This document discusses English verb tenses including: - The present, past, and future simple and continuous tenses. - The present and past perfect tenses which are used to indicate actions that began in the past. - The present perfect continuous and past perfect continuous tenses which are used for actions that began in the past and continue up to the present or another time in the past. - Examples are provided to illustrate the usage of each tense.

1. TENSES
Maya Defianty

2. KEY POINTS
• PRESENT
Is, am, are, been, infinitive (V1), do, does
• PAST
was, were, preterite (V2), did
• FUTURE
will, to be going to

3. KEY POINT
• CONTINUOUS
to be +verb(ing)
• SIMPLE
to be or verb
• PERFECT
have/has/had+past participle

4. Simple Present Tense
This tense is usually used to indicate present
time with the following stative verb
Know understand have
Believe hate need
Hear love appear
See like seem
Smell want taste
Wish sound own

5. Present Continuous Tense
The present cont. tense is used to indicate present
time (now) with all but stative verbs
Eg. John is eating dinner now
It is also used to indicate future
Eg. We are leaving for the theater at seven o’clock
Subject + am/is/are + verb (ing)

6. Simple Past Tense
The simple past is used for a completed action
that happened at one specific time in the past
Eg. John went to Spain last year

7. Past Cont. Tense
It is commonly used for
• An action which was occurring in the past and
was interrupted by another action
• Two actions occurring at the same time in the
past
• An action which was occurring at some specific
time in the past
Subject+was/were+verb(ing)

8. Example
• When I was writing a letter the phone rang
(past continuous-when-simple past)
• John was reading a book while Mary was
watching television
(past continuous-while-past continuous)
• Henry was eating a snack at midnight last
night

9. PRESENT PERFECT
Present perfect is used to indicate
• An action that happened at an indefinite time
in the past
Eg. Mary has visited Macca (we don’t know
when)
Subject+has/have+verb past participle (V3)

10. Present Perfect
• An action that happened more than once in
the past
Eg. I have seen Titanic ten times
• An action that began in the past and is still
occurring in the present
Eg. John has lived in the same house since 1969

11. Notes
• Use for+duration of time (for five hours, etc.)
• Use since+beginning of time (since 1969)
• Use already for affirmative sentences
• Use yet for negative sentences and questions

12. Present Perfect Continuous
Is is used for action that began in the past and is
still occurring in the present
Eg. John has been living in the same house for
twenty years
=
John has lived in the same house for twenty years
Subject+has/have+been+verb(ing)

13. Past Perfect
It is used to indicate
• An action that happened before another
action in the past: there are usually two
actions in the sentence
Eg. John had gone to the store before he went
home
Subject+had+verb in past paarticiple

14. Past Perfect
• A state which continued for a time in the past,
but stopped before now
Eg. Ann had lived in New York for ten years
before he moved to Chili
Notes:
The past perfect is usually used with before,
after or when

15. Past Perfect Continuous
The tense is used interchangeably with past
perfect
Eg. George had worked at the university for thirty
years before he retired
Or
George had been working at the university for thirty
years before he retired
Subject + had + been + verb(ing)

16. Future Continuous
The future continuous is used:
• to show that an action or activity will be in progress at a point of
time
Eg. I will be doing my homework at 7 o’clock tonight
• To show an activity when another action happens (punctual verb)
Eg. I will be doing my homework when you come
• To show an action when another durative verb is in progress
Eg. I will be doing my homework while my father is watching tv
Subject + will +be + verb (ing)

17. Future Perfect Continuous
The future perfect continuous tense is used to
refer to an action that has begun before and
will continue up to and, the given time in the
future
Eg.
I will have been living in Jakarta for twenty five
years in 2020
We will have been waiting for the lecturer for
one hour at 8