Eng 105

Tenses tell the action related to a time. Time can be present, past, or future. There can be four tenses (we will look at three)

for each period of time.1. Simple2. Progressive3. Perfect4. Perfect Progressive

This is without doubt the most important tense in the English language and we use it in a great number of very different situations in our lives.

It is also the easiest form, as we hear it the most.

Facts and generalization Habits and routines Permanent situations State verbs (e.g. be, have, think,

know) Fixed / official arrangement that we

can't change

To know what form, you need to know the base form of the verb and the performer of the action:

PersonPerson SingularSingular PluralPlural

11stst I danceI dance We danceWe dance

22ndnd You danceYou dance You danceYou dance

3rd3rd He/She/It dancesHe/She/It dances They danceThey dance

As you can see, only verbs used with the 3rd person singular conjugate differently. They will usually get -s but there are some exceptions.

We use the Present Progressive (aka present continuous) tense when talking about actions that are happening at the moment (present or temporary activity) that will be done in the future (future arrangement).

To form sentences in this tense, you should know these: the proper conjugation of the auxiliary verb to be.

PersonPerson SingularSingular PluralPlural

11stst I amI am We areWe are

22ndnd You areYou are You areYou are

3rd3rd He/She/It isHe/She/It is They areThey are

the "-ing" form of the verb (Present participle)Examples:try + ing = tryinggo +ing = going

Present or temporary activities Future (personal) arrangements You can also use the Present

Progressive to show your irritation over something or somebody in the present. E.g. She is always asking me stupid questions.

Mike is preparing to eat his big chicken

USE 2 (future arrangements) might seem a little confusing

One mistake is to use the Future Simple to express future arrangements, while the correct tense would be the Present Progressive or the going to form.

I'm going to go to my grandma’s house.

I'm going abroad this summer.

How to form the present progressiveHow to form the present progressive

SubjectSubject

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Auxiliary verbAuxiliary verb

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Verb + ingVerb + ing

I/a dog etc. I/a dog etc. is/are/amis/are/am going/takinggoing/taking

The Present Perfect is used to express actions that happened at an indefinite time or that began in the past and continue in the present. This tense is also used when an activity has an effect on the present moment.

Actions which happened at an indefinite (unknown) time before now

Actions in the past which have an effect on the present moment

Actions which began in the past and continue in the present

Since and for are very common time expressions used with the Present Perfect. We use for with a period of time, for example:

I have lived here for 20 years. When talking about a starting point,

we use since with a point in time. I have lived here since 1960.

Remember that in the Present Perfect you cannot use time expressions such as:

two months ago one year ago last week yesterday when I was five years old

The structure of Present Perfect is not very easy because it requires some practice to get used to it. To correctly form Present Perfect sentences, you should know these: the proper conjugation of the verb "have"

(=auxiliary verb) [1]Past Participle [2]

PersonPerson SingularSingular PluralPlural

11stst I haveI have We haveWe have

22ndnd You haveYou have You haveYou have

3rd3rd He/She/It hasHe/She/It has They haveThey have

As seen in the table in the previous slide, only the third person singular (he/she/it has) is irregular: She has never seen my brother Neither of my brothers has ever driven a truck

To correctly form a sentence in the Present Perfect, we also need the past participle. In short it is the verb from that is used with the perfect tenses.

Same as the past form, the past participle can be either regular or irregular.

The regular verbs are typically formed by adding –ed and the irregular forms must be memorized (see ch. 12)

How to form the present perfectHow to form the present perfect

SubjectSubject

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Auxiliary verbAuxiliary verb

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Past ParticiplePast Participle

I/a dog etc. I/a dog etc. Have/hasHave/has Studied/gone/slept, Studied/gone/slept, etc.etc.

The past tense is a verb tense expressing activity, action state or being in the past.

We use the Past Simple to talk about actions that happened at a specific time in the past. The actions can be short or long. There can also be a few actions happening one after another.

Events in the past that are now finished (e.g. I went to school) *

Situation in the past (they lived a normal life until they won a lottery) **

A series of actions in the past

SubjectSubject

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PastPast

I/a dog etc. I/a dog etc. Verb w/ -ed ending for Verb w/ -ed ending for

regular verbsregular verbs(walked, talked, etc.)(walked, talked, etc.)

We use the Past Progressive to talk about past actions in progress. The batter was swinging at the ball.

The actions can also be interrupted by something. I was jogging in the street when somebody

stopped me and asked what time it was. Actions in progress at the same time in

the past. A rhinoceros was swatting flies with his tail when

suddenly a fly bit him Timid /polite question

I was wondering if you would like to go to the movies.

The Past Perfect is quite simple and useful, we use it to show that one action in the past occurred before another action in the past.

A completed action before another activity in the past Bob went to the store after he had gone to

the bank. Third conditional (if clause) sentences

and reported speech (when you say what someone else said) If I had known that you were coming, I would

have met you at the railway stationAnn had said that she ran a race.

Dissatisfaction with the past I wish I hadn't gone there. John looked as if he had done something

terrible.

SubjectSubject

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Auxiliary Auxiliary VerbVerb

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Past participlePast participle

I/a dog etc. I/a dog etc. hadhad eaten/given/goneeaten/given/gone

Futurity in English is expressed either by using words that imply future action ("I go to Berlin next week.") or by employing an auxiliary construction combined with the main verb which represents the true action of the sentence.

The most common auxiliary verbs used to express futurity are will, can, should, may, and must. 

Among all future tenses, the Future Simple is the most common. It is used in many situations such as when making promises or predictions.

Promises (Use 1) Unplanned actions (spontaneous

decisions) (Use 2) Predictions based on experience or

intuition (Use 3) Habits (obstinate insistence, usually

habitual) (Use 4)

SubjectSubject

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Auxiliary Auxiliary VerbVerb

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VerbVerb

I/a dog etc. I/a dog etc. willwill go/take etc.go/take etc.

CAUTION Remember, you should never use will to

say what somebody has already arrange or decided to do in the future:

- Mike is moving to New Jersey next month (not "Mike will move")

We use the Future Progressive to indicate that we will be in the middle of doing something in a specified time in the future.

Future actions in progress. Guesses about the present or the

future. Polite questions about somebody's

intentions*.

If you want to learn about somebody's intentions, you should never use the Future Simple. Using the Future Simple implies that you want to influence somebody's decision.

Questions become much more objective if formed in the Future Continuous.Will you come home? (= I want you to

come home) Will you be coming home?

SubjectSubject

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Auxiliary Auxiliary VerbVerb

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Auxiliary VerbAuxiliary Verb

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VerbVerb

I/a dog etc. I/a dog etc. willwill bebe go/take etc.go/take etc.

She'll be having a bath when I'm back home. (Use 1)

Tomorrow at nine, I will be hosing off (=washing with a hose) my car. (Use 1)

This time next week, I will be throwing a party. (Use 1)

I'll be watching TV when my mother arrives. (Use 1)

They will be getting home just about now. (Use 2)

We use this tense to express an action that will be finished before some point in the future.

Before By tomorrow/7 o'clock/next month Until/till

SubjectSubject

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Auxiliary Auxiliary VerbVerb

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Auxiliary VerbAuxiliary Verb

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Past Past ParticipleParticiple

I/a dog etc. I/a dog etc. willwill bebe Gone/sleptGone/slept