Verb Tense

Verb Tense
The form of a verb used to indicate point in time

Verbs tell time by changing their form

Verb tenses help us understand exactly when actions occur. Some sentences require a combination of tenses to make an idea clear. In such situations, if you do not use the correct combination of tenses, you send your readers on a bumpy journey through the past, present, and/or future.

 The proper (or improper) use of verb tense can make all the difference in placing readers where you want them to be in time.
 Each verb tense serves a particular purpose in telling time along a chronological series of events.
 It is important to know which tense to use for the correct point in time.

1) Sam had never seen a more beautiful painting.
(before that moment)
2) Sam has never seen a more beautiful painting.
(since that moment)
3) Sam will never see a more beautiful painting.
(predicts the future)

Each choice carries a different meaning for the reader:

 Ask where, in time, the reader is led to be.
What has already happened,
what is happening, or
what will have happened at the very point you place the reader?

For compound sentences, ask at what moment each event occurred or will occur, which will help you decide what the right verb form should be.

1) Javier will play video games after leaving work.
(he is still at work and plans to play after he has already left)
2) Javier plays video games after leaving work.
(he plays not just once, but as part of a present routine)
3) Javier played video games after leaving work.
(he played once, at one point in the past)
4) Javier would play video games after leaving work.
(he played not just once, but as part of a past routine, and doesn’t anymore)

Also remember that had has two forms: past tense in time and past tense in possession.
It had rained (past tense in time)
I had a date (past tense possession)

Some rare cases require both forms to communicate something specific:

I had had a date. (He once did, but the date was cancelled. He no longer has the date)
I had a date (The date occurred and is now over)

To decide verb tense within a sentence that describes more than one action, ask when each action took place and at what point the reader should be. This will be a sentence with a main clause and a subordinate clause. Your clues are words like:

 after
 before
 by the time
 until
 if
 unless

These help place the action in the correct place on the timeline.

Diane will be even more upset because the dog also shredded a good shirt. (predicts the discovery of a past tense event)

Juan plans to buy a new car because any day his Ford Pinto will be ready for the scrap yard. (present tense action as a result of an event predicted to happen in the future)

Juan sold the old Ford he had had for so long. (past tense event that occurred before another, completed event)

Maurice never eats hamburgers because he respects cows. (two simultaneous actions)

Maurice will have healthy arteries if he continues to avoid beef. (predicts the results of a continuing current action)

Diane knows that her beagle chewed the big hole in the sofa. (present tense knowledge of a past tense event)

Diane knew that her beagle had destroyed the sofa. (past tense knowledge of a past tense event)

Often the difficult part is to decide which action to emphasize and which to put in the background. Your choice of verb tense will depend on your choice of when each thing occurred and/or when each thing will (or might) occur.

Examples

​*notice the use of “had had” for both past tense in time and past tense possession

When to use had:

Special cases seek to put one completed event further in the past than another, more recent past tense event. Ask how many steps into the past your first clause has travelled. If there are no steps into the past, simple past tense should be used in the second clause. If there is one step into the past, you’ll need the word ‘had’ which creates the past perfect tense.

Marie couldn’t remember who had taken the book from her desk.

Luke took the book he had asked to borrow.

These cases express one past action that occurred after another past action.

These first clauses take one step into the past:

Marie can’t remember who took the book from her desk. (present)

Marie won’t remember who took the book from her desk. (future)

Luke will take the book he asked to borrow. (future)

These cases express present (or predicted) actions that occur (or will occur) after a past action.

These first clauses take no steps into the past:

When to use had:

Multiple Choice

In the sentence that follows, choose the correct form of the verb.

The spider will have eaten all the bugs by the time the night ____ .

• was over

• is over

Multiple Choice

In the sentence that follows, choose the correct form of the verb.

Jason knew that he ____ his wallet when he found his back pocket empty.

• lost

• has lost

• had lost

Multiple Choice

In the sentence that follows, choose the correct form of the verb.

Tenesha looks tired when she ____ late.

• works

• worked

Multiple Choice

In the sentence that follows, choose the correct form of the verb.

Jasmine will need an apology ready when she ____ on his glasses.

• steps

• stepped

• had stepped

Multiple Choice

In the sentence that follows, choose the correct form of the verb.

Omar was certain that he ____ mushrooms just the other day.

• buys

• bought

• had bought