VERB FORMS and USAGES

Tense and Meaning

Present Simple and Present Progressive
Past Simple and Past Progressive
Present and Past Perfect
Future Simple, Future Progressive and Future Perfect
The three functions of the Past Participle (V3)
Passive and Active Voice
Mixed Tenses Exercises

The form of a verb can show its meaning. The form of a verb in a sentence can act as a
central clue to the meaning of the sentence.

Sequence: Tense and Meaning

The form of a verb can
tell the time or span of time that an event takes place
tell whether the action was a process or a single, unrepeated act

Present Simple and Present Progressive

Present Simple
Positive: base verb (V1) (+s) I/you/we/they eat; he/she/it eats
Question: do/does …+ base verb Do you eat?; Does she eat?
Negative: do/does not + base verb We don’t eat; he doesn’t eat

Usage:
1. General truth or fact. Example: The sun rises in the east.
2. Habit or custom. Ex.: He often visits his family
3. Future plans with a time expression. Ex.: The new course starts next week.
4. Jokes, story-telling. Ex.: A man enters a bar…

Present Progressive
Positive: am/is/are + verb+ing (V4)
Question: Am/Is/Are…verb+ing;
Negative: Am/Is/Are not + verb+ing;
I am eating; you/we/they are eating;
he/she/it is eating
Am I eating? Is he/she/it eating? Are you eating?
I am not eating, he isn’t (is not) eating,
You aren’t (are not) eating

Usage:
1. An incomplete action which is happening at the moment of speaking (often an
temporary action), usually with time expressions, such as: (right) now and at the
moment. Ex. I am typing the tenses for you right now.
2. An arrangement or plan in the near future, usually with a future time expression.
Ex. They are giving a barbeque on the National Holiday.
3. When complaining about an action which is repeated regularly and irritates you,
usually with always or forever. Ex.: She is always losing his keys.

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Note: Stative Verbs are not usually used in the progressive form, instead we use the
present simple.

http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/verbs/stative-verbs/

Past Simple and Past Progressive

Past Simple
Positive: base verb + ed (V2)
Question: Did…+ base verb
Negative: did not + base verb
I/you/ he/she/it we/they worked (regular verbs); but,
I/you/ he/she/it we/they ate (irregular verbs)
Did I/you/he/she/it/we/they work /eat?
I/you/he/she/it/we/they didn’t eat / work?

Usage:
1. When we refer to an action that took place and completed in the past. Ex.: When
did you buy your car?
2. When telling a story in which one thing happened after the other.
Ex. He went to the supermarket and bought vegetables.

Note: Regular and irregular verbs: The regular verbs get the suffix -ed in the past, whereas
the irregular verbs have a different form in the past and perfect tenses.

See this link for the list of irregular verbs:

http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/verbs/list-of-irregular-verbs/

Past Progressive
Positive: was/were + verb+ing (V4) I /he/she/it was eating; you/we/they were eating.
Question: Was/Were…verb+ing; Was I/ he/she/it eating? Were you eating?
Negative: was/were not + verb+ing; I/he/she/it wasn’t (was not) eating,
You/we/they weren’t (were not) eating.
Usage:
1. When describing an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past. The
action began before that time and probably continued after it. Ex.: What were you
doing on Tuesday last week?
2. When describing two actions that are happening at the same time in the past. Ex.:
While he was teaching, the students were listening carefully.

Present and Past Perfect

Present Perfect Simple

Positive: have/has +V3
Question: Have/Has…+ V3
Negative: have/ has not + V3
I/you/we/they have worked (reg.); I/you/we/they
have eaten; he/she/it has eaten (irreg.)
Have you worked? Have you eaten?; Has she worked?,
Has she eaten?
We haven’t worked, We haven’t eaten; he hasn’t
worked, He hasn’t eaten

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Usage:
1. For actions which were completed in the past, but we feel the results or effects of
that action on us in the present. Ex.: She has broken her leg (She can’t walk now); I
have seen that movie (I like it and I can talk about it)
2. For actions which were repeated several times in the past. Ex.: He has visited India
many times; It is the second time I have been to Prague; The anthropologist has
lived among those people for many years.
3. For actions or situations which began in the past and continue to the present. Ex.: I
have lived in Karmiel for 18 years.
4. With time expressions: a. for years, since I was young; b. lately, just, yet, ever,
already, recently; c. never, always, often, ever, Ex.; I have never been to Thailand;
That is the worst performance I have ever seen.

Present Perfect Progressive

Positive: have/has +been + verb+ing (V4) I /you/we/they have been eating; he/she/it
has been eating.
Question: Have/Has…+ been + verb+ing; Have I/you/we/they been eating? Has
he/she/it been eating?
Negative: have/has not + been + verb+ing; I/you/we/they haven’t been eating, He/she
/it hasn’t been eating.
Usage:
1. For actions which began in the past and continue to the present without stopping.
Those actions may still be going on in the present. Ex.: She has been waiting for this
day.
2. For recent activities which have just finished, but they still influence the present.
Ex.: The child has been crying (its eyes are still red)

Past Perfect Simple

Positive: had +V3 I/you/we/they had worked (reg.); I/you/we/they
had eaten; he/she/it had eaten (irreg.)
Question: Had…+ V3 Had you worked? Had you eaten?; Had she worked?,
Had she eaten?
Negative: had + V3 We hadn’t (had not) worked, We hadn’t eaten; he hadn’t
worked, He hadn’t eaten

Usage:
1. For an activity that happened before another activity or time in the past. Ex.: She
apologized to David because she had hurt him.
2. Conditional Sentences: Ex. If I had gone to the concert, I would have enjoyed it.
3. With time expressions: before, when, by the time, after, then First action: Past
Perfect, Later action: Past Simple. Ex.: When he had saved enough money, he
bought an apartment; When the professor asked us to read about moral
development we already had discussed Cohen’s research.

Note: Two past actions which happened at almost the same time are both expressed in
the Past Simple. When she saw him, she turned red.

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Past Perfect Progressive
Positive: had +been + verb+ing (V4) I /he/she/it /you/we/they had been eating;
Question: Had…+ been…verb+ing; Had I/ he/she/it /you/we/they been eating?
Negative: had not + been + verb+ing; I/he/she/it you/we/they hadn’t been eating,

Usage:
1. To emphasize the activity which was in progress before another more recent
activity in the past. Ex.: Her feet hurt, because she had been walking a lot.
2. To inform us how long something has continued before another activity took place
in the past. Ex.: They had been driving for three hours when they ran out of petrol.

Future Simple/Progressive/Perfect

Future Simple
Positive: will + base verb (V1) I/ he/she/it /you/we/they will eat.
Question: Will …+ base verb? Will you/she eat?
1Negative: will not (won’t) + base verb We /he won’t eat.

Usage:
1. To express a future action or intention, usually with a time expression in the future,
such as: tomorrow, next year. Ex.: She will give a party tonight at 9:00 pm.
2. To express a prediction based on certain conditions, Ex.: If you study hard, you will
pass the course.

Note: We can also use be going to +verb when talking about future plans or
intentions. Ex. We are going to take the train tomorrow morning. You are going to
learn well for the exam.

Future Progressive
Positive: will +be + verb+ing (V4) I /he/she/it /you/we/they will be eating.
Question: Will…+ be + verb+ing Will I/ he/she/it /you/we/they be eating?
Negative: will not (won’t) + be + verb+ing; I/he/she/it you/we/they won’t be eating.

Usage:
1. For an action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. Ex.: Please
don’t call me on Friday morning, as I will be cooking then.
2. To indicate that something in the future has been arranged before. Ex.: This time
next year, we will be living in the States. The technician will be checking the
computer network when you come to work in the morning.

Future Perfect
Positive: will have +V3 I/ he/she/it /you/we/they will have worked/eaten
Question: Will…have+V3 Will I/ he/she/it /you/we/they have worked /eaten?
Negative: will not (won’t) have + V3 I/ he/she/it /you/we/they won’t have worked
/eaten
Usage:
For actions that will be completed by a certain time in the future, usually with the
time expressions such as by the time and by this time. Ex.: They will have finished

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 their book by next year;

I will have cleaned the house when my wife comes home tonight. The future perfect is
marked by will have as a helping-verb phrase that here shows the action will take
place before another action, that is, before my wife comes home tonight.

The three functions of the Past Participle (V3)

The Past Participle (V3) is used:
1. in the Present/Past Perfect Tense: have/had +V3, Ex.: We have/had finished this
already
2. in the Passive Voice: form of to be+V3, Ex.: The article was written by him.
3. as an adjective, Ex. The lost son, the forgotten heroes.

Focus: Passive and Active

The passive form of the verb is used to put the focus on what happened, that is, on the
situation instead of the doer. Sometimes, the writer uses the passive to make his/her
statement seem objective and impersonal regarding a generalization, whether it is fact or
opinion.

Examples:

1. John saw two automobiles crash on his way to school. One driver was killed in the
accident. He was given first aid before he was taken to the hospital where he was
pronounced dead on arrival.

(The passive forms – was killed, was taken, was pronounced – show that the writer has his
focus on what happened to one of the drivers.)

2. It is thought that the caves near Beit Shemesh are the most beautiful in the world.

(The form It is thought shows that this is a thought shared generally by many people.)

Grammar site: https://www.englishgrammar.org/category/verbs/

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 MIXED TENSES EXERCISES

I. Choose the best answer a), b), c) or d).

1. Andrew _________ lunch by the time they arrived.

a) finished c) had finished

b) was finished d) has finished

2. I have a terrible headache. I ___________ another aspirin.

a) take c) am taking
b) ’ll take d) will be taking

3. A cold wind _____ for the last week.

a) has been blowing c) blows

b) is blowing d) blew

4. We’ll meet in September when she _____ back.

a) will come c) came

b) will have come d) comes

5. Maria ____________ a comic when the teacher asked her to come to the blackboard.

a) was reading c) read

b) has been reading d) has read

6. You won’t need the jacket. It _________ warmer.

a) gets c) ’s got
b) ’s getting d) ’d got

7. Bryan _____ when the meeting started.

a) hasn’t arrived c) hasn’t been arriving

b) hadn’t arrived d) wasn’t arriving

8. To be honest, I ___________ she will be able to handle this properly.

a) doubt c) am doubting
b) have doubted d) will doubt

9. They _________ for 5 years at the end of this year.

a) will date c) will be dating

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 b) will have been dating d) are going to date

10. I am not surprised they’ve broken up. She never knew if she could trust him and was
afraid he ___________ her.

a) will leave c) would leave

b) is going to leave d) will have left

11. Call the police. Our apartment __________ into.

a) was broken c) is broken

b) has been broken d) will be broken

12. She can’t go hiking with us. She _____________ on her new book all day tomorrow.

a) will be working c) is working

b) will work d) will have worked

13. By the time you finish my dress it ____________ old-fashioned.

a) will become c) is becoming

b) will be becoming d) will have become

14. They __________ for some time when their mother told them to be silent.

a) had shouted c) had been shouting

b) have shouted d) have been shouting

15. The letter ____________ by the end of the week.

a) is not going to be delivered c) is not delivered

b) won’t be delivered d) won’t have been delivered

II. Complete the sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Some
verbs are negative.

1. I _started_ (start) looking for a new flat 2 weeks ago, but I still _haven't found_ (find)

anything suitable. I __am living_ (live) with my parents these days.

2. We __saw__ (see) Mike yesterday, but Ann __didn't want__ (want) to meet him so we

__crossed__ (cross) the street.

3. In a few minutes’ time, when the clock __strikes__ (strike) 5, I __will have been

waiting_ (wait) here half an hour.

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4. Mrs Blake _hasn't arranged_ (arrange) the flowers yet, but she __will do__ (do) it

before she _goes_ (go) home.

5. You must be hungry. Let me just put this away and I _will make__ (make) you some

sandwiches.

6. Let’s meet at the station. The train __leaves_ (leave) at 7 p.m.

7. You __have eaten_ (eat) the whole pie! You _will be_ (be) sick.

8. She won’t be able to come in the afternoon. She _will be seeing (see) her lawyer at 4

o’clock.

9. Don’t expect us to come at 6 o’clock. We __will still be playing__ (still, play) tennis.

10. They __had been dating__ (date) for 5 years before he finally ___proposed____

(propose) to her.

11. What__ did you do _ (you, do) the whole evening while we _were looking for__ (look

for) you?

12. When we __went__ (go) to see him last night, he __was playing_ (play) computer

games; he __had been playing__(play) since lunch time.

13. By the end of last year they ___ finished__ (finished) three large projects, and by next

year they ___will have finished__ (finish) two more. I __have been___ (be) with them

since last month, but I ____believe___ (believe) they ___are working___ (work) on

presentations at present.

14. Look at that little boy in the corner. He _has been waiting___ (wait) for three hours

now and no one __came__ (come) to take him home.

15. Look at this mess! You __always leave__ (always, leave) your clothes all over the room!

III. Put the verbs in brackets into the appropriate tense. Passive will be needed
sometimes.

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Einstein’s Chauffeur
This 0 is (be) a true anecdote about Albert Einstein, and his theory of relativity.
After having propounded his famous theory, Albert Einstein 1 __toured_ (tour) the

various Universities in the United States, delivering lectures wherever he 2 went_ (go). He

3 __was accompanied__ always (accompany) by his faithful chauffeur, Harry, who 4

___listened to___ (listen to) each of these lectures while he 5 __was sitting_ (sit) in the back

row! One fine day, after Einstein 6 _finished __ (finish) a lecture and 7 _came out__ (come

out) of the auditorium into his vehicle, Harry 8 _addressed__ (address) him and 9 __said_

(say), “Professor Einstein, 10 _I hear_ (hear) your lecture on Relativity so many times, that

if I ever 11 _give__ (give) the opportunity, I 12 _will be__ (be) able to deliver it to

perfection myself!”

“Very well,” 13 _replied_ (reply) Einstein, “I 14 __go__ (go) to Dartmouth next week, and I

15 _i well meeting (meet) some young scientists there. They 16 they _don't know_ (know)

me. You 17 __you will deliver___ (deliver) the lecture as Einstein, and I 18 __will take_

(take) your place as Harry!”

And so it 19 __was going to be __ (go) to be..to going . Harry 20 __delivered__ (deliver) the

lecture to perfection, without a word out of place, while Einstein 21 _was relaxing_ (relax)

in the back row playing “chauffeur”. He 22 _enjoyed_ (enjoy) a snooze for a change.

After Harry 23 _gave_ (give) the lecture, while he 24 _was dexcending_ (descend) from the

podium, however, one of the research assistants 25 _had intercepted= stop_ (intercept)

him, and 26 __began__ (begin) to ask him a question on the theory of relativity.... one that

27 _involved_ (involve) a lot of complex calculations and equations. Harry 28 __replied__

(reply) to the assistant “The answer to this question 29 _is_ (be) very simple! In fact, it’s so

simple, that I 30 _will let_ (let) my chauffeur answer it!”

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IV. Some of the following sentences are correct and some have mistakes in them.
Tick the correct ones and correct the ones with mistakes.
Delete …….. correct ……
1. My brother and his fiancée will get married on Saturday. They have invited more than
300 guests.
_____________________________________________________________________
2. It’s three minutes to 8. They will be late.
We are going to be late.
_____________________________________________________________________
3. They have left home at 7 o’clock and arrived to school at 8.30.
_____________________________________________________________________
4. He has been eating three sandwiches and he is still hungry.
_____________________________________________________________________
5. I have to sit down. I have been run for more than an hour.
_____________________________________________________________________
6. I found that ring while I was playing in the sand with my nephew.
_____________________________________________________________________
7. When I checked your homework I noticed that you had problems with spelling.
_____________________________________________________________________
8. I am really angry. She is always borrowing my clothes without asking me anything!
_____________________________________________________________________
9. A stitch in time is saves ing nine.
_____________________________________________________________________
10. She enrolled at university last year. Which subjects did she chosen chose?
_____________________________________________________________________
11. Why you have lent her my earrings? I was going to wear them tonight.
_____________________________________________________________________
12. They had driven for only 10 minutes when they had a puncture(fled tier) .
_____________________________________________________________________
13. This is the best pizza I ever had.
_____________________________________________________________________
14. I had been hoped to explain it to her, but she wouldn’t listen to me.
_____________________________________________________________________

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15. By the time she comes the best roles will have taken.
_____________________________________________________________________

V. Rewrite these sentences so that the meaning remains the same, using the bolded
word.

1. The bridge is 20 years old.

ago
The bridge _was build 20 years ago ___.

2. One of the actors passed out during the rehearsal for the play.
while
One of the actors passed out ____________________________________ for the play.

3. In your opinion, who is going to pass the exam?

you
Who ________________________________________ the exam?

4. This isn’t the first time I have watched this movie.

already
I ______________________________________________ this movie.

5. I’d rather not go out with you tonight.

feel
I _____________________________________ with you tonight.

6. We are disappointed because they forgot everything we had taught them.

remember
We are disappointed because they _____________________________ we had taught
them.

7. Their lunch will be over by 1 o’clock.

finished
They ________________________________________________________ by one o’clock.

8. When we returned to the meeting room the Japanese guests were not there anymore.
time
The Japanese guests ______________________________ we returned to the meeting
room.

9. I hope he will bring the CD player downstairs.

leave
I hope he _________________________________________________________________.

10. She obeyed her parents only after they threatened they would cut off her allowance.
until
She ______________________________ they threatened they would cut off her
allowance.

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11. She started smoking 20 years ago and she hasn’t given up yet.
for
She _____________________________________________________________________ .

12. The play will take less than a month to put on stage.
have
They _________________________________________ in less than a month.

13. When we came out of the restaurant it was raining.

started
It ______________________________________ when we came out of the restaurant.

14. It has been a month since she dusted the shelves.

ago
She ______________________________________________________________________.

15. Whose are these books?

to
Who _____________________________________________________________________?

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