Tenses - Past, Present & Future

Tenses - Past, Present & Future

​Tenses can be tricky

​In simple terms there are three tenses - past, present and future.

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​In reality, there are more, and these can be quite complex. We are going to stick to the relatively straightforward today.

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​We are going to talk about auxilliary verbs to help with tense, mood and voice, but we will try and keep them quite simple.

​Irregular verbs

​What can make tense management tricky is what we call the group of irregular verbs.

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​These are verbs which do not follow the normal way of changing tense.

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​Regular verbs use -ed to put themselves in the past tense and return to the base form to be used with auxilliary verbs in the future tense.

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​Present tense - They walk

Past tense = They walked

Future tense = They will walk

​Irregular verbs

​Irregular verbs don't follow the regular rules. They change in different and unusual ways and I'm afraid you just have to remember them

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​Present tense - They fall

Past tense - They fell

Future tense = They will fall

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​You will notice that the problems only really exist in the past tense. It gets even more confusing when we use what we call past participles. They are versions of the word that work in complex tenses like future perfect.

​They will have fallen

​Past, Present and Future

​But we will keep it relatively simple here.

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​Have go at the following questions - paying close attention to what the question asks you to do.

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​You don't need to rewrite the whole sentence just the word or words that are needed.

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​One word = walked Two words = will walk, have walked

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

The bus__________(arrive) late at the bus stop last night.

Put this into the simple Past tense

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

Sam ________ (live) in Bedford.

Put this into the Present tense

Multiple Choice

Put this sentence in to the past tense.

We (drink) all the water.

• drinked

• dranken

• drink

• drank

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

The teachers ________ (finish) marking our dictation already.

Put into the Past tense - use it with the auxilliary verb 'have'

Multiple Choice

Put this sentence in to the past tense.

Have you ever (wear) a cowboy hat?

• wear

• worn

• weared

• wored

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

Renee tripped and ________ (fall).

Put this into the simple Past tense. Careful, this is an irregular verb.

Multiple Choice

Put this sentence in to the past tense.

After practice, they (take) us to dinner.

• tooken

• take

• took

Multiple Choice

Put this sentence in to the past tense.

I (make) my mom a cake.

• made

• make

• cooked

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

Dad ________ (work) for this company for more than 20 years.

Put into the Past tense

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

Sharon ________ (travel) to Japan every summer.

Put into the Present tense

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

I watched TV while Mum ________ (wash) the dishes.

Put into the Past tense

Multiple Choice

Put this sentence in to the past tense.

We (bring) my dog to the park.

• brung

• brought

• bring

• bringed

Fill in the Blank

Use an auxilliary verb to put this sentence into the future tense.

I hope the princess ____ get away from the castle.

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

The king was sad because the queen ___ ______ (turn) into a mouse.

Please put into the Past tense - use the auxiliary verb 'had' to help you

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

The worker ___ ________ (check) the trains now before they go to the next station.

Put into the Present tense - use with the auxilliary verb 'is' and show the worker is doing the action

Fill in the Blank

Write the auxilliary verb into this sentence.

We ____ not set off for the hike yet.

We need to use an auxiliary verb to put this into the Past Tense

Fill in the Blank

Write the auxilliary verb into this sentence.

Two of the students __ not want to take the exam.

We have to use an auxiliary verb to put this into the present tense

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

I first ____ (go) to Beijing in 2017.

Please put this into the Past tense

Fill in the Blank

Write the auxilliary verb into this sentence.

The thief ___ not got away yet. He is still hiding!

Put this into the Past tense

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

Alexander Graham Bell _______ (invent) the telephone in 1876.

Put this into the Past tense

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

My sister ________ (cook) when the phone rang.

Please put this into a complex Past tense - use it with the auxilliary verb 'was' and show that your sister was doing that action when the phone rang

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

The monkeys ________ (swing) from tree to tree now.

Put into the Present tense - use the Auxilliary verb 'are' and show the action is currently being performed.

Fill in the Blank

Put the following verb into the tense indicated - the root version of the verb is in brackets.

You must ________ (do) your homework before you play on your phone.

Please put this into a complex Past tense - use with the auxiliary verb 'have' and sow that your homework must be completed by the time you play on your phone