English Verb Tenses and Irregular Verbs

Posted on Nov 14, 2024 in English

English Verb Tenses

1. Present Simple

Structure: Subject + Verb (base form)
Affirmative: I talk. He eats. They learn.
Negative: I do not [don’t] talk. He does not [doesn’t] eat. They do not [don’t] learn.
Interrogative: Do you talk? Does he eat? Do they learn?
Uses: Habits, routines, general truths, scientific facts, scheduled events, instructions.
Adverbs of Frequency: Always, every day, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, hardly ever, never
Example: I always talk to my mother on Sundays.
Exception (Verb “To Be”): I am always…

2. Present Continuous

Structure: Subject + Be + Verb (-ing)
Affirmative: I‘m talking. He‘s eating. They‘re learning.
Negative: I‘m not talking. He is not [isn’t] eating. They are not [aren’t] learning.
Interrogative: Are you talking? Is he eating? Are they learning?
Uses: Actions happening now, current situations, fixed future arrangements.

3. Present Perfect Simple

Structure: Subject + Have + Past Participle
Affirmative: I’ve talked to Peter. She’s gone to work. We’ve been to London. They’ve learned English.
Negative: I haven’t talked to Peter. She hasn’t gone to work. We haven’t been to London. They haven’t learned English.
Interrogative: Have you talked to Peter? Has she gone to work? Have we been to London? Have they learned English?
Uses: Experiences, changes over time, unfinished actions.

4. Present Perfect Continuous

Structure: Subject + Have + Been + Verb (-ing)
Affirmative: They’ve been talking for three hours. She has been studying English since she was 16. I’ve been waiting for you for over an hour!
Negative: They haven’t been talking for more than a few minutes. She hasn’t been studying English for very long. Don’t worry, I haven’t been waiting long.
Interrogative: Have they been talking for a long time? Has Mary been waiting long?

5. Past Simple

Structure: Subject + Verb (past tense)
Examples: Did you eat breakfast this morning? I had three exams this week. I went to Cuba last year. They saw a movie yesterday.

6. Past Continuous

Structure: Subject + Had + Been + Verb (-ing)
Affirmative: I’d been studying English for two years when I went to London. Lindsay had been working at the store since 2005 when it closed. They were surprised when the airline lost their baggage as they’d been traveling for weeks without a problem.
Negative: I had not [hadn’t] been studying English long when I went to London. Lindsay had not [hadn’t] been working at the store for long when it closed. They had not [hadn’t] been traveling long before they had their first problem.
Interrogative: Had you been studying English for a long time before you went to London? Had Lindsay been working at the store for a long time when it closed? Had they been traveling for a long time when the airline lost their luggage?

7. Past Perfect

Structure: Subject + Had + Past Participle
Affirmative: I’d visited the Louvre before, so I knew where the Mona Lisa was. They’d studied English before they went to London. Henry changed careers because he’d worked as an accountant for many years and was bored.
Negative: I hadn’t visited the Louvre before, so I didn’t know where the Mona Lisa was. They hadn’t studied English before they went to London. Henry changed careers even though he hadn’t worked as an accountant for long.
Interrogative: How did you know where the Mona Lisa was? Had you visited the Louvre before? Had they studied English before they went to London? Had Henry worked as an accountant for long before he changed careers?

8. Conditional Sentences (Type 0, 1, 2, 3)

Type 0: If + Present Simple, Present Simple
If you heat water to 100°C, it boils.
Type 1: If + Present Simple, Future Simple (will)
If Bill studies, he will pass the exam.
Type 2: If + Past Simple, Would + Infinitive
If I won the lottery, I would travel around the world.
Type 3: If + Past Perfect, Would Have + Past Participle
If I had known then what I know now, I would have done things differently.

Irregular Verbs