VERB TENSE

Verb tenses show WHEN an action occurred and for HOW LONG. There are THREE major tenses (past, present, future)
that each have FOUR different forms. Thus, there are a total of 12 TYPES of verb tenses.

PRESENT TENSE: The present tense refers to actions that are happening right now, in the present time.
● Simple Present: Describes an action as happening in the present
○ Structure: Subj. + Verb(+s/es)
○ I study English. // She studies English.
● Continuous Present: Describes an action as ONGOING in the present and likely continuing into the future
○ Structure: Subj. + am/is/are + Verb(+ing)
○ I am studying English. // She is studying English.
● Perfect Present: Describes an action that has happened in the past but has some connection to the present.
○ Structure: Subj. + have/has + Verb
○ I have studied English (but now I am studying Chinese). // She has studied English …
● Perfect Continuous Present: Describes an action that started in the past but continues to happen in the present.
○ Structure: Subj. + have/has + been + Verb(+ing) + [time reference]
○ I have been studying English [since last year]. // She has been studying English [since last year].

PAST TENSE: The past tense refers to actions that happened in the past, anytime before this moment right now.
● Simple Past: Describes an action that began and ended in the past
○ Structure: Subj. + Verb(+ed/d).
■ *Most simple past tense verbs can be formed by adding -ed/d. Past tense verbs that do NOT end
this way are called irregular verbs. They often end with -t, but can end differently too.
○ I studied English yesterday. // They studied English yesterday.
● Continuous Past: Describes an action that began in the past, continued for some time, and then ended in the past
○ Structure: Subj. + was/were + Verb(+ing).
○ I was studying English (for two hours yesterday). // They were studying English …
● Perfect Past: Describes an action that occurred before another past event
○ Structure: Subj. + had + Verb.
○ I had studied English before going to London. // They had studied English before going to London.
● Perfect Continuous Past: Describes an action that began in the past, continued for some time, and happened while
another past event was ongoing too.
○ Structure: Subj. + had + been + Verb(+ing)
○ I had been studying English when the teacher walked in. // They had been studying English when …

FUTURE TENSE: The future tense refers to an action that will happen sometime in the future.
● Simple Future: Describes an action will begin and end in the future
○ Structure: Subj. + will + Verb
○ I will study English. // She will study English.
● Continuous Present: Describes an action that will begin in the future and continue for some time.
○ Structure: Subj. + will + Verb(+ing)
○ I will be studying English tomorrow. // She will be studying English tomorrow.
● Perfect Present: Describes an action that will happen in the future before another future event.
○ Structure: Subj. + will + have + Verb
○ I will have studied English before going to America next year. // She will have studied …
● Perfect Continuous Present: Describes an action that will begin in the future, continue for some time, and still be
ongoing when another future event occurs.
○ Structure: Subj. + will + have + been + Verb(+ing)
○ I will have been studying English when Bob arrives. // She will have been studying when…