Understanding verb tense

Each tense has a progressive form, which is used to express continuing action or state of being.. Present progressive am, are, is talking Past progressive was, were talking Future progre

Understanding verb tense

What are the verb tenses?

Present and present perfect Past and past perfect

Future and future perfect Consistency of tense

Modals

Review A

Review B

What are the verb tenses?

Verbs do a lot of work in sentences They show

actions and states of being They even take

different forms to show time

flies

Gwen plays guitar in a jazz band.

The tense of a verb indicates the time of the

action or state of being expressed by the verb

Perfect tenses indicate that something

happened or existed before a specific point in

time

Gwen will play in a concert tomorrow.

She will have played in ten concerts by April.

The tenses of verbs are formed from the four

principal parts of verbs

Present Participle

Base Form

Past Past Participle

smile choose [is] smil [is] choos ing

smile d cho se

[have] smile d [have] cho sen

ingWhat are the verb tenses?

Each tense has a progressive form, which is

used to express continuing action or state of being

What are the verb tenses?

Present progressive am, are, is talking Past progressive was, were talking Future progressive will (shall) be talking Present perfect

progressive has, have been talking

Past perfect progressive had been talking

Future perfect progressive will (shall) have been talking

What are the verb tenses?

Present and present perfect

The present tense expresses an action or a

state of being that is occurring now, at the

present time

Today we honor our veterans.

Polly is marching in the parade.

(Progressive form)

What are the verb tenses?

Present and present perfect

The present tense is also used in these ways:

In Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck

shows us the extremes of life

during the depression.

to discuss a literary work

(literary present)

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh

flies nonstop across the

Atlantic

to make historical events

seem current (historical

present)

The sun rises in the east.

to express a general truth

We recycle our aluminum

cans

to show a customary or

habitual action or state of

being

We travel to Utah next month

to express future time

What are the verb tenses?

Present and present perfect

The present perfect tense

• is usually formed using the helping verb have or has plus the past participle

• expresses an action or a state of being that

occurred at an indefinite time in the past

Mike has been in several parades.

He has played the drum in all of them.

What are the verb tenses?

Present and present perfect

The present perfect tense is also used to

express an action or state of being that began in the past and continues into the present In this

case, perfect means complete.

Yoko has been taking flute lessons for

six years.

Mr Lee has taught music at our

school since 2004

(Progressive form)

What are the verb tenses?

Past and past perfect

The past tense expresses an action or a state of being that occurred in the past but did not

continue into the present

They were swinging for a long time The two friends shared the large swing

(Progressive form)

What are the verb tenses?

Past and past perfect

The past perfect tense

• is usually formed using had plus the past

participle

• expresses an action or a state of being that

ended before another past action or state of

being occurred

After Maria had gone home, Kim was bored.

She asked her dad about the time that he

had been a lifeguard at the beach

What are the verb tenses?

Future and future perfect

The future tense

• is usually formed using will or shall plus the base

form

• expresses an action or a state of being that will occur

My family will ride the train to Chicago

We will be arriving at five o’clock

(Progressive form)

What are the verb tenses?

Future and future perfect

The future perfect tense

• is usually formed using will have or shall have

plus the past participle

• expresses an action or a state of being that will end before another future action or state of

[End of Section]

Change the tense of the verb in each sentence, as indicated

in parentheses.

1 I do not miss the bus (Change to future.)

2 Were they at the party? (Change to past perfect.)

3 By then, Keith had returned (Change to future perfect.)

4 The team will practice for an hour with no break (Change

to future perfect progressive.)

5 My sister dances well (Change to past.)

On Your Own

What are the verb tenses?

Sara peeked over the fence and saw a cornfield

Sara peeks over the fence and sees a cornfield

Consistency of tense

For events that occur at different times, use verbs

of different tenses to show the sequence of

events

The pitcher wished that he had practiced more

before the game

past tense past perfect tense

The action of wishing happened after the action of practicing was complete

Consistency of tense

For events that occur at different times, use verbs

of different tenses to show the sequence of

events

Yesterday, Nina told us that her brother works

every week at the senior center

past tense

The action of telling occurred at a specific time in the past The action of working occurs now

present tense

Consistency of tense

[End of Section]

On Your Own

Proofread the paragraph for unnecessary changes of verb

tense Change the verbs to make the tenses consistent

(1) I was in my room Saturday morning, planning to study for two hours (2) To my surprise, Nancy Chang drops by (3) She dashed into the house, runs up the stairs, and calls my name (4) What she wanted was a fishing companion (5) As I get my fishing gear together, I was so happy (6) On our way

to the lake, we notice some dark clouds (7) We wished we

checked the weather first

A modal is a helping verb that is joined with a main verb or an infinitive to express an attitude toward the action or state of being of the main verb

Helping verbs used as modals

ought shall should will would

The modal may is used to express permission or possibility

Yes, you may borrow my sweater

The modal might is used to express possibility

Permission

My clothes closet may be too full

Possibility

The modal must is used most often to express a requirement Sometimes, must is used to express

an explanation

We must conserve energy in our homes

My brother must have left the lights on.

Requirement

Explanation

The modal should is used to express a

recommendation, an obligation, or a possibility

Terrell should leave soon to catch the bus

All students should get to school

on time.

Recommendation

Obligation

Possibility Should you arrive late, please go

to the office first.

The modal would is used to express the

conditional form of a verb In other words, it is

used to express a situation that is contrary to fact

If the weather had been more pleasant,

they would have gone on a picnic

Mrs Chang would be happy to prepare food if you bring the plates and forks

Would can also be used to express future time in a

subordinate clause when the main verb in the

independent clause is in the past tense

They promised us that they would bring the music

past tense verb

Would is sometimes used to express

Every day she would wake early and feed the hens

• an action that was repeated in the past

• an invitation or offer

• a polite request

[End of Section]

Supply an appropriate modal for each sentence.

1 Jen _ have cleaned out the garage yesterday.

2 _ you please help Merrill with that large box?

3 You _ probably guess what I am about to say.

4 If the train had been faster, we _ have arrived

sooner.

5 I’m not certain, but I think Dad _ be cooking stew for dinner tonight.

On Your Own

3 The three sisters regularly meet for lunch (past)

4 Each student chooses a lab partner. (past perfect)

5 Wasps were entering the house through the torn screen

(present)

Review B

[End of Section]

1 Colleen _ almost reach the light bulb (shows ability)

2 Jack _ repair the bicycle tomorrow (future tense)

3 Most of the girls _ already left (present perfect)

4 I _ attend the concert if only I had more time

The End