Verb Tenses

The Twelve Traditional Tenses Simple Present Present Continuous Present Perfect Present Perfect Continuous Past Continuous Perfect Past Perfect Continuous Simple Future Future Continuous Future Future Perfect

Simple Present It is used to signal the following meanings: Habitual actions in the present. He walks to class every day. General timeless truths. Water freezes at 0 degrees centigrade. Sensory or mental perception in the present. I see a sign in the corner. I know that Charlotte is a teacher. Narrative present Marc hits the ball and falls over.

Present Continuous Action in progress She is eating her lunch now. A temporary present occupation or activity She is studying at Keele University now. Repetition in a series of similar ongoing actions Skippy is pushing the football around the garden.

Simple past A definite completed action in the past. He flew to the UK on Saturday. Habitual action in the past. Chris jogged to work every day last year. A situation that applied in the past with the implication that it no longer applies in the present. Professor Walker lectured at Keele for 30 years.

Past Progressive An action in progress at a specific point of time in the past We were playing volleyball at 1.00pm on Wednesday. Past action – simultaneous with some other past event Students were working in the language lab when I walked past the door. Repetition of some on-going past action She was talking throughout the entire film.

Simple future An action to take place at some definite future time Russell will walk to Newcastle tomorrow. A future habitual action or future state Russell will take the bus to Hanley next year. A situation that may occur in the present and will occur in the future but with a definite end date. You will live in England until you finish your degree.

Future Continuous An action that will be in progress at a specific time in the near future He will be walking to school at 9.00am tomorrow. Duration of some specific future action Skippy will be working on her thesis for the next ten years.

Present Perfect A situation that began in the past and that continues into the present. I have taught English for 24 years. A past experience with current relevance I have already seen that movie. A very recently completed action Skippy has just finished her homework.

Present Perfect Progressive A situation or habit that began in the past and that continues up to the present I have been living in England for 19 years. The incompleteness of an action in progress I have been reading a book. {Compare – I have read a book.}

Past Perfect An action completed in the past prior to some other past event He had already walked to Newcastle before I could offer him a ride. Past conditional If she had studied harder, she would have passed the exam.

Past Perfect Progressive An action or habit taking place over a period of time in the past prior to some other past event He had been walking to work before his father bought him a bicycle. A past action that is in progress gets interrupted by another past action We had been planning to holiday in France but changed our minds when we heard about the bad weather.

Future Perfect A future action that will be completed prior to a specific future time I will have finished this work by midnight. A state or action that will be completed in the future prior to some other future time or event I will have finished my essay by the time you return from clubbing.

Future Perfect Progressive Habitual action that is taking place in the present and that will continue into the future up until or through a specific future time He will have been studying for 3 hours by the time I get home.

Task One Find a partner. Ask him or her what his or her daily activities are. Once you have noted these you must take turns asking questions about key activities What does X do everyday? It is 6.30. What is X doing? Ask questions :