VERB TENSES

FORM

USES

EXAMPLES

PRESENT SIMPLE


- base form of the verb


1. For a present state
2. For repeated actions/permanent
routine
3. Things that always happen
4. For facts
5. To describe actions as they happen
6. For past events to make a story
come to life
7. To explain plot of a story
8. To report a written word
9. For what someone has said recently


1. My boyfriend likes hiphop
2-3. We play volleyball on
Wednesdays
4. York lies on the River Ouse
5. I add the sauce and stir gently
6. Im standing there, and a man comes
up to me and grabs me by the arm
7. Macbeth murders the King of
Scotland, who is staying at this castle
8. It says in the paper the game
today.
9. Laura says she doesnt feel well


PRESENT CONTINUOUS


- Present of be + ing


1. Something we are in the middle of
2. Action has started but not finished
3. Temporary routine
4. For past events to make story come
to life
5. To explain plot of a story


1-2. Someone is following us
3. Im travelling by bus this week
4. Im standing there, and a man
comes up to me and grabs me by the
arm
5. Macbeth murders the King of
Scotland, who is staying at this castle

PRESENT PERFECT


- has/have + past participle/irregular


1. For an action in a period leading up
to the present
2. Can cover the whole of history or
the whole of someones life up to the
present
3. For a series of action before now
4. For a state lasting up to the present
5. In news, we use it when we tell some
news.
6. W1e see the action or state as
relevant to the present


1. The visitors have arrived
2. There have always been wars
3. Ive ridden horses lots of times
4. Ive had this computer for 3 years
5. There has been a serious accident
on the M6.


PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS


- has/have + been + ing


1. For an action over a period of time
leading up to the present
2. The action can be continuing in the
present
3. Or the action may have ended
recently
4. use for/since
5. For a series of repeated actions.


1. Ive been waiting here for half an
hour.
2. Im waiting for Tom. Ive been
waiting ages (I am still waiting)
3. Im hot because Ive been running
4. Weve been living here for 6 mos./
since april
5. Ive been going to evening classes.

PAST SIMPLE


- base form + ed / irregular/ was or
were/ had


1. For an action in the past
2. Series of actions in the past
3. For states
4. If state is over
5. One action immediately follows
another


1. I bought this coat yesterday
2. I often visited this place as a child
3. That party last week was great
4. I was there from 3 oclock to 5.
5. When the bomb went off, the
building collapsed

PAST CONTINUOUS


- was/were + ing


1. To express an idea that a time in
the past, we were in the middle of
something
2. For an action going on over a whole
period
3. An action can happen around a time
or around another action
4. Past continuous : longer action ;
Past simple : shorter action
The shorter action interrupts the
longer one


1. At 3 a.m, I wwas lying there wide
awake
2. The builders were working all night
3. It was raining at ten oclock/when I
left
4. I was washing my hair when you
rang


PAST PERFECT


- had + past participle


1. For an action or state before a past
time.


1. Adam was sad that his aunt had
died
I couldnt go as I hadnt bought a
ticket
How long had the animals been w/o
food and water?


PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS


- had been + ing



1. For an action that went on over a
period before a past time.


1. Someone had been using my
computer.
Until then things hadnt been going
well.
Had you already been practicing?
When I found the file, Id been
looking for it for some time.


FUTURE CONTINUOUS

Will be + ing

1. For an action that we will be in the
middle of
2. For an action over a whole future
period
3. For an action which will result from
a routine or arrangement

1. Ill be working all day tomorrow
We wont be doing much on Sunday
Will you be staying here long?
Well be having tea at seven
2. Sarah will be revising all evening
3. Ill be phoning my mother tonight.
(Its part of my regular routine)

FUTURE PERFECT

Will have + past participle

1. To talk about something being over
in the future
2. Focuses on the result of action

1. Ill have finished this book soon. Im
nearly at the end
Gemma wont have completed her
studies until shes 25
How long will the casserole have been
in the oven?
2. Ill have written the report by six

FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Will have been + ing

1. When we imagine looking back from
the future
2. Focuses on the action going on

1. Mike is leaving next month. Hell
have been working here ten years
Our neighbors are moving. They wont
have been living here long
How long will the spaceship have been
orbiting the earth?
2. Ill have been writing it for a week