What can verbs do? Tell stories. Make up excuses. Help you lie to your boss. Explain what crazy thing your dog did last night. Make your ex-boyfriend jealous. Give directions. Ask questions. Explain a recipe. Write song lyrics. Recap a season for your friend who fell behind. And much, much, more.
Verbs, or action words, play an essential role in every sentence. Knowledge of the verb tenses will allow you to develop clear, complex action sequences, convey timelines, and even manipulate time by slowing it down, speeding up, and using flashbacks and flashforwards. Each verb comes in either past tense, present tense, or future tense, and each of these categories has four variations, totaling twelve verb tenses in the English language.
In general, the past tense applies to verbs that took place in the past (ran away, went to school, told the truth), the present tense applies to verbs that take place in the present (walk home, take the bus, rent my house), and the future tense applies to verbs that will happen in the future (will travel to Scotland, am going to eat my dinner).
Present Tenses
1. Present simple: Indicates an action that happens continually in the present
I like ice cream.
2. Present progressive (present continuous): Indicates that an action is happening now
Randy is running a marathon.
3. Present perfect: Expresses an action that began in the past but has present consequences
My teammates have given up on winning.
4. Present perfect progressive/continuous: Indicates an action that began in the past and continues presently
Randy has been crying since 8 am.
Past Tenses
1. Past simple (preterite): Indicates an action completed in the past
My dog ate my homework.
2. Past progressive (past continuous): Refers to a continuing action that completed in the past
The teacher was chuckling as he walked into class.
3. Past perfect: Refers to an action that happened earlier than before now
I had climbed 45 different peaks before facing Everest.
4. Past perfect progressive/continuous: Expresses an action that started in the past and continued to another point in the past
We had been walking for hours when we finally hitched a ride.
Future Tenses
1. Simple future: Indicates an action that will begin and end in the future
Our team will win a championship this season.
2. Future progressive (future continuous): Expresses an event that will begin in the future and continue for an expected length of time.
I will be working from about 11 am to 4 pm.
3. Future perfect: Refers to an action that will have been completed by some point in the future
My brother’s flight will have landed by then.
4. Future perfect progressive/continuous: Describes actions that will continue up until a point in the future
Timothy will have been sleeping for 12 hours straight at that point.
Verb Conjugations: Regular and Irregular Verbs
When we change a verb based on its tense, we also must consider if the subject doing the verb is singular or plural, because this affects how we conjugate, or change, the verb. While tenses have general rules about how to translate base verbs, irregular verbs don’t always play by the same rules as regular verbs. Irregular verbs, both for plural and singular subjects, have a unique set of conjugations, so when you change verbs based on tense, consider also if the verb is regular or irregular.
Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern when they conjugate (like add -ing, -s, or -ed).
Verb→Past simple
work→worked; jump→jumped; play→played
Verb→Present simple
hit→hits; ask→asks; enjoy→enjoys
Irregular verbs have unexpected changes, even to the root verb, when they conjugate.
Verb→Past simple
be→was; do→did; say→said; have→had
Present simple
be→is; have→has
Each verb tense page gives a few examples of irregular verbs, but when you conjugate your verbs, it helps to remain aware if the verb is regular or irregular.
As you can see, verb tenses pop up all the time in writing. Luckily, the more time you spend reading and writing, the easier it becomes to know which verb tense to use, and when. As you move forward in your writing journey, enjoy all the action variations that verb tenses unlock for a writer.
