UNDERSTANDING TENSES
Miss Melton
8th Grade Pre-Ap
Language Arts
DIRECTIONS
 Please grab a piece of colored paper for your notes.
 Take out a writing utensil and label the paper “Tenses”
 As we go through the presentation copy down the things that are in
UNDERLINED.
WHAT ARE TENSES?
 Tenses provide an indication of the time when something occurred.
 These are the variations of verb forms which function to establish a time frame in
which the action occurred.
 There are three main forms of tenses with reference to time, and three
different aspects with which each can be viewed.
 Past- this describes something that has already occurred
 Present- this describes something that is occurring
 Future- this describes something that will occur
POP QUIZ!!!
WHAT IS A PARTICIPLE?
Present participle= (verb)+(ing)
Past participle= (verb)+(ed)
FORMS OF PAST TENSE
 Simple Past- describes things that were completed in the past
 [VERB]+ed or irregular verb
 You called Debbie.
 Bruce swam yesterday.
 Past Continuous- used to describe things which occurred in the past
over a span of time.
 [was/were + present participle]
 You were studying when she called.
 It was snowing last winter.
 Past Perfect-things that are happened before a specific time or event in
the present.
 [had + past participle]
 She had already seen the movie.
 It had been many years since she went sailing.
FORMS OF PRESENT TENSE
 Simple Present- express the idea that an action is repeated or normal
 [VERB] + s/es in third person
 He runs daily.
 Cats like milk.
 Present Continuous- express the idea that something is happening now,
at this very moment
 [am/is/are + present participle]
 He is watching tv.
 The puppies are sleeping right now.
 Present Perfect- to say that an action happened at an unspecified time
before now
 [has/have + been + present participle]
 You have been taking notes all hour.
 She has been sleeping all weekend.
FORMS OF FUTURE TENSE
 Simple Future- describes things that will happen
 [will + verb] or [going to + verb]
 You will succeed on your exam.
 He is going to hike this afternoon.
 Future Continuous- used to describe things which will occur in the
future over a span of time.
 [will be + present participle] or [am/is/are + going to be + present participle]
 You will be studying when she called.
 You are going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
 Future Perfect-things that are happening and are continuing to happen
habitually
 [will have + past participle] or [am/is/are + going to have + past participle]
 You will have finished the exam by tomorrow.
 How many countries are you going to have visited by the time you turn 50?
WORKS CITED
 http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentcontinuous.html
 For extra help try these sites:
 http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/tensetext.html
 https://youtu.be/6iYhvkSHoGg
 http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html
ASSIGNMENT
 Review the assignment sheet.
 You are to write a narrative in which you tell your life story as if you are
60 years old. Be sure to use the appropriate tenses in your paper.
 Additionally, you should incorporate information from previously
studied texts in your paper.