Tech Lab Workshop 1/23/04     Verb Tenses

24 Tenses

PAST

PRESENT

FUTURE

ACTIVE

Past

I studied.

Present

I study.

Future 
(will)

I will study.

Future 
(be going to)

I am going to study.

Future 
(be + verb + ing)

I am studying.

Past perfect

I had studied.

Present perfect

I have studied.

Future perfect

I will have studied.

 

 

 

Past continuous

I was studying.

Present continuous

I am studying.

Future continuous

I will be studying.

Future continuous

(be going to)

I am going to be studying.

Future continuous

(be going to)

I am studying.

Past perfect continuous

I had been studying.

Present perfect continuous

I have been studying.

Future perfect continuous

I will have been studying.

 

 

PASSIVE

Past

Frank was helped by Mary

Present

Frank is helped by Mary.

Future

Frank will be helped by Mary.

Future 
(be going to)

Frank is going to be helped by Mary.

Future 
(be going to)

Frank is being helped by Mary.

Past perfect

Frank had been helped by Mary.

Present perfect

Frank has been helped by Mary.

Future perfect

Frank will have been helped by Mary.

 

 

Past continuous

Frank was being helped by Mary.

Present continuous

Frank is being helped by Mary.

 

Future continuous

(be going to)

Frank Frank is going to be helped by Mary.

Future continuous

(be going to)

Frank is going to be helped by Mary.

 

 

Structure

The use of tenses in English may be quite complicated, but the structure of English tenses is actually very simple. The basic structure for a positive sentence is:

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

An auxiliary verb is used in all tenses. (In the simple present and simple past tenses, the auxiliary verb is usually suppressed for the affirmative, but it can and does exist for intensification.) The following table shows the 12 tenses for the verb to work in the active voice.

Structure of 12 Tenses in Active Voice

 

structure

past

present

future*

auxiliary

main verb

simple

normal

 

 

I worked

I work

I will work

intensive

do

base

I did work

I do work

 

perfect

have

past participle

I had worked

I have worked

I will have worked

continuous

be

present participle -ing

I was working

I am working

I will be working

continuous perfect

have been

present participle -ing

I had been working

I have been working

I will have been working

* Technically, there are no future tenses in English. The word will is a modal auxiliary verb and future tenses are sometimes called "modal tenses". The examples are included here for convenience and comparison.

Extra Verb Work

Come into the lab to get help with these:

 

&   Conditional Tense

&   Phrasal Verbs

&   Modals