Verb Tenses Flashcards
Present
The present tense of verbs expresses events or actions that are occurring now, relative to the speaker—or to actions that are habitually performed and may not necessarily be happening right now. These actions are general truths or they are happening now. There are four forms of the present tense. They include:
* simple present * He jumps.
* present progressive * He is jumping.
* present perfect * He has jumped.
* present perfect progressive * I have been jumping.
Past
The past tense of verbs expresses actions or states in the past. There are four forms of the past tense. They include:
* simple past * He jumped.
* past progressive * He was jumping.
* past perfect * He had jumped.
* past perfect progressive * I have been jumping
Future
The future tense expresses an action that has not yet happened or a state that does not yet exist. There are four forms of the future tense. They include: * simple future * You will eat.
* future progressive * You are eating.
* future perfect * You will have eaten.
* future perfect progressive * You will have been eating.
Present Simple
The present simple is a verb tense which is used to show repetition, habit or generalization. Less commonly, the simple present can be used to talk about scheduled actions in the near future and, in some cases, actions happening now. * I play tennis. * She does not play tennis. * Does he play tennis? * The train leaves every morning at 8 AM.
Past Simple
The past simple is a verb tense which is used to show that a completed action took place at a specific time in the past. The simple past is also frequently used to talk about past habits and generalizations. * I saw a movie yesterday. * I didn’t see a play yesterday. * Last year, I traveled to Japan. * Last year, I didn’t travel to Korea.
Future Simple
Future simple has two different forms in English: “will” and “be going to.” Although the two forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often express two very different meanings. These different meanings might seem too abstract at first, but with time and practice, the differences will become clear. Both “will” and “be going to” refer to a specific time in the future. * You will help him later. * Will you help him later? * You will not help him later. FORM Be Going To [am/is/are + going to + VERB] * You are going to meet Jane tonight. * Are you going to meet Jane tonight? * You are not going to meet Jane tonight.
Present Perfect Simple
The present perfect simple is a verb tense which is used to show that an action has taken place once or many times before now. The present perfect is most frequently used to talk about experiences or changes that have taken place, but there are other less common uses as well. * Statement: You have seen that movie many times. * Question: Have you seen that movie many times? * Negative: You have not seen that movie many times.
Past Perfect Simple
The past perfect simple is a verb tense which is used to show that an action took place once or many times before another point in the past. * Statement: You had studied English before you moved to New York. * Question: Had you studied English before you moved to New York? * Negative: You had not studied English before you moved to New York.
Future Perfect Simple
Future perfect has two different forms: “will have done” and “be going to have done.” Unlike simple future forms, future perfect forms are usually interchangeable. * You will have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S. * Will you have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.? * You will not have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.
Present Continuous/Progressive
The present continuous is formed using am/is/are + present participle. Questions are indicated by inverting the subject and am/is/are. Negatives are made with not. * Statement: You are watching TV. * Question: Are you watching TV?
Past Continuous/Progressive
The past continuous/progressive is a verb tense which used to show that an ongoing past action was happening at a specific moment of interruption, or that two ongoing actions were happening at the same time. * Statement: You were studying when she called. * Question: Were you studying when she called? * Negative: You were not studying when she called.
Future Continuous/Progressive
The future continuous/progressive is a verb tense which is used to talk about an action that will be happening at a specific time in the future. * You will be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight. * Will you be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight? * You will not be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight
Present Perfect Continuous/Progressive
The present perfect continuous/progressive is a verb tense which is used to show that an action started in the past and has continued up to the present moment. The present perfect continuous usually emphasizes duration, or the amount of time that an action has been taking place. * Statement: You have been waiting here for two hours. * Question: Have you been waiting here for two hours? * Negative: You have not been waiting here for two hours.
Past Perfect Continuous/Progressive
The past perfect continuous/progressive is a verb tense which is used to show that an action started in the past and continued up to another point in the past. * Statement: You had been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived. * Question: Had you been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived?
Future Perfect Continuous/Progressive
The Future Perfect Continuous/Progressive is a verb tense that is used to show that something will continue up until a particular event or time in the future. “For five minutes,” “for two weeks,” and “since Friday” are all durations which can be used with the future perfect continuous. Notice that this is related to the present perfect continuous and the past perfect continuous; however, with future perfect continuous, the duration stops at or before a reference point in the future. * They will have been talking for over an hour by the time Thomas arrives. * She is going to have been working at that company for three years when it finally closes. * James will have been teaching at the university for more than a year by the time he leaves for Asia.
