3.

VERBS
Verbs indicate 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 and Verb Tense Usage Chart, and refer
back to them as you work through the verb section.

Regular Verb Conjugation Chart

Study the following 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.

NOTE: A list of irregular verbs can be found at the end of the book.
 Verb Tense Usage Chart
Study the following chart which shows the use of each verb tense with an example.

NOTE: Refer to the Perfect Continuous forms of the verb later in the book.

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.

X 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 (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.

Study the following formula and timeline for present continuous use.

The present continuous uses present conjugated forms of the auxiliary verb to be
form of the action verb.

Ms. Bailey is teaching right now.

X X (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 leaving tomorrow.

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.

Study the following formula and timeline for present continuous use.

The boss has left the office.

(He left sometime before now.)
X X
left

Examples of present perfect:

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 at the end of the book.

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) .

5. The company _____________________ (build) a new store.

6. Water ___________________ (wash) away dirt.

7.

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.

X 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 normally links an action in the past with another past action. The first
past action continues through the second past action.

Study the following timeline for past continuous use.

The past continuous uses present conjugated forms of the auxiliary verb to be with
form of the action verb.

Jack was eating when I arrived.

(Jack started to eat before I arrived.
X X He continued eating after I arrived.
Both actions are in the past.)

There are different sentence structure formulas depending on variations in past continuous use.
Study the following examples:
The following formula is used when an action was taking place in the past and was
interrupted by another action.

OR

Jerry was painting a picture when we arrived at his house.

OR
When we arrived at his house, Jerry was painting a picture.

Alfred, Ann and I were playing cards when the lights went out.
OR
When the lights went out, Alfred, Ann and I were playing cards.

The following formula is used when two actions occur at the same time in the past.

OR

My mother was gardening while my father was mowing the lawn.

OR
While my father was mowing the lawn, my mother was gardening.

The children were crying while the clowns were performing.

OR
While the clowns were performing, the children were crying.

NOTE: The following sentence structure is also possible, but is not commonly used.

I fed our cat while my sister was taking a nap.

 Past continuous can also be used by itself to indicate that something was occurring at a
specific time in the past.

The moon was shining brightly last night.

The girls were laughing at his joke yesterday in class.

Past Perfect
The past perfect tense links an action which was started and finished before another past action
occurred.

Study the following formula and timeline for past perfect:

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.

X X (Jack started and finished eating by
eat arrive the time I arrived. Both actions are
in the past.)

The past perfect tense is normally used with words such as before, when, after, since, by the time,
etc. Study the following formulas for past perfect used with these words. As in the first example,
sentences for these formulas can begin with the second clause. Just remember to add a comma
between the clauses when doing so.

OR
The students had studied before they took the test.
OR
Before they took the test, the students had studied.

I had finished mowing when the storm came.

OR
When the storm came, I had finished mowing.

Jerrod left school after he had taken his exams.

OR
After he had taken his exams, Jerrod left school.

Six years had passed since I last saw her.

OR
Since I last saw her, six years had passed.

Joan had already performed by the time her parents arrived.

OR
By the time her parents arrived, Joan had already performed.

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 at the end of the book.

1. She ___________________ (talk) on the phone when the doorbell 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.

X 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 is normally used with words such as before, when, after, since, by
the time, etc.

The future continuous tense uses the modal auxiliary verb will + the verb be +
the action verb.

Jack will be eating when I arrive.

(Jack will start to eat before I
arrive and will probably continue
X X 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 is normally used with words such as before, when, after, since, by the
time, etc.

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
X X time Sue arrives. Both actions are in
eats arrives 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 at the end of the book.

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 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.

Study the following formula and timeline for present perfect continuous (progressive):

Sue has been studying for two hours.

(Sue started studying and continues to
X X study up to the present. She will
probably continue to study.)

NOTE: The present perfect continuous tense is normally used with words such as before, when,
after, since, by the time, etc.

Examples of present perfect continuous tense:

1. I have been working on the car engine since this morning.

2. Ruth has been babysitting
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.

Study the following formula and timeline for past perfect continuous (progressive):

Sue had been studying for two hours

before her friend arrived.
X X (Sue had started and finished studying
before her friend arrived.)

NOTE: The past perfect continuous tense is normally used with words such as before, when,
after, since, by the time, etc.

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.

Study the following formula and timeline for future perfect continuous (progressive):

Sue will have been studying for two

hours when her friend arrives.
X X (Sue starts and finishes studying
before her friend arrives. Both actions
are in the future.)

NOTE: The future perfect continuous tense is normally used with words such as before, when,
after, since, by the time, etc.
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.