Tenses - Intermediate level - General English
Do you need help with your tenses? please see our notes below:
Notes for Virtual English Teacher Online´s General English students at Intermediate level,
groups I1 & I2, below you will find a breakdown of the past and present tenses:
Past simple (or simple past)
A past verb form that has no auxiliary verb in the affirmative.
Examples: I stopped; You heard; We knew.
Past progressive (or continuous)
A verb form made with was/were + ...ing.
Examples: I was going; They were stopping.
Past perfect
A verb form made with had + past participle.
Examples: I had forgotten; The children had arrived;
She had been working; It had been raining.
The first two examples are simple past perfect; the last two (with had been + ...ing)
are past perfect progressive (or continuous).
are past perfect progressive (or continuous).
Present simple (or simple present)
A present verb form that has no auxiliary verb in the affirmative.
Examples: He goes there often; I know; I like chocolate.
Present progressive (or continuous)
A verb form made with am/are/is + ...ing.
Examples: I am going; she is staying for two weeks.
Present perfect
A verb form made with have/has + past participle*
Examples: I have forgotten; The children have arrived;
I´ve been working all day; It has been raining.
The first two examples are simple present perfect; the last two (with have been +...ing)
are present perfect progressive (or continuous).
are present perfect progressive (or continuous).
*Past participle
A verb form like broken, gone, stopped, which can be used to form perfect tenses and passives**, or as an adjective. (the meaning is not necessarily past, in spite of the name).
**Passive
A passive verb form is made with be + past participle. Examples: is broken; was told, will be helped (but not breaks, told, will help, which are active verb forms). The subject of a passive verb form is usually the person or thing that is affected by the action of the verb. Compare:
They sent Lucas to prison for five years (active) & Lucas was sent to prison for five years (passive).
Future forms will follow at a later date. If you would like to join in our group lessons and practice your English online, check out our webpage, we have many course options to choose from:
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