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Verbs normally relay the action of the actors (nouns) in a sentence and can be single, or can be verb phrases that contain auxiliaries, which always precede the main verb. Verb forms reveal Past, Present, or Future tenses and are used in their infinitive form, or are changed to a Simple, Continuous, or Perfect form.
Study the following regular verb conjugation chart. Notice how the verb changes in its simple form, depending on the noun (pronouns are used in the chart) and how the auxiliary verb changes in the continuous and perfect form of the verb phrase. This same pattern works for all regular verbs. NOTE: Changes in the verb forms are in bold.
Regular Verb Conjugation Chart
Present
Past
Future
Simple
I
work
worked
will work
he, she, it
works
worked
will work
we, they
work
worked
will work
Continuous
I
am working
was working
will be working
he, she, it
is working
was working
will be working
we, they
are working
were working
will be working
Perfect
I
have worked
had worked
will have worked
he, she, it
has worked
had worked
will have worked
we, they
have worked
had worked
will have worked
NOTE: A list of irregular verbs can be found on this page (will be added later).
Present Simple
The present simple tense generally expresses events, or situations, that exist usually, always, or habitually. They have existed in the past, exist now (in the present) and will probably exist in the future.
Ms Bailey teaches English. Susie brushes her teeth every day.
Present simple is used to express a state or condition (stative), or habitual action.
Examples of present simple tense:
Fresh bread smells wonderful. (stative) John takes the bus to school usually. (habitual) Mary always sings in the church choir. (habitual) I understand what you’re saying. (stative) My new car runs great! (stative)
Present Continuous (Progressive)
The present continuous tense expresses an action which began in the past, is in progress now and will probably continue into the future.
The present continuous uses present conjugated forms of the auxiliary verb to be with the “ing”, form of the action verb.
Ms. Bailey is teaching right now. (She will probably continue teaching.)
Examples of present continuous tense:
The boys are playing ball. I am riding my bike. She is watching the ball game. Tom is chewing gum. The students are calling for a boycott.
Present continuous is also commonly used in English to express a continuous action in the future by adding a time word to the sentence.
My plane is leavingtomorrow. My uncle is arriving from Germany at 7:00 p.m. Next year, we are camping in the mountains.
Present Perfect
The present perfect tense expresses an action that occurs before another time, or event.
The present perfect tense uses the present conjugated forms of the auxiliary verb to have with the past participle form of the action verb.
The boss has left the office. (He left sometime before now.)
Examples of present perfect tense:
I have seen the movie already. Sally has lost her favorite ring. Tom and Hank have ridden horses before. We have won the championship! The rabbit has eaten all its food.
Exercise 6: Using the Present Tense Forms of Verbs
Fill in the blanks with the correct present tense form of the verb in parentheses. NOTE: You may need to consult the irregular verb list on this page (will be added later).
1. John __________________ (sleep) on the couch at the moment. 2. My dad always __________________ (sit) in that chair. 3. I ____________________ (like) to go to the movies on the weekends. 4. The children ____________________ (play) at the neighbor’s house today. 5. The company _____________________ (build) a new store. 6. Water ___________________ (wash) away dirt. 7. My little brother ____________________ (eat) all the candy! It’s all gone! 8. Jane ___________________ (read) her favorite book now. 9. Those boys ____________________ (scare) that cat many times before. 10. My wife and I ____________________ (cry) when we watch sad movies.
Past Simple
The past simple tense is an action that began and ended at one particular time in the past.
It snowed yesterday.
Examples of past simple tense:
The pack of dogs ran through the woods. Mike fell on the slippery ice. Molly and Rita embraced at the airport. The mountain lion attacked the herd of cattle during the night. George ate all his dinner.
Past Continuous (Progressive)
The past continuous tense links an action in the past with another past action. The first past action continues through the second past action.
The past continuous uses present conjugated forms of the auxiliary verb to be with the “ing”, form of the action verb.
Jack was eating when I arrived. (Jack started to eat before I arrived. He continued eating after I arrived. Both actions are in the past.)
Examples of past continuous tense:
1. The moon was shining when we went on our walk. 2. The girls were laughing when I approached. 3. Jerry was painting a picture when we arrived at his house. 4. Alfred, Ann and I were playing cards when the lights went out. 5. The birds were singing this morning when I awoke.
Past Perfect
The past perfect tense links an action which was started and finished before another past action occurred. Usually two actions will be mentioned. On the GMAT, Past Perfect is often used with adverbs before, after, or when to indicate that one action took place before/after another
The past perfect tense uses the past conjugated form of the auxiliary verb to have with the past participle form of the action verb.
Jack had eaten by the time I arrived. (Jack started and finished eating by the time I arrived. Both actions are in the past.)
Examples of past perfect tense:
1. Joan had already performed by the time her parents arrived. 2. I had finished mowing when it started to rain. 3. The thief had escaped when the police arrived. 4. Six years had passed since I last saw her. 5. The students had studied before they took the test.
Exercise 7: Using the Past Tense Forms of Verbs
Fill in the blanks with the correct past tense form of the verb in parentheses. NOTE: You may need to consult the irregular verb list on this page (will be added later).
1. She ___________________ (talk) on the phone when the door bell rang. 2. Yesterday, I ___________________ (catch) a big fish on our camping trip. 3. Our group ___________________ (hike) the full length of the Inca Trail last week. 4. The bear ___________________ (climb) a tree before the dogs got there. 5. The sky diver __________________ (fall) very fast when the parachute opened. 6. My grandparents __________________ (arrive) before I returned from school. 7. I ___________________ (read) that story last year in literature class. 8. Mary __________________ (watch) a movie when her aunt called from New York. 9. Jason __________________ (fish) in the pond when he saw a big snake. 10. The plumber __________________ (find) the source of the water leak.
Future Simple
The future simple tense is an action which occurs at one particular time in the future.
The future simple tense uses the modal auxiliary verb will with the infinitive form of the action verb.
It will snow tomorrow.
Examples of future simple tense:
1. I will go to the store after lunch. 2. Randy will travel to Europe this summer. 3. Many birds will migrate south for the winter.
Future Continuous (Progressive)
The future continuous tense is an action that will have already started by the time another action occurs and will probably continue after.
The future continuous tense uses the modal auxiliary verb will + the verb be + the “ing” form of the action verb.
Jack will be eating when I arrive. (Jack will start to eat before I arrive and will probably continue eating afterwards. Both actions are in the future.)
Examples of future continuous tense:
1. It will be raining when our plane lands in London. 2. Madonna will be signing autographs after the concert. 3. Joe will be participating in the competition this summer.
Future Perfect
The future perfect tense is a future action that has started and finished before another future action occurs.
The future perfect tense uses modal auxiliary verb will + the verb be + the past participle form of the action verb.
Sally will have eaten when Sue arrives. (Sally starts and finishes eating by the time Sue arrives. Both actions are in the future.)
Examples of the future perfect tense: 1. The pirates will have buried the treasure by the time the ships arrive. 2. John will have scored 40 points by the end of the game. 3. My parents will have had three children after this baby is born.
Exercise 8: Using the Future Tense of Verbs
Fill in the blanks with the correct future tense form of the verb in parentheses. NOTE: You may need to consult the irregular verb list on this page (will be added later).
1. Steve, Lucy and I _________________ (go) to Harvard University this fall. 2. I ___________________ (start) classes by the time Rachel returns from Europe. 3. Rachel ___________________ (join) me in class when she returns. 4. I __________________ (think) about Rachel until she returns safely. 5. My cat ___________________ (cry) when I get home because she is hungry. 6. Our dog, Rufus, __________________ (travel) with us this summer. 7. My letter ___________________ (arrive) to Rita by the time I get there. 8. The pilot said that it ___________________ (rain) when we arrive in Brazil. 9. My sister ___________________ (marry) this coming June. 10. Tom ___________________ (eat) three hamburgers when he finishes this one.
The Perfect Continuous (Progressive) Tense
The perfect continuous tense are used to express the duration between two actions or events. Often, an expression of time is used with perfect continuous tenses.
Study the conjugation chart below. NOTE: Changes in the verb forms are in bold.
Present
Past
Future
I
have been studying
had been studying
will have been studying
he, she, it
has been studying
had been studying
will have been studying
we, they
have been studying
had been studying
will have been studying
Present Perfect Continuous (Progressive)
The present perfect continuous tense is an event in progress, which started in the past and continues to the present. It will probably continue into the future.
Sue has been studying for two hours. (Sue started studying and continues to study up to the present. She will probably continue to study.)
Examples of present perfect continuous tense:
1. I have been working on the car engine since this morning. 2. Ruth has been babysitting the neighbor’s kids for six hours. 3. The carnival employees have been working since 5 a.m. this morning.
Past Perfect Continuous (Progressive)
The past perfect continuous tense is an event that was in progress when another past event occurred.
Sue had been studying for two hours before her friend arrived. (Sue had started and finished studying before her friend arrived.)
Examples of past perfect continuous tense:
1. He had been drinking when the accident occurred. 2. Sarah had been exercising before the surgery. 3. The horses had been ridden many times before the ranch was sold.
Future Perfect Continuous (Progressive)
The future perfect continuous tense reflects an event that will have happened before another future event occurs.
Sue will have been studying for two hours when her friend arrives. (Sue starts and finishes studying before her friend arrives. Both actions are in the future.)
Examples of future perfect continuous tense:
1. Larry will have been exercising for two hours before we go to dinner. 2. My kids will have been playing outside all afternoon by the time night falls. 3. We will have been walking for three hours before the first break.
Exercise 9: Using the Perfect Continuous Tense of Verbs
Fill in the blanks with the correct perfect continuous tense form of the verb in parentheses.
1. John _____________________ (hunt) for six hours when the sun goes down. 2. Sally and Mary _____________________ (play) together for three hours. 3. Our fans _____________________ (cheer) until the other team scored. 4. Ralph and I _____________________ (shop) all day. 5. The truck _____________________ (make) bad noises until we got it fixed. 6. All the turkey _____________________ (eat) by the time we arrive.
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I'm not sure where this would fit here, but to be thorough, you may want to consider the following nuance with the annoying "Having + past participle" or "Having been + past participle" (both perfect participles):
Active voice: "Having taken the medicine, Sally felt fine." (Sally took the medicine). Timeline: "Having taken..." occurs in the "double past" BEFORE another past event of "felt."
Passive voice: "Having been cooked, the food looked more savory." (Food was cooked). Timeline: "Having been cooked..." occurs in the "double past" BEFORE another past event of "looked."
I did a SC recently on this issue and got this Q wrong, so I thought I send a brief summary of this rule.
Past Tense -------------------- The sky diver __________________ (fall) very fast when the parachute opened.
Past P. before subject + past perfect + when + subject + simple past after since by the time
The sky diver ____had fallen____ (fall) very fast when the parachute opened. Is it that the Past Perfect form is grammatically correct but literally doesn't make sense.
Past Cont subject + past continuous + when + subject + simple past tense. . .
The sky diver ____was falling__ (fall) very fast when the parachute opened.
Rachel ____will join_________ (join) me in class when she returns.
Is it correct to say that this sentence takes a "simple future" instead of continuous (will be joining) since the actions represented by it are successive in nature?
have a doubt with past perfect cont. examples. except the first example, all had no clause denoting duration of time.
for instance, "He had been drinking when the accident occured". woudnt it be better if we express this in past cont.
"he was drinking when the accident occured."
Kindly,enlighten me if i missed some concept somewhere.
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Here is the clarification I can think of -
past perfect contious is used for an action that began before certain point in past and continued upto that time. (check the diagram) where as Past continuous is used for an action that began before certain point in past and continue over that period (check the diagram).
So, " He had been drinking when the accident occured" is correct usage because after accident the person cannot keep drinking !!
But some time both may be used, in those cases the meaning of the sentence may vary based of usage.
For example -
He was drinking when I went to bar. (Here we mean that, even after I went to bar he continued drinking )
He had been drinking when I went to bar. (Here we mean that after I went to bar; He has stopped drinking)
Present Tense - ------------------------ The present conjugations of "to be" are - am, is, are.
The past continuous uses present conjugated forms of the auxiliary verb to be with the “ing”, form of the action verb.
Can someone please explain the above statement.
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The statement seems to be wrong because past continuous is formed by concatination of, past conjugated form of auxiliary verb to be (was, were) with the present participle (having etc).
Rachel ____will join_________ (join) me in class when she returns.
Is it correct to say that this sentence takes a "simple future" instead of continuous (will be joining) since the actions represented by it are successive in nature?
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yes I think so because there is no sense of continuation in the action of the sentence, i.e., join here is distinct event which will happen after she returns in future.
Hi, Im a newbie in here, and this is my first post - please be kind
Im seriously struggling with Exercise 8. Can someone please help me - Whats wrong with: (1) Steve, Lucy and I will go to Harvard University this fall - kind of like example 1 in future simple - I will go to the store after lunch. (2) I will be starting classes by the time Rachel returns from Europe - like examples in future continuous - Jack will be eating when I arrive. (3) Rachel will be joining me in class when she returns - like examples in future continuous - Jack will be eating when I arrive. (4) I will think about Rachel until she returns safely - kind of like example 1 in future simple - I will go to the store after lunch. (5) My cat will cry when I get home because she is hungry - kind of like example 1 in future simple - I will go to the store after lunch. (6) Our dog, Rufus, will be travelling with us this summer - like examples in future continuous - Jack will be eating when I arrive. (7) My letter will be arriving to Rita by the time I get there. (8) The pilot said that it will have rained when we arrive in brazil. (9) My sister will be marrying this coming June (10) Tom will eat three hamburgers when he finishes this one. - I mean like I might have already eaten 5 hamburgers, and when I finish this one, I might have 3 more hamburgers - so, you will say that I will eat three hamburgers when I eat this one, right? (yes, Im very hungry),
Rachel ____will join_________ (join) me in class when she returns.
Is it correct to say that this sentence takes a "simple future" instead of continuous (will be joining) since the actions represented by it are successive in nature?
yes I think so because there is no sense of continuation in the action of the sentence, i.e., join here is distinct event which will happen after she returns in future.
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But if you look at one of the future continuous examples in the text on page 40 that says:
Madonna will be signing autographs after the concert
by the same token, this should be as simple as - Madonna will sign the autographs after the concert. I think there's no reason to use progressive here.
Hi, Im a newbie in here, and this is my first post - please be kind
Im seriously struggling with Exercise 8. Can someone please help me - Whats wrong with: (1) Steve, Lucy and I will go to Harvard University this fall - kind of like example 1 in future simple - I will go to the store after lunch. (2) I will be starting classes by the time Rachel returns from Europe - like examples in future continuous - Jack will be eating when I arrive. (3) Rachel will be joining me in class when she returns - like examples in future continuous - Jack will be eating when I arrive. (4) I will think about Rachel until she returns safely - kind of like example 1 in future simple - I will go to the store after lunch. (5) My cat will cry when I get home because she is hungry - kind of like example 1 in future simple - I will go to the store after lunch. (6) Our dog, Rufus, will be travelling with us this summer - like examples in future continuous - Jack will be eating when I arrive. (7) My letter will be arriving to Rita by the time I get there. (8) The pilot said that it will have rained when we arrive in brazil. (9) My sister will be marrying this coming June (10) Tom will eat three hamburgers when he finishes this one. - I mean like I might have already eaten 5 hamburgers, and when I finish this one, I might have 3 more hamburgers - so, you will say that I will eat three hamburgers when I eat this one, right? (yes, Im very hungry),
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Hi, it has been a while, and I'm not sure whether you still need help here. If you do, I'd suggest you go through the tense tutorial by Aristotle (it's free) to understand when which tense and aspect needs to be used.
Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).
Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
Archived Topic
Hi there,
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