1. Prepared by: Joya, Michelle Pescador, Karla Mae Ramos, Lady Rose Regencia, Carl

2. TENSE indicates the time of the section or state expressed by a verb. Unless the tenses are used carefully, you will not understand what happened first or how long the action continued. The three basic tenses – past, present, and future. – correspond to the three divisions of time. The three compound tenses – present perfect, past perfect and future perfect – show an action or state completed at one of these times: at the present, at some time in the past, or at some time in the future. The following charts on paint and write in the third person singular in all tenses reveal at a glance the usual pattern for regular (weak) and irregular (strong) verbs.

3. Base FormPast TensePast ParticiplePresent Participle paintpaintedpaintedpainting writewrotewrittenwriting PresentPresent Perfect He paints, writesHe has painted, written He is painting, writingHe has been painting, writing PastPast Perfect He painted, wroteHe had painted, written He was painting, writing He had been painting, writing FutureFuture Perfect He will paint, writeHe will have painted, written He will be painting, writing He will have been painting, writing

4. Present Tense The simple present tense is the stem of the verb, the first principal part plus –s in the third person singular. It generally denotes anything that is true now or habitual action. I see Lilia coming. He visits us every Sunday. The Rizal Shrine is in Fort Santiago.

5. Action that is taking place at a given moment is regularly indicated by the present progressive form. I am reading this book. Present tense is not restricted to present time. It may also be used to express: Future Time :Day after tomorrow, she leaves for the States. Choral practice begins next week. General Truth: Bad money drives away good money. All men grow old. Completed action: Mother tells me you called up last night. She says that you arrived from Iloilo.

6. Past Tense This tense shows action that was completed in the past. It is the same as the past form of the verb. The form is the same for all persons, singular and plural. Other words like yesterday, last night and a week ago indicate past time. Alexander Solzhenistyn wrote “ The Gulag Archipelago.”

7. Future Tense This tense indicates that an action will take place, or that a certain condition will exist, in the future. We shall leave at noon tomorrow. Our dramatic club will perform at the Cultural Center next month. The French artist will exhibit works in acrylic, uritane and fiber glass.

8. Present Tenses Uses of the Present Perfect (Have, Has + V-ed, -en)  To express a condition that has existed in the past up to the present moment, and is still true at the present. They have resided in Makati since last year.(They are still there.) He has been curator of the National Museum since 1965. (He is still curator.)  To express action which has(or has not) occurred in the past, and which may(or may not) occur again in the future. I have been to New York. (This is an expectation that I might go again.) We have not been to Florida (We might yet see it.)

9. C. To express recency of action or condition. I have just completed my assignment. (The speaker stresses the recency of the completion of the action.) She has reported on the symbolism in Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. D. To indicate that an act was competed before the moment of speaking. The speaker speaks of an action in reference to the moment of speaking. The adverb already is often used. Can you get the report done by tomorrow? I have already finished it.

10. Use of the Past Perfect Tense (Had + V-ed, -en) This tense indicates action that occurred in the past before some other action that happened in the past. It bears the same relationship to the past tense that the present perfect does to the present tense. This tense is formed by auxiliary verb had + the past participle, both for singular and plural Subjects. We had passed the junction when the accident occurred. They had read the book before they saw the movie. By the time the fire engine arrived, we had already put out the fire.

11. Uses of the Continuous Past Perfect Tense (Had + Been + V-ing) The continuous aspect of the past perfect ( I had been study ing, He had been sleeping, They had been talking) places emphasis on the continuing duration of an act or of a condition up to a specific time in the past. Compare: He had lived there a year when he decided to move to Quezon City. He had been living there a year when he decided to move to Quezon City. (the emphasis is on the continuing of the condition) The delegates had discussed the matter when the adviser came. The delegates had been discussing the matter when the adviser came. (the continuing and the recency of the delegates action are emphasized.)

12. FUTURE PERFECT TENSE This tense is used to indicate an action or condition that will have been completed by some time in the future. It is formed by the auxiliaries will have or shall have + the past participle. The new house will have been finished in four months. By the time this letter reaches you, I will have left for the south. In a year or two, a trip to Mars will have been a reality.

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