Verb tenses are one of those grammar concepts that tend to be difficult for native speakers to identify and speak on in a metalinguistic way. As a result, it can be difficult to help a writer understand how their verb usage may be confusing and to subsequently explain what the solution could be.
This article provides a quick breakdown of each of the 12 verb tenses with examples to hopefully help you put names to the faces of the verb tenses you use daily. It also includes a brief discussion regarding metalanguage, which refers to the terms that are used to talk about language. Each verb tense includes a link to a more in-depth article on the tense if you want to do some more reading yourself, or if you want to provide some resources to your writer. At the end of the article, there is also a section demonstrating how verb tense issues can appear in student writing.
How is This Useful for Tutors and Writers?
When working with EAL writers, it is important to remember that people learn languages in many different ways. Some people learn by using and applying metalanguage, some learn through reading, some by conversation, and many other ways as well. This is something that must be considered as we cannot make assumptions about the writer’s abilities or methods of language acquisition.
As with any other writer, it is important to ensure that comments are as universal as possible to writers of all levels and backgrounds. Sometimes, the most universal and clear comments are ones that forego metalanguage and explain concepts in other terms. I find that this can happen with more complex verb tense situations, where adding metalanguage may cause more confusion for both the tutor and the writer. In other cases, the verb tense suggestion may be more clearly identifiable, where resources can be attached regarding the metalanguage used and the message is clearest with these resources.
Even without directly using the metalanguage, being able to identify verb tenses can help tutors become more comfortable with commenting on grammar and helping writers clarify the timeframe of their message.
The 12 Verb Tenses
Present Simple
The present simple tense is used when an action is more general or situational, something that may happen routinely (or not at all).
Common Structure: Subject + root verb + -s
*Please note: This formula only works for regular verbs!
For example:
They walk every day.
He cooks twice a week.
Present Progressive/Continuous
Present Progressive is used to refer to what is happening in the current moment, and it can be an action that is not complete.
Common structure: Subject + “to be” + present participle
For example:
I am writing a letter.
We are driving to West Virginia.
Maria is singing my favorite song.
Present Perfect
Present perfect is used when an action is currently being completed. This is commonly confused with present simple, the difference being that with present simple the action is still happening, but with present perfect the action is complete.
Common Structure: Subject + “to have” + past participle
Examples:
He has gone to the store.
They have finished the show.
Present Perfect Progressive/Continuous
In Present Perfect Progressive, the action begins in the past but is continuing in the present.
Common Structure: Subject + “to have” + been + present participle
Examples:
I have been going to the gym for a month.
The washing machine has been making that noise all day.
Past Simple
Past simple is used when an action is finished and in the past completely.
Common Structure: Subject + verb (past tense form)
Examples:
I ran yesterday.
We eloped!
Past Progressive/Continuous
Past Progressive used to talk about an ongoing activity in the past. is typically used alongside another action that interrupts it.
Common Structure: Subject + past tense “to be” + present participle
Examples:
She was sleeping until he rudely woke her.
They were shopping when they got the phone call.
Past Perfect
Past perfect is used when an action is the past is finished before a complementary action occurs.
Common Structure: Subject + had + past participle
Examples:
I had driven 20 miles when I realized I forgot the cake!
She had loaned them money before they ran away.
Past Perfect Progressive/Continuous
Past perfect progressive is used when an event that had been occurring continuously in the past ended in the past. This verb tense tends to be a little more time-specific than past perfect, emphasizing the length of the past action.
Common Structure: Subject + had been + present participle
Examples:
They had been going to the same dentist for years until they moved.
Ricky had been living in that house his entire life.
Future Simple
Future simple tense is used when an action has not yet happened.
Common Structure: Subject + will + root verb
Examples:
I will drive to my grandma’s today.
He will clean the living room tomorrow.
Future Perfect
The future perfect tense identifies when an ongoing action will end in the future.
Common Structure: Subject + will have + past participle
Examples:
She will have known him for 5 years in may.
We will have seen the movie 3 times.
Future Progressive
The future progressive tense is used for an action that will occur in the future and then continue on for a potentially unlimited time.
Common Structure: Subject + will be + present participle
Examples:
He will be living in Brazil next year.
We will be making dinner later.
Future Perfect Progressive/Continuous
The future perfect progressive tense expresses an action that begins in the present, past, or future and continues in the future.
Common Structure: Subject + will have been + present participle
Examples:
We will have been living together for 3 years in July.
He will have been running for an hour once he reaches the lake.
What does verb tense look like in student writing?
Because there are so many verb tenses and uses of verb tenses, there are many ways this can appear in student writing. However, with the handy reference guide above it can be easier to identify verb tense errors and make appropriate suggestions accordingly. Here is an example sentence from one of my past written feedback appointments:
“In the class I have joined, there was a child who was mildly restricted in movement due to polio, and another one with ASD who struggled to communicate with classmates and teachers, and a dozen children whose native language was not English.”
In this sentence, there are 2 verb tenses that contradict each other. The phrase “in the class I have joined” is in present perfect tense, implying that they are still currently in the class. However, the following phrase “there was a child who was mildly restricted,” is in past simple tense, implying that the class was completely in the past. Based on the context of the paragraph, it seemed that the sentence was meant to be fully in the past tense, so my comment was as follows:
“Here, you may want to remove the word “have” to show that the class was in the past. This verb form implies that the class is still going on.”
I wrote this comment without using the metalanguage in case the writer did not have explicit grammar knowledge, but I think this comment conveys the purpose of the tense change as informed by the metalanguage without explicitly using it. If you wanted to use metalanguage, the comment could be as follows:
“Here, you may want to remove the word “have” to show that the class was in the past. Currently, this phrase is in the present perfect tense, which implies that the class is still going on. The rest of your sentence is in simple past tense. Here are resources on present perfect tense and simple past tense for your reference!”