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The tense of a verb indicates the time of the action or the state of being expressed by the verb.
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The verb

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In chronological order, the verb tenses are:

Past Perfect

Past

Present Perfect

Present

Future Perfect

Future

Singular
I studied you studied he, she, it studied
Singular
I study
You study
He, she, it studies
Singular
I shall (will) study you will (shall) study
He, she, it will (shall) study
Conjugation of the Verb Study
Past Tense
Plural we studied you studied they studied
Present Tense
Plural we study you study they study
Future Tense
Plural we shall (will) study you will (shall) study they will (shall) study

Singular
I had studied you had studied he, she, it had studied
Singular
I have studied you have studied he, she, it has studied
Singular
I shall (will) have studied you will (shall) have studied
Conjugation of the Verb Study
Past Perfect Tense
Plural we had studied you had studied they had studied
Present Perfect Tense
He, she, it will (shall) have studied
Plural we have studied you have studied they have studied
Future Tense
Plural we shall (will) have studied you will (shall) have studied they will (shall) have studied

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Each tense has an additional form called the progressive form , which expresses continuing action or state of being.
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The progressive form consists of the appropriate tense of be plus the present participle of a verb.
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Nota bene : The progressive form is not a separate tense. It is simply another form of each of the six tenses.

Singular
I was studying you were studying he, she, it was studying
Singular
I am studying you are studying he, she, it is studying
Singular
I shall (will) be studying you will (shall) be studying
Progressive Form for the Verb Study
Past Progressive
Plural we were studying you were studying they were studying he, she, it will (shall) be studying
Present Progressive
Plural we are studying you are studying they are studying
Future Progressive
Plural we shall (will) be studying you will (shall) be studying they will (shall) be studying

Progressive Form for the Verb Study
Past Perfect Progressive
Singular
I had been studying you had been studying he, she, it had been studying
Plural we had been studying you had been studying they had been studying
Singular
I have been studying you have been studying he, she, it has been studying
Present Perfect Progressive
Plural we have been studying you have been studying they have been studying
Future Perfect Progressive
Singular
I shall (will) have been studying you will (shall) have been studying he, she, it will (shall) have been studying
Plural we shall (will) have been studying you will (shall) have been studying they will (shall) have been studying


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Form used by past and present tense
Shows emphasis
Can also be used to form questions and negative statements. This usage does not place special emphasis on the verb.
For present tense: put do or does in front of the base form of the verb.


I do not intend to give up on winning counties.
Although the garden looks healthy, it does need watering.
For past tense: put did in front of the base form of the verb.


The athlete suffered many setbacks, but she did achieve her goal of playing in the championship game.
Did anyone make a study guide over break?

BE

BE

Conjunction is different from other verbs

Progressive form is generally used only in past and present tenses
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No form of the verb takes an emphatic form.

BE
Singular
I was you were he, she, it was
Singular
I am you are he, she, it is
Singular
I shall (will) be you will (shall) be he, she, it will (shall) be
Conjugation of the Verb Be
Past Tense
Plural we were you were they were
Present Tense
Plural we are you are they are
Future Tense
Plural we shall (will) be you will (shall) be they will (shall) be

BE
Singular
I had been you had been he, she, it had been
Singular
I have been you have been he, she, it has been
Singular
I shall (will) have been you will (shall) have been he, she, it will (shall) have been
Conjugation of the Verb Be
Past Perfect Tense
Plural we had been you had been they had been
Present Tense
Plural we have been you have been they have been
Future Tense
Plural we shall (will) have been you will (shall) have been they will (shall) have been

BE
Singular
I was being you were being he, she, it was being
Singular
I am being you are being he, she, it is being
Conjugation of the Verb Be
Past Progressive Form
Plural we were being you were being they were being
Present Progressive Form
Plural we are being you are being they are being

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Past tense verbs express an action or state of being that existed or happened in the past and did not continue into the present.

I stayed at the library until closing time. (past)

I was researching the life and times of Akhenaten, an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who instituted a monotheistic religion. (past progressive)
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My research did provide me with enough information for my paper on Akhenaten. (past emphatic)

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Present tense verbs express an action or state of being that is occurring now, at the present time.

Elise, Jill, and Amy wait patiently to be called on in class. (present)

Elise, Jill, and Amy are waiting patiently to be called on in class. (present progressive)

Elise, Jill, and Amy do wait patiently to be called on in class. (present emphatic)

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 show a customary or habitual state of being

Mrs. Mathews grades essays within one week.
state a general truth – something that is always true

It is wrong to murder someone.
to summarize the plot or subject matter of a literary work
( literary present )

Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband into murder.
to make a historical event seem current ( historical present )

Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor causes America to enter World
War II.
to express future time

American Idiot opens next week and runs through the summer.

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Future tense verbs express an action of state of being that will occur.

I shall attend the Writer’s Workshop at the
University of Pennsylvania this summer. (future)

I shall be attending the Writer’s Workshop at the
University of Pennsylvania this summer. (future progressive)

OTHER WAYS TO INDICATE A FUTURE ACTION

The present tense of be + going to + base form of a verb

My parents are going to visit China next year.
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Present tense of be + about to + base form of a verb
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
Ms. Molloy is about to address the student body.
Present tense of a verb with a word of word group that expresses future time

Midterms begin on Tuesday, January 18th.

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The past perfect tense expresses an action or state of being that ended before some other past action or state of being.
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Past perfect verbs are formed with the helping verb had and the past participle of a verb.

I finally remembered where I had seen her before.
(past perfect)
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I had been digging through my backpack before I realized that the book I needed was in my locker.
(past perfect progressive)

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The present perfect tense expresses an action or a state of being that occurred at some indefinite time in the past.
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The tense is formed with the helping verb have or has and the past participle of a verb.

I have written to the governor, but I have not received a reply. (present perfect)

Who has been borrowing my iPod without asking?
(present perfect progressive)

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Remember, present perfect is ONLY for events that have occurred at some indefinite point in the past.

Do not use present perfect tense to indicate a specific time in the past. Use past tense for that!

YES!


Apple published a new app for the iPhone last week.
When I was six I wanted to be an astronaut.
NO!


Apple has published a new app for the iPhone last week.
When I was six I have wanted to be an astronaut.

I have applied to a summer program in Washington D.C. but I have not heard any news about my acceptance yet.

I applied to a summer program in Washington D.C., but I did not hear any news about my acceptance yet.

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Present perfect is also used to express an action or state of being that began in the past and that continues into the present.

The United States Marine Corps has existed since
1775. (present perfect)

The Corps has been serving on occupation duty in
Iraq since early 2004. (present perfect progressive)

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
The future perfect tense expresses an action or state of being that will end before some other action of state of being.
The tense is formed with the helping verbs will have or shall have and the past participle of a verb.
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By the time the year is over, you will have written more than four essays. (future perfect)

By March, the yearbook staff will have been working on the 2010 yearbook for one whole year! (future perfect progressive)

UNDERSTANDING THE USES OF THE SIX TENSES
Identify the tense of each verb (and any relevant forms) in these sentences. How do the differences in tense affect the meanings of the sentences?
1.
a. Margo lived in Brazil for eight years.
2.
b. Margo has lived in Brazil for eight years.
a. How many home runs did Derek Jeter hit this season?
b. How many home runs has Derek Jeter hit
3.
this season?
a. Our team is producing the whole film ourselves.
b. Our team will be producing the whole film ourselves.

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When describing events that occur at the same time, use verbs in the same tense!
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
The bell rings, and the classroom empties. (present)
The bell rang, and the classroom emptied. (past)
When describing events that occur at different times, use verbs in different tenses to show the order of events.
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
I run track now, but I played volleyball in middle school.
Cara mentioned that she had invited the whole lunch table to the party, but I know that I did not receive an invitation.
Remember, the tense you use expresses its own meaning, so choose wisely.


Do not use would have in an “ if ” clause that expresses the earlier of two past actions. Use the past perfect tense instead.

YES!
NO!



If he had taken more time building his project, he would have won the science fair.
I would not have been late if I had had a watch.
The storm would not have been as bad if it had moved through more quickly than it did.
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

If he would have taken more time building his project, he would have won the science fair.
I would not have been late if I would have had a watch.
The storm would not have been as bad if it would have moved through more quickly than it did.

FIX ANY MISTAKES IN THE FOLLOWING
SENTENCES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pam appreciated the old saying that every cloud had a silver lining.
By the time we graduate in June, Sra. Vargas will be teaching Spanish for twenty-four years.
Although Denny’s skill was demonstrated during the season, he was not chosen to play in the allstar game.
If they would have called sooner, we would have given them a ride.
When Jeremy got to the dentist after school, his tooth already stopped hurting.

PRESENT AND PRESENT PERFECT INFINITIVES

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Reminder: an infinitive is a verb form that can be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
It generally begins with to .

Present infinitive examples:

To be

To discover

To go

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The present infinitive expresses an action or a state of being that follows another action or state of being.

Charlotte had expected to go with us to the Bergen dance.

She had planned to ask her mother for permission.

In both cases, the action expressed by the infinitive follows the action expressed by the earlier verb!


Form the present perfect infinitive with to + have + past tense of verb

Present perfect infinitive examples:

To have been

To have discovered

To have gone


The present perfect infinitive expresses an action or a state of being that precedes another action or state of being.

My little brother pretended to have read my diary.

I would like to have gone to the dance, but I have to study.
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In both cases, the action of the infinitive occurs before the action expressed by the earlier verb.


Write a total of six sentences. Use the present infinitive in three of them and the present perfect infinitive in three of them.

PRESENT, PAST, AND PRESENT PERFECT
PARTICIPLES

Past Participle been discovered
Present Participle being discovering
Present Perfect Participle having been having discovered

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Reminder: a verbal is a verb form that is used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.

When used as a verbal, the present participle or past participle expresses an action or state of being that occurs at the same time as another action or state of being.


Receiving word of their freedom in June 1865, former slaves in Texas created the Juneteenth holiday. (The two actions occur at the same time.)

Gathered at my grandmother’s house, my family celebrated Juneteenth this year. (The two actions occur at the same time.)
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Remember to keep the verb tense of the participle and the other verb the same!


When used as a verbal, the present perfect participle expresses an action or state of being that precedes another action or state of being.

Having missed the midterm exam, I took a makeup test.

Having been accepted by several colleges, Sam chose one.


Write a total of six sentences. Use the present or past participle in three of them and the present perfect participle in three of them.

USING TENSES CORRECTLY: SPOTTING
MISTAKES
1.
2.
3.
4.
Spending three hours on a review of chemistry, we then worked on irregular French verbs.
Standing in line for more than two hours, Vicky finally got tickets to the Lady Gaga concert.
To have written about the historical Macbeth, I would have to do more research at the library.
Flying from California to New Jersey before, we remembered to set our watches back.