Study about tenses

1.    PRESENT TENSE

The PRESENT TENSE uses the verb's base form (write, work), or, for third-person singular subjects, the base form plus an -s ending (he writes, she works).

The PRESENT TENSE indicates that an action is present, now, relative to the speaker or writer. Generally, it is used to describe actions that are factual or habitual -- things that occur in the present but that are not necessarily happening right now: "It rains a lot in Portland" is a kind of timeless statement. Compare that to the present progressive -- "It is raining in Portland" -- which means that something is, in fact, going on right now. "I use my bike to get around town." is in the present, but I'm not actually on my bike right now. An instantaneous sense of the present can be conveyed with either the simple present or the progressive: "Watch him now: he holds [is holding] down the control key at the same time that he presses [is pressing] the letter d."

The present tense is used to describe events that are scheduled (by nature or by people): "High tide is at 3:15 p.m. The Super Bowl starts at 6:15 p.m."

The present tense can be used to suggest the past with what is sometimes called the fictional (or historic) present: "We were watching the back door when, all of a sudden, in walks Dierdre." With verbs of communicating, the present tense can also suggest a past action: "Dierdre tells me that she took her brother to the dentist." Most oddly, the present tense can convey a sense of the future, especially with verbs such as arrive, come, and leave that suggest a kind of plan or schedule: "The train from Boston arrives this afternoon at two o'clock."

Authority for this section: A University Grammar of English by Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum. Longman Group: Essex, England. 1993. Used with permission.

Present tense habitual activities are frequently signaled by time expressions such as the following:

all the time always every class every day every holiday every hour

every month every semester every week every year most of the time never

often rarely sometimes usually

Singular	Plural
I walk	we walk
you walk	you walk
he/she/it walks	they walk

Singular	Plural
I am	we are
you are	you are
he/she/it is	they are

2.    PRESENT PROGRESSIVE TENSE

The PRESENT PROGRESSIVE TENSE 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 -ingending): "I am buying all my family's Christmas gifts early this year. She is working through the holiday break. Dierdre is being a really good girl in these days before Christmas".

The present progressive can suggest that an action is going to happen in the future, especially with verbs that convey the idea of a plan or of movement from one place or condition to another: "The team is arriving in two hours. He's moving to Portland this summer." Because the present progressive can suggest either the present or the future, it is usually modified by adverbs of time.

Generally, progressive forms occur only with what are called dynamic verbs and not with stative verbs. If you wish to review that concept now.

Singular	Plural
I am walking	we are walking
you are walking	you are walking
he/she/it is walking	they are walking

Singular	Plural
I am being	we are being
you are being	you are being
he/she/it is being	they are being

3.    PAST TENSE

The PAST TENSE indicates that an action is in the past relative to the speaker or writer.

when the time period has finished: "We went to Chicago last Christmas."

when the time period is definite: "We visited Mom last week."

with for, when the action is finished: "I worked with the FBI for two months."

Regular verbs use the verb's base form (scream, work) plus the -ed ending (screamed, worked). Irregular verbs alter their form in some other way (slept, drank, drove).

Students for whom English is a second language sometimes (quite understandably) have trouble distinguishing between the Simple Past and the Present Perfect tenses. There is more information about the difference between these two tenses available under thePresent Perfect description.

Singular	Plural
I slept	we slept
you slept	you slept
he/she/it slept	they slept

Singular	Plural
I was	we were
you were	you were
he/she/it was	they were

4.    FUTURE TENSE

The FUTURE TENSE indicates that an action is in the future relative to the speaker or writer. There are no inflected forms for the future in English (nothing like those -ed or -s endings in the other tenses). Instead, the future tense employs the helping verbs will or shall with the base form of the verb:

• She will leave soon.
• We shall overcome.

The future is also formed with the use of a form of "go" plus the infinitive of the verb:

• He is going to faint.

English can even use the present to suggest the future tense:

• I am leaving later today."

Note that the auxiliary will can be combined with "be" and a progressive form of the main verb to create a sense of the future that does not harbor any hint of insistence (which is possible with the auxiliary alone). For instance, if stress is placed on the word will in "When will you arrive?", the sentence can sound impatient, insistent. In "Whenwill you be arriving?" there is less of that emotional overtone.

The construction form of to be + infinitive is used to convey a sense of planning for the future, command, or contingency.

• There is to be an investigation into the mayor's business affairs.
• You are to be back on the base by midnight.
• If he is to pass this exam, he'll have to study harder.

To create a sense of imminent fulfillment, the word about can be combined with the infinitive.

• He is about to die.

Other adverbs can be used in similar constructions with various effects:

• He is liable to get in trouble.
• She is certain to do well in college.

Authority for this section: A University Grammar of English by Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum. Longman Group: Essex, England. 1993. Used with permission. Examples our own.

Singular	Plural
I will walk	we will walk
you will walk	you will walk
he/she/it will walk	they will walk

Singular	Plural
I will be	we will be
you will be	you will be
he/she/it will be	they will be

 Complete the sentenses

1. She ( study ) English every morning.

2. I ( read ) a novel this afternoon.

3. My mother ( cook ) in the kitchen yesterday.

4. My brother ( go ) to school everyday.

5. My sister ( buy ) shoes yesterday.

6. I ( go ) to Surabaya next week.

7. Susan ( write ) a letter now.

8. The students ( eat ) meatball two hours ago.

9. They ( swim ) in the swimming pool every Sunday.

10. He ( come ) to my house tomorrow night.