VERB TIME AND VERB TENSE
Now, it’s time to concentrate on their usage. Verb tenses are a big source of
problems for students learning to write in English. In order to write correct
English sentences, it is necessary to be able to use tenses correctly. Many
students, however, use the wrong tense to express the time relationships which
they want to write about.
What is tense? Many people believe that tense and time are the same thing.
Look at the following example, though, and you will see that this isn't always
true:
I usually eat dim sum in Chinatown on Sundays.
time = general present time, non-specific tense = simple present
I think I’ll go to bed now.
time = right now, specific present tense = simple present
The boat sails at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
time = future tense = simple present
Each of these example sentences has the same tense, simple present, but you
can see that each sentence has a different time. What exactly is a tense then?
Tense is a verb form that represents a certain time.
One tense can represent more than one kind of time, but the time relationships are very specific. The key to using verb tenses in English correctly is to
know exactly what time you are speaking or writing about and which tense will
express that time correctly. Later in the chapter, we will examine and use the
tenses, but first let’s talk about time.
HOW DO WE TALK ABOUT TIME?
There are many different tenses, but time can be looked at in only two ways:
the time you are standing in and the time you are looking at. In other words,
when you write about a topic, you put yourself and your readers in the past if
your topic is about a past experience, that is, an event that happened in the past
and is over and complete now.
If your topic is about a present experience, something that is happening right
now, or if it is about a habitual or regular action, then you will put yourself and
your readers in the present. You can describe other experiences that happened
before the time you are standing in, during the time that you are standing in, or
after the time that you are standing in. To put it another way, you can look at
other times by relating them to the time you have established, which is the time
you are standing in.
Exercise 1
Look at the following paragraph and see if you can figure out what time the
author is “standing” in.
Every Friday, my friends and I go to the River Oaks Theater to see a
classic movie. This week, the theater is showing Seven Samurai, a classic
adventure movie by the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. I have
never seen this movie before, so I am really looking forward to seeing it. I
have decided that I will go with my girlfriend and several other friends.
What time is the author of the paragraph “standing in”? Write it here:
___________________. Now go back over the paragraph, underline all the verb
phrases, and identify them. What did you notice about them? Did you see that
they are all present and future tenses? Did you also see that even though the
author was standing in the present, he was able to “look” at the past and the
future?
Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph with an appropriate verb. You may
use more than one word on a line. Before you start, look over the paragraph and
decide what time the author is “standing” in.
When I lived in Houston back in the 1970’s, my friends and I
_______________ to the River Oaks Theater to see classic movies. One
week in August 1977, the theater _______________ Seven Samurai, a classic
adventure movie by the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa.
I
_______________ this movie before, so I _______________ forward to
seeing it. I _______________ that I _______________ with my girlfriend
and several other friends.
What did you notice about the verbs that you used to complete this paragraph? Were they all in the past tense? Even though the author was “standing”
in the past, he was able to use a variety of tenses to “look” at other periods of
time that were related to the past. He looked farther back into the past (I had
never seen this movie before), and into the future from the past (I decided that I
would go with my girlfriend).
Now we are ready for the first main rule of time and tense:
There are two kinds of time a writer can stand in:
present and past.
Look at the following two examples:
Last year I traveled to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
This sentence is standing in the past. Which words tell you that? If we draw
a timeline, we can represent the sentence like this:
past
present
future
I travel to New Orleans for Mardi Gras every year.
This sentence is talking about, or standing in, the present. It is talking about
time in general. We can represent the sentence on a timeline like this:
past
present
future
The time the writer is standing in can be called the established time. In
addition to standing in an established time (past or present), we can also be
looking at another time. We can look at the time before or earlier than our
established time, we can look at time during our established time, and we can
look at time after or later than our established time.
In each of the following examples, the writer is standing in the present time,
but looking at a different time. Can you figure out what time the writer is
looking at? Fill in the blanks after each sentence, and then draw figures on the
timelines standing in the established time and looking at the other time. The first
one has been done for you.
I am a native of East Texas, but I have never
traveled to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Standing in the _______________, looking at the _______________.
past
present
future
I am on vacation now, and I am traveling to
New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
Standing in the _______________, looking at the _______________.
past
present
future
I enjoy going to Mardi Gras, but I
don’t think I will go next year.
Standing in the _______________, looking at the _______________.
past
present
future
Now, here is the key to using tenses correctly. Each tense shows a specific
relationship to an established time. In English we can establish time with a time
word, such as yesterday, tomorrow, last week, right now, etc. Then we use the
various verb tenses to show what times we are looking at from our established
time.
It is important to know that we do not keep changing our established time.
Generally, we stay in one established time for a whole sentence, paragraph or
composition. We only change our established time, that is, change from past to
present or present to past, when we have a good reason. The verb tenses let us
stay in the present time and talk about things that happened before, during and
after the present established time. They also let us stay in the past and talk about
things that happened before, during and after the past established time.
Here is a brief explanation of how the tenses help us look at other times from
our established time.
The simple tenses are used to establish our time. Simple past establishes
past time, and simple present establishes present time. (Remember that we
often use adverbs to establish time, too.)
Simple present: I am very tired.
past
present
Simple present tense establishes present time.
future
Simple past: Yesterday, I had a strange experience.
past
present
future
Simple past tense establishes past time.
Present continuous: I can’t come to the phone because I’m eating dinner.
past
present
future
Present continuous tense looks at present time from established present time.
Past continuous: When the phone rang, I was eating dinner.
past
present
future
Past continuous tense looks at past time from established past time.
Present perfect: I haven’t read such a good book in a long time.
past
present
future
Present perfect tense looks at an earlier time from the
established present time.
Past perfect: Before I met you, I had never experienced true love.
past
present
future
Past perfect tense looks at an earlier past time from the established past time.
Simple future: I will meet you tomorrow at the Transco Tower.
past
present
future
Simple future tense looks at a later time from the established present time.
Future-from-the-past: He told me that he would see me when he had time.
past
present
future
Future-from-the-past looks at a time later than the established past time.
Exercise 3
Rewrite the following paragraph on the lines provided on the next page. Keep
the same time relationships between the sentences, but change the established
time from the present to the past.
Every winter, I take a vacation to South Texas. The weather there is
warm and pleasant, so many people from the North like to vacation there.
This year, I’m going to South Padre Island. I’ve never spent Christmas on
the Gulf Coast before, so I’m curious about how the “Winter Texans”
celebrate the holidays. I’m also interested in the relationship between the
American cities, such as McAllen and Brownsville, and their sister cities
on the Mexican side, such as Reynosa and Matamoros. I want to eat some
real Mexican food, so I have promised myself that I will go to Reynosa to
eat some cabrito al pastor and drink some real Mexican licuados. My friends
have told me that I shouldn’t miss the Christmas celebrations along the
Texas-Mexico border.
When
I
lived
in
Texas,
I
spent
every
winter
in
South
Texas.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
CONTINUE TO SCROLL DOWN.
HOW DO WE USE THE PRESENT TENSES?
Let’s look at the verb tenses that are common in the present established time.
They are simple present, present continuous, present perfect, present perfect
continuous, simple future and future perfect. We have already studied in
Chapter 4 how to form these tenses, but we will review tense formation as we
discuss how they are used.
The Simple Present Tense
The simple present tense is formed with either of the two present forms of a
verb, -s or no -s. The simple present tense is used in three situations.
1. It is used to express general, non-specific present time. General truths, habits
and abilities, and frequently repeated events are expressed with the simple
present tense. Adverbs of time such as usually, always, never, often, everyday
and sometimes are often used with this tense.
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. (general truth)
She plays piano very well. (habit or ability)
We study English verbs every night. (frequently repeated event)
2. It is used with stative verbs to indicate both general present time (as explained above) and specific present time (right now). A stative verb is an
action verb that doesn’t really show an action, but rather a state of being or
condition. Some common stative verbs are like, love, hate, feel, want, know,
need, understand, believe and doubt. Think of stative verbs as words that
indicate what your heart and mind do when you feel and think; in other
words, these verbs express "invisible actions." (We will look a little bit more at
stative verbs when we discuss the present continuous tense.)
I want to go to bed now. (state verb, specific present time)
He always feels refreshed after soaking in the hot tub. (state verb, habit)
I love my wife and children. (state verb, general and specific present time)
3. It is used to express the future time when referring to a certain event which is
happening at a scheduled time in the near future.
The train leaves tomorrow at 9 a.m.
(scheduled event, near future time)
I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow afternoon.
(scheduled event, near future time)
Notice how the present tense works in the following paragraph:
The United States Bureau of the Census is responsible for gathering
statistics about the people who live in America. This government agency
orders several kinds of censuses at different intervals. There are censuses
for population, housing, agriculture, business and industry. The census
that affects most people is the population census, which occurs every 10
years. This census comes in the mail, and it asks every family to answer
questions about age, education, employment, income and residency
status. The population census is important because it helps the
government determine how many representatives in Congress each state
receives. It also shows population density, ethnic background and
marital status of the people in different parts of the country. This
information helps the government plan special programs to assist
different groups of people. Once the government knows about the
population, it is able keep accurate records on births and deaths,
demographic trends, standards of living and economic changes. The next
census arrives in the year 2010, and everyone who receives one should
complete it.
The Present Continuous Tense
The present continuous tense is formed with a present form of the auxiliary be
(am, are, is) followed by the -ing form of the main verb. The present continuous
tense has three major uses.
1. It is used to express actions in the specific present time, that is, actions that are
happening right now.
What are you doing in the kitchen? (specific present)
I’m making a sandwich. (specific present)
2. It is used to express an action that is continuing in the present at the same time
as another action which is just beginning. The two actions may both be
continuing at the same time. This use of the present continuous tense is
frequently used with the word while.
While you’re filling the car with gas, I will buy some food.
(two present actions, one continuing, one beginning)
The students are laughing while the teacher is explaining the lesson.
(two simultaneous continuing actions)
3. It is used to express the future time, especially events which are planned for
the future.
Tomorrow, we’re visiting the Museum of Fine Arts.
(future planned event)
We are going to the next Olympics.
Stative verbs, which we looked at briefly in the lesson about the simple
present tense, are almost never used in the present continuous tense. These
verbs show a state of being or condition. A state or condition, by definition,
continues over a period of time, so a stative verb gives the idea of a period of
time when it is in the simple form. Look at these examples:
I want to go to bed now.
*I am wanting to go to bed now.
He always feels refreshed after soaking in the hot tub.
*He is always feeling refreshed after soaking in the hot tub.
I love my wife and children.
*I am loving my wife and children.
The starred sentences in the examples above are incorrect. The verbs want,
feel and love are stative verbs in these sentences, so they cannot be used in the
present continuous. Other verbs that fall into this category are: realize, mean,
remember, appreciate, prefer, suppose, recognize.
Notice how the present continuous tense works in the following paragraph:
Right now, as you are reading this paragraph, your blood is
circulating through the arteries, veins and capillaries of your body. Your
heart is pumping the blood in a continuous cycle. The blood is entering
the right side of your heart, and it is flowing through your lungs, where it
is picking up oxygen. From your lungs the blood is moving into the left
side of your heart, where it is carrying oxygen and other waste products
out of your system. This circulatory system is also distributing vitamins,
minerals and enzymes to the cells in your body that use them. In
addition, your blood is transporting hormones to parts of your body.
These hormones are doing many different things. For example, they are
helping you see the words on this page. Your blood is keeping you
healthy in other ways too because it is defending you against diseases
and regulating your body temperature.
Exercise 4
Pick up your college or city newspaper and scan the headlines that announce the
news to readers. Find out what reporters are writing about local, national and
international news. Use the present continuous and simple present tenses to
answer in complete sentences the questions below about the news for a
particular day.
DATE:____________________
1. What are politicians talking about in the Texas legislature now?
______________________________________________________
2. What is making news in the city of Houston now?
______________________________________________________
3. Which countries are fighting with each other right now? What are they
fighting about?
______________________________________________________
4. Which government official is traveling now? Where is she/he visiting?
______________________________________________________
5. Who is getting a lot of press coverage right now? Why?
______________________________________________________
6. Which special events are going on at your college right now?
______________________________________________________
7. Who is the president of your college right now?
______________________________________________________
8. What is bothering students at your campus?
______________________________________________________
The Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous Tenses
The present perfect tense is formed with a present form of the auxiliary have
(have or has) and the d-t-n of the main verb. The present perfect tense has two
uses.
1. It is used to indicate an action which happened at an indefinite time in the
past, but it is being viewed from the point of view of the present. In other
words, the action occurred at some time between the present and an indefinite time in the past.
I have visited Thailand two times. (indefinite
past time, related to the present)
He has already done his homework.
(indefinite past time before the present)
2. It is used to indicate an action or state which began in the past and has continued until the present.
I have just finished reading your letter.
(action that started in the past and continued up to the present)
Often we want to show that an action started in the past, continued up to the
present, and will probably continue into the future. To do this, we use the
present perfect continuous. The present perfect continuous is formed with the
present form of the auxiliary have (have or has), the d-t-n form of the auxiliary be
(been), and the -ing form of the main verb.
I have been studying at Houston Community College for three years.
(action started in the past, is occurring now, and will go into the future)
We have been watching TV since early this morning.
(action started in the past, is occurring now, and will go into the future)
Certain time signals often occur with the present perfect and present perfect
continuous tenses.
Time Signal
Example Sentence
for + a period of time
I have been studying math for 10 years.
since + a specific time
I have been studying math since 1995.
Until now/up to now/up till now
I haven't had any tests up till now.
yet
Has she eaten dinner yet?
already
She has eaten three tacos already.
so far
So far, he has read two chapters.
Remember:
The present perfect and the present perfect
continuous tenses are NOT past tenses. We use them in the
present established time when we want to look at an event that
happened in the past and that has a clear relationship to the
present.
Notice how the present perfect and present perfect continuous tenses work in the
following paragraph.
For many years, health-conscious Americans have worried about the
risk of getting cancer. Some activists among them have protested the use
of a food coloring called Red Dye #3. Food and cosmetics companies have
been using the dye to color cake mixes, maraschino cherries, lipsticks and
rouges. Scientists have recently confirmed that Red Dye #3 causes cancer
in mice that have received large doses of the artificial coloring. The Food
and Drug Administration (a government agency) has already begun to
regulate the dye. Because food and cosmetics industries have been using
Red Dye #3 for a long time, many companies have had to invest money to
change the manufacturing of their products.
Exercise 5
Complete the following sentences with the simple present, present continuous,
present perfect or present perfect continuous tense.
1. The boys ____________________ soccer right now. They
(play)
____________________ for almost two hours.
(play)
2. I ____________________ a test tomorrow. I ____________________ to
(have)
(try)
study for the last hour, but the dog next door ________________ and I
(bark)
can't concentrate. I ____________________ I will go to the library.
(guess)
3. Deborah ____________________ for her party for two weeks. She
(prepare)
____________________ all kinds of delicious and fattening food. The
(make)
party ____________________ this weekend. People always
(be)
____________________ a lot of fun at her parties.
(have)
4. It is 4 a.m., and the baby ___________________ . He ________________
(cry)
(cry)
since 2 this morning. I ____________________ a good night’s sleep
(have - neg)
since he was born.
5. I ____________________ for my friend. I ____________________ for
(wait)
(wait)
over half an hour. We ____________________ to eat lunch together.
(plan)
She always ____________________ late for our dates. In fact, she
(come)
________________ me up many times in the past. I ________________
(stand)
(spend)
enough time waiting for her. I ____________________ now.
(leave)
The Future Tenses
The simple future tense (also called future from the present) is formed by
using the modal will followed by the base form of the main verb. It can also be
formed by using the present form of the auxiliary be (am, are, is) followed by
going to and the base form of the main verb. It has one major use.
1. It is used to tell about an event that will happen after the present established
time.
I will pass ENGL 0346 with a very high grade.
(event later than present established time)
She is going to arrive tomorrow.
(event later than present established time)
Notice how the simple future is used in this paragraph.
How will technology change the future? Over the next 50 years, we
will probably live to see computers alter every facet of our daily lives.
Robots will cook, clean, and cut the grass for us. Our clothes will tell us
when they are dirty or worn out. Cars are going to drive themselves and
find their way when we get lost. Before long, a computer will also suggest
how to spend all of our spare time. We will not be able to live without
them.
It is possible to combine the simple future with the present continuous. This
gives us the future continuous tense. It is formed by using the modal will
followed by the base form of the auxiliary be and the -ing form of the main verb.
It has one major use.
1. It is used to show that an event will start at a time later than the present
established time and the event will take place over a period of time.
Next week, I will be enjoying the sun in the south of France.
(future event, continuing over a period of time)
Don’t call me this evening because I will be watching TV.
(future event, continuing over a period of time)
It is possible to use the be going to form of the future with the future continuous also, but be careful that your sentence doesn’t sound strange.
I’m going to be going to school next week.
It is also possible to combine the simple future with the present perfect. This
gives us the future perfect tense. It is formed with the modal will followed by
the base form of the auxiliary have and the d-t-n form of the main verb. It is used
only in very specific circumstances.
1. It is used to tell about an event that will occur at a future time which is before
some other time in the future.
By the end of the semester, you will have studied all the English verb tenses.
(two future events, one of them [study tenses]
occurring before the other [end of semester])
This tense is almost always used with a phrase or clause that starts with the
time signals by or by the time and the simple present tense.
By the time he finishes his assignment, we will have
completed the next lesson.
By dinner time, we will have eaten all the cookies.
We do not use the be going to form of the present with the future perfect tense.
There is one more type of future tense that we will look at, but it is very
rarely used. It is possible to combine the simple future with the present perfect
and the present continuous. This gives us the future perfect continuous. It is
formed by using the modal will followed by the base form of the auxiliary have,
the d-t-n form of the auxiliary be (been), and the -ing form of the main verb. It is
used exactly in the same situation as the future perfect tense, but it gives the idea
that the future event will continue over a period of time.
By the end of the year, I will have been studying English for six years.
(future continuing event [will have been studying], happening before
another future event [end of the year])
Notice how the future continuous and future perfect tenses work in this
paragraph.
By the turn of the next century, what will have happened? It’s
impossible to say, but we can predict that astronauts will have colonized
another planet in our solar system. We might hope for things that will
make life better on Earth, too. Perhaps all the inhumane governments in
the world will have changed, and they will be practicing more
democratic principles in their countries. Maybe all countries will have
solved their problems of famine, homelessness, crime and injustice, and
people will be living better lives. Scientists will have found cures for
diseases such as cancer, AIDS, arthritis and diabetes. Drug kingpins will
have lost their power because the demand for drugs will have decreased
significantly. Hopefully, every person on the globe will be enjoying a life
of peace and harmony.
Exercise 6
Look over the Instructor's Syllabus for a college English class below. Use the
blank lines on the next page to summarize the course requirements and
instructor's policies for this class.
ENGLISH 1301 COURSE SYLLABUS
Instructor:
Professor Matador
Office phone:
Office hours: MWF 1-2 p.m.
Class meets: TR 8-10:30 a.m.
Course Objectives:
To improve students' critical reading and writing skills. Students will
write essays for personal and academic purposes. This course includes an
introduction to argumentation and critical analysis.
Writing Assignments:
Students write 6 essays, a journal, daily quizzes and a final exam.
Attendance Policy:
Regular attendance is required. The college policy states that a student
who is absent more than 12.5% of class may be dropped by the instructor.
Students who want to stop coming to class must withdraw by the official day to
drop, or they may receive an F instead of a W final grade
Classroom Policies:
Students must come to class on time and be prepared.
All homework must be finished outside of class.
There is no sleeping in class.
If you must leave early, please tell the instructor before class starts.
Please do not put books and supplies away before class is dismissed.
Do not: chat while the teacher is talking, comb your hair, answer a cell
phone, pass notes, chew tobacco or eat in class.
The out-of-class essays must be typed.
The in-class essays must be written in Blue Examination Books.
A late essay will lose 10 points each day after the due date.
There are no late journals or make-up quizzes.
Scholastic Dishonesty:
The Student Handbook (p. 35) for the college states that certain things
are NOT allowed. The penalty for any of the following is an F grade:
* cheating on a test--copying from someone else's paper during a test
*plagiarism--using another person's words, information, or ideas as
your own without giving credit the other person
*collusion--"unauthorized collaboration," or getting someone else to
do your work for you
Use the following verbs in the present tense to summarize Professor
Matador's English 1301 Syllabus: require, permit, allow, submit, ask, prefer, want,
accept, assign, drop, expect, give
Examples:
Professor Matador expects students to come to class on time.
He doesn't permit sleeping in class.
Exercise 7
Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph using the present tenses that you
have studied so far in this chapter. Try to use the simple present, present
continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous and simple future
tenses. Use the following information to help you with your answers.
1998 - graduated from college
Six months ago - went to live on the space station
Later this year - will be returning to Earth and school
Sally Gardenia ____________________ an astronaut since her
(be)
graduation from college. She already ____________________ her
(complete)
training, and now she ____________________ on a space station near
(work)
the planet Mars. While she ____________________ on the space station,
(live)
she ____________________ nuclear reactions in space. Sally
(study)
____________________ on the space station for six months. During this
(stay)
time, she ____________________ only dried food, she _________________
(eat)
(sleep)
on the ceiling, and she ___________________ out on any dates.
(go - neg)
Although Sally ____________________ life on the space station, she
(enjoy)
____________________ very bored, so she ____________________
(be)
(take)
the opportunity to learn many new things. She ____________________
(learn)
to speak Russian, and now she ____________________ War and Peace in
(read)
the original. When Sally ____________________ back to Earth, she
(get)
____________________ a leave from her job. She ____________________
(take)
(go)
back to school, where she ____________________ research in
(do)
astrophysics.
HOW DO WE USE THE PAST TENSES?
You are now familiar with the various tenses in English that relate to the
present established time. Of course, you know that there is also a past established time, and there are tenses that we use when we have established a past
time.
The Simple Past Tense
The simple past tense is formed with the past form of the main verb. It has
two main uses.
1. It is used to express an action that took place at a specific time in the past. The
action has been completed.
Last summer, I spent my vacation in Cancun.
(past established time, completed action)
We flew to Singapore on the Concord.
(past established time, completed action)
2. It is used with any state verb to show past established time. The state or
condition no longer exists.
John wanted to go to bed early.
(past state or condition)
He had three goldfish, but they died.
(past state or condition [had] and a past completed action [died])
Notice how the past tense works in the paragraph below:
The war that occurred in the U.S. between 1861 and 1865 has two
names. Many people call it the Civil War, but in the South it is often
called the War Between the States. It began because eleven states in the
southern part of the country decided to secede or leave the union of states
to form a separate nation. There were many differences between the
northern and southern states, and the leaders of these two regions did not
agree on a common system of government. As a result, the soldiers for
the South attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina on April 12, 1861, and
the war began.
It is important not to get confused between the simple past and the present
perfect tenses. If you have established the present time and want to refer to an
earlier event, you can do this with the present perfect tense. Remember that the
present perfect refers to a past event that took place at an unspecific time in the
past, or a past event that has continued up to the present. The simple past refers
to an event that was completed at a specific past time.
Exercise 8
Use simple present, present perfect, present perfect continuous or simple past.
1.
Charles
at Texas Instruments. He
(work)
(work)
several years. He
the job after he
(take)
2.
there for
The Robinsons
to Houston in 1997.
(move)
in Missouri City. They
(live)
there
(live)
since last year. The two oldest children
college at
(start)
Houston Community College-SW at the beginning of this semester.
3.
Ray
a mistake yesterday. He
(make)
a complaint about his
(send)
boss to the president of the company. Since then, his boss
(give)
him dirty looks. Ray
his boss much anyway.
(neg-like)
4.
Computers
to cost a lot of money. Over the past five years, they
(use)
down in price. However, some families still
(come)
____
(neg-have)
money to buy one, but people
inexpensive used
(find)
computers for sale in the classified ads everyday.
5.
Tutors regularly
students in college. HCCS
(help)
(have)
tutoring in English, math and science for a long time. This service ___
(neg-cost)
______ anything for all full or part-time students.
Exercise 9
Complete the paragraph by using either the simple past or present perfect tense.
In 1836, the Allen brothers ____________________ up Buffalo
(sail)
Bayou and ____________________ a new city - Houston. Since that time,
(establish)
Houston ____________________ into the fourth largest city in the U.S.
(grow)
Over the years, the Houston area ____________________ some of the
(experience)
worst disasters to ever hit the U.S. Major hurricanes ________________
(destroy)
property, and in 1900 and 1961, they ____________________ thousands of
(kill)
people. A ship carrying chemicals ____________________ in Texas City
(explode)
harbor in 1947, and over 500 people ____________________ . In the early
(die)
1980’s the energy based economy ____________________ a recession. In
(enter)
spite of these events, Houston ____________________ to grow and
(continue)
prosper. People from all over ____________________ here to start new
(come)
lives. They ____________________ a city that ____________________ over
(find)
(change)
the years and __________________ changing since it __________________
(stop - neg)
(begin)
as a dusty town more than 150 years ago.
The Past Continuous Tense
The past continuous tense is formed with the correct past form of the auxiliary be (was, were) and the -ing form of the main verb. It has two main uses.
1. It is used to indicate an action which is already in progress when another
action in the past established time occurs. Look carefully at the use of when
and while in the examples.
I was writing the conclusion of my essay when the teacher asked us to stop.
(past established time, one action occurring [writing]
when another happened [asked])
While I was writing the conclusion of my essay, the teacher asked us to stop.
(past established time, one action occurring [writing]
when another happened [asked])
2. It is used to express two actions that were happening at the same time in the
past. We also frequently use while when we use the past continuous this way.
Peter was washing the dishes while Mary was playing with the baby.
(two continuing past actions occurring at the same time)
Nero was fiddling while Rome was burning.
(two continuing past actions occurring at the same time)
Notice how the past continuous tense is used in the following paragraph.
The year 1989 marked a significant turning point in the history of the
world. While the students in China were protesting in Tienanmen
Square, the citizens of East Germany were demonstrating near the Berlin
Wall. Communist regimes were falling apart in Hungary, Poland and
Czechoslovakia while the leaders of the USSR were changing the rules of
government in that country. At the same time, millions of Bulgarians and
Romanians were speaking out against their governments. The Baltic
Republics of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were rebelling against more
then forty years of Soviet rule when Soviet leader Gorbachev sent soldiers
to gain control of the region.
The Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous Tenses
The past perfect tense is formed with the past form of the auxiliary have (had)
and the d-t-n form of the main verb. Its use is similar to that of the present
perfect, but the established time is the past. It has only one use.
1. It is used to tell about an event that happened in the past at an earlier time
(before) another past event.
He had already eaten breakfast when I woke up.
(two past events, one happened [had eaten] before the other [woke up])
Jill said that she had seen Jack in the hospital the day before.
(two past events, one happened [had seen] before the other [said])
Some of the time signals that we use with the present perfect tense can be
used here too.
Time Signal
Example Sentence
for + a period of time
When he arrived in Houston, he had just
graduated from college.
since + a specific time
He graduated in 1998, but he had been
in college since 1995.
By…/By the time
By the age of ten, Mozart had composed
many orchestral works.
already
Mozart had already written many
operas when he died at age 35.
The past perfect continuous tense is a combination of the past perfect and
past continuous tenses. It is formed with the past form of the auxiliary have (had),
followed by the d-t-n form of the auxiliary be (been) and the -ing form of the main
verb. It has one major use.
1. It is used to indicate that one action began in the past before another action
and the first action continued over a period of time before the other event
occurred.
Hemingway had been writing for many years before he won the
Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.
(two past events, one continuing [had been writing] before the other
occurred [won])
The students had been waiting anxiously for 15 minutes when the
teacher finally arrived with the tests.
(two past events, one continuing [had been waiting] before the other
occurred [arrived])
Notice how the past perfect and past perfect continuous tenses work in this
paragraph.
Before the American Civil War, several important differences
between the North and the South had existed and had been making
cooperation between these two regions very difficult. People in territories
west of the Mississippi River had wanted to join the union of states, but
their status had depended on their attitudes toward slavery. The
southern territories were more agricultural than the northern ones, and
for many years they had been depending on slaves to work the farms and
plantations. The northern territories were industrial, so these states had
been using cotton and other raw materials which the South produced to
make clothes and other finished products. Moreover, the northern states
had opposed slavery as inhumane. The North and the South had also not
been able to agree on the distribution of tax money to pay for roads and
education in the new, western territories. Finally, Congress decided to
admit Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state in 1819. In 1820
the legislation called the Missouri Compromise said that all new states
north of Missouri would be free. Between 1820 and 1860, this law gave
the North more territory than the South. As a result of this discord, by the
spring of 1860, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana and Texas had seceded from the union. By March 1861,
Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas had joined their
southern neighbors.
Exercise 10
Complete the following paragraph using the simple present, the simple past, the
present perfect and the past perfect tenses. Notice how the established time
changes within the paragraph between present and past.
David________________ himself a world traveler. In the 40 years of
(consider)
his life, he ____________________ countries on four continents. His
(visit)
favorite continent ________________ Europe. When he______________
(be)
(be)
a college student, he_______________ in France, and he_______________
(live)
(visit)
many countries in Europe, including Germany, Switzerland, Italy,
Spain and Greece. Since that time, he___________________ several
(return)
times to Europe, but so far, he__________________ any countries in
(visit - neg)
Scandinavia. He also ____________________ in the Far East. Five years
(live)
ago, he_________________ English in Japan. By the time he left, David
(teach)
__________________ a love of Japanese culture and literature, which he
(acquire)
still ____________________. The only continent he__________________
(have)
(visit - neg)
yet is Australia, but he________________ to see it before he____________.
(hope)
(die)
The Future-From-the-Past Tense
Sometimes when we have established a past time, we want to talk about an
event that happened at a later time than our established time. To do this, we use
the future-from-the-past tense. It is formed with the modal would (which is the
past form of will) followed by the base form of the main verb. It has two main
uses.
1. It is used to discuss an event that took place at a later time (after) another past
event. In other words, the writer is standing in the past and looking towards
the future.
We all thought the cat would die when it fell off the roof.
(two past events, one [would die] happening after the other [thought, fell])
Some people in Arizona believed that the world would end in 1990.
(two past events, one [would end] happening after the other [believed])
2. It is used to report someone’s ideas when the speaker has used the future
tense. You may already be familiar with this use of future-from-the-past if
you have studied reported speech.
Post Office official: The Post Office will increase the cost of a stamp.
(future event [will increase])
Reporter: The official said that the Post Office would increase
the cost of a stamp.
(future event [would increase] reported from a past established time [said])
Even if the later event will be happening in a future time from now, if you
have established a past time, you must use the future-from-the-past to refer to
that event.
Yesterday, you said that you would help me next week.
(later event [would help] is still in the future [next week], but the
established time is the past [said])
Notice how the future-from-the-past works in this paragraph.
When the German printer, Gutenberg, invented the printing press
around the year 1450, he probably knew that he would change the course
of history. He realized that his invention would require people to use a
standard alphabet and spelling system. It would make books cheap to
print and easy to obtain.
The printing press would allow the
communication of ideas and knowledge to flourish. Gutenberg probably
didn’t know, however, that by 1487 nearly every country in Europe
would have printing presses at work.
Exercise 11
Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph using the past tenses that you have
studied in this chapter. Try to use the simple past, past continuous, past perfect,
past perfect continuous and future-from-the-past tenses.
Ludwig von Beethoven ____________________ one of the greatest
(be)
composers of the classical period. He ____________________ the world
(give)
some of its most wonderful and stirring music. Amazingly, he
_______________ some of this best music after he ________________ deaf!
(write)
(become)
Beethoven ____________________ born in December 1770 in Bonn,
(be)
Germany. His father ____________________ a musician in a German
(be)
court for many years, and he ____________________ his son to study
(encourage)
music. When he __________________ 17, his mother _________________
(be)
(die)
while Ludwig ____________________ concerts in Vienna. When his
(give)
father ____________________ away in 1792, Beethoven already
(pass)
____________________ his family for four years by playing violin in an
(support)
orchestra. From 1795 on, his fame ____________________, and in 1804,
(grow)
he ____________________ that he ____________________ an opera. The
(decide)
(write)
opera, called Fidelio , ____________________ a failure, and while he
(be)
____________________ it, he ____________________ with his sister-in-law
(rewrite)
(fight)
to get custody of his orphaned nephew.
He ____________________ , completely deaf, in 1827, and thousands
(die)
of people ____________________ his funeral. They ___________________
(attend)
(agree)
that they ____________________ Beethoven be forgotten as so many
(let - neg)
other great composers ____________________ forgotten before him.
(be)
Exercise 12
Use the information below about Martin Luther King, Jr. to write on a separate
sheet of paper a paragraph that uses the past tenses. Try to use the simple past,
past continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous and future-from-the-past.
The base from of the verb is used to present the events, but you will want to use
only past tenses in your paragraph.
Time
Event
in 1929
be born
in 1948
graduate from Morehouse college at the age of 19
from 1948-1951
study the teachings of the Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi
in 1951
receive a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer
Theological Seminary
in 1955
earn a PhD from Boston University (B.U.)
while at B.U
meet and marry Coretta Scott
December 1955
lead a boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama bus system
in 1956
support U. S. Supreme Court decision to make segregation
on public buses unconstitutional
in 1957
organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC); later become pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in
Atlanta
from 1957-1962
organize civil rights protests throughout southern U.S.
in 1963
lead about 250,000 people on the “March on Washington”;
then, give his “I Have a Dream” speech
in 1965
set up black voter registration campaign in Selma, Alabama
by March 1965
lead “Freedom March” from Selma to Montgomery,
Alabama
April 1968
be assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray
Exercise 13
Here is some information about Benjamin Franklin, a famous American. Use the
events of his life in the table below to write a paragraph about him on a separate
sheet of paper. Try to use a variety past tenses. Notice that only the base forms
of verbs are given below. You must change the base form and add a preposition
to each time signal. Remember: the preposition changes the meaning of a time
signal. For example, contrast in 1706 and by 1706.
Time
Events
1706
be born, son of poor Boston family
1718
work as an apprentice to brother, a printer
1724
earn the title of master printer in England
1726-1730
hold several positions: publisher, bookstore owner,
businessman in Philadelphia
1731-1751
establish first circulating library and city hospital in the U.S.
1751
become interested in politics
1752
invent the lightning rod; discover electricity
1757-1762
serve as a diplomat in England
1776-1783
represent the U.S. as the American ambassador to France
1790
die
Exercise 14
Change the quotations below into Reported Speech. Pay close attention to verb
tenses, pronouns and adverbs of time and place. Remember the following verb
maneuvers:
present>>>>past, past>>>>past perfect, future>>>>future-from-the-past
Leaving home...
1. Bill's former English teacher said, "You'll have a successful sports career."
2. Before he left home, his mother said, "Your father and I will miss you!"
3. Last year, Bill told his best friend, "I think life in the U.S. will be easy."
4. His old girlfriend said, "I will always be here for you."
5. Bill responded, "You have been my best friend, but don't wait for me."
6. His father said, "You have to concentrate on your studies from now on."
7. He replied, "I want to have some adventure, too."
8. Grandfather said, "I am expecting you to do great things with your life."
9. Grandmother told him, "Always remember where you come from!"
10. His sister remarked, "I am planning to get your room when you leave.”
Exercise 15
Complete the following short dialogues with the simple past or past continuous
tenses.
Scenario: Police investigation of a local crime
Police officer: Mr. Smith, what (do)_________________ at 9:30 last night?
Mr. Smith: Well, I (watch)______________ T.V. Why? What's going on?
Officer: Your neighbor (see)__________a suspicious person in your yard.
Mr. Smith: Which neighbor (tell)___________you that?
Officer: Mrs. Mertz (walk)__________her dog at about that time when she
(notice)__________someone who (look)____________in your window.
Mr. Smith: That (be)__________just my son! He (forget)__________his keys and
(try)__________to ring the doorbell. It (neg-work)_________, so he
(knock)____________on the window to get my attention.
Officer: Thank you. We (need)__________to follow up on Mrs. James' report. At
about 9:40 last night, someone (rob)__________the Stop-N-Shop.
Scenario: While you were out
Boss: I'm so glad that you're back! While you (be)__________out, the office
(fall)____________apart. The phones (ring)____________off the hook. The clients
(come)____________in
and
out
all
day
long.
Several
people
(complain)_____________about the slow service. No one (know)__________ how
to fix the Xerox machine.
Secretary:
It sounds like yesterday (be)__________a typical day. How
(do)___________manage without me?
Boss: I (answer)____________the phone while John from downstairs
(try)____________to clear the jam in the Xerox machine. After I
(handle)__________one crisis, another problem (come)___________up.
Secretary: Do you remember last month when we (talk)___________about my
salary?
At
that
time,
you
(neg-think)______________that
I
(deserve)____________an increase. How do you feel about giving me a raise
now?
REVIEW POINTS
TIME
AND
TENSE
Tense is a verb form that represents a certain time.
There are two kinds of time a writer can stand in: present
and past.
Simple present tense establishes present time.
Simple past tense establishes past time.
Present continuous tense looks at present time from
established present time.
VERB
TENSES
Past continuous tense looks at past time from established
past time.
Present perfect tense looks at an earlier time from the
established present time.
Past perfect tense looks at an earlier past time from the
established past time.
Simple future tense looks at a later time from the
established present time.
Future-from-the-past looks at a time later than the
established past time.
Remember:
The present perfect and the present perfect
continuous tenses are NOT past tenses. We use them in the
present established time when we want to look at an event that
happened in the past and that has a clear relationship to the
present.