Verb tenses – Exercise 321

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English verb tenses, summary

Click on the tense to see its basic characteristics.

	Simple	Continuous	Perfect	Perfect Continuous
Present	Present Simple	Present Continuous	Present Perfect	Present Perfect Continuous
Past	Past Simple	Past Continuous	Past Perfect	Past Perfect Continuous
Future	Future Simple	Future Continuous	Future Perfect	Future Perfect Continuous

Present Simple (Present Indefinite)

I pick berries every summer.
(-) She doesn't pick berries. (?) Does she pick berries?
How to form	I/you/we/they — infinitive he/she/it — infinitive + -s
Auxiliary verb	do, does
Main use	Regular actions, habits, abilities, well-known facts
Other uses	Public timetable Stative verbs (think, believe, hope, love, want etc.) News headlines A sequence of short actions
Signal words	always, every day/month/year, usually, often, seldom, sometimes etc.

Present Continuous (Present Progressive)

I am picking berries at the moment.
(-) She isn't picking berries at the moment. (?) Is she picking berries at the moment?
Formation	am/is/are + infinitive + -ing
Auxiliary verb	am, is, are
Main use	The action is happening at the moment of speaking To stress that the situation is temporary, not permanent
Another use	Person's habits and behaviour that we don't like: I am always losing things. He is being selfish.
Signal words	now, at the moment

Present Perfect

I have picked all berries from the bush.
(-) She hasn't picked all berries yet. (?) Has she picked all berries?
Formation	has/have + past participle (the third verb form)
Auxiliary verb	has, have
Use	To stress the result in relation to the moment of speaking Something has already happened several times and may happen again Have you ever...? I have never... An equivalent of the present perfect continuous for stative verbs
Signal words	already, ever, just, never, yet, so far, till now, since, for

Present Perfect Continuous

I have been picking berries for two hours. I'm tired.
(-) She hasn't been picking berries all this time. (?) Has she been picking berries since morning?
Formation	have/has been + infinitive + -ing
Auxiliary verb	have been, has been
Use	The action started in the past and has just finished The action started in the past and is still going on
Signal words	for, since, how long

Past Simple (Past Indefinite)

I picked berries last summer.
(-) She didn't pick berries last summer. (?) Did she pick berries last summer?
Formation	infinitive + -ed (the second verb form)
Auxiliary verb	did
Use	The actions that happened and were completed in the past In combination with the past continuous, where the past continuous shows longer background action and the past simple shows short action
Signal words	yesterday, last week/month/year, X days/months/years ago

Past Continuous (Past Progressive)

I was picking berries at 9 o'clock yesterday.
(-) She wasn't picking berries at 9 o'clock yesterday. (?) Was she picking berries at 9 o'clock yesterday?
Formation	was/were + infinitive + -ing
Auxiliary verb	was, were
Use	To stress that the action in the past was long, continuous In combination with the past simple, where the past continuous shows longer background action and the past simple shows short action
Signal words	yesterday, when...

Past Perfect

I went home after I had picked a full basket of berries.
(-) She hadn't picked a basket of berries before she went home. (?) Had she picked a basket of berries before she went home?
Formation	had + past participle (the third verb form)
Auxiliary verb	had
Use	In combination with the past simple, one action completed before the other one started An equivalent of the present perfect for the past
Signal words	before, after, already

Past Perfect Continuous (Past Perfect Progressive)

I had been picking berries for two hours when you came.
(-) She hadn't been picking berries when I met her. (?) Had she been picking berries when you met her?
Formation	had been + infinitive + -ing
Auxiliary verb	had been
Use	An equivalent of the present perfect continuous The activity began in the past and it has been going on for some time in relation to the moment of speaking in the past
Signal words	for, since, how long

Future Simple (Future Indefinite)

I will pick berries next week.
(-) She won't pick berries next week. (?) Will she pick berries next week?
Formation	will + infinitive
Auxiliary verb	will, shall
Use	Telling facts and predictions about the future Spontaneous decisions, promises, requests, refusals if-sentences (the first conditionals)
Signal words	tomorrow, next week/month/year, in X days/months/years

Future Continuous (Future Progressive)

I will be picking berries at 11 o'clock tomorrow.
(-) She won't be picking berries at 11 o'clock tomorrow. (?) Will she be picking berries at 11 o'clock tomorrow?
Formation	will be + infinitive + -ing
Auxiliary verb	will be, shall be
Use	The activity will be going on at some moment in the future
Signal words	at X o'clock tomorrow

Future Perfect

I will have picked enough berries by 12 o'clock tomorrow.
(-) She won't have picked enough berries by 12 o'clock tomorrow. (?) Will she have picked enough berries by 12 o'clock tomorrow?
Formation	will have + past participle (the third verb form)
Auxiliary verb	will have
Use	To stress that the action will complete by a certain moment in the future An equivalent of the future perfect continuous for stative verbs
Signal words	by X o'clock tomorrow

Future Perfect Continuous (Future Perfect Progressive)

At 12 o'clock tomorrow, I will have been picking berries for two hours.
(-) She won't have been picking berries for two hours at 12 o'clock tomorrow. (?) Will she have been picking berries for two hours at 12 o'clock tomorrow?
Formation	will have been + infinitive + -ing
Auxiliary verb	will have been
Use	To show that at a certain moment in the future, the activity has been going for some time
Signal words	for, how long