Verb tenses and forms

Verb Tenses and FormsThe basic tenses of verbs are quite simple: past, present, and future.. Present perfect action begins in the past and leads up to and includes the present: I have d

Verb Tenses and Forms

The basic tenses of verbs are quite simple: past, present, and future However, each tense can take one of four forms: simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive Tense determines time, and the form determines the relationship the verb has to contextual time

In other words, verbs can take one of twelve forms See the chart and examples below and note the verbs required to determine form Note that the auxiliary verb for most forms is that which determines the tense of the whole verb (is, was, will be; has, had, will have)

SIMPLE TENSE

Simple present (action or situation exists now):

I dance

He dances

They dance

Present progressive (action is in progress):

I am dancing

He is dancing

We are dancing

Present perfect (action begins in the past and leads up to and includes the present):

I have danced

She has danced

You have danced

Present perfect progressive (action begins in the past, continues in the present, and may

continue into the future):

I have been dancing

He has been dancing

They have been dancing

PAST TENSE

Simple past (actions or situations are complete and completely in the past):

They danced

We danced

She danced

Past progressive (actions in the past occurred over a period of time):

She was dancing

They were dancing

I was dancing

Past perfect (an action that has been completed before another action or situation):

She had danced

We had danced

You had danced

Past perfect progressive (an ongoing action in the past has ended):

She had been dancing

We had been dancing

They had been dancing

FUTURE TENSE

Simple future (actions will occur in the future):

I will dance

She will dance

You will dance

Future progressive (future actions will continue for some time)

I will be dancing

She will be dancing

They will be dancing

Future perfect (actions will be completed by or before a specific future time):

I will have danced

She will have danced

They will have danced

Future perfect progressive (actions are ongoing up to a specific future time):

I will have been dancing

You will have been dancing

He will have been dancing

Exercise

Indicate the tense of the verbs in the following sentences by clicking on the appropriate bubble If your response shows as "Incorrect" in the status bar, you can click on the other answers to find the correct one (which will give you "Correct" in the status bar)

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