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English Grammar Tenses

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Mon, 09/22/2014 - 08:14 — Chris McCarthy

Learning English grammar can be a challenging experience. Today we look at the basic tenses we need to talk about the present, past and future.

Present

Simple Present

Base verb (+ es/es for third person):

I watch the news every day.

Present Continuous

am/is/are + present participle:

I am watching the news.

Present Perfect

Has/have + past participle:

I have watched the news already.

Present Perfect Continuous

Has/have + been + present participle:

I have been watching the news since I was a teenager.

Past

Simple Past

Verb+ed or irregular verb:

I watched the news.

Past Continuous

Was/were + present participle:

I was watching the news.

Past Perfect

Had + past participle:

I had watched the news before I went to bed.

Past Perfect Continuous

I had been watching watching the news for 20 minutes before you came home.

Future

Simple Future

Will+verb
Am/is/are + going to + verb

I will watch the news / I am going to watch the news.

Future Continuous

Will be + present participle
Am/is/are + going to be + present participle:

I will be watching the news at 9pm. / I am going to be watching the news at 9pm.

Future Perfect

Will have + past participle
Am/is/are + going to have + past participle

I will have watched the news before 10pm. / I am going to have watched the news.

Future Perfect Continuous

Will have been + present participle
Am/is/are + going to have been + present participle:

I will have been watching the news for over ten minutes before you join me. / I am going to have been watching the news for over ten minutes before you join me.

Now choose which tense is being used in each of the following sentences:

  • 1) I am living with my parents.





  • 2) I have never studied French.





  • 3) We were listening to music.





  • 4) She had worked with animals in her last job.





  • 5) He had been running.





  • 6) You will meet them soon.





  • 7) She will have fallen asleep by midnight.





  • 8) We will have been walking for 4 hours.





  • 9) I will be waiting for you.





  • 10) They were making lunch.