Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
TENSES - Coggle Diagram
TENSES
EXAMPLE OF TENSESHere are some examples of verbs in different tenses:
- I walked to work.
(The verb walked is in the past tense.)
- I walk to work.
(The verb walk is in the present tense.)
- I will walk to work.
(The verb will walk is in the future tense.)
Remember that verbs do not just express actions. They can also express a state of being. For example:
- I was happy.
(The verb was is in the past tense.)
- I am happy.
(The verb am is in the present tense.)
- I will be happy.
(The verb will be is in the future tense.)
Examples of Verbs in Different TensesHere are some more examples of verbs in the past, present, and
future tenses:
- The hardest that I have laughed at a movie was probably Team America. I laughed 'til I thought I was going to throw up. (Ron White)
(The bolded verbs are in the past tense.)
- You laugh at me because I'm different. I laugh at you because you are all the same. (Jonathan Davis)
(The bolded verbs are in the present tense.)
- Nobody will laugh long who deals much with opium; even its pleasures are of a grave and solemn complexion. (Thomas de Quincey)
(The bolded verbs are in the future tense.)
You will notice that some of the verbs in the past tense are made up of more than one word (have laughed, was going). We need these different versions of the tenses because they help us to state whether the action (or state of being) is in progress or completed.For example, the different versions of the verb to laugh are as follows:
- Past Tense: laughed, was/were laughing, had laughed, had been laughing
- Present Tense: laugh, am/is/are laughing, has/have laughed, has/have been laughing
- Future Tense: will laugh, will be laughing, will have laughed, will have been laughing
THE PAST TENSES
Simple Past Tense. The simple past tense is used to describe a completed activity that happened in the past.
-
Past Progressive Tense. The past progressive tense is used to describe an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.
-
Past Perfect Tense. The past perfect tense is used to emphasize that an action was completed before another took place.
I had run to the shops, but they were closed.
Past Perfect Progressive Tense. The past perfect progressive
tense is used to show that an ongoing action in the past has ended
I had been running to the shops, but I have now started walking.
THE PRESENT TENSES
-
Present Progressive Tense.
The present progressive tense is used for an ongoing action in the
present.
-
Present Perfect Tense.
The present perfect tense is used for actions began in the past.
(Often, the actions continue into the present)
-
Present Perfect Progressive Tense.
The present perfect progressive tense is used for a continuous
activity that began in the past and continues into the present, or a continuous activity that began in past but has now finished (usually
very recently).
-
THE FUTURE TENSES
-
Future Progressive Tense.
The future progressive tense is used for an ongoing action that will occur in the future
-
Future Perfect Tense.
The future perfect tense is used to describe an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.
-
Future Perfect Progressive Tense.
The future perfect progressive tense is used for an ongoing action that will be completed at some specified time in the future.
-