The Six Verb Tenses

The Six Verb Tenses

The tense of a verb shows its time. English has six verb tenses. Each of the six tenses has two forms: basic and progressive (also known as “perfect”). The basic form shows action, occurrence, or state of being that is taking place right here and now. The basic form also is the base for the future form (i.e., I will sleep; they will sleep).

The following chart shows the six forms for the verb to walk:

The tense of English verbs is formed from helping verbs and principal parts. Each English
verb has four main parts, as shown in the chart.

Principal Verb Parts

1. The present tense

The present is used to form the present tense (“I look”) and the future (“I will look”). English uses the helping verb will to show the future tense.

2. The present participle

The present participle forms all six of the progressive forms (“I am looking,” “I was looking,” and so on).

3. The past tense

The past forms only one tense, the past. As with the present tense, the principal part stands alone.

4. The past participle

The past participle forms the last three tenses: the present perfect (“I have looked”), the
past perfect (“I had looked”), and the future perfect (“I will have looked”). To form the
past participle, start with a helping verb such as is, are, was, has been. Then add the principal part of the verb.