Reviewing Verb Tenses
Verb Tense Review
The Importance of Time
Verb tense expresses the time of an event
or action. Time and how it is expressed in
writing is very important to English readers.
The English language has twelve different
tenses. In this lesson, we will review only four
of them.
Simple Present
Expresses a habit or often repeated action.
Adverbs of frequency such as often, seldom,
sometimes, never, etc. are used with this
tense.
She goes to work everyday.
They always eat lunch together.
Grammar structure
Auxiliary verb: Do/does
 Affirmative
Subject + verb (-s) + complement
 Negative
Subject + do /does NOT + verb + complement
 Interrogative
Do/does + subject + verb + complement ?
 Yes, + subject + do/does
X No, + subject + do/does + not
Pronouns (subject)
Auxiliary Verb
I
Do
You
Do
She
Does
He
Does
It
Does
They
Do
We
Do
She
He
It
Add “s” to the verb
Examples
 Simple present
Aff:
He runs everyday
Neg:
He doesn’t run everyday
Interrogative: Does he run everyday?
 yes, he does.
X No, he does not.
Present Continuous
This tense is used to describe an action that
is occurring right now (at this moment, today,
this year, etc.). The action has begun and is
still in progress.
She is writing a paper for her class.
He can’t talk. He is fixing the sink right now.
Grammar structure
Auxiliary verb: To be
(am/is/are)
 Affirmative
Subject + to be + verb(-ING) + complement
 Negative
Subject + to be + NOT + verb(-ING) + complement
 Interrogative
To be + subject + verb(-ING) + complement ?
 Yes, + subject + am/is/are
X No, + subject + am/is/are + not
Pronouns (subject)
Auxiliary Verb
I
Am
You
Are
She
Is
He
Is
It
Is
They
Are
We
Are
Examples
 Present Continuous
Aff:
She is reading a book.
Neg:
She is not reading a book.
Interrogative: Is she reading a book?
 yes, she is.
X No, she is not.
Simple Past
We use the simple past to indicate exactly
when an action or event took place in the past.
I visited my sister yesterday.
We went out to dinner last night.
Grammar structure
Auxiliary verb: Did
 Affirmative
Subject + verb (-ed) + complement
 Negative
Subject + did + NOT + verb + complement
 Interrogative
Did + subject + verb + complement ?
 Yes, + subject + did
X No, + subject + did + not
Pronouns (subject)
Auxiliary Verb
I
Did
You
Did
She
Did
He
Did
It
Did
They
Did
We
Did
Regular
verbs
Past
Tense
Add+ed
Listen- listened
Dance- danced
Examples
 Simple past
A: They watched T.V yesterday.
N: They didn’t watch T.V yesterday.
I: Did they watch T.V yesterday?
 yes, they did.
X No, they did not.
Past Continuous
The past progressive is used to talk about
an activity that was in progress at a specific
point of time in the past. The emphasis is on
the duration of the activity in the past.
I was studying for an exam while my mother was
cooking dinner.
We were walking in the park around 7 p.m. last
night.
Grammar structure
Auxiliary verb: to be
(was/were)
 Affirmative
Subject + to be + verb(-ING) + complement
 Negative
Subject + to be + NOT + verb(-ING) + complement
 Interrogative
To be + subject + verb(-ING) + complement ?
 Yes, + subject + was / were
X No, + subject + was / were + not
Pronouns (subject)
Auxiliary Verb
I
Was
You
Were
She
Was
He
Was
It
Was
They
Were
We
Were
Examples
 Past Continuous
A: We were listening to music for 1 hour.
N: We weren’t listening to music for 1 hour
I: Were we listening to music for 1 hour?
 yes, we were.
X No, we were not.