Reviewing Verb Tenses

Verb Tense Review

The Importance of Time

Verb tense expresses the time of an event

or action. Time and how it is expressed in
writing is very important to English readers.
The English language has twelve different
tenses. In this lesson, we will review only four
of them.
 Simple Present
Expresses a habit or often repeated action.
Adverbs of frequency such as often, seldom,
sometimes, never, etc. are used with this
tense.

She goes to work everyday.

They always eat lunch together.
Grammar structure Auxiliary verb: Do/does

 Affirmative
Subject + verb (-s) + complement
 Negative
Subject + do /does NOT + verb + complement
 Interrogative

Do/does + subject + verb + complement ?

 Yes, + subject + do/does

X No, + subject + do/does + not

Pronouns (subject) Auxiliary Verb
I Do
You Do
She Does
He Does
It Does
They Do
We Do

She
He Add “s” to the verb
It
Examples
 Simple present

Aff: He runs everyday

Neg: He doesn’t run everyday
Interrogative: Does he run everyday?
 yes, he does.
X No, he does not.
 Present Continuous
This tense is used to describe an action that
is occurring right now (at this moment, today,
this year, etc.). The action has begun and is
still in progress.

She is writing a paper for her class.

He can’t talk. He is fixing the sink right now.
Grammar structure Auxiliary verb: To be
(am/is/are)
 Affirmative
Subject + to be + verb(-ING) + complement
 Negative

Subject + to be + NOT + verb(-ING) +

 Interrogative complement
To be + subject + verb(-ING) + complement ?

 Yes, + subject + am/is/are

X No, + subject + am/is/are + not

Pronouns (subject) Auxiliary Verb
I Am
You Are
She Is
He Is
It Is
They Are
We Are
Examples
 Present Continuous

Aff: She is reading a book.

Neg: She is not reading a book.
Interrogative: Is she reading a book?
 yes, she is.
X No, she is not.
 Simple Past
We use the simple past to indicate exactly
when an action or event took place in the past.

I visited my sister yesterday.

We went out to dinner last night.
Grammar structure Auxiliary verb: Did

 Affirmative
Subject + verb (-ed) + complement
 Negative

Subject + did + NOT + verb + complement

 Interrogative

Did + subject + verb + complement ?

 Yes, + subject + did

X No, + subject + did + not
Pronouns (subject) Auxiliary Verb
I Did
You Did
She Did
He Did
It Did
They Did
We Did

Regular
verbs
Past Add+ed
Tense
Listen- listened
Dance- danced
Examples
 Simple past

A: They watched T.V yesterday.

N: They didn’t watch T.V yesterday.
I: Did they watch T.V yesterday?
 yes, they did.
X No, they did not.
 Past Continuous
The past progressive is used to talk about
an activity that was in progress at a specific
point of time in the past. The emphasis is on
the duration of the activity in the past.

I was studying for an exam while my mother was

cooking dinner.
We were walking in the park around 7 p.m. last
night.
Grammar structure Auxiliary verb: to be
(was/were)
 Affirmative
Subject + to be + verb(-ING) + complement
 Negative
Subject + to be + NOT + verb(-ING) + complement
 Interrogative
To be + subject + verb(-ING) + complement ?

 Yes, + subject + was / were

X No, + subject + was / were + not
Pronouns (subject) Auxiliary Verb
I Was
You Were
She Was
He Was
It Was
They Were
We Were
Examples

 Past Continuous

A: We were listening to music for 1 hour.

N: We weren’t listening to music for 1 hour
I: Were we listening to music for 1 hour?
 yes, we were.
X No, we were not.