store.

We were expecting a big crowd.

PAST TENSE

EXAMPLES PAST TENSE

walk walked

jump jumped

talk talked

save saved

grab grabbed

taste tasted

call called

In order to form the past tense of a verb, you normally add -d or -ed to the present tense.

IRREGULAR VERBS

Irregular verbs do not follow the usual past tense rules.

You do NOT add -d or -ed to form the past tense of irregular verbs.

EXAMPLES PAST TENSE

is was

give gave

feel felt

go went

write wrote

FUTURE TENSE

Future tense will happen in the future.

EXAMPLES

Jake will walk the dog.

Samantha will do her homework.

Karen will cook Thanksgiving dinner.

Cash will like to run around the yard.

Hannah will draw very well.

They will be running to the store.

We will be expecting a big crowd.

PERFECT TENSES

The perfect tenses are created by using a form of the helping verb has.

RULE: To determine which perfect tense is being used, look ONLY at the tense of the verb has.

The perfect tenses can be confusing, because the present perfect tense may actually have happened in the past!

PERFECT TENSES

In order to determine the perfect tense of a verb, you need to know the past participle form of that verb.

PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE PAST PARTICIPLE

go went (has) gone

see saw (has) seen

walk walked (has) walked

climb climbed (has) climbed

am was (has) been

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

Present perfect tense is created by combining have or has with the past participle.

Since have or has is present tense, adding either word to a past participle creates present perfect tense.

Be careful…after adding have or has to the participle, the verb might no longer be happening in the present!

PRESENT PERFECT TENSEEXAMPLES

Jake has been walking the dog.

• Jake may have been walking the dog for the past ten years but isn’t doing it now.

- OR -• Jake may have been walking the dog for the past hour and is still doing

so.Samantha has done her homework.

• Samantha may have done her homework every day this year, or she may have done today’s homework.

• This sentence indicates that she is already finished, in either situation.Karen has been cooking Thanksgiving dinner.

• Karen may have been cooking dinner since this morning and is still cooking.

- OR -• Karen may have been cooking the meal for the past five years but isn’t

doing so now.We have been expecting a big crowd.

• We may have been expecting a big crowd each time we held an annual event.

- OR -• We may have been expecting a big crowd all day and are still doing so.

PAST PERFECT TENSE

Past perfect tense is created by combining had with the past participle.

It is past perfect, because had is past tense.EXAMPLES

Jake had walked the dog.

Samantha had done her homework.

Karen had cooked Thanksgiving dinner.

Hannah had drawn very well.

They had been running to the store.

We had been expecting a big crowd.

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE Future perfect tense is created by combining will

have or shall have with the past participle.

It is future perfect, because will have and shall have are both future tense.

EXAMPLES

Jake will have walked the dog.

Samantha will have done her homework.

Karen will have cooked Thanksgiving dinner.

Hannah will have drawn very well.

We will have been expecting a big crowd.