Sequence of Tenses

The base form of the verb is the form you will find in the dictionary. The uses of this form include the infinitive (to + base form), the subjunctive (things that are required, suggested, recommended, etc.), and the formation of the simple present (activities which are habitual, generalizations, things that take place in the present, etc.).

The past participle is used when forming the perfect, past and present tenses, and with progressive verbs. The past participle is used to form most of the verb 'tenses' in English, whether 'active' or passive' voice.

English Verb "Tenses"

Sequence of Tenses

English has only two tenses that are shown in the form of the verb by itself: present (as in "he dances") and past (as in "he danced"). The other tenses are marked by words called auxiliaries (or auxiliary verbs). Understanding the six basic tenses allows one to recreate much of the reality of time in one's writing. The six are as follows:

Simple Present: They dance.
Present Perfect: They have danced.

Simple Past: They danced.
Past Perfect: They had danced.

Future: They will dance.
Future Perfect: They will have danced.

Problems in sequencing tenses usually occur with the perfect tenses, all of which are formed by adding an auxiliary or auxiliaries to the past participle, the third principal part. The most common auxiliaries are forms of "be," "can," "do," "may," "must," "ought," "shall," "will," "has," "have," and "had."

Simple Present

Present Action or Condition	General Truths	Non-action; Habitual Action	Future Time
I see you. Sarah feels ill.	The sun rises in the east.	I believe you are awful! Carl plays soccer on Saturdays.	Class starts at 8 p.m.

Present Perfect

The present perfect consists of a past participle with "has" or "have." It is used for present time (I have eaten my steak.); for activities which started in the past, but continue into the present (I have eaten steak all my life.); and for the recent past with no specific time reference (I have found a great new butcher shop.)

The present perfect

1. Maria sang for 2 hours. (simple past)
2. Maria has sang for two hours. (present perfect) This shows that-- (1) Maria has stopped singing; (2) Maria is still singing.

Action that started in the past and lead up to and include the present	To show habitual or continued action	Describes events occurring at an indefinite or unspecified time in the past --used with "ever, never, before"
He has entertained for a long time.	He has lived in Mexico City all his life.	Have you ever seen a purple cow?

Infinitives have perfect tense forms also when combined with "have." The perfect tense sets up a sequence by marking the action which began and usually was completed before the action in the main verb.

1. Loretta is sad to have missed the circus.
2. Jonathan had wanted to have gone on vacation, but he couldn't afford the trip.

The action of the main verb points back in time.

Simple Past

The simple past is used for actions which began and ended in the past. For regular verbs, the simple past is formed by adding -ed to the base form.

Completed Action	Completed Condition
Jane called the doctor last week.	The snowstorm was over by midnight.

Past Perfect

The past perfect tense shows action in the past just as simple past does, but the action of the past perfect is action completed in the past before another action. It is also used in hypothetical statements, such as "If she had gone to the party, she would have met the man of her dreams."

1. Randy danced for hours. (past)
2. Randy sang for the crowd after he had danced for them. (past perfect)
Randy danced before he sang for the crowd.

1. Renee cooked breakfast when her guests arrived. ( past)
2. Renee had cooked breakfast when her guests arrived. (past perfect)
In (1), she waited until the guests arrived and then cooked breakfast. In (2), she had already finished cooking by the time they arrived.

To describe an event or condition completed before another event in the past	In reported speech	Expressing condition and result
When Samuel called Angela, she had already left.	Donald said that he had reviewed the report.	If Larry had gone to the store, he would have seen the accident.*

*Notice: There can be only one "would have" action group in a sentence.

Simple Future

Future tense shows an action that is in the future (relative to the speaker or writer). There are no special spellings or forms for future tense English. The future tense is instead formed by using will or shall with the base form of the verb:

1. Philip will arrive in an hour.

2. They shall beat the odds and win.

The future can also be formed with the use "go" plus the infinitive of the verb:

1. Susan is going to take a nap.

With will/won't -- Activity or event that will or won't exist or happen in the future

With going to -- future in relation to circumstances in the present

With "to be" + an infinitive--a sense of planning, a command,

With "about", "liable", "certain"--a sense of approaching or unavoidable fulfillment.

Goldie won't kick the table again.

She'll scream when she is angry.

She is going to be late if she doesn't hurry.

Craig is to be a prime witness in the court case.

"You are to be back when the clock strikes 12," said the fairy godmother.

"We who are about to die salute you!"

Andy is liable to get caught if he keeps looking through windows.

I am certain that I can think of no more sentences!

Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense expresses action that will have been completed some time in the future. It is formed with "will" + "have" + the past participle of the verb

1. Next week Annie will finish her painting. (simple future)
2. By November, Jon will have consumed 12 cases of soda. (future perfect)

3. Arthur won't have said a single word by the end of the year. (future perfect)

Recap:

1. Gus borrows Monte's car. (present)
2. Gus has borrowed Monte's car. (present perfect)
3. Gus borrowed Monte's car. (past)
4. Gus had borrowed Monte's car after he wrecked his own. (past perfect)
5. Gus will borrow Monte's car. (future)

6. Gus will have borrowed Monte's car four times by the end of this month. (future perfect)

"Progressive" Tenses

The present progressive is the "ing" form of the verb with the present form of "be".

1. I am taking a bath.

Activity in Progress	Verbs of Perception
The ghost is moaning now.	He is feeling sad and lonely.

Present perfect progressive is formed by combining "have" with "been" and the "ing" form of the verb. Use it for activities that began in the past, but are still happening in the present.

1. I have been watching too much television.

To express duration of an action that began in the past, has continued into the present, and may continue into the future

Lola has been exercising for two hours, and she hasn't finished yet.

The past progressive is formed with the past form of "be" and the "ing" form of the verb. This tense describes a past action which was happening when another action occurred

1. I was driving when the car broke down.

Past Action that took place over a period of time	Past Action interrupted by another
Alex and May were arguing for 6 hours.	Milo was sleeping when the bed collapsed.

The past perfect progressive is formed by the past form of "have" with "been" and the "ing" form of the verb. It is used for activities in the past, frequently with the simple past.

Felicity had been swimming when the rain began.

The future progressive shows continuing action, something that will be happening at some point in the future. This tense is formed with "will" + "be" + the "ing" form of the verb.

Whitney will be reading to us again tonight.
CC never knows who will be joining the class by next week.

Future perfect progressive is formed by "will or shall' + been + the "ing" form of the verb. This tense describes a future, ongoing action that will occur before some specified future time.

In 2008, Aunt Tilly's English School will have been helping people for six years.

Summary:

Active Voice

VERB TENSE	FORMED BY:	EXAMPLE
Present	Base form of the verb	I chat. He chats.
Past	Simple past form of the verb	I chatted. She chatted
Future	Base form of the verb with 'will or shall'	I will chat. They will chat.
Present Progressive	Present form of be + [base form + -ing]	I am chatting. You are chatting.
Past Progressive	Past form of be + [base form + -ing]	I was chatting. They were chatting.
Future Progressive	'Will or shall' + be + [base form + ing]	I will be chatting. She will be chatting.
Present Perfect	Present form of have + past participle	I have chatted. You have chatted.
Past Perfect	Past form of have + past participle	I had chatted. We had chatted.
Future Perfect	Past participle form of the verb with "will or shall" + have	I will have chatted. He will have chatted.
Present Perfect Progressive	Present form of have + been + [base form + -ing]	I have been chatting. She has been chatting.
Past Perfect Progressive	Past form of have + been + [base form + -ing]	I had been chatting. They had been chatting.
Future Perfect Progressive	'Will or shall' +have +been +[base form + ing]	I will have been chatting. You will have been chatting.

Know Your Tenses Tenses Quiz

Sequence of Tenses With Infinitives and Participles

Infinitives and participles are also able to show the idea of action in time.

Infinitives

present infinitive

the infinitive shows same-time action or action after the verb's action

Murielle is anxious to start her new job. (She is anxious now, the starting will be later)

I am happy to see you. (I am happy now, the seeing is now)

present perfect infinitive

the infinitive shows action before the verb's action

She would like to have started Monday.

(would like is in the present, to have started describes something before that)

I would have liked to see you sooner.

(would have liked and to see are happening at the same time)

Participles

present participle

shows action happening at the same time as the verb's action

Listening carefully to CC, the class began to understand. (began is in the past, so is working)

past participle or

present past participle

shows action happening before the verb's action

Warned by Lindsay, the rude chatter knows to keep quiet. (knows is in the present, warned happened before that)

Having ignored Lindsay, the rude chatter was bounced. (having ignored took place before the chatter was bounced!)

Try these participle exercises:

Passive Voice

The passive voice means that the subject of the sentence is not the thing "doing" the action of the verb. "The accident upset me." (active voice). "I was upset by the accident." (passive voice). It can be used with inanimate objects, or to change the main focus of the sentence . Every verb "tense" in English has a passive form. Please use the passive voice sparingly. Often the sentences are awkward and weak, as you can see by the examples below.

Passive Voice: When the active object becomes the passive subject.

VERB TENSE	FORMED BY:	EXAMPLE
Present	am/is/are (present form of 'be') + past participle	The dog is walked. . .
Past	was/were (past form of 'be') + past participle	The dog was walked. . .
Present Progressive	am/is/are + being + past participle	The dog is being walked. . .
Past Progressive	was/were + being + past participle	The dog was being walked. . .
Present Perfect	have been/has been + past participle	The dog has been walked. . .
Past Perfect	had been + past participle	The dog had been walked. . .
Present Perfect Progressive	has been + being + past participle	The dog has been being walked. . .
Past Perfect Progressive	had been + being + past participle	The dog had been being walked. . .
Simple Future	Modal + be + past participle	The dog will be walked. . ./is going to be walked/can be walked/ may be walked/might be walked/should be walked/ought to be walked/had better be walked/must be walked/has to be walked/is supposed to be walked. . .
Future Progressive	Modal + be + being + past participle	The dog will be being walked. . ./is going to be being walked/can be being/may be being/might be being/should be being/ought to be being/had better be being/must be being/has better be being/is supposed to be being. . .
Future Perfect	Modal + have + been + past participle	The dog will have been walked. . ./should have been/ought to have been/was supposed to have been/may have been/might have been/has to have been, etc.
Future Perfect Progressive	Modal + have + been + present participle	The dog will have been being walked. . ./ (see the other Future examples for modals)

Note: any of these can be made negative by adding "not" to the verb.

Active vs. Passive

	ACTIVE	PASSIVE
Simple Present	Eric buys a lot of books.	A lot of books are bought by Eric.
Past	Janet made a huge meal.	A huge meal was made by Janet.
Future	Pete will pick up the car tomorrow.	The car will be picked up tomorrow by Pete.
Present Progressive	The teacher is giving a lecture.	A lecture is being given by the teacher.
Past Progressive	Will was completing his degree.	Will's degree was being completed.
Future Progressive	I will be raking leaves all weekend.	The leaves will be raked by me all weekend.
Present Perfect	He has made the reservations.	The reservations have been made by him.
Past Perfect	Mike had eaten too much junk food.	Too much junk food had been eaten by Mike.
Future Perfect	By Monday we will have attended three parties.	By Monday, three parties will have been attended.
Present Perfect Progressive	Bill has been biking today.	Biking has been done today by Bill.
Past Perfect Progressive	The class had been selling magazines.	Magazines had been sold by the class.
Future Perfect Progressive	He will have been being marathon walking three years next March.	Marathon walking will have been being done by him three years next March.

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