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Verb Tenses
A verb describes an action that occurs in a sentence. Tense is the time frame when a specific event
occurs and can appear in the past, present, or future time. There are also different verb forms such as
simple, perfect, progressive, and perfect progressive. This handout explains the purpose of verb tenses
and forms, and it provides examples of how to conjugate verbs within the appropriate verb form.
Simple Forms
Time
Verb Formation & Examples
Simple Present: Indicates that an action is a
fact or a routine.
Formed by adding -s or -es to the end of the base
form of the verb when the subject is a singular/non-
count noun or he, she, or it.
Fact:
(Non-count noun): Water boils at 100 degrees
Celsius and at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
Routine:
I/You/We/They sleep every night.
He/She/It sleeps every night.
Simple Past: Indicates that an action finished
at an identified time in the past.
Formed by adding -ed to the end of the base form of
a regular verb.
(Regular verb): He lived in Germany in 2010.
Irregular verbs have various simple past forms.
(Irregular verb): I slept well last night.
Simple Future: Indicates a planned event or a
prediction about the future.
Formed by the auxiliary verb will + the base form of
the verb. An auxiliary verb helps determine the
tense of the main verb.
Planned: I will visit my grandmother next weekend.
Prediction: She will love the gift I have made for her.
Provided by Verb Tenses
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Perfect Forms
Time
Verb Formation & Examples
Present perfect: Indicates that an action finished
at an unspecified time in the past or that it
started in the past and continues into the present.
Formed by have or has + the past participle of
the verb. The past participle is the same as the
simple past form of regular and irregular verbs.
Unspecified time: I have visited Ellis Island in New
York.
Continues into the present: She has known her
best friend for ten years.
Past perfect: Indicates that an action finished at
some point in the past before another event
occurred.
Formed by had + the past participle.
I had known my partner for a few years before
we got married.
Future perfect: Indicates that an action will finish
at some time in the future before another event
occurs.
Formed by will have + the past participle.
I will have slept for eight hours when my alarm
wakes me tomorrow morning.
Progressive Forms
Time
Verb Formation & Examples
Present progressive: Indicates that an action is in
progress or occurring now.
Formed by am/is/are + the present participle of
the verb. The present participle is formed by
adding -ing to the end of the base form of the
verb.
I am sleeping right now.
He/She/It is sleeping right now.
You/We/They are sleeping right now.
Provided by Verb Tenses
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Past progressive: Indicates that an action was in
progress in the past when another simple past
event interrupted the action in progress.
Formed by was/were + the present participle.
I/He/She was sleeping when the storm began.
You/We/They were sleeping when the storm
began.
Future progressive: Indicates that an action will
be in progress at some time in the future.
Formed by will be + the present participle.
I will be sleeping later tonight, so please do not
call me.
Perfect Progressive Forms
Time
Verb Formation & Examples
Present perfect progressive: Indicates that an
action started in the past and continues into the
present.
Formed by have/has been + the present
participle.
I/You/We/They have been driving for eight hours.
He/She has been driving for eight hours.
Past perfect progressive: Indicates that an action
started and was still in progress when another
event occurred.
Formed by had been + the present participle.
I had been living in that house for ten years when
my parents decided to sell it.
Future perfect progressive: Indicates that an
action will be in progress when another event
occurs.
Formed by will have been + the present
participle.
I will have been working at that company for
thirty years when I retire at age 65.
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The Academic Center for Excellence 4 January 2023
*Note: there are many verbs, such as live, work, study, which can be used in both simple and progressive
forms without much difference in meaning.
Practice
Read through the following sentences and identify the form of the verb in boldface.
1. I eat at my best friend’s house every Sunday.
a. Simple past
b. Simple future
c. Simple present
d. Present prefect
2. I ate at my best friend’s house last Sunday.
a. Simple future
b. Present perfect
c. Simple past
d. Future progressive
3. I will eat at my best friend’s house next Sunday.
a. Simple future
b. Past progressive
c. Present perfect progressive
d. Future progressive
4. I have been listening to music all afternoon.
a. Simple present
b. Past perfect progressive
c. Present perfect progressive
d. Present perfect
5. I had been studying when my phone rang.
a. Future perfect
b. Past perfect progressive
c. Future progressive
d. Present perfect progressive
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6. I will have been studying for eight hours by the time I go to bed.
a. Future progressive
b. Present perfect progressive
c. Present perfect
d. Future perfect progressive
Conjugate the verb in boldface to match the perfect tense indicated in the parentheses.
7. I eat at my best friend’s house. (Present perfect)
a. have ate
b. have eaten
c. will eaten
d. will eat
8. I laughed at my best friend because she said something funny. (Past perfect)
a. have said
b. had said
c. will have said
d. had say
9. I drove to my best friend’s house. (Future perfect)
a. will have driven
b. had drove
c. will have drove
d. will drive
Answer Key
1. C 6. D
2. C 7. B
3. A 8. B
4. C 9. A
5. B
Additional Resources
For further help understanding and practicing verb tenses, visit the Academic Center for Excellence on-
campus or online Writing Center, schedule an appointment, or visit our website at
https://www.germanna.edu/academic-center-for-excellence/. You can also look at the Subject Verb
Agreement handout or the Subject Verb Agreement module.
