Verb Tenses
It is not what you thought!
Verbs. What is a verb?
• A verb is a word which describes the
action in a sentence (the doing word)
Examples
I play football.
They skip quickly.
We eat spaghetti.
Bob is seven today.
Verb Tenses
• Verb tenses describe WHEN the action is
happening.
• PRESENT (it’s happening NOW.)
• PAST (it’s ALREADY happened.)
• FUTURE (it’s ABOUT to happen.)
Present tense to past tense.
• The following sentences are written in the present tense.
Try changing them to the past tense by putting
Yesterday at the beginning of each.
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I eat spaghetti.
They skip quickly.
Bob is seven.
I play football.
How have the verbs changed?
How did you do?
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Yesterday I ate spaghetti.
Yesterday they skipped quickly.
Yesterday Bob was seven.
Yesterday I played football.
(Did you remember to double the consonant in skipped?)
Past to present
These sentences are in the past.
Change them to the present by putting today at the front of
each.
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Sarah felt hot.
The cow jumped over the moon.
John sat outside in the garden.
The mouse ran up the clock.
How did you do?
• Today Sarah feels hot.
• Today the cow jumps over the moon.
• Today John sits outside in the
garden.
• Today the mouse runs up the clock.
The future tense.
• The future tense is used to describe what will or could
happen. Change these sentences to the future tense by
adding tomorrow at the start of each.
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Jack and Jill went up the hill.
Thomas chased the mouse.
Lucy entered the wardrobe.
Bo Peep lost her sheep.
How did you do?
• Tomorrow Jack and Jill could/will go up
the hill.
• Tomorrow Thomas could/will chase the
mouse.
• Tomorrow Lucy could/will enter the
wardrobe.
• Tomorrow Bo Peep could/will lose her
sheep.
More Verb Tenses
• Simple Present: is happening Now
• Present Perfect: started in the past and is
still happening
• Simple Past: happened before
• Past Perfect: started in the past and
finished in the past before something else
• Future: happens in the future
• Future Perfect: the action will start and
finish in the future
Progression
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Simple Present: They walk
Present Perfect: They have walked
Simple Past: They walked
Past Perfect: They had walked
Future: They will walk
Future Perfect: They will have walked
Present Perfect: started in the past
and is still happening
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The dog has had fleas for three years.
I have gone to school on the bus for years.
He has been visiting Vietnam.
He has been studying grammar for an hour.
She has been cooking all day.
She has been living in Taiwan for the last two
months.
Your turn
• Change the simple present tense to
present perfect:
• She rides her bike.
• He exercises.
• They learn their multiplication facts.
Check yourself:
• Change the simple present tense to
present perfect:
• She rides her bike. She has been riding
her bike.
• He exercises. He has been exercising.
• They learn their multiplication facts. They
have been learning their multiplication
facts.
Your turn
• Change the simple past tense to present
perfect:
• She jumped on the bed.
• He drove to DC.
• They ate lunch.
Check yourself:
• Change the simple past tense to present
perfect:
• She jumped on the bed. She has been
jumping on the bed.
• He drove to DC. He has been driving to
DC.
• They ate lunch. They have been eating
lunch.
Future Perfect: the action will start
and finish in the future
• The vet will have given all the puppies a
flea collar two months after they are born.
• I will have gone to school for three
months before we get a break.
 We will have finished the exam by the
time class ends tomorrow.
 By the time he finishes law school, we will
have been living in the U.S. for eight
years.
Your turn.
Future Perfect: the action will start
and finish in the future
• Change the simple future tense to future
perfect:
• I will go to the store.
• She will drive home.
• They will clean their bedroom.
Check Yourself:
Future Perfect: the action will start
and finish in the future
• Change the simple future tense to future perfect:
• I will go to the store. I will have gone to the
store before cooking dinner.
• She will drive home. She will have driven home
before dinner time.
• They will clean their bedroom. They will have
cleaned their bedroom by bed time.
Past Perfect: started in the past
and finished in the past before
something else
• The dog had had fleas for two years before he
stopped scratching.
• I had gone to fourth grade before I started fifth
grade.
 She had been driving around the city for three
hours before she finally found the right office.
• The Titanic had received many warnings before
it hit the iceberg.
• I had already eaten when my friend stopped by
to visit.
Your turn:
• Change the simple past tense to past
perfect:
• I walked and then I read a book. I had
been walking before I read a book.
• I studied and then I ate dinner.
• I fished and then I went for a hike.
Your turn:
• Change the simple past tense to past
perfect:
• I walked and then I read a book. I had
been walking before I read a book.
• I studied and then I ate dinner. I had been
studying before I ate dinner.
• I fished and then I went for a hike. I had
been fishing before I went for a hike.