Tense over Verb Tenses?
There are six verb tenses that are commonly used in the English language.
- Present – action occurring right now
- Past – action that has passed
- Future – action that has yet to take place in the future
- Present Perfect – action in past time in relation to present time
- Past Perfect – action in past time in relation to another past time
- Future Perfect – action in a future time in relation to another future time
Samples of Verb Tenses
Present Tense
First Person
Singular – I walk; Plural – we walk
Singular – I am; Plural – we are
Second Person
Singular -you walk; Plural – you walk
Singular – you are; Plural – you are
Third Person
Singular – he, she, it walks; Plural – they walk
Singular – he,she, it is; Plural – they are
Past Tense
First Person
Singular – I walked; Plural – we walked
Singular – I was; Plural – we were
Second Person
Singular – you walked; Plural – you walked
Singular – you were; Plural – you were
Third Person
Singular – he, she, it walked; Plural – they walked
Singular – he, she, it was; Plural – they were
Future Tense
First Person
Singular – I will walk; Plural – we will walk
Singular – I will be; Plural – we will be
Second Person
Singular – you will walk; Plural – you will walk
Singular – you will be; Plural – you will be
Third Person
Singular – he, she, it will walk; Plural – they will walk
Singular – he, she, it will be; Plural – they will be
Note: In the future tense, traditionally the word shall has been used for the word will in the first person singular and plural.
Example : I shall walk; we shall walk.
In modern usage, the word will has replaced shall.
Though both are correct, shall is now considered outdated and formal. Whether you choose to use the word shall or the word will is entirely personal preference. Shall we continue with our verb tenses?
Present Perfect Tense
First Person
Singular – I have walked; Plural – we have walked
Singular – I have been; Plural – we have been
Second Person
Singular – you have walked; Plural – you have walked
Singular – you have been; Plural – you have been
Third Person
Singular – he, she, it has walked; Plural – they have walked
Singular – he, she, it has been; Plural – they have been
Past Perfect Tense
First Person
Singular – I had walked; Plural – we had walked
Singular – I had been; Plural – we had been
Second Person
Singular – you had walked; Plural – you had walked
Singular – you had been; Plural – you had been
Third Person
Singular – he, she, it had walked; Plural – they had walked
Singular – he, she, it had been; Plural – they had been
Future Perfect Tense
First Person
Singular – I will have walked; Plural – we will have walked
Singular – I will have been; Plural – we will have been
Second Person
Singular – you will have walked; Plural – you will have walked
Singular – you will have been; Plural – you will have been
Third Person
Singular – he, she, it will have walked; Plural – they will have walked
Singular – he, she, it will have been; Plural – they will have been
Tense indicates when the action or state of being occurs. The present tense indicates action occurring now.
Example: She calls him on her cellphone.
An exception to the rule is when the present tense is used to indicate future actions.
Example: His airplane arrives this weekend.
To learn more about verb tenses, I highly suggest that you purchase a grammar book, either in print or e-book format. Though it is currently acceptable to ‘fudge’ some of the grammar rules (eg. ending a sentence with a preposition or beginning a sentence with a conjunction), it is still important to employ proper verb tenses in your writing to clearly communicate to your readers. Honestly, I can’t remember every single grammar rule. For me, I like to have the resources readily available to brush up on my grammar. I have to revisit this information from time to time – to pull it out of my long term memory – and remember relevant grammar rules.
Straighten Up and Fly Write 