Part 1: The Basics
Learning the basics of forming a verb tense is usually easy, and so is using that tense by itself. However, when the tenses are mixed together in grammar or writing, there can be a lot of confusion.
Here are some tips to remember:
1. Look for the use of time words. A chart is given below.
2. Remember the purpose(s) of each tense.
3. Look at the context. There may not be any time words in the sentence, but the surrounding sentences will give a clue as to what should come next.
Tense |
Time words |
Examples |
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Simple present
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Every day, month, week, year; always; sometimes; never; frequently
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George jogs three miles every day.
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Mary always has salad for lunch.
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I sometimes go to New York City.
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Simple past
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Yesterday; # years, weeks, months, days, hours ago; in (past year); last (month, week, year)
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Tom went to Los Angeles yesterday.
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Charles Lindbergh flew to Paris in 1927.
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Simple future
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Tomorrow; in (future year, month, week); on (future day); next (month, week, year, name of day); # days, months, weeks, years from now; this month, week, afternoon, year; someday
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Mary will go to Hawaii in two weeks.
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Ed will drive to Toronto next Saturday.
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George will paint his house six days from now.
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Present Progressive
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Now; right now; at this moment
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You are reading sentences about verb tenses right now.
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Many students are taking calculus this semester.
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Future progressive
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At this time tomorrow
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At this time tomorrow, I will be cleaning my house.
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Present Perfect
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For; since; yet; never; always; so far; # times; many times; lately; recently; already
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Sam has visited Hawaii many times.
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Paul has been here for six hours.
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Yoko has known Mary since 1994.
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I have already written a letter to the president.
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Present perfect progressive
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For; since; lately; recently
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Rita has been jogging for two hours.
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Part 2: Time Clauses
Some verb tenses often work with time clauses.
Sentences with time clauses have two parts:
1. The clause with the time word
2. The main clause
Remember the following tips:
Ø The part with the time word is always dependent.
Ø Most time words work with more than one tense.
Ø In the present, past, and future perfect progressive tenses, for is not always necessary, but it is frequently used.
Ø *Before and after do not require the use of the past perfect, but it is possible.
Time Clause Patterns
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Time word
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Time clause tense |
Main clause tense
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Examples |
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While
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Past progressive |
Simple past (short action)
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While Anna was sleeping, a plane flew over her house.
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Past progressive (action at same time)
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While George was frying fish, Rita was peeling potatoes.
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Present progressive
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Future progressive |
While Anna is working tomorrow, her sister will be paintingthe living room.
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Before
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Simple present
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Simple future
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Before Karen leaves for work, she will roller-skate around her house three times.
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Simple past
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Simple past or past perfect*
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Before Karen left for work, she (had) roller-skated around her house three times.
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After
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Simple present
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Simple future
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After Karen takes her motorcycle to the mechanic, he will take a look at it.
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Simple past or past perfect*
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Simple past
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After Karen took [had taken] her motorcycle to the mechanic, she drove to work in a rented car.
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When
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Simple present
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Simple future
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When John finishes this semester, he will take a trip to France.
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Simple past
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Simple past
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When the sun rose, John got up.
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Past progressive
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When the pizza arrived, John was checking his e-mail.
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Past perfect
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When John’s friend came to pick him up, he had alreadychecked his answering machine for messages.
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Past perfect progressive
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When John got home, his brother had been surfing the web for five hours.
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Until
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Simple present |
Simple future
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Until Mary finishes her scuba-diving course, she won’t takethe advanced diving class.
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Simple past
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Past perfect |
Until Mary lost $50,000 in Las Vegas, she hadn’t realizedthat she had a gambling problem.
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As soon as
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Simple present
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Simple future |
As soon as I get home, I will take a nap.
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Simple past
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Simple past |
As soon as I got home, I took a nap.
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Whenever
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Simple present
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Simple present |
Whenever Sam goes to Canada, he always visits Niagara Falls.
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The first time
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Simple past
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Simple past |
The first time that Ingrid visited New York, she went to the Empire State Building.
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The last time
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Simple past
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Simple past |
The last time that Nancy played hockey, she scored three goals.
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The next time
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Simple present
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Simple future |
The next time I buy new sneakers, I will walk around in them first.
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By the time
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Simple present
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Future perfect |
By the time the plane arrives, we will have completed the crossword puzzle.
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Simple past |
Past perfect |
By the time John finished his essay, most of the class had left.
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Since (time)
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Simple past |
Present perfect |
Tom has been unhappy since his team lost the championship.
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Part 3: Other Uses
Some time words may go with more than one tense. In this case, meaning and context become especially important. The time given is relative to the present moment—it may be present, past, or future, depending on when the event happened, is happening, or will happen.
The story below will demonstrate this. Present time is in bold type, like this. Future time is in italics, like this. Past time is in normal type.
Theresa’s Day
Today is Saturday. Theresa had been sleeping for eight hours when the doorbell rang. She got up to answer the door, but no one was there. The sound of the doorbell had also woken up Maria, Theresa’s roommate. Because neither of them could go back to sleep, they decided to have breakfast. While Theresa was making breakfast, Maria was taking a shower. While they were eating their breakfast, they heard a loud crash from outside. They ran to the window and looked outside. Their friend, Tom, had been skateboarding, but he had lost control of his skateboard and crashed into the garbage cans. Theresa and Maria ran outside to see how Tom was. He had a few scrapes and bruises, and he was wearing a banana peel and broken eggshells on his head. Theresa and Maria gave him some antiseptic and bandages. They wanted him to go to the nurse, but he said he was all right.
After that, Theresa and Maria went back inside, finished their breakfast and watched a tape. Now it is 12:00, and Theresa is eating lunch. She is eating a salad. Lately, she has been trying to eat more leafy green vegetables. Everyone tells her this will make her healthier, but it’s not easy for her because it’s hard to for her to find leafy green vegetables that she likes. She will be doing many things this afternoon and evening. At 1:30, she will go to the swimming pool and swim some laps. She practices swimming four times a week because she is on the swim team. She has been on the swim team for two years. When she finishes swimming, she will take a shower and get ready for her evening. First, she will eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Next, she plans to watch Citizen Kane with Maria, Tom, and Ed, Tom’s brother. By the time the movie ends, they will have seen it sixteen times. After the movie, they will go to a local dance club. By midnight, they will have been dancing for three hours. At 3 a.m., Theresa and Maria will come home and go to sleep. Tomorrow will be less busy.
Theresa’s Day
Time |
Main and non-time clause(s) |
Time clause |
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12:00 a.m.-11:59 p.m.
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Today is Saturday.
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1 a.m-9 a.m.
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Theresa had been sleeping for eight hours.
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9 a.m.
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(When) the doorbell rang.
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9:01 a.m.
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Theresa got out of bed to answer the door, but there was no one there.
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9:15 a.m-9: 30 a.m.
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She was making breakfast
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(While) her roommate was taking a shower.
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9:31 a.m.-9: 45 a.m.
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(While) they were eating their breakfast
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9:45 a.m.
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They heard a loud crash from outside.
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Before 9:45 a.m.
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Their friend, Tom, had been skateboarding
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9:45 a.m.
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(But) he had lost control of his skateboard and crashed into the garbage cans.
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9:46:00 a.m.
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They ran to the window and looked outside.
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9:46:30 a.m.
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Theresa and Maria ran outside to see how Tom was.
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9:47 a.m.
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He had a few scrapes and bruises, and he was wearing a banana peel and broken eggshells on his head.
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9:50 a.m.
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Theresa and Maria gave him some antiseptic and bandages.
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9:55 a.m.
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They wanted him to go to the nurse, but he said he was all right.
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10:00-11:59
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After that, Theresa and Maria went back inside, finished their breakfast, and watched a tape.
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12 p.m.
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Theresa is eating lunch.
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She is eating a salad.
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Before now and up to the present moment
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Lately, she has been trying to eat more leafy green vegetables.
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General truth with a future prediction
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Everyone tells her this will make her healthier, but it’s not easy for her because it’s hard for her to find leafy green vegetables that she likes.
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1 p.m. – 12 a.m.
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She will be doing many things this afternoon and evening.
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1:30 p.m.
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At 1:30, she will go to the swimming pool and swim some laps.
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Habit
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She practices swimming four times a week because she is on the swim team.
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Situation that began in the past and continues to the present moment
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She has been on the swim team for two years.
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3:00-4:30 p.m.
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She will take a shower and get ready for her evening
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(when) she finishes swimming
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6:00 p.m.
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She will eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant.
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7:00-8:30
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She plans to watch Citizen Kane with Maria, Tom, and Ed, Tom’s brother.
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They will have seen the movie sixteen times
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(by the time) it ends.
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9:00
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They will go to a local dance club.
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12 a.m.
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By midnight, they will have been dancing for three hours.
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3 a.m.
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Theresa and Maria will come home and go to sleep.
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Tomorrow
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Tomorrow will be less busy.
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Written by Dale Egan, ELRC tutor