Verb Tenses Flashcards
Present Perfect Tense
When an event began in the past and continues into the present.
“has”/”have” + past participle verb of the main verb
Triggers that help define a sentence as present perfect tense is when it uses “since”, “for”, “over”, or “during” as these words convey something started in the past and is still present.
EX: She (has worked) with a vocal coach ever her early years as a singer
Present Tense
Describes things that happen routinely or in discussing facts and truths that remain true over time.
EX: Rome (is) the capital of the city.
Present Continuous Tense
Describes events that are temporarily ongoing in the present. Events that are occurring in the present and are continuous.
Present tense of the verb ‘to-be’: am, is, are + present participle of the base/main verb (verbs that end with -ing)
EX: The children are playing outside (action temporary ongoing)
EX: The sun is setting over the Pacific Ocean (Event temporary ongoing)
Future Tense
Describe events that have not yet occurred but will occur in the future.
- Usually formed with “will” + verb
EX: The little boy will go to kindergarten next year.
- “To-Be” + “Going to” + the base verb
EX: I am going to go to the beach today
The Future in the Past
Sentences about past events refer to events that were in the future when the past event occurred.
EX: At the rally, the candidate said that he would take campaign donations only from individuals.
- At a time in the past, the candidate said that he was going to do something in the future.
“Would” + present verb
“Was going to” + present verb
Future Continuous Tense
Describes an action that will be ongoing but has not yet occurred/begun, the action will occur in the future.
EX: The children will be playing outside tomorrow.
EX: The plan will be flying over Madrid in about five hours.
“will be” + present participle of the verb (ends in -ing)
Future Perfect Tense
Indicates that an event has not yet happened, but will be completed before another event that has not yet happened or before a specific time in the future.
“Will” + “Have” + past participle of the verb — “Will have worked”, “Will have seen”
EX: By Monday, he will have had a week to finish the assignment
EX: I will have worked for 35 years by the time I retire.
The Past Perfect Tense
Describes a past action that occurred before another past action.
Past perfect tense is used in the action that occurred deeper/before.
“Had” + past participle of the verb (had been, had eaten)
Simple past is used with action that occurred in the most recent past.
EX: The tour guide directed (simple perfect) the boat toward a location where whales (had surfaced).
Simple Past Tense
Describes an event that occurred, ended, and is in the past.
Place an -ed at the end of the verb
EX: He (finished) his paper before the deadline.
Past Continuous Tense
Describes an action/event that was ongoing but has ended and is in the past.
Can also be used to describe an event that was occurring in the background when a more notable event occurred.
“Were”/”Was” + Present Participle verb (ends in -ing)
EX: The children were playing outside yesterday.
EX: The woman was washing clothes when the police arrived.
When the Past Perfect Tense is Unnecessary
When a sentence with the past events are already clear, do not need past perfect
- For example, it clearly indicates time periods and/or dates.
When “Before” or “After” is used in the sentence.
EX: Kim (inspected) the airplane’s engine (before) she sat in the cockpit.
- Clearly identifies the timing, that Kim has already inspected the engine .
“Timing” - when to use past perfect
Use past perfect when given context around time
- Action or event that must be completed before a specified date or time period to use past perfect tense.
- An action that is completed by a time/period in the past.
EX: By the end of the month, all of the foreign troops had left the war-torn nation.
Be Careful: Not every sentence about something occurring in the past has to use past-perfect. If a sentence is not about an action or event completed by a time in the past, another tense can be used.
EX: By 1910, many people from all walks of life were using electric cars.
Perfect Continuous Tense
Present Perfect Continuous: From a point in time to present, an action/event has been continuous
EX: That eagle (has been flying) overhead for the last twenty minutes.
Past Perfect Continuous: Two events occurred, but in this case, the past perfect is used to indicate the deeper/first action/event that occurred.
EX: By the time we got in line, some people (had been waiting) for hours.
Future Perfect Continuous:
EX: When the runners approach the finish line, they (will have been running) for hours
Used to convey at a point in the future, the runners will have been engaging in an action, on a continuous basis for hours.
present perfect/past perfect/future perfect participle (has/had/will) + “been” + present participle verb (ends in -ing)
Continuous vs. Non-Continuous
- When sentences involve reasons to highlight the ongoing nature of events, use the continuous tenses.
- When sentences do not involve reasons to highlight ongoing nature of events, use non-continuous tenses.
- Use context clues to determine if a sentence has reasons highlighting the ongoing nature of events.
Active Voice
When the subject of a clause performs the action, the corresponding verb is in the active voice.
EX: The dog caught the ball.
- The subject, the dog is performing the action of catching the ball.
Passive Voice
The subject of the clause has an action being done to it.
- When the object of an action is turned to the subject of a clause.
EX: The ball was caught by the dog.
In this case the subject of this sentence, the ball has an action done to it, the ball caught by the dog.
“to-be” + verb (past participle form)
Passive vs. Active Voice (When to use which)
Active voice is used most of the time unless:
- Sentence about findings or scientific research where people doing the research should be in the background while the scientific research itself should be highlighted.
- Goal of a sentence is to emphasize the receiver of the action.
- Doer of the action is an event/force of nature.
- When the doer of an action is unidentified.
- Starting a general truth: “Rules are made to be broken”
- Sentences about ingredients/contents of something
- “To be” + made of, composed of, filled with
Conditional Mood
Used in sentences about conditions and results that are purely hypothetical.
“Would”/”Could” + finite verb
EX: If I knew how to speak French, I would move to Paris.
EX: If the fruit had been outside, it could have been eaten by rabbits.
*** Do not use the conditional mood if sentences are not purely hypothetical
EX: If the engineers solve this problem, the robot will best in class
- Not hypothetical, more straight forward, the engineers either solve the problem or not.
Subjunctive Mood
Hypothetical Situations: Used for statements that lack certainty, such as those that describe hypothetical or conditional situations, dreams, wishes, desires.
1) Also used for commands, requests, or suggestions.
“Request”/”Suggestion”/”Demand”/”Command”/other commanding words
The subjunctive form of the verb “to be” used in command sentences is always “be”. Other verbs will be expressed in their un-conjugated form.
EX: I demand that you be respectful at dinner tonight.
- not “to be respectful”, which is the phrase that sounds right.
If the sentence doesn’t have “that” then “to be” is accepted.
EX: I demand you to be respectful at dinner tonight.
Command Term + that + command subjunctive
or
Command term + “to be”
Should use (were) if hypothetical
EX: If I were a millionaire, I would buy my dream house.
Subjunctive mood begins with “If”, “As if”, “were”, or “as though”
2) Combination of “were” and an infinitive
EX: If Sheri were to arrive early, the surprise would….
Subjunctive Mood is not used to express uncertainty
EX: If this painting was painted by Rembrandt, then it is an amazing find.
– This is uncertainty, not hypothetical because either the painting was painted by Rembrandt or not.
Indicative Mood
The most common verb mood that we use today, it is used for stating facts, assertions, and observations.
