Verb Tense Review
There are three forms of the present tense.
• Simple Present: He takes vitamins every
day.
• Present Progressive: We are working on a
project right now.
• Present Perfect: I have driven there many
times.
Forming the Simple Present
• I / You / We / They leave at 5:00.
• I / You / We / They do not leave at 5:00.
• He / She / It leaves at 5:00.
• He / She / It does not leave at 5:00.
Forming the Simple Present with Be
• I am in the office.
• I am not in the office.
• You / We / They are in the office.
• You / We / They are not in the office.
• He / She / It is in the office.
• He / She / It is not in the office.
Using the Simple Present
1. General truths or facts:
• It takes five hours to fly to New York.
2. Habits or routines:
• Louise gets up at 7:00 every morning.
3. Book or movies:
• In the novel Kindred, Dana travels back
in time and lives the life of a slave.
Use the simple present with non-action verbs that express
thoughts, feelings, sense, possession, and appearance.
• Thoughts: agree, believe/think, know, mean, remember
I think this is the best school in the area.
• Feelings: appreciate, have, like, love, need, prefer, want
I like chocolate ice cream better than vanilla.
• Senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste
We hear the dog barking next door.
• Possession: belong, have, own
He has three dogs in the backyard.
• Appearance: appear, be, look, seem
You look a little tired today.
Use the following time words with the simple
present:
always
normally
usually
regularly
occasionally
rarely
seldom
never
daily
monthly
often
sometimes
on Fridays
annually
every week
Practice using the simple present. Correct
the errors in verb tense.
1. My sister don’t like to read.
2. Water is freezing at 32° Fahrenheit.
3. Steve is belonging to the economics
club.
4. We have gone there all the time.
5. Colleen have a new computer.
Forming the Present Progressive
Use the simple present form of be (am, is, are) + the
present participle (-ing) form of the verb.
• I am reading a good book.
• I am not reading a good book.
• You / We / They are studying in the library.
• You / We / They are not studying in the library.
• He / She / It is taking a long time.
• He / She / It is not taking a long time.
Using the Present Progressive
1. Current actions or states:
• Nicholas is studying for a test right now.
2. Current actions over a period of time:
• Tae is majoring in economics at USC.
3. Temporary actions:
• John is speaking Spanish. (right now)
• Miguel speaks Spanish. (permanent ability)
REMEMBER!
With non-action verbs, use the simple present.
• The soup tastes very good.
Not
• The soup is tasting very good.
Use the following time words with the
present progressive:
now
today
currently
this year
at this time
right now
at present
these days
nowadays
presently
this week
at this moment
Practice using the present progressive.
Correct the errors in verb tense.
1. She is knowing the correct answer.
2. At this moment, Mia listens to her iPod.
3. Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving
in November.
4. I take two history classes this semester.
5. Paul is drive to San Francisco today.
Forming the Present Perfect
Use the simple present form of have (have, has) + the past
participle (-ed/-en) form of the verb.
• I / You / We / They have lived here since 1998.
• I / You / We / They have not lived here since
1998.
• He / She / It has lived here since 1998.
• He / She / It has not lived here since 1998.
Using the Present Perfect
1. Unspecified time(s) in the past:
• They have seen that movie (many times)
before.
2. Began in the past, continues to the present, and
possibly into the future:
• Mrs. Alvarez has lived here since 1972.
3. Recently completed:
• I have just finished a very difficult test.
Use the following time words with the
present perfect:
since
yet*
so far
for
already
just
recently
until now
several/many times
*Yet is only used in questions and negative statements.
Practice using the present perfect. Correct the
errors in verb tense.
1. Alex and Hamid didn’t sleep since yesterday.
2. In recent years, I drive the coastal highway
many times.
3. He is president for almost eight years.
4. I am sick recently.
5. Marco never went to Costa Rica before.
[Check Eye on Editing 2, page 4, Self Check 1]
There are three forms of the past tense.
• Simple Past: He went to the movies last
night.
• Past Progressive: We were living in
Indonesia in the 1990s.
• Past Perfect: I had made the plans before
I talked to him.
Forming the Simple Past with Regular Verbs
For all subjects add –ed or –d to the base verb.
•
•
I cleaned the house last night.
I did not clean the house last night.
•
•
You walked at nine months old.
You did not walk at nine months old.
•
•
He lived in Fullerton two years ago.
He did not live in Fullerton two years ago.
•
•
We danced until midnight.
We did not dance until midnight.
•
•
They looked tired after final exams.
They did not look tired after final exams.
Irregular Past Tense Verbs
Irregular verbs have the same past tense
form for all subjects.
do → did
have → had
come → came
go → went
buy → bought
eat → ate
run → ran
take → took
Forming the Simple Past with Be
• I / He / She / It was in Hong Kong last
year.
• You / We / They were in Hong Kong last
year.
Using the Simple Past
1. Actions that ended in the past:
• Alvin graduated last June.
2. Habitual past actions*:
• My parents ate at the same restaurant
every Friday night for 20 years.
*Used to and would can also be used for habitual past actions.
Use the following time words with the simple past:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
yesterday
the day before yesterday
last week/month/year
a few minutes/hours/days ago
in 1980
in the 90s
in the past
Practice using the simple past. Correct the errors
in verb tense.
1.
2.
3.
4.
As a child, I used to watching a lot of TV.
Richard didn’t completed the essay on time.
A few years ago, he gets married.
Francoise only speaks French when she lived
in Paris.
5. When Katherine and Lee finished the test?
Forming the Past Progressive
Use the past form of be (was, were) + the
present participle (-ing).
• I / He / She / It was sitting in the garden.
• You / We / They were sitting in the garden.
Using the Past Progressive
1. Actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past:
•
In 1995 she was living in Washington DC.
2. One past action interrupted by another past action:
•
While I was eating dinner the phone rang.
3. An ongoing action:
•
Last December, I was failing the course. (At this point in time, I was failing;
perhaps I didn’t fail the course.)
•
Last December, I failed the course. (I definitely failed the course.)
4. Use the simple past with non-action verbs.
•
During the test, I knew all the answers.
•
Not
During the test, I was knowing all the answers.
Use the following time words with the past
progressive:
•
•
•
•
•
as
at that time/moment
during
at the time
in the 1950s/70s
Practice using the past progressive. Correct the
errors in verb tense.
1. Lia was having many friends by the end of the
semester.
2. Ann was take a pronunciation class but
dropped it.
3. I saw my favorite teacher while I ate lunch in
the cafeteria.
4. At 11:00 this morning, I still slept.
5. On the second day of the semester, I was
joining the class.
Forming the Past Perfect
Use the simple past form of have (had) + the past participle (-ed/-en)
form of the verb.
• I / You /He / We / They had started before everyone
arrived.
Many verbs have irregular past participles.
Some end in –en (taken, given, eaten, driven, written).
Others end in –t (built, meant, slept).
Common irregular past participles include been, done, drunk, gone,
and read.
Using the Past Perfect
1. Past actions that happened before another past
action:
• The rain had stopped by the time we left work.
• The students saw the movie after they had
read the book.
2. Past actions that happened before a specific
past time:
• Susan had never seen this movie before.
• By midnight the party had ended.
The simple past can often replace the past
perfect with no change in meaning.
• She went to dinner after she had finished
the work.
Or
• She went to dinner after she finished the
work.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
When only one past event is mentioned, use
the simple past, not the past perfect.
• We used a dictionary during the test.
Not
• We had used a dictionary during the test.
Use the following time words with the past
perfect:
•
•
•
•
•
•
before
after
until
when
by then
by the time
Practice using the past perfect. Correct the errors
in verb tense.
1. When the movie ended, Joan realized her
friends left.
2. Grace had realized that she had left the house
unlocked.
3. She wrote the essay by the time it was due.
4. We had attended the last lecture yesterday.
5. The child didn’t see a lion before that day.
[Check Eye on Editing 2, page 6, Self Check 2]
There are four forms of the future.
• Simple Future: We will get home about 10:00.
• be going to: I am going to take a class next
semester.
• Present Progressive: I am eating at Ki’s house
tonight.
• Simple Present: Our plane leaves at 5:00.
Forming the Future
Simple Future
• I / You / He / It / We / They will arrive later today.
• I / You / He / It / We / They will not [won’t] arrive
later today.
Using the Simple Future
1.
•
2.
•
3.
•
4.
•
5.
•
Scheduled events:
The movie will begin at 8:30.
Predictions:
It will be very hot tomorrow.
Promises:
I will never tell your secret.
Offers:
I will drive you to school tomorrow.
Request:
Will you take a walk with me?
Forming the Future
be going to
I am going to move next summer.
I am not going to move next summer.
You / We / They are going to move next summer.
You / We / They are not going to move next summer.
He / She / It is going to move next summer.
He / She / It is not going to move next summer.
Using the future with be going to
1. Planned events:
• I am going to take five classes next semester.
2. Predictions:
• I think this class is going to be very difficult.
Forming the Future
Present Progressive
I am eating dinner with Elena tonight.
I am not eating dinner with Elena tonight.
You / We / They are eating dinner with Elena tonight.
You / We / They are not eating dinner with Elena tonight.
He / She / It is eating dinner with Elena tonight.
He / She / It is not eating dinner with Elena tonight.
Using the future with the present
progressive
1. Plans already made:
• I am having a vocabulary test tomorrow
morning.
Using the future with the simple present
1. Schedule events or events on a timetable:
• The bus departs at 6:00 tomorrow morning.
• The performance begins in 15 minutes.
Verbs commonly used in the simple present to
refer to the future are: arrive, begin, depart,
finish, leave, and start.
Use the following time words with the future:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
tonight
tomorrow
the day after tomorrow
later
next week
later today
this afternoon/evening
Practice using the future. Correct the errors
in verb tense.
1. Tomas and Ruben going to leave for
Mexico.
2. Zack is a year old next summer.
3. The final exam tomorrow is difficult.
4. We will remodeling our house next
summer.
[Check Eye on Editing 2, page 8, Self Check 3]