Verb Tenses in English Grammar

Verb Tenses

• Present Tense: used to describe actions that are true in general, habitual, or happening now
  • Simple: I go, I do, I eat
  • Progressive: I am going, I am doing, I am eating
  • Perfect: I have gone, I have done, I have eaten
  • Perfect Continuous: I have been going, I have been doing, I have been eating
• Past Tense: used to describe completed actions
  • Simple: I went, I did, I ate
  • Progressive: I was going, I was doing, I was eating
  • Perfect: I had gone, I had done, I had eaten
  • Perfect Continuous: I had been going, I had been doing, I had been eating
• Future Tense: used to describe future actions
  • Simple: I will go, I will do, I will eat
  • Progressive: I will be going, I will be doing, I will be eating
  • Perfect: I will have gone, I will have done, I will have eaten
  • Perfect Continuous: I will have been going, I will have been doing, I will have been eating

Clause Structure

• Independent Clause: a complete sentence with a subject and a verb
  • Example: I went to the store.
• Dependent Clause: a clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence
  • Example: because I needed milk
• Relative Clause: a dependent clause that begins with a relative pronoun (who, which, that, etc.)
  • Example: The book, which is on the table, is mine.
• Subordinate Clause: a dependent clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction (because, although, if, etc.)
  • Example: I went to the store because I needed milk.

Modal Verbs

• Modal Verbs: verbs that express possibility, necessity, or obligation
  • Can: ability or permission
  • Could: ability or permission in the past
  • May: permission or possibility
  • Might: possibility
  • Shall: intention or obligation
  • Should: obligation or advice
  • Will: intention or prediction
  • Would: intention or obligation in the past

Sentence Fragments

• Sentence Fragments: incomplete sentences that lack a subject, verb, or both
  • Examples: Me and my friend. (lacking a verb) / Under the bridge. (lacking a subject and verb)
• How to correct sentence fragments:
  • Add a subject or verb to the fragment
  • Combine the fragment with an independent clause

Passive Voice

• Active Voice: the subject performs the action
  • Example: The dog bites the man.
• Passive Voice: the subject receives the action
  • Example: The man was bitten by the dog.
• When to use passive voice:
  • When the doer of the action is unknown or unimportant
  • When the focus is on the action's recipient
  • In scientific or technical writing

Verb Tenses

• Present Tense: describes actions that are true in general, habitual, or happening now
• Present Tense forms:
  • Simple: I go, I do, I eat
  • Progressive: I am going, I am doing, I am eating
  • Perfect: I have gone, I have done, I have eaten
  • Perfect Continuous: I have been going, I have been doing, I have been eating
• Past Tense: describes completed actions
• Past Tense forms:
  • Simple: I went, I did, I ate
  • Progressive: I was going, I was doing, I was eating
  • Perfect: I had gone, I had done, I had eaten
  • Perfect Continuous: I had been going, I had been doing, I had been eating
• Future Tense: describes future actions
• Future Tense forms:
  • Simple: I will go, I will do, I will eat
  • Progressive: I will be going, I will be doing, I will be eating
  • Perfect: I will have gone, I will have done, I will have eaten
  • Perfect Continuous: I will have been going, I will have been doing, I will have been eating

Clause Structure

• Independent Clause: a complete sentence with a subject and a verb
• Dependent Clause: a clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence
• Relative Clause: a dependent clause that begins with a relative pronoun (who, which, that, etc.)
• Subordinate Clause: a dependent clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction (because, although, if, etc.)

Modal Verbs

• Modal Verbs: verbs that express possibility, necessity, or obligation
• Can: ability or permission
• Could: ability or permission in the past
• May: permission or possibility
• Might: possibility
• Shall: intention or obligation
• Should: obligation or advice
• Will: intention or prediction
• Would: intention or obligation in the past

Sentence Fragments

• Sentence Fragments: incomplete sentences that lack a subject, verb, or both
• Examples: Me and my friend. (lacking a verb) / Under the bridge. (lacking a subject and verb)
• How to correct sentence fragments:
  • Add a subject or verb to the fragment
  • Combine the fragment with an independent clause

Passive Voice

• Active Voice: the subject performs the action
• Passive Voice: the subject receives the action
• When to use passive voice:
  • When the doer of the action is unknown or unimportant
  • When the focus is on the action's recipient
  • In scientific or technical writing