Verb Tenses A tense is the form of a verb that shows the time of an action or condition

The Six Verb Tenses There are six tenses that indicate when an action or condition of a verb is, was, or will be in effect. Each of these six tenses has at least two forms. Each tense has a basic and a progressive form.

The Basic Forms of the Six Tenses Present Meg skis for a hobby. Past She skied every day last year. Future She will ski again this year. Present Perfect She has skied at many different resorts all over the country. Past Perfect She had skied first when she was only three years old. Future Perfect She will have skied ten times this season by Presidents Day.

The Progressive Tense The progressive tenses are identified by their tense name plus the word “progressive.” Progressive tenses show that an action is or was happening for a period of time. Note that all of the progressive tenses end in –ing.

The Progressive Tense Present Progressive Meg is ice skating now. Past Progressive She was ice skating yesterday morning. Future Progressive She will be ice skating again tomorrow. Present Perfect Progressive She has been ice skating since she was a young child. Past Perfect Progressive She had been ice skating when she broke her leg. Future Perfect Progressive She will have been ice skating for a decade by the end of this year.

The Emphatic Form The emphatic tense only exists for present and past tenses. The present emphatic is formed with the helping verbs “do” or “does.” The past emphatic is formed with “did.” The purpose of the tense is to put more emphasis on, or to stress, the action of the verb.

The Emphatic Tense Present Emphatic Jeff does play tennis more often than Jimmy. Past Emphatic Michael and Jake did play guitar in a band.

Read each sentence. Identify the verbs and label their tenses. After she had explored the island, the adventurer felt more secure. The movie theater will have closed by the time we arrive. The boy has always loved his dog and cat. During the storm, the children slept. The zoo has stayed open all winder, but the animals hibernate. The actors walked off the stage and into the audience.

The Four Principal Parts of Verbs Every verb in the English language has four principal parts from which all of the tenses are formed: Present Used for the basic forms of present and future tenses, emphatic forms or tenses Present Participle Used with helping verbs for all of the progressive forms Past Used to form the past tense Past Participle Used with helping verbs to create the perfect tenses

Examples PRESENT PRESENT PARTICIPLE PAST PAST PARTICIPLE Walk Walking Walked (have) walked Speak Speaking Spoke (have) spoke Run Running Ran (have) run

Identify the verb or verb phrase in each sentence that contains the principal part in parentheses. After their victory, the team celebrated at a restaurant. (past) The teacher was helping students with their homework. (present participle) Since the age of twelve, Gloria has moved quite often. (past participle) I have studied hard in Spanish class, and now I can speak it fluently. (past participle) After reaching the summit, the climber shouted with joy. (present participle) The ice melts by spring. (present)