Tenses of verbs Lesson with examples, exercises, audio pronunciation
Tenses of verbs in English
The tenses of verbs describe the time frame in which an action takes place. Here are some common tenses and their definitions:
Present tense: describes actions that are happening now or that are always true. Example:
- I eat breakfast every morning.
- She speaks Spanish fluently.
Past tense: describes actions that have already happened. Example:
- I ate breakfast this morning.
- He spoke to me yesterday.
Future tense: describes actions that will happen in the future. Example:
- I will eat breakfast tomorrow morning.
- She will speak at the conference next week.
Present perfect tense: describes actions that have been completed recently or that started in the past and continue to the present. Example:
- I have eaten breakfast every morning this week.
- She has spoken to me several times today.
Past perfect tense: describes actions that were completed before a specific time in the past. Example:
- I had eaten breakfast before I left for work.
- He had spoken to me before the meeting.
Future perfect tense: describes actions that will be completed before a specific time in the future. Example:
- I will have eaten breakfast by the time you wake up.
- She will have spoken to all the clients by Friday.
Present progressive tense: describes actions that are in progress at the present time. Example:
- I am eating breakfast now.
- She is speaking at the conference.
Past progressive tense: describes actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past. Example:
- I was eating breakfast when the phone rang.
- He was speaking to me when the meeting started.
Future progressive tense: describes actions that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. Example:
- I will be eating breakfast at 8am.
- She will be speaking at the conference at 9am.
Present perfect progressive tense: describes actions that started in the past and are still continuing at the present time. Example:
- I have been eating breakfast every morning this week.
- She has been speaking to me for the past hour.
Past perfect progressive tense: describes actions that were in progress before a specific time in the past. Example:
- I had been eating breakfast for an hour when the phone rang.
- He had been speaking to me for half an hour when the meeting started.
Future perfect progressive tense: describes actions that will be in progress up until a specific time in the future. Example:
- I will have been eating breakfast for an hour by the time you wake up.
- She will have been speaking to the clients for three hours by the time the meeting ends.
Practical uses of verb tenses:
- In the present tense: I eat breakfast every morning.
- In the past tense: I ate breakfast this morning.
- In the future tense: I will eat breakfast tomorrow morning.
- In the present perfect tense: I have eaten breakfast every morning this week.
- In the past perfect tense: I had eaten breakfast before I left for work.
- In the future perfect tense: I will have eaten breakfast by the time you wake up.
Special cases:
- The verb "to be" has irregular forms in the present, past, and future tenses. Example: I am (present), I was (past), I will be (future).
- The verb "to have" has irregular forms in the past and past participle. Example: I have (present), I had (past), I have had (past participle).
Comprehension exercises Tenses of verbs:
Choose the correct verb form to complete the sentence: I _____ to the store yesterday. a. go b. went c. will go
Answer: b. went
Identify the verb tense in the following sentence: I have eaten breakfast every morning this week.
Answer: present perfect tense
Choose the correct verb form to complete the sentence: He _____ tired after work. a. is b. was c. will be
Answer: b. was
Identify the verb tense in the following sentence: I had eaten breakfast before I left for work.
Answer: past perfect tense
Complete the following sentence with the correct verb form: I _____ [verb] the report before you asked me to. a. did (past tense) b. do (base form) c. will do (future tense)
Answer: a. did (past tense)