Verb Tenses

Simple Present

a.k.a Present indefinite; (1) an action is happening right now, or when it happens regularly (or unceasingly, which is why it's sometimes called present indefinite) Ex: I feel great! Pauline loves pie. I'm sorry to hear that you're sick. (2) to talk about habitual actions or occurrences. Ex: Pauline practices the piano every day. Ms. Jackson travels during the summer. Hamsters run all night.

Static Verb

Stative verbs show a state of being that does not show qualities of change. Stative verb categories include emotion (to love), possession (to belong), and thoughts (to recognize) Ex: Aunt Christine prefers the maple walnut pancakes over the banana peanut butter ones that Scott loves. (simple present) Here, the stative verb to prefer shows opinion, and therefore should not be conjugated into the present continuous.

Dynamic Verb

A dynamic verb shows action and/or process. Ex: Scott's little sister is (arriving) at the diner two hours late because her roller-derby team, Chicks Ahoy, won the national championships early today. As she (is walking) into Polly's Pancake Diner, she (is yelling) goodbye to her friends outside, and Scott hopes she doesn't cause a scene since she is always (embarrassing) him in public.

Words that Often Go With the Future Perfect

(By this time) next week, Linda will have left for her trip. Three days (from now), we will have finished our project. (At) midnight, the party will have ended. Will you have eaten (already)? Chester will not have arrived (by the time) the parade is over. (When) I travel to France, I will have been to ten countries. My sister will have cleaned the bathroom (before) the party. (As soon as) someone buys this chair, I will have sold all the furniture I wanted to get rid of.

Present Continuous

(am/is/are + present participle) a.k.a present progressive; (1) the tense is a way to convey any action or condition that is happening right now, frequently, and may be ongoing; helps readers understand when the action is happening. Ex: They are sitting at Scott's favorite booth, the one with the sparkling red plastic seats. (For how long? We don't know, but we do know they are sitting there now.) (2) When I want to convey how an event unfolded, showing the action as it is happening: Exs: They are waiting at the red light, and Scott is worrying they might miss their reservation. vs. They waited at the red light, and Scott worried they might miss their reservation. (Past tense).

Past Perfect

(had + past participle) a.k.a pluperfect (1) Used to talk about actions that were completed before some point in the past. Ex: I turned back to the house and saw that some someone named Tootles had defaced my front door! You would be able to understand that Tootles graffitied the door at some point in the past before the moment this morning when you saw his handiwork. (2) It allows you to convey the sequence of the events and is more clear and concise than simple past. Exs: We were relieved that Tootles used washable paint. (simple past) vs. We were relieved that Tootles had used washable paint. the first sentence doesn't tie Tootles's act of using washable paint to any particular moment in time; readers might interpret it as "We were relieved that Tootles was in the habit of using washable paint." In the second sentence, the past perfect makes it clear that you're talking about a specific instance of using washable paint. (3) used when you are expressing a condition and a result. It is used in the part of the sentence that explains the condition (the if-clause) Ex: If I had woken up earlier this morning, I would have caught Tootles red-handed. *** Don't use the past perfect when you're not trying to convey some sequence of events. Ex: I had cleaned it off the door. You would be wondering what happened next because using the past perfect implies that your action of cleaning the door occurred before something else happened, but you don't say what that something else is. The "something else" doesn't always have to be explicitly mentioned, but context needs to make it clear. In this case there's no context, so the past perfect doesn't make sense.

Past Perfect Continuous

(had been + present participle) a.k.a past perfect progressive tense indicates something that began in the past, continued in the past, and also ended at a defined point in the past. Ex: He had been drinking milk out the carton when Mom walked into the kitchen.

Present Perfect Continuous

(has/have been + present participle) a.k.a present perfect progressive tense shows that something started in the past and is continuing at the present time. Ex: I have been reading War and Peace for a month now. In this sentence, using the present perfect continuous verb tense conveys that reading War and Peace is an activity that began sometime in the past and is not yet finished in the present.

Present Perfect

(have/has + past participle) (1) refers to an action or state that either occurred at an indefinite time in the past. Ex: We have talked before. I have walked down this path before. Ex: We have eaten the lasagna here. *** you can't use it when you are being specific about when it happened. Exs: I have put away all the laundry this morning. (incorrect) I have put away all the laundry. (correct) (2) an action that began in the past and continued to the present time. Ex: She has had the chickenpox since Tuesday. (... and still has it) Ex: She has broken her leg. (... and still is broken)

Past Continuous

(was/were + present participle) a.k.a past progressive refers to a continuing action or state that was happening at some point in the past. (1) used to describe conditions that existed in the past. Ex: The sun was shining every day that summer. As I spoke, the children were laughing at my cleverness. (2) used to describe something that was happening continuously in the past when another action interrupted it. Ex: The audience was applauding until he fell off the stage. I was making dinner when she arrived. (3) can shed light on what was happening at a precise time in the past. Ex: At 6 o'clock, I was eating dinner. (4) used to refer to a habitual action in the past. Ex: She was talking constantly in class in those days.

Future Continuous

(will + be + present participle) a.k.a future progressive indicates that something will occur in the future and continue for an expected length of time. Ex: At five o'clock, I will be meeting with the management about my raise. Will be meeting is the future continuous tense of the verb to meet. The tense indicates that the meeting isn't going to happen in an instant, all at once. It will have a duration.

Future Perfect Continuous

(will + have + been + present participle) a.k.a future perfect progressive tense describes actions that will continue up until a point in the future. When we describe an action in the future perfect continuous tense, we are projecting ourselves forward in time and looking back at the duration of that activity. The activity will have begun sometime in the past, present, or in the future, and is expected to continue in the future. Exs: In November, I will have been working at my company for three years. At five o'clock, I will have been waiting for thirty minutes. When I turn thirty, I will have been playing piano for twenty-one years.

Future Perfect

(will have + past participle) used for actions that will be completed before some other point in the future; an action that will be completed between now and some point in the future. Ex: "No, that won't work! At eight o'clock I will have left already," It tells us that Linda is going to leave for her trip some time after right now, but before a certain point in the future (eight o'clock tonight). * Sometimes, you can use the future perfect tense and the simple future tense interchangeably. Exs: Linda will leave before you get there. = Linda will have left before you get there. But without prepositions such as before or by the time that make the sequence of events clear, you need to use the future perfect to show what happened first. Exs: At eight o'clock Linda will leave. (This means that Linda will wait until 8 o'clock to leave.) vs. At eight o'clock Linda will have left. (This means Linda will leave before 8 o'clock.) *** The future perfect tense is only for actions that will be complete before a specified point in the future. In other words, the action you're talking about must have a deadline. If you don't mention a deadline, use the simple future tense instead of the future perfect tense. The deadline can be very specific (eight o'clock) or it can be vague (next week). It can even depend on when something else happens (after the parade ends). It just has to be some time in the future. Exs: Linda will leave. (correct) Linda will have left. (incorrect) ** Be careful when using the verb "to be" in the future perfect tense which is 'will have been'. The construction is easy to confuse with the future perfect continuous tense.

Progressive Tense Condition

Do not use these tenses with stative verbs.These verbs can stay in the simple present/past/future. Ex: Aunt Christine is preferring the maple walnut pancakes over the banana peanut butter ones that Scott loves. (incorrect, present continuous) --> Aunt Christine prefers the maple walnut pancakes over the banana peanut butter ones that Scott loves. (correct, simple present)

Words that Often Go With the Past Perfect Continuous

Martha had been walking three miles a day (before) she broke her leg. The program that was terminated had been working well (since) 1945. Cathy had been playing the piano for 35 years (when) she was finally asked to do a solo with the local orchestra. He had been throwing rocks at her window for five minutes (before) she finally came out on the balcony and said, "Hey, Romeo." * for is also an indicator of this tense

Words that Often Go With the Present Perfect Continuous

Mia has been competing in flute competitions (recently). (And she will continue to do so.) I haven't been feeling well (lately). (And I am still sick now.) Have you seen my wallet and keys (recently)? (Because I sure don't know where they are.)

Simple Future

Used to talk about an action or condition that will begin and end in the future. Ex: This year, Jen will read War and Peace. It will be hard, but she's determined to do it.

Simple Past

Used to talk about things that happened or existed before now. emphasizes that the action is finished. Ex: He won the silver medal.