Recapitulation of 12 Types of Verb Tenses
Verb tenses identify the time period when an action occurs. There are three different
tenses in English: the present, the past and the future. Each of these tenses has four aspects:
simple, perfect, continuous, and perfect continuous.
1. Simple Present Tense
- It is utilized when something is happening right now or frequently. It is form using the
root word by adding -s or -es at the end. The affirmative structure: S + Verb + Object;
example: The doctor cleans the scalpel. Negative structure: S + do/does + not +
verb; example: The Aspirator does not function. Interrogative: do/does + S + verb;
example: Does the chemotherapy work well?. There are 9 conditions in this tense
and those are; express general truth, habits, future timetable, future after “when:,
“until”…, permanent situations, for newspaper headlines, with non-progressive, when
telling stories, and for giving directions and interactions.
2. Present Continuous Tense
- It is utilized when something is happening right now, regularly and might continue in
the future. The Affirmative structure: S + am/is/are + present participle (V + ing),
example: The kid is taking his medicine. Negative structure: S + am/is/are + not +
present participle (V + ing); example: The kid is not taking his medicine. Interrogative
structure: Am/Is/Are + S + present participle (verb + ing); example: Is the kid taking
his medicine?. There are 6 conditions in this tense and those are; describe
something which is happening at the exact moment of speech, describe an action
that is taking place now but not at the exact moment of speech, describe an event
planned in the future (informal), to describe a temporary situation, to emphasize the
frequency of an action, and to describe changing situation.
3. Present Perfect Tense
- It shows a connection between the PRESENT and PAST. It describes action that
have already occurred at a certain moment. The Affirmative structure: S + have/has
+ past participle; example: The doctor has written a prescription for medicine. The
Negative structure: S + have/has +not + past participle; example: The doctor has not
written a prescription for medicine. The Interrogative structure: Have/Has + S + past
participle; example: Has the doctor written a prescription for medicine?. There are 6
conditions in this tense and those are; to express things you have done in your life,
to express number of times you have done something, to describe recently
completed actions which are important now, to express situations that started in the
past are and are still true, to describe unfinished actions or situations, and to express
present result.
4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense
- It is began in the past and is still going on now. It emphasizes on duration. The
Affirmative structure: S + has/have + been + V(-ing); example: They have been
injecting flu shots for two hours. The Negative structure: S + has/have +not + been +
V(-ing); example: I have not been feeling well these days. The Interrogative
structure: Has/Have + S + been + V(-ing); example: Have they been resuscitating the
patient for five minutes?. There are 3 conditions in this tense and those are; express
long actions that started in the past and continue until now, express recent actions
that have clear evidence or results now, and typically and for shorter, more
temporary situations.
5. Simple Past Tense
- It’s discuss events or conditions that occurred in the past or a previous state of
being. The Affirmative structure: S+V (d/ed); example: Joseph entered the cadaver
room without permission. The Negative structure: S + Did + not +V; example: Joseph
didn’t just enter the room, but also without permission. The Interrogative structure:
Did + S + V; example: Did Joseph enter the cadaver room without permission?.
There are 4 conditions in this tense and those are; to express completed action in
the past, to describe a series of completed actions in the past, to express habits in
the past, and for stative verbs have (own), be, think (believe), know, dislike, need,
owe, wish.
6. Past Continuous Tense
- This tense refers to an ongoing activity or situation that was occurring in the past. It
also depicts historical circumstances. The affirmative structure: S + HV (was/were) +
V (-ing); example: Yesterday, a surgeon, was removing the clouded lenses of an
elderly male who developed cataracts. The negative structure: S + HV (was/were) +
not + verb (-ing); example: Alan and Jane were not studying for their last anatomy
and physiology exam last semester that’s why they got a lower grade. The
interrogative structure: HV (was/were) + S + V (-ing); example: Were the two
students discussing the mechanisms involved in respiration rate during physical
exercise all day?. There are 4 conditions in this tense and those are; to describe
parallel actions, to describe what someone was doing at a particular point in time, to
express interrupted action in the past, and to describe repetition and irritation.
7. Past Perfect Tense
- It is a specific moment in time or discussed events that took place before other
events. The Affirmative structure: S + had + past participle; example: The players
adrenaline had dropped before the match finished. The Negative structure: S + had +
not + past participle; example: She hadn’t studied the parts of the abdomen 30
minutes before we took the exam. The Interrogative structure: Had + S + past
participle; example: Had she studied 30 minutes before the anatomy & physiology
exams ?. there are 4 conditions in this tense and those are; to describe an action
finished before another past action, describe an action that happened before a
specific time in the past, to describe cause and effect (combine with past simple),
and to emphasize the result of an activity in the past.
8. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
- It is began in the past and continued until another time in the past. The Affirmative
structure: S + had been + V (-ing); example: The doctor had been checking the
patient's condition since 5 a.m.. The Negative structure: S +had not/hadn’t + been +
V(-ing); example: They had not been taking good care of their health for 12 years.
The Interrogative structure: Had + S + been + V(-ing); example: Had he been
studying a medical course for 4 years?. There are 3 conditions in this tense and
those are; to describe a past action, already started and continued up to another
action or time in the past, to express the direction before something in the part, and
to describe the cause of something in the past.
9. Simple Future Tense
- This tense refers to discussing events that haven’t yet occurred. It is some time in
the future which we do not have any control. The Affirmative structure: S + will/shall
+ V (base form); example: Dr. Cruz will return to the delivery room. The Negative
structure: S + will not/won’t + V (base form); example: The pediatrician will not
consult the patients yet. The Interrogative structure: Will + S + V (base form);
example: Will he recommend the mammography test?. There are 6 conditions in this
tense and those are; for actions decided at the moment of speech, for unplanned
future actions, for offspring, asking for a request promising, ordering, or threatening,
for unpreventable actions in future, with conditional, time and purpose clauses, and
for thoughts, predictions, assumption, sureness, fears about future.
10. Future Continuous Tense
- It denotes future events. It lasts for a predetermined period of time. It is only used
with action verbs. The Affirmative structure: S + will + be + V(-ing) present participle;
example: I will be going to the hospital at 8:00 am tomorrow. The Negative structure:
S + will + not + be + V(-ing) present participle; example: Hans will not be playing
basketball tomorrow because of his leg operation. The Interrogative structure: Will +
S + be + V(-ing) present participle; example: Will they be staying after the
explosion?. There are 7 conditions in this tense and those are; to describe
interrupted action to the future, to express actions in progress at a specific time in
the future, to refer to action that are happening now and expected to continue in the
future, to ask a question politely about the future, to emphasize future plans and
intentions, to describe atmosphere in the future, and to express parallel actions or
series of parallel actions in the future.
11. Future Perfect Tense
- It refers to an activity between now and will be done at a future date. It also refers to
time expression. The Affirmative structure: S + will + have + verb [past participle];
example: The therapist will have achieved his aim by March. The Negative structure:
S + will +not + have + [past participle]; example: By noon, I will not have finished off
the operation. The Interrogative structure: Will + S + have + past participle; example:
Will the nurses have cleaned the scalpels by 11pm?. There are 3 conditions in this
tense and those are; to talk about an action that will finish before a certain time in the
future, to talk about an action that will be completed before another event takes
place, and to express conviction that something happened in the near past.
12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense
- It refers to an activity that continues until a specific event or time. Duration: at a
reference point (future). The Affirmative structure: S + will + have + been + V (-ing) +
duration; example: Sheena will have been studying the quadrants of the abdomen
tomorrow afternoon. The Negative structure: S + will + have + not + been + V (-ing) +
duration; example: Sheena wouldn’t have been studying the quadrants of the
abdomen tomorrow afternoon. The Interrogative structure: Will + subject + have
been + (V -ing) + duration; example: Will Sheena have been studying the quadrants
of the abdomen tomorrow afternoon?. There are 2 conditions in this tense and those
are; to show that something will continue up until a particular event or time in the
future , and to talk about something that finishes just before another time or action.