Basic Forms of the Six Tenses

English

Mr. Price

Name:

Period:

Verb Tenses

• In ______and ______, you often need to indicate when something happens—now, yesterday, or tomorrow. In English, the different ______of ______are used to show when something occurs.

• What is a tense?

• Recognizing the Six Tenses of Verbs

-Verbs have six tenses that ______whether something is happening now, was happening at some time in the ______, or will be happening at some time in the______. Each of these tenses can be expressed in two different forms: ______and ______.

Basic Forms of the Six Tenses

She skis for a hobby.
She skied every day last year.
She will ski again this year.
She has skied at many different resorts.
She had skied when she was only three years old.
She will have skied ten times this season by Valentine’s Day.

•The basic forms are identified simply by their ______. The ______, however, are identified by their tense names plus the word progressive.

•The next chart gives examples of the six tenses in their progressive form. Note that all these forms end in ______.

Progressive Forms of the Six Tenses

She is skiing down a mountain now.
She was skiing yesterday morning.
She will be skiing again very soon.
She has been skiing for years.
She had been skiing when she broke her leg.
She will have been skiing for a decade by the end of this year.

• Give it a Shot!

-Use tenses of the same verb in three sentences about making a sand castle—yesterday, today and tomorrow. Take note of how the verb changes from sentence to sentence.

1.

2.

3.

• Give it a Shot!

-Underline the verb or verb phrase in each sentence. Then, identify the tense and form of each verb. Be careful to avoid choosing words that look like verbs but are acting as other parts of speech.

1. Skiing has become a very popular winter sport.

Tense:

1. By the twenty-first century, people had skied for thousands of years.

Tense:

1. Millions of people worldwide are skiing for recreation.

Tense:

1. This article describes the two types of recreational skiing, alpine and nordic.

Tense:

1. Alpine, or downhill, skiing developed in the late 1800’s as a way of moving down snow-covered slopes.

Tense:

1. In alpine skiing, people have been using lifts as transportation to the top of a slope.

Tense:

1. Before alpine skiing, some skiers will have tried Nordic, or cross-country, skiing.

Tense:

1. Most Nordic skiers will ski on flat trails prepared for convenience.

Tense:

1. Many people have taken lessons from professionals.

Tense:

1. By the end of the day, many people will have been skiing for hours.

Tense: