Introducing English Verb Tenses

Part 1. An Introduction to Verb Tenses

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Today we are going to give you a basic overview of the verb tense system in English.

Verb tenses tell us how an action relates to the flow of time.

There are three main verb tenses in English: present, past and future. The present, past and future tenses are divided into four aspects: the simple, progressive, perfect and perfect progressive.

There are 12 major verb tenses that English learners should know.

English has only two ways of forming a tense from the verb alone: the past and the present. For example, we drove and we drive.

To form other verb tenses, you have to add a form of have, be or will in front of the verb. These are called helping, or auxiliary verbs.

Time, culture, and grammar

Verb tenses can be difficult to learn in a foreign language. Different cultures think different ways about time. Chinese, for example, has no grammatical verb tenses. Other languages, like Indonesian, express time only through adverbs — there are no changes to the verb form.

English verb tenses give many details about time and action such as:

Is the action finished?

How long did the action happen?

Was the action repeated?

Did the action happen at a known or unknown time?

Is the action a habit?

Is the action planned or spontaneous?

It is difficult to think about time distinctions that do not exist in your own language. So, it can take many years for English learners to master verb tenses.

Let’s get started. We are going to give examples of all 12 verb tenses using the verb drive.

Simple Tenses

We’ll start with the simple tenses. These are probably the first tenses you learned in English. Simple tenses usually refer to a single action. In general, simple tenses express facts and situations that existed in the past, exist in the present, or will exist in the future.

Simple present: I drive home every day.

Simple past: I drove home yesterday.

Simple future: I will drive home later.

Progressive (Continuous) Tenses

Let’s go on to the progressive tenses. We use progressive tenses to talk about unfinished events. Progressive tenses are also called continuous tenses.

Past progressive: I was driving when you called.

Present progressive: I am driving now.

Future progressive: I will be driving when you call.

Perfect Tenses

Now let’s look at the perfect tenses. Perfect tenses cause the most confusion. To put it simply, they express the idea that one event happens before another event.

There are many tricky exceptions with the perfect tenses, which we will discuss in a future episode. The adverbs never, yet and already are common in perfect tenses.

Present perfect: I have driven that road.

Past perfect: I had already driven that road in the past.

Future perfect: I will have driven 200 miles by tomorrow.

Perfect Progressive Tenses

Finally, let’s look at the perfect progressive tenses. Generally, perfect progressive tenses express duration, or how long? Perfect progressive tenses usually include the adverbs for or since.

Present perfect progressive: I have been driving since this morning.

Past perfect progressive: I had been driving for three hours before I stopped to get gas.

Future perfect progressive: I will have been driving for five hours by the time I arrive.

Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything yet. Here are some recommendations we have for learning verb tenses.

Adverbs are your friends

First, think of adverbs as your friends. Adverbs of time offer valuable clues about the correct verb tense.

Let’s use the adverb ago. Ago is only used in the simple past as in, “I left home three years ago.” The adverb ago is never used in the present perfect. Certain adverbs occur with certain verb tenses.

Keep it simple

English learners sometimes try to impress people by using complex verb tenses. You often have a choice of several verb tenses. When you do, always choose the simplest one. It will be clearer for your listener, and there is less chance of making a mistake.

Practice with questions

Native speakers don’t think consciously about verb tenses. With enough practice, English learners can internalize the verb tense system, too. Instead of worrying about deep time relationships, try using adverbs and your ear to choose the right verb tense.

Often when someone asks a question, you can respond in the same verb tense. We’ll ask a question in each verb tense. Give an answer in the same tense, then listen to our answer.

Ready?

1. Did you get enough sleep last night? (simple past)
Yes, I slept well.

2. Do you shower every day? (simple present)
Yes, I shower every day.

3. Are you going to study tonight? (simple future)
Yes, I’m going to study tonight.

4. What were you doing when I called you last night? (past progressive)
I was eating dinner when you called me last night.

5. What are you doing right now? (present progressive)
I am practicing verb tenses right now.

6. What will you be doing at midnight on New Year’s Eve? (future progressive)
I will be celebrating the New Year with my friends.

7. Had you ever tried skiing before today? (past perfect)
Yes, I had already done it several times before.

8. Have you ever broken the law? (present perfect)
No, I have never broken the law.

9. Will you have gotten married by the time you turn 30? (future perfect)
No, I will not have gotten married by the time I turn 30.

10. How long had you been smoking before you quit? (past perfect progressive)
I had been smoking for two years before I quit.

11. How long have you been waiting for the bus? (present perfect progressive)
I have been waiting for the bus for 20 minutes.

12. How long will you have been working before you retire? (future perfect progressive)
I will have been working for 30 years before I retire.

This is just a basic introduction to verb tenses.

Words in This Story
aspect – n. the verb form that indicates completion, duration, or repetition of an action.

distinction – n. a difference that you can see, hear, smell, feel, etc: a noticeable difference between things or people

spontaneous – adj. done or said in a natural and often sudden way and without a lot of thought or planning

consciously – adv. done after thinking about facts and reasons carefully

Reference

VERB TENSES	past	present	future
Simple	It snowed yesterday. Simple past verb	It snows every winter. Simple present verb	It is going to snow tonight. It will snow this winter. Will / be going to + simple present
Progressive	It was snowing when I drove to work. Was/were + -ing verb	It is snowing. Am/is/are+-ing verb	It will be snowing by the time I get home. Will be + -ing verb
Perfect	It had already snowed before I left. Had + past participle verb	I have driven in snow many times. Have/has + past participle verb	It will have snowed 6 inches by the end of the day. Will have + past participle verb
Perfect progressive	It had been snowing for two days before it stopped. Had been + -ing verb + for/since	It has been snowing all month long. Has/have + -ing verb + for/since	It will have been snowing for three days by the time it stops. Will have been + -ing verb + for/since

Part 2. Are You Progressing with Progressive Tenses?

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Today we are going to look at the progressive verb tenses. Progressive tenses express actions that are unfinished or in progress. There are three progressive verb tenses: the past progressive, the present progressive, and the future progressive. Progressive tenses are the same as continuous tenses.

	past	present	future
Progressive Verbs	It was snowing when I drove to work. Was/were + -ing verb	It is snowing. Am/is/are+-ing verb	It will be snowing by the time I get home. Will be + -ing verb

Present Progressive

We will start with the present progressive, the most common progressive tense. You form the present progressive tense by using a form of the verb be followed by an –ing verb. For example, “I am watching a movie.”

It is easy to confuse the simple present and the present progressive. What’s the difference between, “It rains in Seattle” and “It is raining in Seattle”?

“It rains in Seattle” states that it rains in general. It does not necessarily mean that it is raining at the moment of speaking. “It is raining in Seattle” means that the rain started in the past, is happening now, and will probably continue into the future.

Now, at this time, and currently are common adverbs in the present progressive.

The present progressive can also express a scheduled event in the future. For example, this sentence is in the present progressive: “She is starting school next semester.”

The meaning here is the same as the sentence in the simple future: “She is going to start school next semester.” The present progressive and simple future (with be going to) sometimes have the same .

You can also use present progressive with always to say that something disturbs you. “My neighbor is always playing loud music at night” or “I am always making mistakes with verb tenses!”

Past Progressive

Let’s move on to the past progressive. The past progressive describes an event that was in progress in the past. To form the past progressive use was or were followed by an –ing verb. For example, “I was working late last night.”

Sentences in the past progressive often have two actions.

For example, “It was snowing when the plane landed in Denver.”
Notice that the second action, landed, is in the simple past.

The past progressive can also express an action in progress interrupted by a second action. “I was running when I slipped and fell” or “I was sleeping when you called.”

It is possible to have two progressive actions in the same sentence if the two actions are happening at the same time. You could say, “I was sleeping when you were working”.

Future Progressive

The future progressive tense describes an event that will be in progress in the future. To form the future progressive tense, use will be followed by an –ing verb. For example, “I will be waiting for you when you finish work.”

The future progressive can be useful when you are making plans. Imagine your friend wants you to pick her up the airport tomorrow. But you have to work.

You could tell her, “I’m sorry, but I will be working when your plane gets in.”

Stative Verbs

There are some verbs that cannot be used in any of the progressive tenses. You would say “I own a car,” not “I am owning a car.” Own is a stative verb. Stative verbs describe unchanging conditions or situations. Stative verbs often refer to mental states such as know, realize, like, believe, understand, love, hate, appear, and exist.

A few verbs have both stative and non-stative meanings. Let’s look at the verb think. “I think the book is good” is stative. The action does not change. “I am thinking about you” is progressive. It shows a temporary, changing action. Sensory verbs like see, taste, feel, smell, and hear work the in the same way.

Progressive verbs are especially useful for describing changing emotional states. For that reason, they are very common in song lyrics. We will leave you with a few examples.

 “I was dreaming of the past
And my heart was beating fast
I began to lose control…”                           [Styx]

 “I’m sailing away
Sail an open course for the virgin sea”       [Adele]

 “I'll be waiting for you when
you're ready to love me again
I put my hands up
I'll do everything different
I'll be better to you”                                     [John Lennon]

Words in This Story

stative - adj. describes verbs that express a state rather than an action; usually relating to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, states of being and measurements

sensory – adj. of or relating to your physical senses

Part 3. Have You Perfected the Perfect Tenses?

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Today we are going to talk about the perfect verb tenses. Perfect tenses generally focus on how a past action affects the present. For example, “I have already eaten.” The suggestion is that the speaker is not hungry.

Perfect verb tenses are the most difficult for English learners. The term “perfect” can be confusing. What does grammar have to do with not making mistakes? When you are talking about grammar, perfect has a different meaning. It comes from the Latin word perfectum, which means “complete.”

The most important thing to remember is the perfect tenses always refer to completed actions. If you get confused, try replacing “perfect” with “completed” and the time relationship should become clearer.

	Present Perfect	Past Perfect	Future Perfect
PERFECT TENSES	I have driven in snow many times. Have/has + past participle verb	It had already snowed before I left. Had + past participle verb	It will have snowed 6 inches by the end of the day. Will have + past participle verb

Present perfect

We will start with the present perfect. You form the present perfect using has or have followed by a past participle verb. For example, “I have seen Star Wars.”

The use of the present perfect here gives us three pieces of information. First, it tells us that the event is finished. Second, it tells us that the exact time of the action is unknown or unimportant. Third, it suggests that the experience of seeing Star Wars has some effect in the present.

One of the most difficult distinctions for English learners to make is the difference between the simple past and present perfect.

Remember, when there is a specific time, you use the simple past. In the sentence “I saw Star Wars last night,” the adverb last night is a specific time.

You cannot say “I have seen Star Wars last night.” But, you could say, “I have seen Star Wars before” or “in the past” or “three times.”

You should also use the present perfect to refer to a repeated action in the past. For example, “I have taken that test four times.” The exact time of each action is not important.

You can also use the present perfect to describe an action that did not happen, using the adverb never. “I have never traveled outside of my country” and “I have never smoked in my entire life.” Something that did not happen in the past, like not traveling and not smoking, can also have an effect in the present.

The adverbs never, already, yet and so far are common in the present perfect. Adverbs are often the best indicators of which verb tense to use.

Past Perfect

Now let us look at the past perfect. The past perfect describes an activity that was finished before another event in the past. For example, “She had already had a baby before she graduated.”

To form the past perfect, use had followed by a past participle verb. For the second action, use before or by the time followed by the simple past verb. Imagine you were at a New Year’s Eve party, but you fell asleep before midnight. You could say, “I had already fallen asleep before the New Year came.”

You can use the past perfect to talk about how an experience from the distant past relates to an experience from the more recent past. For example, “The soldier wasn’t scared because he had already been in battle before.”

In other words, battle was not a new experience for the soldier.

If the time relationship is clear, you can choose between the past perfect and the simple past. “My grandfather passed away before I was born,” has the same meaning as “My grandfather had passed away before I was born.”

The past perfect just emphasizes that the first action was completed before the second action.

Future perfect

Let us move on to the future perfect. Use the future perfect when you know that one future action will be completed before another future action. For example, “I will have graduated from college before my little brother graduates from high school.”

The future perfect has very limited use because we rarely know a future sequence of events with any certainty. When it is used, the future perfect usually refers to major life events that are planned years in advance.

Words in This Story

participle - grammar. a form of a verb that is used to indicate a past or present action and that can also be used like an adjective

adverb - grammar. a word that describes a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a sentence and that is often used to show time, manner, place, or degree

indicator - n. a sign that shows the condition or existence of something

scared - adj. afraid of something

Part 4. The Perfect Progressive Tenses

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For English learners, the perfect progressive tenses can be scary.

But they are more straightforward than you might think.

When you talk about grammar, perfect means “complete,” and progressive means “unfinished.”

Perfect progressive sentences focus on the completion of an action that is, was or will be in progress.

Think about this sentence in the past perfect progressive:

“I had been waiting for three years by the time my application was approved.” In this example, the emphasis is on duration of the first verb waiting.

Perfect progressive tenses often answer the question how long? There are three perfect progressive tenses: the present perfect progressive, the past perfect progressive, and the future perfect progressive.

	Past Perfect Progressive	Present Perfect Progressive	Future Perfect Progressive
PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSES	It had been snowing for two days before it stopped. Had been + -ing verb + for/since	It has been snowing all month long. Has/have + -ing verb + for/since	It will have been snowing for three days by the time it stops. Will have been + -ing verb + for/since

Present Perfect Progressive

Let’s start with the present perfect progressive. You form the present perfect progressive by using have been (or has been) followed by an –ing verb.

For instance, “She has been sitting in class since early this morning.” The action, sitting, is continuing. But the emphasis is on the completed part of the action. Here are some more examples:

I have been waiting for 20 minutes.
I have been studying since I was a child.
It has been snowing all day long.

In all of these sentences, the emphasis is on how the finished activity relates to the present.

A time reference is not required to use the present perfect progressive. Sometimes we use it to refer to recently completed actions.

Imagine your friend comes to your house with red, puffy eyes. You might say, “Your eyes are red. Have you been crying?”

Or you notice that a co-worker is looking tanned. You might ask, “You look tanned. Have you have been sunbathing?”

Remember that stative verbs cannot be used in any progressive tense. A stative verb describes unchanging situations, often mental states such as realize, appear and seem.

You should not say, “I’ve been knowing you for a long time.” If you have a stative verb, use the present perfect: “I have known you for a long time.”

Almost all native speakers will contract, or shorten the pronoun that comes before have or has. “I have been” will sound like, “I’ve been.”

Expert grammarian and teacher Betty Azar tells English learners: “Don’t expect slow, careful pronunciation of helping verbs in normal conversation.”

Past Perfect Progressive

Let us move on to the past perfect progressive. The past perfect progressive emphasizes the duration of a past action before another action happened.

For example, “I had been smoking for 10 years before I quit.”

You form the past perfect progressive by using had been followed by an –ing verb.

Notice how the past perfect progressive often includes the adverbs for and since to express duration. You will also see the adverbs before, when or by the time used to introduce a second action.

The second action uses the simple past tense. Here are some more examples:

I had been studying for 12 years by the time I graduated from high school.
She had been living there since she was a child.
He had been teaching for 12 years before he was certified.

The past perfect progressive can also describe a recently completed action. For instance:

My clothes were wet because it had been raining.
He was talking loudly because he had been drinking.

Future Perfect Progressive

We will end with the future perfect progressive. The future perfect progressive describes the duration of an action as it relates to a future event.

There are two ways to form the future perfect progressive. Both require two actions. One is by using “will have been” plus a present participle, followed by “when” or “by the time” and the second action.

For example, “I will have been working for 35 years by the time I retire.” Notice that the second planned action, retire, is in the simple present. The simple future is never used with the second action.

The other way to form the future perfect progressive is using “be going to have been” plus a present participle followed by “when” or “by the time” and the second action. The order of the actions can be reversed with either form.

For example, “By the time the plane arrives, I am going to have been waiting for five hours.”

With the future perfect progressive, it is not always clear if the ­­–ing verb started in the past or will start in the future. For example, “The doctor will have been working for 24 hours by the time his shift is finished.”

The future perfect progressive is rare because it is difficult to know the duration of an activity relative to another future event.

And those are the three perfect progressive tenses in English.

We have been talking about verb tenses for several weeks now. It is time to move on to other topics. We leave you with a present perfect progressive song by the music band "Foreigner."

"I’ve been waiting for a girl like you
To come into my life"

Words in This Story

straightforward – adj. direct, not complicated

puffy – adj. larger than normal

contract - v. to make (something) smaller or shorter

certified – adj. having met the official requirements that are needed to do a particular type of work

episode - n. part of a longer program, such as a film or television series

tanned - adj. becoming more brown in color

graduated - v. successfully completed a study program

duration - n. the time during which something continues

participle - n. a form of a verb that is used to change a noun or verb

Fun with Future Tenses

There are several ways to talk about future events in English. Compared to the past and present, future tenses are usually more flexible.

Will

Let’s start with will. To form the simple future, use will and then the simple form of the verb. For example, “I will go to the store.” In everyday conversation, will often gets shortened, which can be difficult for English learners to hear. For example, “I’ll leave tomorrow” or “He’ll go to the store.” You can use will to express a desire to do something. “I’ll help you move tomorrow” or “I’ll answer the phone.”

Be going to

The second form of the simple future is be going to. For example, “I am going to start a new job tomorrow.” Use be going to when you already have a plan to do something. When you say “I’m going to start a new job tomorrow,” you made the plan in the past. If you do not have a plan, use will.

If you are making a prediction about the future, you can use will or be going to. You can say, “She will win the election” or “She is going to win the election”—the meaning is the same.

In casual conversation, most Americans will change going to to gonna. Listen for gonna in this song by rock band Twisted Sister.

We’re not gonna take it
No, we ain’t gonna take it
We’re not gonna take it anymore

Be careful with this expression. You might want to avoid using the reduced form, gonna, in formal situations. You should never use it in professional or academic writing.

Shall

Another way to express the future is with shall. Shall has the same meaning as will to express the future. Listen to a famous speech by American General Douglas MacArthur. General MacArthur is talking about his escape from the Philippines during World War II.

“When I landed on your soil, I said to the people of the Philippines whence I came, ‘I shall return.’”

“I shall return” is one of the most famous quotes related to World War II.

But these days, shall seems very formal and a bit old-fashioned in American English. It is more common in British English.

Present progressive and simple present

Sometimes a present tense can express the future. Imagine you have a flight to Chicago tomorrow. There are several ways to express the future in this situation. Since you have a plan, you can use be going to. “I am going to fly to Chicago tomorrow.”

You could also use the present progressive, “I am flying to Chicago tomorrow.” The meaning is almost the same. The present progressive just emphasizes that the flight is a scheduled event.

If you are referring to a fixed schedule or timetable, you can even use the simple present to express the future. For example, “The flight to Chicago arrives at 7:00.” The simple present here shows that the flight has a regular set schedule.

Future progressive

Let’s move on to the future progressive. To form the future progressive, use will befollowed by the –ing form of the verb. For example, “I will be working when you arrive.” Use the future progressive to talk about an event that will be in progress (or unfinished) in the future. Speakers use the future progressive to talk about more than one future action. For example, “Don’t call me after 9:00 because I will be studying” or “I will be sleeping when you get home.”

Listen to the future progressive in this popular love song by Richard Marx.

Wherever you go, whatever you do

I will be right here waiting for you

There are other ways to express the future, such as the future perfect and future perfect progressive, but they are rare. A native speaker may never use them in an entire lifetime.

Common mistakes

Let’s look at some common mistakes we see in all of the future tenses we have discussed. First, remember that you cannot use will in a time clause. For example, “I am going to visit her when I will arrive” should be “I am going to visit her when I arrive.” The when phrase, also known as a time clause, uses the simple form of the verb in a future tense.

Another common mistake is with the third person –s. “He will meets me tomorrow” should be “He will meet me tomorrow.”

There is quite a bit of flexibility with future tenses; sometimes there is little or no difference among different forms. If you have a choice, use the simplest tense.

We’ll leave you a song of hope about the future by Bob Dylan. Listen to the variety of future tenses he uses in “When the Ship Comes In.”

The fishes will laugh as they swim out of the path

And the seagulls they’ll be a-smiling

And rocks on the sand they will proudly stand

The hour that the ship comes in

And the words that are used for the get the ship confused

Will not be understood as the spoken

For the chains of the sea will have busted in the night

And be buried on the bottom of the ocean

 

Words in This Story

prediction - n. a statement about what will happen or might happen in the future

present progressive - gr. The verb tense that indicates continuing action, something going on now. This tense is formed with the helping "to be" verb, in the present tense, plus the present participle of the verb (with an -ing ending)

simple present - gr. The form of the verb that is usually the same as the base form, but the third person singular adds -s. Some verbs change, like 'to be', which uses 'am', 'are' and 'is', and 'to have', where the third person is 'has'. The auxiliary verb 'to do' is used in a negative structure or a question

future progressive - gr. The verb tense expressing continuing action, something that will be happening, going on, at some point in the future. This tense is formed with the modal "will" plus "be," plus the present participle of the verb (with an -ing ending)

Multimedia quiz on Fun with Future Tenses!

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