28a. Appropriate form and tense

28aUse the appropriate verb form and tense.

This section offers a brief review of English verb forms and tenses. For additional help, see 27 and 46c.

Basic verb forms

Every main verb in English has five forms, which are used to create all of the verb tenses in Standard English. The following chart shows these forms for the regular verb help and the irregular verbs give and be. See 27a for a list of other common irregular verbs.

Basic verb forms

regular verb help irregular verb give irregular verb be*
base form help give be
past tense helped gave was, were
past participle helped given been
present participle helping giving being
-s form helps gives is

*Be also has the forms am and are, which are used in the present tense.

Verb tenses

Section 27f describes all the verb tenses in English, showing the forms of a regular verb, an irregular verb, and the verb be in each tense. The following chart provides more details about the tenses commonly used in the active voice in writing; the chart in 28b gives details about tenses commonly used in the passive voice.

Verb tenses commonly used in the active voice

For descriptions and examples of all verb tenses, see 27f. For verb tenses commonly used in the passive voice, see the chart in 28b.

Simple tensesFor general facts, states of being, habitual actions

Simple present Base form or -s form
  • general facts
 College students often study late at night.
  • states of being
 Water becomes steam at 100 degrees centigrade.
  • habitual, repetitive actions
 We donate to a different charity each year.
  • scheduled future events
 The train arrives tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.

note: For uses of the present tense in writing about literature, see page 352.

Simple past Base form + -ed or -d or irregular form
  • completed actions at a specific time in the past
 The storm destroyed their property. She drove to Montana three years ago.
  • facts or states of being in the past
 When I was young, I usually walked to school with my sister.
Simple future will + base form
  • future actions, promises, or predictions
 I will exercise tomorrow. The snowfall will begin around midnight.

Simple progressive formsFor continuing actions

Present progressive am, is, are + present participle
  • actions in progress at the present time, not continuing indefinitely
 The students are taking an exam in Room 105. The valet is parking the car.
  • future actions (with leave, go, come, move, etc.)
 I am leaving tomorrow morning.
Past progressive was, were + present participle
  • actions in progress at a specific time in the past
 They were swimming when the storm struck.
  • was going to, were going to for past plans that did not happen
 We were going to drive to Florida for spring break, but the car broke down.

note: Some verbs are not normally used in the progressive: appear, believe, belong, contain, have, hear, know, like, need, see, seem, taste, understand, and want.

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Perfect tensesFor actions that happened before another present or past time

Present perfect has, have + past participle
  • repetitive or constant actions that began in the past and continue to the present
 I have loved cats since I was a child. Alicia has worked in Kenya for ten years.
  • actions that happened at an unknown or unspecific time in the past
 Stephen has visited Wales three times.
Past perfect had + past participle
  • actions that began or occurred before another time in the past
 She had just crossed the street when the runaway car crashed into the building.

note: For more on the past perfect, see 27f. For uses of the past perfect in conditional sentences, see 28e.

Perfect progressive formsFor continuous past actions before another present or past time

Present perfect progressive has, have + been + present participle
  • continuous actions that began in the past and continue to the present
 Yolanda has been trying to get a job in Boston for five years.
Past perfect progressive had + been + present participle
  • actions that began and continued in the past until another past action
 By the time I moved to Georgia, I had been supporting myself for five years.