Tenses

1. Tenses “Tense is the time of a verb’s action or state of being such as present, past or future” (Richard Nordquist)

2. Tense classification Tenses Present Simple Simple Past Simple Future Simple Present Perfect Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect Present Continuous Past Continuous Continuous/ Progressive Future Continuous Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous Future Perfect Continuous

3. Present simple tense Expresses: a) habitual actions ( I play football twice a week) b) present states ( He has a lot of homework) c) facts true for a long time or forever ( They come from Portugal) d) official arrangements ( The play starts at 9:00 pm) Form affirmative (positive): I/you/we/you/theysend emails. He/she/itsends emails. Form negative: I/you/we/you/theydonotsend emails. He/she/itdoesnotsend emails. Form interrogative (questions): DoI/you/we/you/theysend emails. Doeshe/she/itsend emails. Some time expression used more frequently in present simple are: all the time, always, every (day), most of the time, * never, often, rarely, seldom, hardly ever, sometimes, usually, etc. * When we use ‘never’ in a sentence we do not use ‘not’ (don’t) to form negative since ‘never’ makes the negative itself. Verb ‘be’ is found as ‘am, are, is’ and uses no auxiliary to make questions and negatives. Verb ‘have’ changes its for into ‘has’ in third person singular positive.

4. Past simple tense Expresses: a) actions finished in a specific past ( I played football last week) b) duration of activities in the past ( I studied for 5 year) c) a past state/condition ( It was cold yesterday) Irregular verbs (dif. Forms) Regular verbs (+ed) Form affirmative (positive): I/you/he/she/it/we/you/theysent an email yesterday. Form affirmative (positive): I/you/he/she/it/we/you/theywatchedTV yesterday. ‘ed’ S. V. S. V. Form negative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they didnot send an email yesterday. Form negative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they didnot watch TV yesterday. S. aux V. S. aux V. Form interrogative (questions): DidI/you/he/she/it/we/you/theysend an email yesterday? Form interrogative (questions): DidI/you/he/she/it/we/you/theywatch TV yesterday? aux S. V. aux S. V. Verb ‘be’ is found as ‘war, were’ and uses no auxiliary to make questions and negatives. Irregular verbs have different forms in past simple and must be learnt by heart. Some time expression used more frequently in past simple are: last (night), yesterday, (two days) ago, when (I was a child), etc.

5. Future simple tense Expresses: a) a spontaneous decision for the future ( I will call him tomorrow) b) future plans and ambitions ( I am going to study medicine) c) personal arrangements ( He is seeing the doctor in the evening) d) official arrangements ( The play starts at 8:00 pm) Future with ‘will’: Form affirmative (positive): I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they willsend an email tomorrow. Form negative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they willnot send an email tomorrow. Form interrogative (questions): WillI/you/he/she/it/we/you/theysend an email tomorrow? Future with ‘shall’: Form affirmative (positive): I/we shallsend him an email tomorrow. Form negative: I/we shallnot send him an email tomorrow. Form interrogative (questions): ShallI/wesend him an email tomorrow? Future with ‘ be going to’: Form affirmative (positive): I am You/we/they aregoing to study medicine. He/she/(it) is Future with ‘ be going to’: Form negative: I am You/we/they arenot going to study medicine. He/she/(it) is Future with ‘ be going to’: Form interrogative (question): Am I Are you/we/they going to study medicine? Is he/she/(it) Note: other future forms are: might, present simple, present continuous, etc.

6. Present perfect tense Expresses: a) actions finished at an indefinite past ( I have been there once) b) present results that can change in the future ( He has written three novels) c) duration of present activities/states ( We have been here for a long time) S aux pp Form affirmative (positive): I/you/we/you/they havesent emails. He/she/it hassent emails. Irregular verbs Form negative: I/you/we/you/they havenotsent emails. He/she/it hasnotsent emails. Form interrogative: HaveI/you/we/you/they sent emails? Hashe/she/it sent emails? aux S. pp Form affirmative (positive): I/you/we/you/they havewatched the match. He/she/it haswatched emails. Regular verbs Form negative: I/you/we/you/they havenotwatched the match. He/she/it hasnotwatched emails. Form interrogative: HaveI/you/we/you/they watched the match? Has he/she/it watched the match? Note: in present perfect we do not ask questions with ‘when’ Some time expression used more frequently in present perfect are: ever, never, adv of frequency, yet, already, just, for, since, etc.

7. Past perfect tense Expresses: actions finished before other actions in the past (I had seen the movie when I read the book) S aux pp Form affirmative (positive): I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they hadleft, when John returned. action one action two Form negative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they hadnotleft when John returned. aux S pp Form interrogative: HadI/you/he/she/it/we/you/they left when John returned?

8. Future perfect tense Expresses: actions that will have finished at some time in the future (By this time next year you will have enrolled second term at university) S aux aux pp Form affirmative (positive): I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they will have graduated. Form negative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they willnothavegraduated. aux S aux pp Form interrogative: WillI/you/he/she/it/we/you/they havegraduated?

9. Present continuous tense Expresses: a) activities happening at the moment of sp. ( They are brainstorming on how to write an essay) b) activities happening around the moment of speaking ( We are planning a trip for next year) c) personal arrangements ( He is going to U.S tomorrow) d) annoying habits ( You are always complaining) Form affirmative (positive): I am He/she/it isworking on a project. We/you/they are Form negative: I am He/she/it is notworking on a project. We/you/they are S aux S aux V-ing V-ing Form interrogative: Am I Is he/she/it working on a project? Are we/you/they aux S V-ing

10. Past continuous tense Expresses: actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past (He was trying to get a book from the top shelf when he fell) Form affirmative (positive): I/He/she/it wasworking on a project. We/you/they were Form negative: I/He/she/it wasnotworking on a project. We/you/they were S aux V-ing S aux V-ing Form affirmative (positive): Was I/He/she/it working on a project? Were we/you/they aux S V-ing

11. Future continuous tense Expresses: actions that are expected to be in progress at some time in the future (Tomorrow at 01:00 pm I will be having a coffee) S aux aux V-ing Form affirmative (positive): I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they will be studying. Form negative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they willnotbestudying. aux S aux pp Form interrogative: WillI/you/he/she/it/we/you/they bestudying?

12. Present perfect continuous tense Expresses: duration/length of ongoing activities ( We have been learning English since we were 11) recently finished activities with present impact ( I have been washing the dishes) S aux aux V-ing Form affirmative (positive): I/you/we/you/they have been writing an email. He/she/it has been Form negative: I/you/we/you/they have not beenwriting an email. He/she/it has not been aux S aux V-ing Form interrogative: HaveI/you/we/you/they beenwriting an email? Hashe/she/it been

13. Past perfect continuous tense Expresses: continuous activities that finished before other activities in past (He had been driving for 30 years when they cancelled his license) S aux aux V-ing Form affirmative (positive): I/you/we/you/they had been writing an email. Form negative: I/you/we/you/they had not beenwriting an email. aux S aux V-ing Form interrogative: HadI/you/we/you/they beenwriting an email?

14. Future perfect continuous tense Expresses: continuous activities that will have finished/completed at some time in the future (In a couple of months I will have been going to this school for three years) S aux aux aux V-ing Form affirmative (positive): I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they willhave been walking Form negative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they willnot have beenwalking. V-ing aux S aux aux Form interrogative: WillI/you/he/she/it/we/you/they havebeenwalking?

15. Verb structure in different tenses Present simple Past simple Future simple Present perfect Past perfect Future perfect Present continuous Past continuous Future continuous Present perfect con. Past perfect continuous Future perfect continuous V-s(es) in third person singular Regular verb add –ed (ir. verbs change) Will or am/are/is going to + V-infinitive Have/has + V-past participle Had + V-past participle Will + have + V-past participle Am/are/is + V-ing Was/were + V-ing Will + be + V-ing Have/has + been + V-ing Had + been + V-ing Will + have + been + V-ing