ENGLISH VERB TENSES

The present continuous/ progressive

Uses of the present continuous

Thing that are happening now, at the moment.

What are you doing?

She’s reading in the garden.

They’re not standing in the rain.

Actions happening in a period around the present moment in time.

I’m reading “The surgeon’s Mate” by Patrick O’Brian.

Whose account are you working on?

She’s studying hard for her final exam.

Future plans and arrangements.

We’re having leftovers this evening.

What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?

She isn’t coming on Friday.

Changes/things that are changing these days.

Ex: The price of meat is going up (rising) fast/slowly.

The price of maize is going down (falling).

Activity: Think of the changes in health or medical issues nowadays and share your views with
your classmates

Common present continuous time expressions include:

At the moment, now, today, this week, this month, tomorrow, next week (for future
arrangements), currently…

Spelling rules for the formation of the present participle

Some verbs are not used in progressive forms.

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I love you. (Not I am loving you.)

I like this color. (Not I am liking this color.)

I rang her up because I wanted to speak. (NOT I rang her up because I was wanting to speak.)

Many of these non-progressive verbs refer to states rather than actions.

Common non-progressive verbs.

Here is a list of some common verbs which are not often used in progressive forms.

Believe, doubt, feel, imagine, know, dislike, love, hate, prefer, realize, recognize, remember, see,
suppose, think, understand, want, wish, appear, hear, look, see, seem, smell, sound, taste, agree,
deny, astonish, disagree, impress, mean, please, promise, satisfy, surprise, belong, concern,
consist, depend, fit, involve, lack, matter, need, owe, own, possess, weigh etc.

Notes

Feel does not have a progressive form when it means ‘has an opinion’.

 I feel you are making a mistake. (NOT I am feeling you are making a mistake.)

See does not have a progressive form when it means ‘understand’.

 I see what you mean. (NOT I am seeing what you mean.)

Look does not have a progressive form when it means ‘seem’

 She looks like she is rich. (NOT she is looking like she is rich.)

Weigh does not have a progressive form when it means ‘have weight’.

 He weighs 70 kilos. (NOT he is weighing 70 kilos)

NOTE: Verbs with state meanings are not used in the progressive tense

1. Mental state

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Know, realize, understand, recognize, believe, feel, suppose, feel, think, imagine, doubt,
remember, forget, want, need, desire, mean

2. Emotional state

Love, like, appreciate, please, prefer, hate, dislike, fear, envy, mind, care, astonish, amaze,
surprise

3. Possession

Possess, have, own, belong

4. Sense Perceptions

Taste, smell, hear, feel, see

5. Other existing states

Seem, look, appear, be, sound, resemble, look like, cost, owe, weigh, equal, be, exist, matter,
consist of, contain, include,…

Note: Some verbs can be progressive and non-progressive, with a different meaning.

Example:

1. I think Roberto is a kind man.

I am thinking about this grammar.

2. I see a butterfly; do you see it too?

Jane is seeing a doctor about her headaches.

Jack and Ann are seeing each other. They go out together every weekend.

3. Kathy looks out of the window. She sees a butterfly.

Tina is looking out the window; she sees a butterfly.

4. Sam appears asleep. Let me not disturb him.

My favourite actor is appearing at the Paramount.

5. Ann has a car.

I am having a hard time, but Olga is having good time.

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6. I remember my first teacher. Do you remember yours?

Aunt is looking through an old picture album. She is remembering the wonderful days of her
childhood.

7. This piano is too heavy for me to lift. It weighs too much.

The grocer is weighing the bananas.

Some spellings of –ING and-ED forms

One-syllable Verbs ending in Stop stopping stopped

Beg begging begged

Put putting (put)

Cut cutting (cut)

Drop dropping dropped

Verbs ending in Rain raining rained

Dream dreaming dreamed

Two-syllable First syllable Listen listening listened

Open opening opened

Develop developing developed

Second syllable Begin beginning (began)

Control controlling controlled

Note: Vie vying Vied

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The Present Simple tense

The simple present is used to express:

Permanent or long-lasting situations

Where do you work?

The store opens at 9 o’clock.

She lives in New York.

Regular habits and daily routines

I usually get up at 7 o’clock.

She doesn’t often go to the cinema.

When do they usually have lunch?

Facts

The Earth revolves around the sun.

What does ‘strange’ mean?

Water doesn’t boil at 20 degrees.

Feelings

I love walking around late at night during the summer.

She hates flying!

What do you like? I don’t want to live in Texas.

Opinions and states of mind

He doesn’t agree with you.

I think he is a wonderful learner.

What do you consider your best accomplishment?

Timetable and schedules

The plane leaves at 4 p.m.

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When do courses begin this semester?

The train doesn’t arrive until 10.35.

Common present time expressions include:

Usually, always, often, sometimes, on Saturdays, at weekends (on weekends), rely, on occasion,
never, seldom.

Note: Spelling of the third person singular

– We add s to regular verbs and –es to irregular verbs in the third person singular.

– Verbs ending in -ch, -sh, -o, - ss and –x take -es in the third person singular.

– Example: boxes, brushes, goes, does, teaches, catches

– In questions and negatives we use the auxiliary do.

The Simple past tense

USE

USE 1: completed action in the past

Use the simple past tense to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time
in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have
one specific time in mind.

Examples:

 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.

 Did you have dinner last night?

 She washed her car.

 He didn’t wash his car

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USE 2: A Series of completed actions

We use the simple past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st,
2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.

Examples:

 I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.

 He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at
10:00.

 Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

USE 3: Duration in past

The simple past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a
longer action often indicated by expression such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all
year, etc.

Examples:

 I lived in Brazil for two years.

 Shauna studied Japanese for five years.

 They sat at the beach all day.

 They did not say anything at the party the entire time.

 We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.

 A: How long did you wait for them?

 We waited for one hour.

USE 4: Habit in the past

The simple past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the
same meaning as “used to.” To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add
expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

Examples:

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 I studied French when I was a child.

 He played the violin.

 He didn’t play piano.

 Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?

 She worked at the movie theater after school.

 They never went to school, they always skipped class.

Note: Get used to means something is/was new to me and then I have to get familiar with it. Be
used to means something is no longer new to me; I am familiar with it.\

 Ex: When Pascaline was in Germany, she wasn’t used to driving on the left; so, she got
used to driving on the left. Now she is used to it. Driving on the left is no longer a
problem for Pascline.

 Activity: -Think of your past habits and tell your partner. Can you ask her/him about
his/hers?

USE 5: Past facts or generalizations

The simple past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are longer true.
As in USE 4 above, this use of the simple past is quite similar to the expression “used to”.

Example:

 She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.

 He didn’t like tomatoes before.

 Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?

 People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.

Spelling of the simple past

a. Regular verbs

Verbs ending in a silent “e”

When a regular verb ends in a silent e, only the letter d must be added in order to form the past
participle. For example:

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Infinitive Past participle

To close Closed

To move Moved

When a regular verb ends in y immediately preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to i before
the ending—ed is added. For example:

Infinitive Past participle

To study Studied

To rely Relied

To carry Carried

However, when a regular verb ends in y immediately preceded by a vowel, the y is not changed
before the ending—ed is added. For example:

Infinitive Past participle

To play Played

To convey Conveyed

To enjoy Enjoyed

Verbs ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel

The rules concerning the doubling of final consonants which apply when adding the ending ing
to form the present participle also apply when adding the ed to form the past participle.
For example:

Infinitive Past participle

To rub Rubbed

To trim Trimmed

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To plan Planned

To stop Stopped

When a verb of more than one syllable and in a single consonant other than w, x, or y
immediately preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant is doubled before the ending ed
only when the last syllable of the verb is pronounced with the heaviest stress.

For example:

Infinitive Past participle

To control Controlled

To infer Inferred

To occur Occurred

To permit Permitted

Compare

To fasten Fastened

To order Ordered

To focus Focused

To limit Limited

The final consonants w, x, and y are never doubled when the ending ed is added

For example:

Infinitive Past participle

To follow Followed

To box Boxed

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To portray Portrayed

It should also be noted that consonants immediately preceded by two vowels are not doubled
when the ending ed is added. For example:

Infinitive Past participle

To greet Greeted

To rain Rained

To soak Soaked

To treat Treated

Pronunciation of the –ed ending

The ending ed is usually not pronounced as a separate syllable. For instance:

Bare Infinitive Past participle

Puff Puffed

Work Worked

Miss Missed

Watch Watched

However, when the ending ed is added to verbs which end in –d—or –t-, the ed ending of the
past participle is pronounced ass a separate syllable. For example:

Bare Infinitive Past participle

Add Added

Land Landed

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Hunt Hunted

Wait Waited

Similarly, when d is added to verbs ending in a silent e precededby d or t, the final ed of the
past participle is pronounced as a separate syllable. For example:

Bare Infinitive Past participle

Fade Faded

Glide Glided

Cite Cited

Note Noted

b. Irregular verbs

In addition to regular English verbs, there are many irregular English verbs, which do not form
the past participle with the ending ed.

Past continuous

The past continuous describes actions continuing in the past.

Example: Kamiri was sleeping this morning.

 Has the structure was/ were+ verb—ing.

 Describes actions happening at a specific point in the past.

 Describes actions happening at the same time in the past.

 Describes actions that were happening when a second action (simple past) happened.

 Is not used with the verbs “be”, “believe”, “belong”, “forget”, “have”, “hear”, “know”,
“like”, “love”, “need”, “perfect”, “remember”, “see”, “seem”, “understand”, or “want”.

 Add “not” between “was/ were” and the verb—ing to make a negative sentence.

 Uses “was/ were” as auxiliary verbs to make questions.

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Past continuous vs Simple past

The past progressive and the past simple

The past progressive is used to express a longer background action; the simple past is used for
the shorter action which came in the middle, or interrupted what was going on.

Ex.: I was getting ready to come home when the phone rang.

I found some old letters when/while I was cleaning the house.

They met while/when she was studying in Berlin.

When/while I was cleaning the house I found some old letters.

Future tense

The simple future

The future simple:

 Uses will+ verb to describe actions decided at the moment of speaking or writing, or
actions that are not certain.

For example: I think I will eat dinner at 6:00 tonight.

 Uses to be going to+ verb to describe actions or events already decided now.
For example: I am going to eat dinner at 6:00 tonight.

 Uses the present continuous to describe planned future actions.

For example: I am eating dinner at 6:00 tonight.

 Uses the simple present tense to describe scheduled actions.

For example: the train leaves at 8:45,

 Uses contractions in informal writing and speaking.

For example: I’m going to the meeting tonight.

 Has yes/ no question forms.

For example: “will you drive to work this morning?”

 Has information question forms.

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For example: “where are you going to travel this summer?”

The present continuous followed by an infinitive

The present continuous tense of to go, followed by an infinitive (be going to), is often used to
refer to an event which is about to happen, or to refer to an action which someone intends to
carry out utin the future. For example:

When the tornado hits, they will be sitting in the storm cellar.

Explanation: The future progressive expresses an action which will be happening at a given
time/situation in the future; it expresses a continuous action in the future.

The future continuous tense

 has the form will+ be+ verb—ing. For example:

Tom will be swimming this afternoon at 4:00.

 Describes actions that will be continuing at a certain time in the future.

For example: I’ll be flying to Kampala at 3:30 this afternoon.

 Describes actions already planned. For example:

I will be speaking to John this afternoon. Do you have a message for him?

 Has yes/ no question forms. For example:

Will you be going to the meeting tomorrow?

 Has information question forms. For example:

Where will you be staying?

 Uses future time expressions. For example:

At 12:00, Ivan will be eating lunch.

Activity: Work with a group of colleagues, asking each other what they will be doing a given
time in the future ( tomorrow, next week, next year,…) Can you identify the sentences with the
similar tense in the text?

Ex: What do you think you will be doing this time tomorrow?

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 The future continuous tense describes future continuing actions. Example:

Hillary will be visiting her mother at 2:00 this afternoon.

I am going to write a letter tonight.

They are going to study in France next year.

It should also be noted that the past continuous tense of to go can be used to express actions
which were about to happen in the past. For example:

I was going to write a letter last night.

Activities on verb tenses: Work with a partner (s) and do the following exercises

I. Put the verb between parenthesis into the correct form

1. Andrew………… when I was getting ready to come home. (arrive)

2. The phone rang while I ………. a bath. (have)

3. I first met my wife when I…………. in Berlin. (study)

4. I stopped because the car …….. a funny noise. (make)

5. My brother ………… his leg while he was skiing last week. (break)

6. Where were you going when I ……………. You yesterday?

7. The accident ……………. While we ……… into Copenhagen. (happen; drive)

8. I ………. All my money when I ………. From Istanbul to Athens. (lose; travel)

9. The lights all ………while we ………… supper (go out; have)

10. When I ……….. the train, I ………….. my ticket onto the railway line. (get off; drop)

II. Choose the right verb form among the one suggested below

1. During the last three years, he ……………………..about 100,000 miles.

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A. Travelled B. has travelled C. travels D. was travelling

2. The class representative ………… at the District.

A. Work B. has works C. works D. have worked

3. My brother ………………………….. a fight with the neighbor last week.

4. Had B. has C. has had D. will have

5. I ……………………………. to the president several times.

A. Has spoken B. speaks C. have spoken D. spoke

6. The police ………………. the man in connection with the robbery.

A. Arrested B. Has arrested C. have arrested D. arrests

7. Long ago people believed that the sun …….. around the earth.

A. Turned B. has turned C. turns

8. The road is closed. There…………… an accident.

A. Is B. have been C. has been D. was

9. Aaron …………………building a house last year.

A. Has started B. starts C. will start D. started

10. My father …………………… a lot. He can speak five languages.

A. Has travelled B. travelled C. travels D.travel

11. …………………. In love with someone?

A. Has you ever B. have you ever C. did you ever D. do you ever

12. ……………………………. A lot of sweats when you were a child?

A. Have you eaten B. had you eaten C. Did you eat

13. ‘………… a car when you were living in London?’

A. Did you have B. have you had C. do you have D. have you had

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