1. Verb Tenses
A Quick Review

2. Principle Parts of a Verb
Base
call
drive
quit
Past Tense
called
drove
Past Participle
driven

3. Principle Parts of a Verb 1. Base Form
The base form is the unchanged verb form.
It has no endings such as –ing, –s, or –ed.
run
buy
hear
eat
play
sleep

4. Principle Parts of a Verb 2a. Regular Past Tense Form
base
-ed
regular past tense
laugh
cook
hate
-ed
laughed
cooked
hated*

5. Principle Parts of a Verb 2b. Irregular Past Tense Form
Irregular verbs don’t use –ed endings. They change spelling:
or they don’t change at all:
Irregular verbs must be memorized or acquired. Rules won’t work.
eat
swim
ate
swam
quit
cost

6. Principle Parts of a Verb 3. Past Participle Form
It is used with helping verbs has, have, and had:
It is sometimes the same as the past tense, but sometimes it is not:
has
have
had
begun
found
gone
Past
cried
saw
Past Participle
seen

7. Principle Parts of a Verb 3. Past Participle Form
It usually adds –ed to the base form
but may add –en, change spelling, or remain the same as the base & past tense form:
Base
follow
Past Participle
followed
Base
give
begin
burst
Past Participle
given
begun

8. Principle Parts of a Verb Summary
Base
Past tense
Past Participle
work
worked
fall
fell
fallen go
went
gone
read be
was
been

9. Present Tense
The present tense is usually used to indicate a general truth:
The President serves for four years.
Cal Poly Pomona is part of the California State University system.
or a recurring event:
I drink a latte at Café Splurge every morning.
The marching band plays “Conquest” at every game.

10. Present Tense
The present tense is also used with special verbs that relate to our senses:
I smell smoke in the kitchen.
I feel hot.
I hear the neighbors arguing about the cell phone bill.
I see a raccoon in my back yard.
I sense trouble on the street.

11. Simple Past Tense
The past tense is used to indicate an event that occurred at some previous past time.
The car enthusiasts started the annual “Classic Car” celebration back in 1978.
I saw “Transformers” when it first came out.
He ate three chili dogs and a large bag of chips yesterday.
Last night, I felt sick, but now I feel better.

12. Common Past Tense Errors
Non-native speakers of English sometimes add time words like “yesterday” to a sentence without making the verb past tense.
[incorrect] Yesterday Miguel move out of the apartment.
[correct] Yesterday Miguel moved out of the apartment.
One common phrase that gives trouble is "I remember" because students tend to write "I remembered" in order to make the past tense consistent.
[incorrect] I remembered what my sixth-grade teacher told me.
[correct] I remember what my sixth-grade teacher told me.

13. Simple Future Tense will base form future tense
My hybrid car will save me a lot on gas.
Mickey will enjoy attending Berkeley next year.
Because Ellen has a degree in engineering, she will be very marketable.
will
base form
future tense

14. Another Way to Form the Future Tense
You can also express future tense with the phrase “be + going to” + the base form. ( “Be” must be conjugated.)
I am going to study firefighting.
That problem is going to come back to haunt you later.
If you continue to talk back like that, you are going to be grounded. be
(am, is, are)
going to
base form
future tense

15. Using the Simple Future Tense
Use WILL to express willingness:
“Who will help me wash the car?” “I will.”
Use BE + GOING TO to express an established plan:
She is going to drive to San Francisco tonight.
Use either WILL or BE + GOING TO to express prediction:
It looks like it will rain today.
It looks like it is going to rain today.

16. Present Perfect Tense I have lived in the United States all my life.
Henry has earned two advanced degrees, one in physics and one in computer science.
George has seen “Napoleon Dynamite” twelve times.
have or
has
past participle
present perfect tense

17. Using the Present Perfect Tense
The PRESENT PERFECT tense is really a PAST tense. “Perfect” in this case has the archaic sense of “complete.”
Use it for—
1. A past event or experience:
I have eaten (present perfect) caviar.
(This event happened at an unspecified time in the past.)
I ate (simple past) caviar last night.
(The event happened at a specific time in the past, so simple past tense is used in this case.)

18. Using the Present Perfect Tense
2. An action that occurred in the past that may recur:
I’ve gone (present perfect) bungie jumping many times.
(The speaker may go again.)
I went (simple past) bungie jumping during my vacation.
(The speaker will probably not go again or completed the action(s) at a specific past time.)
3. A situation that began in the past and continues into the present:
I have lived (present perfect) in Monterey Park for three years.
(The speaker still lives there.)
I lived (simple past) in Monterey Park for three years.
(The speaker no longer lives there.)

19. Past Perfect Tense
Kevin had seen the movie twice, so he didn’t want to go again.
She wasn’t hungry for dinner because she had eaten an ice cream cone.
Before we arrived, the train had left the station.
had
past participle
past perfect tense

20. Using the Past Perfect Tense
The past perfect describes one action or situation that occurs before a 2nd action or time, all taking place in the past. It is usually combined with another event expressed in the simple past. The 1st event is in the past perfect and the 2nd in the simple past.
Example: When the police arrived (event 2), the bank robbers had already escaped (event 1).
Past
Event 1
Past perfect
Robbers had escaped
Event 2
Simple past
Police arrived