Tenses: Various Tenses in English and When to Use Them

Action word tenses resemble the course of events of a story. They assist us with understanding when an activity occurred, is going on now, or will occur from now on. In English, there are three fundamental classifications of action word tenses: past, present, and future. Inside these classes, there are a few explicit tenses, each filling a one-of-a-kind need. To learn tenses, you can join spoken English live classes.

 In English syntax, action words are in many cases utilized in a way that demonstrates or communicates the hour of an occasion. Those action words that take one more structure to demonstrate the time of an activity, occasion or state by changing its structure are called tenses.

 Action word tense is how an action word is changed by the time it happens (known as formation).

  Action word structures are a significant piece of the English language and permit us to show when an activity is occurring. These tenses are separated into three fundamental divisions: past, present, and future. Grasping how and when to utilize them is significant for successful correspondence. In this blog, we investigate the strained of every action word in English, giving models and viable direction. To use tenses perfectly while speaking you can join an online spoken English course and beginner English speaking course.

Past forms of the verb

When you use the past tense, you are talking about an action that happened before this moment. It could have been yesterday, last week or a hundred years ago – it’s all gone.

Simple past

The simple past tense describes events that have already happened and are finished. Most verbs can be changed into the past tense by adding -ed, -d, or sometimes -t to the end of the verb in the present tense, as in liked and viewed.

However, many irregular verbs have unique past tenses. For example, going becomes the past tense and thinking becomes thinking.

The simple past tense is usually used to write about historical events, The simple past is the basic form of the past tense. 

For regular verbs, add -ed or -d to the end of the verb (the game becomes repetitive, and usage becomes usable).

For irregular verbs, you must change the spelling of the word to the past tense (hidden becomes hidden, see becomes visible).

for example:

Galileo observed the stars.  In this example, the verb tense indicates that the astronomer Galileo stopped observing the stars at some point in the past.

 Yesterday I walked to work. Jessica danced with her sisters.  Nelson traveled to Mexico.  My alarm clock rings at seven. Erin ate the candy.

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 Past progressive

The past progressive describes an ongoing action that happened in the past. It is formed by combining the past form of the verb to be (which must be conjugated correctly to agree with the object) and the present tense of the verb (ending in –Ing):

 The planet moved in an elliptical orbit.

In this example, the verb tense tells us that the planet started moving sometime in the past and continued to move for some time (in the past).

  Form it with the auxiliary verb was or were and the present tense of the main verb (ending -Ing).

Yesterday I walked to work. Jessica danced with her sister. Nelson was on his way to Mexico.  My alarm clock rings at seven. Erin ate the candy.

Past perfect

Perfect tenses contain more complex time relationships. They are based on simple tenses, combining the verb with have, have or had.

  The past, also called the pluperfect, describes a past event in relation to another event that happened closer to the present. It is formed by combining the hard and the past participle of the verb.

In the past perfect, an action ended before another action began. Use it by adding hard to the past tense of the main verb.

I have gone to work many times before.  Jessica danced with her sisters before the music stopped.  Nelson traveled to Mexico in 1999.  My alarm clock went off before eight. Erin ate candy before dinner.

  Past Perfect Progressive Tense

The perfect progressive tense combines the progressive and perfect aspects to show an ongoing action that was completed before another action.  Use the present participle form of the verb to form the past perfect progressive.

I was going to work when I lost my phone.

Jessica was dancing with her sisters when she saw John enter. Nelson was traveling to Mexico when he heard the news.  My alarm went off a few minutes before I woke up.  Erin had eaten candy when she felt sick. To learn more about past tense you can join online advanced English classes.

 Modern verb tenses

The present tense indicates that an action is happening now or continuously. Unlike the past tense, present verbs require subject-verb agreement (singular subjects get singular verbs, plural subjects get plural verbs).

Simple Modern

In the simple present, the basic form of the verb is used in the simple present unless the subject is in the third person singular (he, she, it).

 I walk to work every day.  Jessica is dancing with her sister. Nelson travels to Mexico.  My alarm clock rings at seven.  Erin eats candy.

Progressive modern

Like the past progressive, the present progressive indicates a continuous action, but verbs in the present progressive form are still in progress in the present tense. Add am, is, or are to the present tense of the main verb.

  I walk to work.  Jessica is dancing with her sister. Nelson travels to Mexico.  My alarm clock is ringing.  Erin eats candy. To learn more about modern verbs you can join a professional English-speaking course.

 Present Perfect Tense

Verbs in the perfect tense indicate actions that began in the past and continue into the present.

  Use have or have with the past participle (yes, it’s still perfect even if you use the past participle).

  I walked to work for 10 days in a row.  Jessica danced at every family wedding.  Nelson traveled to Mexico many times.  My alarm clock went off at seven every morning.  Erin ate candy every day after school.

Present Perfect Progressive Tense

Combine the perfect and progressive aspects in the present perfect progressive tense, which shows ongoing actions that began in the past, continued in the present, and will continue in the future.

  Use was or was in the present tense of the main verb.  I walked every day.  Jessica dances with her siblings for two hours.  Nelson traveled to Mexico all afternoon.  My alarm clock has been ringing since seven. Erin was eating a candy bar as we talked. To learn more about the present tense you can join an advanced English-speaking course.

Future verb tenses

A future verb talks about an action that will happen someday but hasn’t happened yet. You can use a modal verb before the verb will or the verb phrase go.

Simple Future 

The simple future tense describes an event that has not yet happened. Just add the verb will (or is/am/a going to) before the main verb. 

I will work tomorrow.  Jessica dances with her sisters.  Nelson will travel to Mexico next week.  My alarm clock rings at seven. Erin is going out for candy tonight.

 Future progressive tense

The future progressive tense shows a continuing action that will happen in the future. Use the verb will and the present tense.

Tomorrow I will go to work. Jessica is dancing at her sister’s wedding.  Nelson will travel to Mexico next week.  My alarm clock rings at seven. Erin is going out for sweets tonight.

  Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense means that an action will be completed in the future before another action begins.

  Form it with will have and the past tense of the main verb.

When the meeting started, I walked to work. Jessica danced with her sister at the end of the wedding. Nelson traveled to Mexico several times for his 50th birthday.  My alarm goes off before the sun rises. Erin ate candy when dinner was ready.

 Future Perfect Progressive Tense

The future perfect progressive tense refers to an ongoing action that will continue sometime in the future (usually indicated by context clues in the sentence).

  Use will have been and the present tense of the verb.  After today, I walked to work for 10 days in a row. Before the end of the wedding, Jessica danced with her sisters for four hours.  Nelson travels to Mexico for three days when he gets there.  My alarm had been going off for a few minutes when I finally heard it. When we finished the conversation, Erin had been eating sweets for half an hour. To learn more about future tense you can join an online English communication course.

Understanding and utilizing action words accurately is fundamental for successful English correspondence. Whether you’re discussing the past, present, or future, picking the right tense aides precisely conveys the planning of activities or occasions. By dominating action word structures, you will want to articulate your thoughts obviously and guarantee that your message is perceived at the expected time. Thus, whenever you’re recounting a story, sharing your encounters, or examining the future, recollect the force of action word structures to shape your story.to learn tenses at an advanced level you can join an advanced English grammar course and an advanced English learning course.