Tensesreview

Present Simple / Simple Present

Actions or events that take place once, never or several times, take place one after another or for actions
that are set by a timetable or schedule are referred to as Present Simple or Simple Present.
Note that when the auxiliary verb do is used, in the third person, the related verb does not change by
adding the letter s. It remains in its base form.

I/You/We/They

Positive
I eat.

Negative
I do not eat.

Question
Do I eat?

He/She/It

He eats.

He does not eat.

Does he eat?

Examples of Present Simple

Present Simple sentence in first person.

I work for a manufacturing company in the center of the city.

Present Simple sentence in second person.

You work for a manufacturing company in the center of the city.

Present Simple sentence in third person.

He works for a manufacturing company in the center of the city.

Present Progressive
Actions happening at the time you are speaking/writing or actions that occur for only a short period of time
are called Present Progressive. Present Progressive may also be referred to as Present Continuous. This
tense may also be used to indicate something that is being developed or arranged for the near future.
When using the progressive form it is important to remember that the verb to be must be used with the
gerund form of the verb.

I/You/We/They

Positive
You are singing.

Negative
You are not singing.

Question
Are you singing?

He/She/It

She is singing.

She is not singing.

Is she singing?

Examples of Present Progressive

Present Progressive sentence in first person.

I am working for a manufacturing company in the center of the city.

Present Progressive sentence in second person.

You are working for a manufacturing company in the center of the city.

Present Progressive sentence in third person.

He is working for a manufacturing company in the center of the city.

Present Perfect
The Present Perfect tense indicates an action that is still happening or has recently stopped but has an
effect or influence on what is happening in the present. We also use present perfect when the time of the
action in the past is not known or is not important. When using the present perfect it is important to
remember that you must use the verb have as a modal verb and the past participle form of the verb.

I/You/We/They

Positive
We have swum.

Negative
We have not swum.

Question
Have we swum?

He/She/It

It has swum.

It has not swum.

Has it swum?

Uses of Present Perfect

Puts emphasis on the result

Example. I have written four letters of complaint.

An action that is still going on

Example. The meeting has not started yet.

An action that stopped recently

Example. We have just prepared dinner.

A finished action that has an influence on the present

Example. She has lost her keys.

An action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking
Examples.
They have finished their assignment. (once)
They have never finished their assignment. (never)
They have always finished their assignments. (several times)

An action that has taken place and the time is not known or important
Example Pink Floyd has sold millions of CDs.

We have looked at three tenses in the present and you can see how
the tense changes the meaning of what you are trying to say. Lets
look at 3 tenses in the past: Simple Past, Past Progressive and Past
Prefect.

Simple Past
As with the Simple Present, the Simple Past is used to express actions that have been completed in the
past. This tense can be used for actions taking place, expresses an action in the past taking place once,
never or several times. It can also be used for actions taking place one after another or in the middle of
another action. Note that when the auxiliary verb do is used the relative verb does not change. The auxiliary
verb determines the tense and the relative verb remains in its base form.

I/You/We/They

Positive
I ate.

Negative
I did not eat.

Question
Did I eat?

He/She/It

He ate.

He did not eat.

Did he eat?

Uses of Simple Past

An action in the past taking place once, never or several times:

Examples.
He played golf with his uncle. (once)
He never played golf with his uncle. (never)
He played golf with his uncle every Saturday. (several times)

Actions in the past taking place one after the other

Example. They arrived late, ate dinner and went to bed.

An action in the past taking place in the middle of another action:

Example. I was having a shower when the burglar alarm suddenly rang.

Past Progressive
We use Past Progressive to emphasize an action that started in the past and continued in the past but has
been completed. Past Progressive may also be referred to as Past Continuous. When using the
progressive form it is important to remember that the verb to be (in the past for Past Progressive) must be
used with the gerund form of the verb.

I/You/We/They

Positive
You were singing.

Negative
You were not singing.

Question
Were you singing?

He/She/It

She was singing.

She was not singing.

Was she singing?

Uses of Past Progressive

Puts emphasis on the course of an action in the past

Example. He was painting his house.

Two actions happening at the same time in the past

Example. As he was painting his house, she was preparing dinner.

An action going on at a certain time in the past

Example. While he was painting his house, the ladder suddenly slipped.

Past Perfect
We use Past Perfect to indicate an action that took place in the past but before a certain time. When using
the past perfect it is important to remember that you must use the verb have as a modal verb (in the past)
and the past participle form of the verb.

I/You/We/They

Positive
We had swum.

Negative
We had not swum.

Question
Had we swum?

He/She/It

It had swum.

It had not swum.

Had it swum?

Uses of Past Perfect

An action taking place before a certain time in the past (this does not put emphasis on how long the
action happened but on the fact that it happened).
Example. Before we arrived, we had already eaten.

We have now looked at tenses in the present and the past. But what
about the future. Following are two tenses in the future: Future
Simple and Future Progressive.

Future Simple
We use the Future Simple to indicate actions that will happen in the future. There are two different forms
used for Future Simple. These are with the words will and be going to. Even though the two forms can
sometimes be used interchangeably, they often indicate two very different meanings. These different
meanings may seem a little unclear at first, but with time and practice, the differences will become clear.
Both will and be going to refer to a specific time in the future. Notice that the related verb remains in the
base form.
I/You/We/They

Positive
We will help.

Negative
We will not help.

Question
Will we help?

He/She/It

He is going to help.

He is not going to help.

Is he going to help?

Uses of Future Simple

Use of the future simple with will

Example. He will clean his room. (This indicates the he will clean his room. It is inevitable at some
point in the future.)

Use of the future simple with going to

Example. He is going to clean his room. (This indicates that he will clean his room. The fact has
been established that he has decided or has been told to clean his room so it is definitely going to
happen.)

Future Progressive
Future Progressive has two different forms will be doing and be going to be doing. [Will be + the present
participle]. Future Progressive may also be referred to as Future Continuous. Future Continuous, different
from Future Simple, are normally interchangeable. When using the progressive form it is important to
remember that the verb to be must be used with the gerund form of the verb.
In this tense, the gerund form of the verb is called the Present Participle. The present participle (verb in
gerund form) is a participle that ends in ing. It can be used with the verb to be to form the continuous tense.

We do not use time expressions like when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc., to
begin clauses in Future Progressive. In these instances we use Present Continuous.

I/You/We/They
He/She/It

Positive
You will be meeting
her at the airport.

Negative
You will not be meeting
her at the airport.

Question
Will you be meeting
her at the airport?

He is going to be
meeting her at the
airport.

He is not going to be
meeting her at the airport.

Is he going to be
meeting her at the
airport?

Uses of Future Continuous

Interrupted Action in the Future

Actions in the future may be interrupted by a shorter action in the future. This may be a real
interruption or just an interruption in time.
Examples.
I will be meeting a client when she is going to call.
I will be waiting for my wife at the hospital when the plane is arriving.
He will be staying at the Holiday Inn if you need to contact him.
She will be dancing tonight so she will not meet her parents when they arrive.

A specific time as an interruption in the future

You can also use a specific time as an interruption in a future event.
Examples.
Tomorrow morning at 9:30, he will be meeting new clients at the office.
(He will be in the process of meeting new clients.)
At this time tomorrow, they will be arriving in Amsterdam.
(They will be in the process of arriving in Amsterdam.)

Parallel actions in the future

Two actions happening at the same time in the future are indicated with Future Continuous. The
actions are called parallel.
Examples
He is going to be watching TV and they are going to be studying.
At the meeting they will be discussing new business, planning the new office and preparing reports
for the annual board meeting.
Eric will be cooking and Ellen will be cleaning the house.

Atmosphere in the future

A series of Parallel Actions are often used to indicate atmosphere at a point in the future.
Example. When she arrives at Club Med everyone will be partying. They will be swimming in the
pool, dancing and drinking beer around the pool bar. That is normal.

Like all future tenses, the Future Continuous cannot be used in

clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while,
before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of Future
Continuous. Present Continuous is used.

Active and Passive

Passive forms of the Future Continuous are rarely used.
Examples.
At 3:00 today, Mariah will be cleaning the house. (Active)
At 3:00 today, the house will be being cleaned by Mariah. (Passive)
At 3:00 today, Mariah is going to be cleaning the house. (Active)
At 3:00 today, the house is going to be being cleaned by Mariah. (Passive)

Note. From Table of English Tenses, by English Grammar 4U Online 2010,

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/tenses.

Now, look at a few sentences and try to identify the tense of each of the sentences
1.

I had grown up in New Zealand but had never known the true origins of the Mauri.
If you said, Past Perfect, you are correct!

2. Susan will be making the dinner and I will be entertaining the guests.
If you said, Future Continuous, you are correct!

The tenses are very important when trying to communicate correctly. Your reader, or listener, will not
understand what you are trying to say if you do not use the correct tense. With a little practice you will have
no problem determining which tense to use and how you form the tenses.

Reference
English Grammar 4U Online. (2010). Table of English TensesOnline 10th edition. Obtained on September 30
2010 from http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/tenses. Under Lingo4you GbR Freeware license.

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