The Complete List of English Verb Tenses, Essays (university) of Engineering

Download The Complete List of English Verb Tenses and more Essays (university) Engineering in PDF only on Docsity! www.espressoenglish.net © Shayna Oliveira 2012 The Complete List of English Verb Tenses Do you find English verbs confusing? Take a look at this chart of English verb tenses to help you understand when to use each one: Simple Continuous Perfect Perfect Continuous Present speak / speaks am/is/are speaking have/has spoken have been speaking Past spoke was/were speaking had spoken had been speaking Future will speak going to speak will be speaking will have spoken will have been speaking Present Simple Use the present simple tense in English… For general facts: This shirt costs ten dollars. We speak English. For actions that happen regularly: I take guitar lessons on Wednesday nights. Sarah sometimes eats lunch in her office. Present Continuous Use the present continuous tense in English… For a continuous action in progress at the moment: I‘m currently studying biology at university. Bill can’t talk on the phone right now – he‘s doing his homework. We‘re watching TV at the moment. For future plans/arrangements: www.espressoenglish.net © Shayna Oliveira 2012 I‘m having lunch with Jack tomorrow. My sister is driving me to the airport on Saturday. Tim and Joanna are joining us for dinner next week. Present Perfect Use the present perfect tense in English… With actions that happened in the past at an unspecified time: I‘ve met several celebrities. He‘s been to Australia several times. We‘ve already taken the test. With actions that began in the past and continue to the present: I‘ve lived in this house for five years. Harry has worked at the same company since 1992. Note: Usually the verbs “lived” and “worked.” The present perfect continuous can also be used – see the next section. With actions that have never happened: I‘ve never broken a bone. She‘s never bought a car. My parents have never eaten sushi. Present Perfect Continuous Use the present perfect continuous tense in English… With actions that began in the past and continue to the present: I‘ve been thinking a lot about the situation recently. Laura‘s been studying since 7 AM. We‘ve been waiting for you to arrive for over an hour. Past Simple Use the past simple tense in English… For events that started and finished in the past: I worked as a research assistant from 2001 – 2003.