THE TENSES

INTRODUCTION

The word Tense is derived

from latin word “tempus”
which means time. A verb
indicates the time of an
action, event or condition by
changing its form.
 Based on Time frame
The verb tenses may be
categorized according to the
time frame:
• Present Tense
• Past Tense
• Future Tense
Present Tense :---
Present tense expresses an unchanging,
repeated, or reoccurring action or situation
that exists only now. It can also represent
a widespread truth.
Past Tense :---
Past tense expresses an action or
situation that was started and finished in
the past.
Future Tense :---
Future tense expresses an action or
situation that will occur in the future.
 Based on Aspect
Verb tenses may also be
categorized according to aspect.
Aspect refers to the nature of
the action described by the verb.
There are four aspects:
• Simple
• Progressive
• Perfect
• Perfect Progressive
 Here is a list of rules of
these tenses:
Perfect
Simple Progressive Perfect
Progressive
Forms Forms Forms
Forms

am/is/are + have/ha have/has

Ist form +
Present s / es
Ist form + s + IIIrd been + Ist
ing form form + ing

was/were + had + had been +

Past IInd form Ist form + IIIrd Ist form +
ing form ing

will have will have

will/shall will be + Ist
Future + Ist form form + ing
+ IIIrd been + Ist
form form + ing
Present Tense
 The simple present is used to
describe an action, an event, or
condition that is occurring in the
present, at the moment of speaking
or writing.
For Example—
I play.
He / She plays.
Choose the correct form of the verb in simple present tense.

Example: I / You / We / They (cook) cook.

Example: He / She / It (cook) cooks.

1) I ( cook / cooks ) on Monday.

2) You ( cook / cooks ) on Tuesday.

3) We ( cook / cooks ) on Wednesday.

4) They ( cook / cooks ) on Thursday.

5) He ( cook / cooks ) on Friday.

6) She ( cook / cooks ) on Saturday.

7) It ( cook / cooks ) on Sunday.

 Example: I / You / We / They (wash) wash the car on Monday.
Example: He / She / It (wash) washes the car on Tuesday.

1) I ( wash / washes ) the car on Monday.

2) You ( wash / washes ) the car on Tuesday.

3) We ( wash / washes ) the car on Wednesday.

4) They ( wash / washes ) the car on Thursday.

5) He ( wash / washes ) the car on Friday.

6) She ( wash / washes ) the car on Saturday.

7) It ( wash / washes ) the car on Sunday.

Example: I / You / We / They (cook) cook.
Example: He / She / It (cook) cooks.
Example: I / You / We / They (wash) wash the car on Monday.
Example: He / She / It (wash) washes the car on Tuesday.
Example: I / You / We / They (study) study English on Monday.
Example: He / She / It (study) studies English on Tuesday.

1) They (study / studies) English on Tuesday.

2) He (cook / cooks) on Tuesday.

3) I (wash / washes) the car on Wednesday.

4) We (cook / cooks) on Sunday.

5) You (wash / washes) the car on Friday.

6) She (wash / washes) the car on Saturday.

7) We (study / studies) English on Sunday.

8) It (cook / cooks) on Thursday.

9) He (study / studies) English on Friday.

10) You (wash / washes) the car on Thursday.

Example: I / You / We / They (play) play the guitar.
Example: He / She / It (play) plays the guitar.

1) I ( bake / bakes ) cakes.

2) You ( work / works ) in an office.
3) We ( take / takes ) pictures of birds.
4) They ( talk / talks ) about cars.
5) He ( think / thinks ) about school.
6) She ( play / plays ) soccer.
7) It ( rain / rains ) here a lot.
8) I ( like / likes ) chocolate.
9) He ( like / likes ) chocolate.
10) You ( watch / watches ) movies.
11) She ( watch / watches ) movies.
12) The babies ( cry / cries ) every night.
13) The baby (cry / cries) every night.
14) I ( fly / flies ) to Canada every year.
15) My father ( fly / flies ) to Canada every year.
Using the verb
“to be”
Example: I (be) am happy.
1) I (be) _____
am tired.
2) I (be) _____
am hungry.
3) I (be) _____
am late!

Example: He / She / It (be) is happy.

4) He (be) _____
is cool.
5) She (be) _____
is pretty.
6) It (be) _____
is fast.

Example: You / We / They (be) are happy.

7) You (be) _____
are nice.
8) We (be) _____
are sleepy.
9) They (be) _____
are funny.
 is excited.
1) John (be) _____

are my friends.
2) Tiffany and Uma (be) _____

are watching a movie.

3) Ricardo, John and I (be) _____

is kind.
4) Hadil (be) _____

is young.
5) Alisa (be) _____

is new.
6) The hammer (be) _____

are cooking dinner.

7) My mother and father (be) _____

is driving to school.
8) Rachel (be) _____

are playing at the park.

9) Nikko and Billy (be) _____

are studying English.

10) The students (be) _____

is hard!
11) The test (be) _____

is coming to my house.
12) My best friend (be) _____
 is
13) The old man (be) ________ wise.

is
14) The sun (be) ________ hot.

are
15) The children (be) ________ eating bananas. They (be, not)
are ____
____ not eating apples.

am
16) I (be) ________ am ____
happy. I (be, not) ____ not sad.

is
17) The racecar (be) ________ is ____
fast. It (be, not) ____ not
slow.

is
18) My friend (be) ________ buying a new car. Her old car
broke down. It doesn't work anymore.

am
19) I (be) ________ at the beach with my family. It (be)
is
________ hot and sunny outside. The ocean water (be)
is
________ warm.

is
20) Joe and Jacob (be) ________ very smart. Joe (be)
is
________ is
a scientist and Jacob (be) ________ an engineer.
 Present Progressive Tense

The present progressive

emphasizes the continuing nature of
an act, event, or condition.
For Example—
I am playing.
He / She is playing.
They are playing.
Fill in the spaces with the correct form of the verb in present
progressive tense.

Example: I (play) am playing the piano now.

Example: You / We / they (play) are playing the piano now.
Example: He / She / It (play) _______ _______ the piano now.

am _______
1) I (play) _______ playing the piano now.

are
2) You (play) _______ playing the guitar now.
_______

are _______
3) We (play) _______ playing violins now.

are
4) They (play) _______ playing harps now.
_______

is
5) He (play) _______ playing the trumpet now.
_______

is
6) She (play) _______ playing the flute now.
_______

is
7) It (play) ________ playing the drums now.
_______
 am
1) Right now, I (buy) ________ buying groceries. I need eggs, milk, and bread.
________

are ______
2) We (eat) ____ eating dinner. It tastes good. Can you pass me the salt, please?

is
3) He (drink) ________ drinking milk. It looks good. It (run)
________
is
________ running down his chin. He needs a napkin.
________

is
4) Billy (do) ________ doing his homework now. We are going to watch a movie
________
when he is finished.

_____ at the party. They (smile) are

are dancing
5) All of the children (dance) _____ smilling
___ ________.
are
They (have) ________ having a good time.
________

is
6) Jenny (take) ________ taking
_________ pictures of Roman Cathedrals.

is
7) My car (move) ________ moving down the hill. I forgot to engage the parking
________
break. Somebody please help me!

are
8) Andrea and Alejandro (take) ________ taking a walk. The fresh air feels
________
great.

is
9) Dr. Mason is busy. He (see) ________ seeing a patient right now. He will see
________
you in twenty minutes.

are
10) Mr. Henderson and I (talk) ________ talking on the phone.
________
is ________
He (tell) ____ telling me about his children. They seem nice.
 Present Perfect Tense
The present perfect tense is used to
describe action that began in the past and
continues into the present or has just been
completed.
For Example—
I have played.
He / She has played.

Note: To form the simple present perfect tense, has or

have is used with a past participle (the word that
comes after "had") to describe an action that has
happened in the past and may still be happening. The
past participle is often regular, and therefore retains its
simple past tense spelling, as “visited” does here.
Example: I / You / We / they (visit) have visited Argentina before.
Example: He / She / It (visit) has visited Argentina before.

1) I (visit) _______
have ________
visited Australia before.

2) You (visit) _______

have ________
visited Mexico before.

3) We (visit) _______
have ________
visited Canada before.

4) They (visit) _______

have ________
visited China before.

5) He (visit) _______
has ________
visited Africa before

6) She (visit) _______

has ________
visited India before.

7) It (visit) _______
has ________
visited Europe before.
Example: John (walk) has walked to school since first
grade. He is in fifth grade now.

Example: The girls (finish) have finished cleaning their

rooms. Now they can go shopping.

has ________.
1) Our company (arrive) ______ arrived Please answer
the door.

has
2) The ice on the sidewalk (melt) _______ melted
________. I
think the sun is out today.

have _________
3) The Mc Millans (prepare) _______ prepared a lot of
food for the party. It looks delicious.
4) Tony’s flight from New Jersey (land)
has ________.
_______ landed We should see him any minute.

have suggested
5) The bank officers (suggest) _______ _________ that
the meeting be scheduled for Wednesday morning. I will
try to locate a conference room.

has
6) Sparky (taste) _______ tasted
________ his new dog food,
and he seems to like it.

has
7) The police (arrest) _______ arrested
________ two men for the
robbery. It is time to question them.

has
8) The medicine (cure) _______ cured
________ William’s
illness. It seems miraculous.
 Note: In this exercise, all of the past participles are irregular. This
means that they have unexpected changes in spelling and
pronunciation which are not the same as the simple past forms.
You may want to refer to a list of irregular verbs to find irregular
past participles.

regular verb definition.

A verb that follows standard
patterns in its inflection. The past
tense of a regular verb is formed
by adding an -ed ending: walk, walk
ed ; shout, shout ed.

irregular verb definition. A verb in

which the past tense is not formed by
adding the usual -ed ending. Examples
ofirregular verbs are sing (past tense
sang); feel (felt); and go (went).
(Compare regular verb.)
Example: Amy (eat) has eaten lunch already.
Example: Amy and Arnold (eat) have eaten lunch already.

has
1) Mark (eat) _______ eaten dinner already. He is not hungry.
________

has
2) Beth (write) _______ written three letters today. She misses
________
her family.

have ________
3) Yoko and Armand (take) _______ taken the test. Now they
can relax.

have ________
4) Marty and I (be) _______ been to Costa Rica three times.
We are familiar with the culture.

have _______
5) I (drink) _______ drunk six cups of water today.

has
6) Eva (sing) _______ sung
________ in a chorus before. Her voice is
pretty.

has
7) Chong-Li (get) _______ gotten very good at speaking
________
English. She has practiced a lot.
 has
8) Lucy (hide) _______ hidden in the woods. Now her friends
________
will try to find her.

has
9) It (be) _______ been a good week so far.
________

have _________
10) You (show) ________ shown that you are a hard worker.
Good job!

has
11) Daisy (wear) _______ worn
_________ a dress to work every day
this week.

has
12) Mr. Lee (drive) _______ driven from Texas to Iowa for the
________
conference. He needs to get some rest before it starts.

has
13) Juan (ride) _______ driven horses since he was a little
________
boy. It is easy for him.

have ________
14) Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez (become) _______ become
grandparents. Their daughter, Josefina, had a baby yesterday.

has
15) The movie (begin) _______ begun Please be quiet!
_______.
 Fill in the spaces with the correct form of the verb in simple present
perfect tense. Then, indicate whether the past participle is regular or
irregular.

Example: Ida (look) has looked all morning for her glasses. She
still can’t find them. (regular / irregular)

Example: The wind (blow) has blown our patio furniture away.
Let’s go get it. (regular / irregular)

has
1) Charity (break) _______ broken her leg on the ski slope.
________
Please dial 911. (regular / irregular)

has
2) The city (allow) _______ allowed residents to shoot off
________
fireworks each year on the Fourth of July. (regular / irregular)

has
3) The lake (freeze) _______ frozen solid. Now we can go
________
skating. (regular / irregular)

has
4) The sun (rise) _______ risen
________. It’s time to get up. (regular /
irregular)
 has
5) The army (battle) _______ battled the enemy for two weeks.
________
The soldiers are exhausted. (regular / irregular )

has introduced
6) The principal (introduce) _______ _________ the new teacher.
She seems very nice. (regular / irregular)

has
7) Using his telescope, Jeremy (see) _______ seen other
_______
galaxies. He writes them on his blog. (regular / irregular)

has _________
8) The judge (listen) _______ listened to all of the evidence.
Now he will make a ruling. (regular / irregular)

have ________.
9) The strawberries (spoil) _______ spoiled They should have
been kept in the refrigerator. (regular / irregular)

has
10) The doctor (write) _______ written a book about disease
________
prevention. It will be published soon. (regular / irregular)
 Present Perfect
ProgressiveTense
The present perfect
progressive is used to describe an
action, event, or condition that has
begun in the past and continues into
the present.
For Example—
I / You have been playing.
He / She has been playing.
Example: I / You / We / They (work) have been working for two
hours.

Example: He / She / It (work) has been working for two hours.

have _______
1) I (write) _______ been writing
_________ my new book for ten
months. Writing it has taken a lot of hard work and research.
Thankfully, it is almost finished.

have _______
2) The runners (race) _______ been _________
racing since 9:00 in
the morning. Now it is 3:00 p.m., and the leaders are about to
cross the finish line.

3) The weather has been dreary all week. It (rain)

has
_______ been
_______ raining
_________ since Monday. Hopefully, we will
have some sunshine this weekend.
 has
4) Anthony (play) _______ been
_______ playing
________ soccer his entire
life. Soon, he will go to college on a soccer scholarship.
has
5) The baby (cry) _______ been
_______ crying
_________ all night. He has
been doing that every night since he was born. His parents are so
tired. They are hoping that his sleeping habits will change soon!

have _______
6) Julian and I (try) _______ been _________
trying to find jobs for
two weeks. We are a little discouraged, but we cannot give up.

7) Mrs. Burk is giving her students an algebra test right now. The
have _______
students (take) _______ been taking
_________ the test for thirty-
five minutes. They have five minutes until time is up.

8) Ichiro is worried because his keys are lost. He needs to go to

has
work. He (look) _______ been
_______ looking
_________ for them for fifteen
minutes. Let’s help him.
Affirmative (+)
Example: He (wait) has been waiting on the train for two hours.

Negative (-)
Example: Don't worry. We (not, wait) have not been waiting for
you for long.

have been playing

1) The children (play) _______ _______ _________ outside all
day. They must be getting hungry by now. They need to come
inside for dinner.

have _______
2) This week, we (read) _______ been _________
reading selections
from the Romantic Period in Literature class. My favorite Romantic
authors are Poe and Hawthorne.

3) The criminal has not been caught yet. The police (chase)
have _______
_______ been chasing him since yesterday.
_________

has
4) Lu Peng (make) _______ been making
_______ _________ bread all day. It
smells so good! His bakery is next door to our shop. We are taking
two loaves of his fresh bread home when we close the shop
tonight.
 have _______
5) The construction workers (build) _______ been building
_________
that house all winter. They (not, work)
have _______
_______ not been
_______ working on it this week, though,
_________
has
because it (rain) _______ been
_______ raining
_________ every day since
Monday.

have _______
6) The roses (not, bloom) _______ not been
_______ blooming
_________
much lately. We (not, water)
have
_______ not
_______ been
_______ watering
_________ them enough. The soil is
getting dry.

have _______
7) I (not, sleep) _______ not been
_______ sleeping very well
_________
lately. I think I need to get more exercise during the day. That
would help me to feel tired at night.

has
8) Akira (learn) _______ been
_______ learning about plants in her
_________
biology class. She is paying close attention to the lectures. She
wants to become a botanist some day.
 Past Tense
Past

Past Indefinite Past Continuous Past Perfect Past Perfect

Tense Tense Tense Cont.Tense
Past Simple (Indefinite)
Tense
The simple past is used to
describe an action, an event, or
condition that occurred in the past.
For Example—
I played.
He / She played.
Fill in the spaces with the correct forms of these
regular verbs in simple past tense.

Example: I / You / We / They / He / She / It (clean)

cleaned on Monday.

1) cleaned my car on Monday

I (clean) ________
2) walked three miles on Tuesday.
You (walk) ________
3) cooked lunch on Wednesday.
We (cook) ________
4) sewed curtains on Thursday.
They (sew) ________
5) filmed the movie on Friday.
He (film) ________
6) played chess on Saturday.
She (play) ________
7) rested from its work on Sunday.
It (rest) ________
Fill in the spaces with the correct forms of these regular verbs in
simple past tense.

Note: When a regular verb ends in a consonant + “y”, the “y” is

changed to “ied” to form the simple past tense.

Example: I / You / We / They / He / She / It (try) tried to buy

tickets.

1) dried
I (dry) ________ the dishes after dinner.
2) worried about the last test.
You (worry) ________
3) We (copy) ________
copied Sally’s notes from the lecture.
4) cried when their team lost.
They (cry) ________
5) discovered a new star with his
He (discover) __________
telescope Saturday.
6) She (fry) ________
fried all of her food until now.
7) It (bury) ________
buried the bone in the trash.
Fill in the spaces with the correct form of these regular verbs in
simple past tense.

Note: When a verb has one syllable and ends in a consonant +

vowel + consonant, the final consonant is doubled before adding –
ed to form the simple past tense. Exceptions to this rule are words
that end in 'w' or 'x', like sewed and waxed.

Example: I / You / We / They / He / She It (chop) chopped the

wood.

1) trapped the mouse on Monday.

I (trap) ________
2) jogged yesterday morning.
You (jog) ________
3) flipped the pancakes at breakfast.
We (flip) ________
4) chopped firewood last winter.
They (chop) ________
5) mixed the chemicals together in the lab.
He (mix) ________
6) The nurse (help) ________
helped the patient to stand up.
7) tipped the bucket over.
It (tip) ________
Choose the correct forms of these irregular verbs in simple past
tense.

Note: Irregular verbs have unexpected spelling changes in various

tenses, including the simple past tense.

Example: I / You / We / They / He / She It [bringed brought] a gift

to the wedding Saturday.

1) I (be) [beed was] busy painting last night.

2) You (make) [maked made] a good cake for his
birthday.
3) We (choose) [choosed chose] to ride the train
yesterday.
4) They (fall) [falled fell] while skating together.
5) He (keep) [keeped kept] the profits for himself.
6) She (meet) [meeted met] her new coach on Monday.
7) It (ring) [ringed rang] the bell on the birdhouse two
times.
Choose the correct forms of these irregular verbs in simple past
tense.

Note: Some irregular verbs do not change their spelling in the

simple past tense.

Example: I / You / We / They / He / She/ It (bet) [betted bet] on

the grey horse last time.

1) I (cut) [cutted cut] the watermelon yesterday.

2) You (shut) [shutted shut] the door before it rained.
3) We (quit) [quitted quit] watching the movie last
night.
4) They (hurt) [hurted hurt] their knees on the rocks.
5) He (put) [putted put] the book back Wednesday.
6) She (hit) [hitted hit] the target when she played
darts.
7) It (cost) [costed cost] five hundred dollars in 1980.
Fill in the spaces with the correct form of the verb in parentheses
in simple past tense. Then indicate whether the verb is regular
or irregular.

Note: Some irregular verbs do not change their spelling in the

simple past tense.

Ex. I (catch) caught some fish on Saturday. (regular / irregular)

Ex. Anna (like) liked her biology class last semester.
(regular / irregular)

bought
1)I (buy) __________ a new car yesterday.
(regular / irregular)
2)You (bend) __________
bent the branch you stepped on.
(regular / irregular)
painted twelve portraits last year.
3)Carlos (paint) __________
(regular / irregular)
4)Jake (teach) __________
taught the class last week.
(regular / irregular)
 knew
1)They (know) ___________each other years ago.
(regular / irregular)

lent
2)Mariel (lend) _________ me her dress for the
dance. (regular / irregular)

hoped to move to
3)Suzanne and John (hope) _________
Seattle last month. (regular / irregular)

framed the picture; it looked

4)Tyler (frame) _________
beautiful. (regular / irregular)

exercised on the treadmill last

5)We (exercise) _________
night. (regular / irregular)

stood
6)The box (stand) _________ in the same place for a
month. (regular / irregular)
Fill in the spaces with the correct form of the verb in
parentheses in simple past tense. Then indicate whether
the verb is regular or irregular.

built a bird house in September.

1)I (build) _______
(regular / irregular)
looked for your keys for hours.
2)You (look) _______
(regular / irregular)
planted flowers on Saturday.
3)My friends and I (plant) _______
(regular / irregular)
chose a new home.
4)John and Sarah (choose) _______
(regular / irregular)
grew twelve inches last year.
5)The boy (grow) _______
(regular / irregular)
walked ten miles last weekend.
6)Claire (walk) _______
(regular / irregular)
sold
7)The store (sell) _______ winter clothes until last
month. (regular / irregular)
 came to the meeting, but he was
1)Joe (come) _______
late. (regular / irregular)
2)You (pay) _______
paid the workers already.
(regular / irregular)
3)The manager (open) _______
opened the store early this
past Christmas. (regular / irregular)
4)It was time for the race. The swimmers all (dive)
_______
dived into the pool at once. (regular / irregular)
5)The tire on Toni’s bike was flat, so she (change)
________
changed it. (regular / irregular)
bit
6)A snake (bite) _______ the ranger’s hand when he
reached into a pile of wood. (regular / irregular)
7)I (think) _________
thought it would be easy to make
pottery, but I discovered that it is not.
(regular / irregular)
cheered when the ice cream
8)The children (cheer) ________
truck arrived. (regular / irregular)
 Past Progressive
(Continuous) Tense
The past progressive/ continuous
tense is used to described actions ongoing
in the past.
For Example—
I was playing.
He / She was playing.
You were playing.
Choose the correct form of the verb in past progressive tense.

Note: This tense describes actions that were in progress in the

past. It uses the helping verb "was" with the pronouns I / He / She
/ It, and "were" with the pronouns You / We / They. Then, –ing is
added to the base form of the verb.

Example: I / He / She / It / (wash) was washing the car yesterday.

Example: You / We / They (wear) were wearing their old clothes at
the cabin.

1) I [was walking / were walking] through the mall Tuesday.

2) He [was playing / were playing] baseball until four o'clock.
3) You [was watching / were watching] the sunset last night.
4) They [was staying / were staying] at the same hotel that year.
5) She [was smelling / were smelling] the coffee when she woke
up.
6) We [was planting / were planting] the garden on May 15th.
7) It [was barking / were barking] loudly at the cat.
Note: With some verbs, the last letter of the verb must
be doubled in past progressive tense before adding –
ing. The rule for doubling is: when a one-syllable verb
ends with consonant-vowel -consonant, the final
consonant is doubled. If the verb is longer than one
syllable, the final consonant is doubled only if the stress
falls on the last syllable. Exceptions: never double the
letters h,w,x,y.

Example: I / He / She / It / (get) was getting a new

bicycle before the race.
Example: You / We / They (plan) were planning to
travel last fall.
Example: I / He / She / It / (sew) was sewing robes for
the choir.
1) I (swim) _____
was _________a
swimming lot during the
summer.
2) We (sit) _____
were ________
sitting on the rocks by
the river.
3) They (run) _____
were _________
running faster than
anyone else in that race.
was _________
4) He (stop) _____ stopping often to tie
his shoe.
5) It (fit) _____
was _________
fitting until she gained
weight.
6) She (wax) _____
was _________
waxing her skis
before the trip.
7) You (shop) _____
were _________
shopping all day
yesterday.
Choose the correct form of the verb in parentheses in past
progressive tense. With verbs that end with a silent 'e', the final 'e'
is dropped before adding –ing.

Example: I / He / She / It / (hope) was hoping to see the concert.

Example: You / We / They (waste) were wasting too much gas.

was _________
1) I (bike) _____ biking to school last
semester.
2) He (make) _____
was _________
making a model airplane.
3) We (care) _____
were _________
caring for the sick children
in March.
were _________
4) You (take) _____ taking too much time.
was _________
5) It (become) _____ becoming colder that
evening.
was _________
6) She (stare) _____ staring at the sign.
7) They (shine) _____
were _________
shining the car for the
parade.
Fill in the spaces with the correct form of the verb in
parentheses in past progressive tense.

1) He (map) ____
was _________
mapping the city last year.
were _________
2) The scouts (walk) _____ walking on the
Appalachian Trail when it began to rain.
3) Eddie: Which sign were you looking for?
was looking
Tommy: I (look) _______ _______ for the "Ranger
Station" sign.
wasFriday
4) Last paying
at ten o'clock, the boss (pay)
_____ _______was the workers.
sewing
5) Hannah (sew) ______ _______ costumes for the
were going
play; she finished them.
6) The retirees (go) _______ _______ on a bus trip last
September; they wanted to see Yosemite.
 Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is used

to refer to actions that took place
and were completed in the past.
For Example—
I had played.
He / She had played.
Note: This tense describes actions that have been
completed before other past actions. It can also
describe actions that happened in the distant past
(other actions have happened since then).

When used in the simple past perfect tense, the past

participle (the word that comes after "had") is often
regular, and therefore retains its simple past tense
spelling.

In this exercise and in Exercise, all of the past

participles requested are regular.

Example: I / You / We / They / He / She / It (hike)

had hiked some difficult trails before that
trip to Colorado.
1) I (study) ____
had _______
studied extremely hard before
the test was given.
2) You (pick) ____
had _______
picked a lot of tomatoes
from your garden before we had any ripe ones
in ours.
3) We (expect) ____
had _______
expected to find many vacant
hotel rooms, but we only found one.
4) They (play) ____
had _______
played in the Super Bowl in
1990, so they were more prepared in 1995.
5) He (enjoy) ____
had _______
enjoyed color photography
before he tried black-and-white film.
1) Tonya (work) ____ _______ as a decorator before
had worked
she opened her shop.

2) My daughter and I (enjoy) ____

had _______
enjoyed the ballet
so much that we wanted to see it again.

3) The power supply (fail) ____

had _______
failed during the
night, so the house got cold.

4) You (call) ____

had _______
called earlier in the day, so we
knew you were on your way.

5) The cat (scratch) ____

had _______
scratched a hole in the sofa
before its owner noticed.
Note: As noted in the previous exercise, when
used in the simple past perfect tense, the past
participle is often regular. In the previous
exercises, we concentrated on the regular
form. However, for irregular verbs, like the
ones used in this exercise, the spelling and
pronunciation gets changed.

Example: He (wrote) had written a book

about bass fishing before he began the one on
fishing boats.
1) You (know) _______
had _______
known about
conditions in the Middle East long before you
made that trip.
2) Robert (begin) _______
had ______
begun to research
his family history a year before he visited
Ireland.
had
3) The Kowalske family (eat) _______ eaten
______
organic vegetables even before they planted
their garden.
4) Before the treasure hunt started, Ryan's
mother (hide)_______
had ________
hidden clues in the
yard.
5) Jenna (ride) _______
had _______
ridden her bike 12
miles; now she was sore.
1) The geese (fly) _______
had _______
flown from
Michigan to Florida before the first snow fell.
2) Mrs. Hughes (fall) _______
had _______
fallen
several times in the past, so she decided to
get a walker.
3) The choir (sing) _______
had _______
sung together
many times before its tour of Europe last
month.
4) Bill (write) ______
had _______
written three
cookbooks before his book on baking with
chocolate was released.
5) Olga was amused when Seventies styles
had
returned; she (wear) _______ worn
______ them
since high school!
 In this exercise, adverbs, like still,
already, usually, frequently, never, and
others—are used in verbs which are in
the simple past perfect tense. An
adverb tells us something more about
the action of the verb. It is said to
"modify" the verb.

Example:
You (already, ring) had already rung
the bell before it was time for class.
(regular / irregular)
1) Christy (already, adopt) had
____ ________
already adopted
________
several dogs before she adopted Molly.
(regular / irregular)
had ________
2) Seth (seldom, play) ____ seldom ________
played
soccer before he tried out for his school's
team. (regular / irregular)
3) That species of elephant (recently, disappear)
had
____recently
________disappeared
___________ from the area, so
we were not able to see it. (regular / irregular)
4) It was a good year for Melissa; she (quickly, sell)
had ________
____ quickly ________
sold her quota of houses
and was rewarded with a vacation.
(regular / irregular)
had ________
5) Edward (never, forgive) ____ never forgiven
________
Elise; now he was leaving her.
(regular / irregular)
1. The company (seriously, consider)
____
had ________
seriously ________ moving its plant to Iowa,
considered
but chose Oregon instead. (regular / irregular)
2. Lucia (frequently, think) ____ ________ ________
had frequently thought
about returning to her home in Costa Rica before
she found a job in New York. (regular / irregular)
3. The history class members (usually, watch)
____
had ________
usually ________
watched a movie the day
before a test. (regular / irregular)
4. The new citizens (solemnly, swear)
had solemnly
____ sworn their loyalty to the
________ ________
country when they took the oath.
(regular / irregular)
had ________
5. The car (still, cost) ____ still cost
________ Jamie
$15,000, even after the price was reduced.
(regular / irregular)
 Past Perfect Cont.Tense
The past perfect continuous is
used to indicate that a continuing
action in the past began before
another past action began or
interrupted the first action.
For Example—
I had been playing.
He / She had been playing.
 This tense describes actions which
were ongoing before other past
actions, or which were ongoing in the
distant past.
It uses the helping verb phrase "had
been" followed by the verb + "ing".

Example:

I / You / We / They / He / She / It had

been watching the fish in the aquarium
before w the giant turtle appeared.
1) Before I bought my new boat, I (go)
____
had ______
been __________
going to the boat show every day

to see the newest models.

had been talking
2) You (talk) ____ ______ __________ to Whitney before
the show began.
had been thinking
3) We (think) ____ ______ __________ about buying an
electric car even before the price of gas went up.
had been racing
4) They (race) ____ ______ __________ cars at that
track for twenty years before it closed.
had been driving
5) He (drive) ____ ______ __________ too fast all
afternoon before the accident happened.
Fill in the spaces with the correct form of the
verb in any aspect of the past tense.

Eric and Ilsa are brother and sister. They (grow) _______ (1)
up together in the city that used to be known as West Berlin, in
the former West Germany. Eric (move) _______ _______ (2) to
the United States decades ago, before the eastern and western
parts of both Berlin and Germany were reunited in 1990. Ilsa
and her family (visit) ___________ (3) Eric and his family last
year. llsa's Family (fly) ____________ (4) from Berlin to Detroit
for the visit. Although the children (never, meet) _______
_______ _______ (5) before, except through e-mail, the families
(have) __________ (6) a great time together.
 Every day for a week, the adults and the children
(play)_______ _______(7), talking, and eating together. One
day, they (cook) _______ (8) some German recipes that (be)
_______ ________(9) in the family for generations. For years,
Ilsa (save) _______ _______ _______ (10) them and
treasuring them in a box their mother (give) _______
_______(11) her just before she (die)_______ (12). One of
their mother's favorites (be) _______ ________(13) a dessert
called Apple Kuchen.
One night after everyone else (already, go) _______ _______
________(14) to bed, Eric and Ilsa (quietly, sit) _______
_______ ________(15) and talking. "What have you (miss)
____________ (16) most about Berlin?" Ilsa wanted to know.
Eric (pause) __________ (17), then answered, "Mostly, I miss
living in a city with such wonderful landmarks. The kids and I
(look) _______ _______ _______(18) at some books about
Berlin and Germany for a while before you and your family
(arrive) __________(19). We (discuss) _______ _______ (20)
the Brandenburg Gate when Franz interrupted to ask why its
image (use) _______ _______ _______ (21) as a design on
some of the coins back when Germany had converted its money
to euros."
"What (do) _______ (22) you tell him?" Ilsa asked.
"I (say) _________ (23) that I (not, be)_______
_______(24) sure," answered Eric, “but that I
(think) _______(25) it was because the gate
(become) _______ _______(26) a symbol for
Germany, like the Statue of Liberty had emerged as
a symbol for the United States."
1) grew 9) had been 18) had been looking

2) had moved 10) had been saving 19) arrived

3) Visited 11) had given 20) were discussing

4) Flew 12) Died 21) had been used

5) had never met 13) had been 22) did

6) Had 14) had already gone 23) said

7) were playing 15) were quietly sitting 24) was not

8) Cooked 16) missed 25) thought

17) paused 26) had become

 Future Tense
Future

Future
Future Future Perfect Future Perfect
Continuous
Indefinite Tense Tense Cont.Tense
Tense
 Future Indefinite Tense
The simple future is used to
refer to actions that will take place
after the act of speaking or writing.
For Example—
I shall play.
He / She will play.
Note: The simple future tense is used to express
something which will happen or something which will
be true in the future.
One way to form this tense is: “will” + the simple
present tense form of the verb. We use “will”
when the subject is volunteering to do something in
the future or deciding to do something in the future
while speaking.

Example:
We (clean) will clean on Tuesday.
(We just decided to clean.)

Example:
(drive) Will you drive on Sunday?
(A decision about driving is being made.)
 will
1) The house is dirty. I (clean) _______ clean
________ it on
Monday.

Will
2) (cook) _______ cook
you ________ on Tuesday, please?

will
3) It looks like the washer is broken. I (ask) _______ ask
_______
a repair man to come Wednesday.

will
4) Okay then, our group (meet) _______ meet on
________
Thursday.

will
5) Helga (hike) _______ hike
you _______ with us on Friday?

will
6) If necessary, we (carry) _______ carry the supplies in
________
our car Saturday.

will you _______

7) John and Wes, (read) _______ read to the children
on Sunday?
Note:
Sometimes the simple future tense is expressed using “am,”
“is,” or “are” with “going to.”

This form is used when a decision has already been made to do

something in the future.

Example: Governor Taylor (sign) is going to sign the new law.

Example: Stan (share) is going to share a room with Tim next
year.

1) Mrs. Garrison (teach) ____

is ________
going to ______
teach the
class next year.
2) The soldiers (march) _______are ________
going to _______
march
for three hours.
3) The sorority sisters (paint) ____
are ________
going to ______
paint
the house blue on Saturday.
1) Mom and I (rake) ____ are ________
going to ______
rake the yard
tomorrow.
am ________
2) I (ski) ____ going to ______
ski in Colorado this winter.
3) Eduardo (marry) ____is going to
________ marry Carmen in
______
June.
4) The baseball team (travel) ____ is ________
going to ______
travel to
Florida for the playoffs.
5) Drew and I (run) ____are ________
going to ______
run in the race
next week.
6) The department store (have) ____ is ________
going to ______
have a
sale.
7) The nurse (bandage) ____ is ________
going to ______
bandageBobby’s
leg.
8) Mr. and Mrs. Franklin (buy) ____ are going to
________ buy
______ a
houseboat.
9) We (grow) ____are ________
going to grow grapes to make
______
wine.
10)Toni and David (name) ____ ________
are going to ______
name the
baby “Melinda
Note: Sometimes the simple future tense is expressed by using a
verb in the simple present tense form with an adverb or adverbial
phrase like tomorrow, next, later, soon, next week, etc.

Example:
We (leave, leaves) leave for Venezuela next Tuesday.
Example:
Yin (perform, performs) performs her piano solo next.

1) Victoria (give, gives) her speech tomorrow.

2) Joseph (graduate, graduates) from college next
month.
3) Matthew and I (meet, meets) with the manager later
today.
4) The surgeon (operate, operates) Tuesday morning.
5) The new employee (start, starts) work soon.
6) Giovanni (conduct, conducts) the orchestra tonight.
7) Our family (gather, gathers) for a reunion next
week.
Present Tense + Adverb form

Note: To make this form of the simple future tense, it is possible

to place the adverb or adverbial phrase either before or after the
present tense form of the verb in the sentence.

Example: In ten minutes, the movie (start, starts) starts.

Example: Mr. and Mrs. Davis (travel, travels) travel to Canada
next month.

1) Silas (throw) ________

throws the discus today at the
track meet.
2) The students (finish) ________
finish their projects this
Friday.
3) The weather is dry. This evening, we (water)
________
water the flowers.
1) The Queen (appear) ________
appears in the parade
tomorrow.

begins
2) The emcee (begin) ________ the show
soon.

dives
3) Next, Julie (dive) ________ from the high
platform.

speaks before long.

4) The chairman (speak) ________
He seems a little nervous.

5) Next Monday is a holiday. We (have)

________
have the day off from work.
Note: The sentences in this exercise use negatives (like
“not”) or adverbs. Adverbs, like still, usually, sometimes,
often, and others tell us something more about the action
of the verb. They are said to "modify" the verb.

Example:
It is raining. I guess that I (not, take) will not take a walk
now.

Example:
Tracy said that she (not, date) is not going to date Ben.

Example:
I (probably, wash) will probably wash the car on Tuesday.

Example:
Jodie (still, work) is still going to work at the store next
month. She retires in six months.
 is always
1) Seth (always, drive) ____ going to ________
______ __________ drive his
1975 Mustang. He loves that car.
will gladly
2) You are busy. Tina and I (gladly, rake) _____ ______ rake
_____
the yard.
is ____
3) Our staff (not, attend) ___ not ________
going to attend
_______ the
convention this year.
4) I ruined that piece of pottery. I (simply, make)
will ________
_______ simply _______
make another one.
5) Our muscles are hurting. I guess we (not, exercise)
will ____
_____ not exercise
_______ much today.
will
6) The police (probably, catch) _________ probably ________
________ catch
the bank robber.
will ____
7) Stan, you (not, play) _____ not ________
play any solos in the
jazz concert tomorrow. You have not practiced enough.
8) Jim was bitten by a shark, but he (still, dive)
is _______
_____ still going to _____
________ dive in the ocean.
9) We are almost late for dinner with our parents. I am afraid we
will not
(not, arrive) _____ ___ arrive
_______ on time.
10)Savannah is allergic to shellfish. She (never, eat)
is ________
_____ never going to _____
_______ eat lobster again.
 Future Progressive/
Continuous Tense
The future Progressive/
continuous tense is used to
describe actions ongoing in the
future. The future progressive is
used to refer to continuing action
that will occur in the future.
For Example—
I shall be playing.
He / She will be playing.
Note: The future progressive tense (also called future continuous
tense) describes actions which will be ongoing in the future. It
can be formed using either “will be” + present participle (the
-ing form of the verb ) or “am/is/are” + “going to be” +
present participle.
Usually, in the future progressive tense, these two methods are
interchangeable.
Remember, that is not true in the simple future tense.

Example:
Sarah (run) will be running a marathon on Saturday.
Sarah (run) is going to be running a marathon on Saturday.

will _____
1) Professor Baker (teach) _______ be teaching American
________
history next semester.
am ___________
2) I (clean) _____ going to be cleaning
_______ the house while you
are doing the laundry.
will _____
3) The forecast says that it (rain) ______ be raining
________ all
night.
will _____
4) Grandma (smile) _______ be smiling when she
________
answers the door.
1)On Tuesday, the girls (take)_____
are ________
going to be taking
_____ a taxi to the airport.
2)The plumber (connect) ______ will _____
be connecting
_________
the water pipes to the house tomorrow.
will
3)Brian (supervise) _______ be
_____ supervising
_________ the
construction crew for a few days.
will
4)The Fergusons (fishing) _______ be
_____ fishing
_______
while they are on vacation.
is
5)Stella (play) _____ going to be playing
_________ _____ the solo for
the concerto.
are _________
6)Julia and Rick (look) _____ going to be looking
______
for a new house while they are in Portland.
7)In order to earn a badge, the scouts (learn)
_______
will _____
be _________
learning to tie knots this
Thursday.
8)The pastry chef (bake)___ is ________
going to be_______
baking
turnovers early tomorrow morning.
Note: This exercise uses the future progressive tense in
question format.

Example:
Will you (shop) be shopping tomorrow?
Is Kevin (drive) going to be driving to the restaurant?
Are the teachers (meet) going to be meeting
Wednesday morning?

Will
1) _______ be feeding
you (feed) _____ ____ the dogs while Mom
is in the hospital?
Is Jacob (search) __________
2) _____ going to be searching
________for a
new job soon?
3) ___
Are Whitney and Megan (put) __________ _____
going to be putting
up the decorations for the party?
4) _______
Will Claire (pay) _____
be ________
paying the caterer
today?
1) _______
Will the boys (play) _____
be ________
playing soccer this
afternoon?
2) _____
Is the sun (shine) ___________
going to be _______
shining at the beach
tomorrow?
3) _____
Is the skater (skate) going
_________ ______ with her
to be skating
partner this time?
4) ______
Will you (tell) _____
be ________
telling your friends yet that
you are moving?
5) Carrie and Jess want to go to the zoo.
___
Is Aunt Susan (take) __________
going to be ______
taking them?
6) The mechanic is here now. Is __ he (fix) __________
going to be _____
fixing
our car first?
7) The runners need to stay in shape for the Olympics.
____
Will they (train) _____
be ________
training at the track every day?
8) I don’t like lima beans. Will
___ you (cook) _____be ________
cooking
them very often?
Will
9) ______ be _______
the cruise ship (dock) _____ docking in Miami
this weekend?
 Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect is used to

refer to an action that will be
completed sometime in the future
before another action takes place.
For Example—
I shall have played.
He / She will have played.
Note: The future perfect tense is used to
describe something which will happen in the
future before something else happens. To form
this tense, we use “will have” with the past
participle form of the verb.

Example:
By the time it starts raining, we (bring) will
have brought the lawn furniture in.

The bus (leave) will have left the station when

Joe gets there.

We can move the new computers in next week.

They will have arrived on Saturday.
1) Before the store opens, the employees
(prepare) ____
will _____ _______ for the sale.
have prepared

2) By the time the treasure hunt begins, Susan

(hide) ____
will _____
have _______
hidden all the clues.

3) The housekeeper (clean)

____
will _____
have _______
cleaned the house when the
guests arrive.

4) You can touch the walls tomorrow. The

paint (dry) ____
will _____
have _______
dried by then.

5) By Tuesday, the roofers (finish)

____
will _____
have _______
finished laying the tiles.
1. The explorers (climb) ____
will _____
have _______
climbed the
mountain when the helicopter brings their supplies.
2. Before the horses race at 10:00, huge crowds
(gather) ____
will _____
have _______
gathered at the track.
3. Jason and Samantha (buy) ____ will _____ _______ a
have bought
house before they move to Louisville in August.
4. Manuel wants to get a good grade on the quiz. He
(study) ____
will _____
have _______
studied for at least two hours
when he takes it.
5. By the time Herman tells all of his jokes, he (irritate)
____
will _____ _______ everyone in the audience!
have irritated
6. Let’s watch TV at 8:00 p.m. By then, the news (end)
____
will _____ _______.
have ended
7. The seamstress (sew)will____have
_____ _______ the
sewed/sewn
costumes when the actors arrive.
Note: In this exercise, we will practice using the future
perfect tense in questions. Look carefully at the word
order used in the examples.

Example:
Will our luggage (arrive) have arrived by the time we
get to the baggage area?

Will it (snow) have snowed when we wake up

tomorrow?

Do you believe that species (disappear) will have

disappeared by the end of the century?

How many campaigns will you (work) have worked in

when this one ends?
1) ____
Will you (retire) ____
have ______
retired by 2014?

2) ____
Will the party (end) ____ ____ by 2:00
have retired
a.m.?

3) Do you think the prisoner (confess)

____ ____confessed
will have _____ his crime when he
appears in court?

4) ____
Will Danielle (give) ____
have _____
given her
speech by the time Andrew gives his?

5) How much rent

_____
Will the tenants (pay)____
have _____
paid by the
end of the year?
1. ______
Will Brent (read) have
____ _______
read more
books than Trish by the end of the summer?
2. _____
Will you (finish) ____
have _______
finished your
student teaching when the semester ends?
3. ___
Will the farmer (harvest) _____
have ______ all
harvested
of his corn by the middle of August?
4. Is it true that Jonathan (become)
____
will ____
have ______
became a millionaire by the end
of next year?
5. How many trees _____ will the crew members
(plant) ____ _____ whenhave they finish today?
planted
6. ____
Will the deer (survive)_____have ______
survived when
this harsh winter ends?
7. ____
Will Mom (worry) ____
have _____
worried about us if
we arrive late?
 Future Perfect
Continuous Tense
The future perfect continuous
tense is used to indicate a continuing
action that will be completed at some
specified time in the future.
For Example—
I shall have been playing.
He / She will have been playing.

CONTENTS
 Here is a list of examples of these
tenses and their definitions:
Perfect
Simple Progressive Perfect
Progressive
Forms Forms Forms
Forms

I have I have been

Present I play I am playing
played playing

I was I had I had been

Past I played
playing played playing

I shall I shall have

I shall I shall be
Future play playing
have been
played playing