Verb Forms and Tenses

Verb Forms
Every English verb except “(to) be” has five forms, which
vary depending on whether the verb is regular (such as
“type” and “text”) or irregular (such as “write”).

The Verb Forms

infinitive/bare form (to) type (to) text (to) write
present (-s) types texts writes
present participle (- typing texting writing
ing)
past (-ed) typed texted wrote
past participle (-en) (have) typed (have) texted (have) written
Verb Forms and Tenses
Verb tense is the ability of a verb to indicate the time at
which an action takes place.

Verb forms are the tools you’ll use to create tenses.

Use present tense
in universally true statements not limited to a particular time:

The Sun is ninety-three million miles from Earth.

in definitions:

Hardware is the physical system of a computer.

in statements about the content of literature and other published

works:

Hamlet appears extremely indecisive.

Use present tense
for events that are currently happening:

I am really mad at Anthony.

Andrea attends mass every week.

the distant past now/the present the distant future

am,
attends
the near past the near future
Use present infinitive
for verbs that point to the future:

I hope to complete my degree by the time we get

married.

She planned to earn an MBA by the end of the year.

the distant past now/the present the distant future

to complete,
to earn

hope,
plan
the near past the near future
Use present perfect tense
for an action that began in the past but continues into the present or
the future:

I have lived in Pensacola all my life.

She has lived in Pensacola all her life.

the distant past now/the present the distant future

have lived

the near past the near future

Use a present participle
for an action that occurs at the same time as the verb:

Speeding down the interstate, I saw a

police car.

the distant past now/the present the distant future

speeding + saw

the near past the near future

Use past tense
for an earlier action:

Marvin bought the car.

the distant past now/the present the distant future

bought

the near past the near future

Use past perfect tense
for an earlier action that is mentioned after a later
action:

Marvin bought the car that he had seen

advertised online.

the distant past now/the present the distant future

bought
had seen

the near past the near future

Use future tense
for an action that will be completed:

I will graduate from college.

the distant past now/the present the distant future

will graduate

the near past the near future

Use future perfect tense
for an action that will have been completed at a specific future
time in relation to another specific time:

By 2020, I will have graduated from college.

the distant past now/the present the distant future

will have graduated

2020

the near past the near future

Mood

Mood enables verbs to express how the speaker or writer

regards the sentence.

Mood can express attitudes, intentions, commands, wishes,

recommendations, and possibilities.
Use subjunctive mood
to express a condition contrary to fact or a wish:

If I were President, I’d work with Congress to protect the

environment.

You are not the President. You’ll have to protect the environment without the help of Congress.

The CFO would have been terminated a long time ago were she not
the CEO’s niece.

The CFO is the CEO’s niece, so she’s still hanging around.

Use subjunctive mood
to express insistence, importance, necessity, or urgency after the
word “that”:

It is important that you be on time.

We demand that the company do something about its toxic waste.

The syllabus requires that each student write a research paper.

Note: Use the base form of a verb (e.g. “be” instead of “are”)
because if you use the present form the problem isn’t urgent – the
person is already doing what you’ve asked!