Verb Tenses

Verbs not only give our sentences action, they also let readers know when that action happened—the past, the present, or the future.  In order to help your readers clearly understand the timing and the sequence of actions in your essays, you must be careful to use the correct verb tenses.

 

Present Tense

The present tense of a verb indicates an action or condition in the present.  The dictionary lists all verbs in base form, which is the same as the present tense in most cases.

We are ready to go.
I drive to school four days a week.
They throw the ball back and forth.

The only exception to the rule that the base form expresses action in the present is when a verb is used with third-person singular subjects: singular nouns (proper or common) and singular pronouns such as he, she, it, someone, and everyone. Present tense verbs in the third-person singular end with s or es:

He walks his dog every day.
My mother cooks dinner for the family on Sundays.
Someone cleans the windows on tall buildings.

 

Present Participle

The present participle describes actions that are still occurring.  You form a present participle by adding ing to the base form. Verbs in present participle form can also be gerunds: words that act as nouns.  Verbs in this form can also act as adjectives.

Present Participle

She is learning more than the rest of the class.
They are living on the edge.
We are rejecting the proposal.

Gerund

Running is bad for your knees.
Smoking is bad for your health.
Eating is my favorite activity.

Adjective

Flooding rains cause traffic problems.
The fuming man is shaking his fist.
The thunder caused the already shaking child to jump.

 

Past Tense

The past tense describes an action that happened in the past.  This verb tense is usually formed by adding d or ed to the end of the base form of the verb:

She laughed with her children.
I jumped on the trampoline.
They placed the bookshelf by the wall.

 

Some verbs have irregular past tense forms.  You can find these in a dictionary.

He drove down to the coast last year.
She threw the ball.
I swam for the shore.

 

Past Participle

The past participle indicates that an action was completed at some time before the present.  The past participle form is used three ways:

• With have or has to form the perfect tense
  Susie has played the piano since she was three.
  He has raced motorcycles for years.
  We have created a website for your company.

• With forms of to be in the passive voice
  They were called to the meeting.
  They were ruined by the press coverage. 
  He was delayed by the police.

• As an adjective
  Agitated monkeys throw poop.
  After the test, irritated students waited in line to talk to the teacher.
  She ate the entire package of smoked salmon.

 

Future Tense

You use the future tense when you are writing about something that hasn’t occurred yet.  You form the future tense by adding the word will before the verb.  You can use future tense three ways:

• To indicate that something is going to happen at some point in the future
  She will complete the project this weekend.
  They will be going to Alaska in June.
  Her parents will become angry when Mary tells them she wrecked their car.

• As the future perfect tense to express a completed future action, by using have with will
  I will have finished the assignment by Sunday evening.
  Since they got a head start, they will have traveled farther than us.
  If sales continue to climb, we will have beaten last year’s record.

• To express continuing future actions, with will and be and an ing form of a verb
  Sheila will be running for President next year.
  In may they will be finishing the model airplane.
  Over the next two years, I will be saving money for a down payment on a house.

 

Note When you are editing your papers, get in the habit of checking the tense of each verb you use.  Make sure all verb tenses are correct and consistent.

 

 

 

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