Verb Tenses• In speaking and writing, you often need to indicate when something happens—now, yesterday, or tomorrow. In English, the different tenses of verbs are used to show when something occurs.

• A tense is the form of a verb that shows the time of an action or a condition.

Recognizing the Six Tenses of Verbs

• Verbs have six tenses that indicate whether something is happening now, was happening at some time in the past, or will be happening at some time in the future. Each of these tenses can be expressed in two different forms: Basic and Progressive

Basic Forms of the Six Tenses

Present She skis for a hobby.

Past She skied every day last year.

Future She will ski again this year.

Present Perfect She has skied at many different resorts.

Past Perfect She had skied when she was only three years old.

Future Perfect She will have skied ten times this season by Valentine’s Day.

Recognizing the Six Tenses of Verbs

• The basic forms are identified simply by their tense names. The progressive forms, however, are identified by their tense names plus the word progressive.

• The next chart gives examples of the six tenses in their progressive form. Note that all these forms end in –ing.

Progressive Forms of the Six TensesPresent Progressive She is skiing down a mountain

now.

Past Progressive She was skiing yesterday morning.

Future Progressive She will be skiing again very soon.

Present Perfect Progressive She has been skiing for years.

Past Perfect Progressive She had been skiing when she broke her leg.

Future Perfect Progressive She will have been skiing for a decade by the end of this year.

Verb Tenses

• Give it a shot!

- Use tenses of the same verb in three sentences about making a sand castle—yesterday, today and tomorrow. Take note of how the verb changes from sentence to sentence.