Verb Tenses

Verb Tenses

By Erica Covington

Verb

show action and state of being

Verbs must agree with its subject in the present tense as it relates to plurality (unless it is the verb "to be" which must agree with its subject in the present and the past tense. Singular verbs end in "s". Plural verbs do not. There are 12 verb tenses and each tells the reader when the action happens.

Verb

Verbs can be regular or irregular.

The past tense reveals whether a verb is regular or irregular. Regular verbs end in "ed" in the past tense. Irregular verbs (in the past tense) either changes the spelling of the root verb or stays the same.
Regular verbs: jump → jumped; walk → walked; type → typed
Irregular verbs: do → did; go → went; put → put; write → wrote

Multiple Choice

What makes verb singular?

• there is no difference between singular and plural verbs

• it ends with an "s"

• it doesn't end in "s"

• more than one person can complete this action at a time

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an irregular verb?

• to hum

• to swim

• to talk

• to spray

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT an irregular verb?

• to eat

• to write

• to grab

• to give

• Simple present tense - actions happening now

• Simple past tense - happened in the past

• Simple Future Tense - actions that will happen later

Simple Tense

Simple Tense

​Simple Present	​Simple Past	​Simple Future
​walk(s)	walked​	will walk​
write(s)​	​wrote	will write​
run(s)​	​ran	will run​
put(s)	put	will put
go(es)	went	will go

• Present perfect tense - actions that are completed at another time of action

• Past perfect tense - actions that were completed at another time of action

• Future perfect tense - action that will be completed at another time of action

Perfect Tense - verb "to have" + past participle

Perfect Tense

​Perfect Present	​Perfect Past	​Perfect Future
​have/has walked	had walked​	will have walk​ed
​have/has written	​had wrote	will have written
​have/has run	had ​run	will have run
​have/has put	had put	will have put
​have/has gone	had gone	will have gone

• Present progressive tense - actions that are in progress

• Past progressive tense - actions that were in progress

• Future progressive tense - actions that will be in progress

Progressive Tense - verb "to be" + present participle (-ing)

Progressive Tense

Present​Progressive	Past Progressive	Future​Progressive
am/is/are walking	was/were walking	will be walking
​am/is/are writing	​was/were writing	will be writing
​am/is/are running	was/were ​running	will be running
am/is/are putting	was/were putting	will be putting
am/is/are going	was/were going	will be going

• Present perfect progressive tense - actions began in the past and last until a present moment

• Past perfect progressive tense - ongoing action completed before a past event

• Future perfect progressive tense - continuation of an action until a point in the future

Perfect Progressive Tense - verb "to have" + been + present participle (-ing)

Perfect Progressive Tense

Present Perfect​Progressive	Past Perfect Progressive	Future Perfect​Progressive
have/has been walking	had been walking	will have been walking
​have/has been writing	​had been writing	will have been writing
​have/has been running	had been ​running	will have been running
have/has been putting	had been putting	will have been putting
have/has been going	had been going	will have been going

Multiple Choice

What is the verb tense for this sentence?

I thought about this for a long time.

• Simple Past

• Past Perfect

• Past Progressive

• Past Prefect Progressive

Multiple Choice

What is the verb tense for this sentence?

They will be collecting food for the homeless in the month of November.

• Simple Future

• Future Perfect

• Future Progressive

• Future Prefect Progressive

Multiple Choice

What is the verb tense for this sentence?

Olive has been waiting for 4 hours for her plane to arrive.

• Simple Present

• Present Perfect

• Present Progressive

• Present Prefect Progressive

Multiple Choice

What is the verb tense for this sentence?

Jacob sits in the same seat on the bus everyday.

• Simple Present

• Present Perfect

• Present Progressive

• Present Prefect Progressive

Multiple Choice

What is the verb tense for this sentence?

We will have read 5 books by the end of the school year.

• Simple Future

• Future Perfect

• Future Progressive

• Future Prefect Progressive

Multiple Choice

What is the verb tense for this sentence?

Monique had taken a 2 hour nap after the game.

• Simple Past

• Past Perfect

• Past Progressive

• Past Prefect Progressive