Tenses

TENSES |
TENSE | DEFINITION | STRUCTURE | EXAMPLES |
Simple Present | Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. | A: - verb in simple present –complement.N: - doesn’t/don’t - verb in simple present – complement.I: Does/do - - verb in simple present – complement? | A: Diana likes Tacos.N: Diana doesn’t like Tacos.I: Does Diana like Tacos? |
SimplePast | The Simple Past is used for past actions that happened either at a specific time, which can either be given by a time phrase (yesterday, last year, etc.) or understood from the context. | A: -verb in simple past – complement.N: - didn’t– verb in simple past – complement.I: Did - - verb in simple past – complement? | A: They wrote that letter.N: They didn’t write that letter.I: Did theywrite that letter? |
Past Progressive | Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Rememberthis can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time. | A: - was/were – verb ending ing – complement.N: - wasn’t /weren’t – verb ending ing – complement.I: Was/were - - verb ending ing– complement? | A: She was talking to him.N: She wasn’t talking to him.I: Was she talking to him? |
Present Perfect | We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified timebefore now. The exact time is not important. | A: - have/has – verb in past participle – complement.N: - haven’t/hasn’t – verb in past participle – complement.I: Have/has - - verb in past participle– complement? | A: We have played tennis all afternoon.N: We have’t played tennis all afternoon.I: Have we played tennis all afternoon? |
Past Perfect | The Past Perfect expresses the idea thatsomething occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past. | A: - had – verb in past participle – complement.N: - had not –...