Guide to Verb Tenses

Present Tenses

Present Simple

• Use: To show repeated action, belief, opinion, characteristics
• How to Form: Verb + -s/-es
• Example: work / works
• Sentence Examples: They work sometimes. She works at Gallaudet.

Present Perfect

• Use: To show what has happened in the past and continues in the present; to show how long something has happened (often uses for and since).
• How to Form: have/has + Past Participle
• Example: have worked / has worked
• Sentence Examples: I have worked at Gallaudet for seven years. Kelly has worked at Gallaudet since 1993.

Present Continuous (Progressive)

• Use: To show an event that is going on right now.
• How to Form: am/is/are + Verb + ing
• Example: am working / is working / are working
• Sentence Examples: Sue is working in the yard. She and her sister are working at Gally now.

Present Perfect Continuous (Progressive)

• Use: To show how long something has been happening and is still happening.
• How to Form: have/has + been + Verb + -ing
• Example: have been working / has been working
• Sentence Examples: I have been working at Gallaudet for seven years. Kelly has been working at Gallaudet since 1993.

Past Tenses

Past Simple

• Use: To show what happened at a time in the past and is finished.
• How to Form: Verb + -d/-ed
• Example: worked
• Sentence Examples Yesterday Jim worked with Harry.

Past Perfect

• Use: To show an action in the past that happened even before another event in the past.
• How to Form: had + Past Participle
• Example: had worked
• Sentence Examples: The car had worked before the truck hit it

Past Continuous (Progressive)

• Use: To show an event that was going on when something else happened (often uses before, after, when).
• How to Form: was/were + Verb + -ing
• Example: was working / were working
• Sentence Examples: I was working on the paper when my friend interrupted me. Sara and Jill were working at the Abbey when I stopped by.

Past Perfect Continuous (Progressive)

• Use: To show how long something had been happening before something else happened.
• How to Form: had + been + Verb + -ing
• Example: had been working
• Sentence Examples: The car had been working fine before the truck hit it.

Future Tenses

Future Simple

• Use: To show what will happen in the future.
• How to Form: will + Verb
• Example: will work
• Sentence Example: In the future I will work on Mars every week.

Future Perfect

• Use: To show something that has not yet been done but that will be done before a set time in the future.
• How to Form: will have + Past Participle
• Example: will have worked
• Sentence Example: By tomorrow Steve will have worked on his term paper.

Future Continuous (Progressive)

• Use: To show an event that will be going on when something else happens.
• How to Form: will be + Verb + -ing
• Example: will be working
• Sentence Example: The guard will be working on his project when we sneak up on him.

Future Perfect Continuous (Progressive)

• Use: To show how long something will have been happening by a future time.
• How to Form: will have + been + Verb + -ing
• Example: will have been working
• Sentence Example: By tomorrow Steve will have been working for five days on his term paper.