English Verb Tenses: Structure and Usage

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Present Simple

Describes habitual actions, facts, and general truths.

Formulas:

  • (+) Affirmative: Subject + Base Verb (+s/es for he/she/it) + Complement
    • Example: I play tennis. She cooks dinner.
  • (-) Negative: Subject + do/does + not + Base Verb + Complement
    • Example: I don't play tennis. She doesn't cook dinner.
    • Note: The 's' is not added to the verb when 'does' is used.
  • (?) Interrogative: Do/Does + Subject + Base Verb + Complement?
    • Example: Do I play tennis? Does she cook dinner?

Present Continuous

Describes actions happening now or around the present moment.

Formulas:

  • (+) Affirmative: Subject + Verb to be (is/are/am) + Gerund (-ing) + Complement
    • Example: We are writing in English class.
  • (-) Negative: Subject + Verb to be (is/are/am) + not + Gerund (-ing) + Complement
    • Example: You are not playing.
  • (?) Interrogative: Verb to be (is/am/are) + Subject + Gerund (-ing) + Complement?
    • Example: Are you listening?

Spelling Rules for -ing Verbs:

  • If a verb has one vowel and ends with a consonant, double the final consonant before adding '-ing'.
    • Example: Swim - Swimming
  • If a verb ends in 'e', drop the 'e' and add '-ing'.
    • Example: Drive - Driving
  • If a verb ends in 'ie', change 'ie' to 'y' and add '-ing'.
    • Example: Die - Dying

Present Perfect

Describes actions in the past that are important or have a result in the present.

Formulas:

  • (+) Affirmative: Subject + have/has + Past Participle + Complement
    • Example: I have studied at UTC since 2015.
  • (-) Negative: Subject + have/has + not + Past Participle + Complement
    • Example: She hasn't worked at Magna for 3 years.
  • (?) Interrogative: Have/Has + Subject + Past Participle + Complement?
    • Example: Have you studied at UTC? Yes, I have. No, I haven't.

Regular Verb Past Tense Rules:

Regular verbs form their past tense and past participle by adding '-ed'.

  • Most verbs: Add -ed (e.g., walk - walked)
  • Verbs ending in -e: Add -d (e.g., love - loved)
  • Verbs ending in consonant + -y: Change -y to -i and add -ed (e.g., study - studied)
  • Verbs ending in a single vowel + single consonant (except w, x, y): Double the consonant and add -ed (e.g., stop - stopped)

Simple Past

Describes completed actions in the past.

Formulas:

  • (+) Affirmative: Subject + Past Tense Verb + Complement
    • Example: I ate an apple yesterday.
  • (-) Negative: Subject + did not + Base Verb + Complement
    • Example: She didn't eat an apple yesterday.
  • (?) Interrogative: Did + Subject + Base Verb + Complement?
    • Example: Did she eat an apple? Yes, she did.
  • (?) Wh-Questions: Wh-word + did + Subject + Base Verb + Complement?
    • Example: Why did she eat an apple?

Verb "to be" in Simple Past:

  • is becomes was
  • are becomes were

Past Continuous

Describes actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past.

Formulas:

  • (+) Affirmative: Subject + was/were + Gerund (-ing) + Complement
  • (-) Negative: Subject + was/were + not + Gerund (-ing) + Complement
  • (?) Interrogative: Was/Were + Subject + Gerund (-ing) + Complement?

Subject-Verb Agreement (Past Continuous):

SubjectVerb to be (Past)Gerund
Iwasplaying
Youwere
Hewas
Shewas
Itwas
Wewere
Theywere

For negative forms, simply add not (e.g., wasn't, weren't).

Future Tense: Will & Going To

Describes actions that will happen in the future.

Formulas for 'Will':

  • (+) Affirmative: Subject + will + Base Verb + Complement
    • Example: We will play on Saturday.
  • (-) Negative: Subject + will + not + Base Verb + Complement
    • Example: We will not visit Cuba.
    • Contraction: won't (will not)
  • (?) Interrogative (Wh-Questions): Wh-word + will + Subject + Base Verb + Complement?
    • Example: Why will we play on Saturday?

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