Simple Tenses

The present, past, and future tenses are called simple tenses.

Simple Tenses

Present Past Future

walk(s) walked will walk

Simple Present Tense

The term present tense is a little deceiving. You're probably thinking to yourself, "It's a no-brainer, isn't
it? The present tense is used for actions that are happening now, right?"—not exactly. Although it's true
that the present tense does have to do with current events, there are several specific ways in which it's
used, including:
 Talking about actions that occur repeatedly
These are actions that happen on a regular basis, such as habits or routines. They can have a specific or
general time frame.

I brush my teeth every morning and every night.

Bret runs five miles every day.
We visit my grandparents twice a year.
Sometimes Sean and Jaimie go to the pool.
Mom never lets us eat chocolate cake for breakfast.

 Discussing current facts, basic truths, or widely accepted beliefs

The sky is blue, and the grass is green.

Cats catch mice.
Stealing is unethical.

 Describing people or things

Use the present tense to describe physical characteristics, personality traits, feelings, abilities, and likes
and dislikes that are true in the present.

Her brothers are both over six feet tall.

He is the nicest person I know.
I feel sick today.
My best friend plays minor league baseball.
Many people love dogs, but many also love cats.
This milk smells funny.
Your new rose bush looks beautiful!

Note:
When you want to talk about an action that is occurring at this very moment, you typically use the
present progressive tense, which you'll learn about later in this lesson.
You already learned how to form the present tense in Lesson 6, but let's review. The base alone is used
for most forms of the present tense, including the first person (I and we), second person (you), and third
person plural (they). The only time the base changes is in the third person singular (he, she, it). To form
the third person singular, just add the letter -s to the end of the base.

Simple Past Tense

The past tense is more straightforward than the present tense—you only use it to talk about actions,
events, or feelings that happened at an earlier point in time.
Olivia closed the door behind her.
We pushed through the crowd to get a better view of the stage.

Let's also review how to form the past tense. Simply take the base form and add -ed. If the base ends in a
silent e, just add -d, not -ed. Unlike the present tense, the past tense always uses the same form regardless
of person or number. If you would like to see more examples, you can go back to Lesson 6.
Note:
The English language has quite a few irregular past tense forms that don't end in -ed. You can
learn about them here.

Future Tense

The future tense is one of the easiest tenses for two reasons: it has no irregular forms and there's only one
way to use it—to describe actions that will happen in the future. It is formed by combining the helping
verb will with the base form of the main verb.
Tomorrow I will walk home from school.

Progressive Tenses (A.K.A. the Continuous Tenses)

Progressive tenses are used to discuss ongoing or continuing actions. They can also be used to talk about
an action that is, was, or will be occurring at the same time as another action. The progressive tenses use a
form of the verb to be plus the present participle of the verb.

Progressive Tenses

Present Progressive Past Progressive Future Progressive

 am walking was walking will be walking

am eating was eating will be eating

Present Progressive

The present progressive tense is typically used to talk about something that is happening right now. It can
also be used to talk about a future action or an action that is occurring at the same time as another one.
I am walking to school right now. (current action)
He is walking to school tomorrow. (future action)
Most days we are walking to school when you see us. (simultaneous actions: are walking and see)

Hint:
The word simultaneous means happening at the same time.

Past Progressive

The past progressive is used to describe an action that was occurring at the same time as another past
action.
Yesterday I was walking to school when you saw me.
(simultaneous actions: was walking and saw)

Future Progressive

The future progressive is usually used to describe an action that will occur at the same time as another
future action. To form the future progressive tense, use this formula: will be + present participle.
Tomorrow I will be walking to school when you see me.
(simultaneous actions: will be walking and see)

Notice how the verb see is in the present tense, not the future tense. When people talk about future
simultaneous actions, usually one verb is in the future progressive and the other is in the simple present.
Perfect Tenses
Perfect tenses show when an action happened in relation to another action. To form the perfect tenses, use
a form of the helping verb have (have, has, had, will have) plus the past participle of the main verb. The
verb have changes to show the tense.
Hint:
To review irregular past participles, visit Lesson 7.

Perfect Tenses

Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

have walked had walked will have walked

have finished had finished will have finished

Present Perfect

An action in the present perfect began in the past and continues in the present or has ended by the present.
It can also be used to talk about past actions that happened multiple times.
Most days I take the bus to school, but for the last two weeks I have walked to school.
I have finished my homework already.

Past Perfect

An action in the past perfect began and ended before another past event.
Yesterday I rode the bus to school, but the day before I had walked to school.
I was watching TV because I had finished my homework already.
While grammar is not as static a science as is typically assumed, there are 20 rules
of subject verb agreement that attempt to objectify part of the English language
form.

What Are the Rules?

1. Subjects and verbs must agree in number. This is the cornerstone rule that forms the
background of the concept. In these examples the subject is underlined and the verb is in
italics
The dog growls when he is angry. The dogs growl when they are angry.

2. Don’t get confused by the words that come between the subject and verb; they do not
affect agreement.
The dog, who is chewing on my jeans, is usually very good.

3. Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement.
The colors of the rainbow are beautiful.

4. When sentences start with “there” or “here,” the subject will always be placed after the
verb, so care needs to be taken to identify it correctly.
There is a problem with the balance sheet. Here are the papers you requested.

5. Subjects don't always come before verbs in questions. Make sure you accurately identify
the subject before deciding on the proper verb form to use.
Where are the pieces of this puzzle?

6. If two subjects are joined by "and," they typically require a plural verb form.
The cow and the pig are jumping over the moon.

7. The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by "and" refer to the same person or
thing.
Red beans and rice is my mom's favorite dish.

8. If one of the words "each," "every," or "no" comes before the subject, the verb is singular.
No smoking or drinking is allowed. Every man and woman is required to check in.

9. If the subjects are both singular and are connected by the words "or," "nor," "neither/nor,"
"either/or," and "not only/but also" the verb is singular.
Jessica or Christian is to blame for the accident.

10. The only time when the object of the preposition factors into the decision of plural or
singular verb forms is when noun and pronoun subjects like "some," "half," "none," "more,"
or "all" are followed by a prepositional phrase. In these sentences, the object of the
preposition determines the form of the verb.
All of the chicken is gone. All of the chickens are gone.

11. The singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement or time.
Four quarts of oil was required to get the car running.

12. If the subjects are both plural and are connected by the words "or," "nor," "neither/nor,"
"either/or," and "not only/but also" the verb is plural.
Dogs and cats are both available at the pound.

13. If one subject is singular and one plural and the words are connected by the words "or,"
"nor," "neither/nor," "either/or," and "not only/but also", you use the verb form of the subject
that is nearest the verb.
Either the bears or the lion has escaped from the zoo. Neither the lion nor
the bears have escaped from the zoo.

14. Indefinite pronouns typically take singular verbs. *

Everybody wants to be loved.

15. * Except for the pronouns "few," "many," "several," "both," "all," and "some" that always
take the plural form.
Few were left alive after the flood.

16. If two infinitives are separated by "and" they take the plural form of the verb.
To walk and to chew gum require great skill.

17. When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence, they take the singular form of the
verb; but, when they are linked by "and," they take the plural form.
Standing in the water was a bad idea. Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my
hobbies.

18. Collective nouns like "herd," "senate," "class," and "crowd," usually take a singular verb
form.
The herd is stampeding.

19. Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as singular and take a singular verb.
The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks.

20. Final Rule – Remember, only the subject affects the verb!