Verb

Verbs define action. Verbs also define time. They tell if an action occurs in the present, the past or the future. They also tell if an action occurred in the past and is still occurring in the present. Verbs also tell if the subject is perfroming the action or the action is happening to the subject.

Tenses

Simple Present Tense The simple present tense describes actions that happen daily or on a regular basis. Here are some examples.

1. I drink coffee every morning.
2. She exercises once a week.
3. They meet for coffee every Friday morning.

Note: In the second sentence, the verb ends in "s". Verbs in the simple present tense, in the third person singular, end with "s". For example,

1. He drinks coffee.
2. She plays soccer.
3. It crawls slowly in the night.

In the third person singular, If the verb ends in "y" and a vowel precedes the "y", add "s". For example,

1. She plays guitar.
2. He stays in the country on weekends.

If the verb ends in "y" and a consonant precedes the "y", change the "y" to "i" and add "es". For example,

1. She studies all night.
2. He flies from Washington D.C. to Atlanta every weekend.

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Simple Past Tense The simple past tense describes an action that happened in the past. You may or may not know specifically when the action occurred in the past. You form the past tense by adding ed to the end of the verb. Here are some examples.

1. It crawled slowly in the night.
2. I worked last Saturday.
3. She explained the Algebra homework to me.

If the verb ends with an "e" just add "d".

1. I exercised last night.
2. He practiced piano until 2am.

If the verb ends with a consonant and a vowel precedes the consonant, for example the verb permit (the verb ends with "t" (consonant) and an "i" (vowel) precedes the "t") double the final consonant and add "ed". Here are some examples:

1. I permitted her to go to the concert.
2. She committed her campaign to environment issues.

If the verb ends in "y" and a vowel precedes the "y", add "ed". For example,

1. I played guitar at the party.
2. They stayed overnight.

If the verb ends in "y" and a consonant precedes the "y", change the "y" to "i" and add "ed". For example,

1. We studied in the library.
2. They partied all night.

Continuous/Progressive Tenses

• Present Continuous/Progressive Tense
• Past Continuous/Progressive Tense
• Future Continuous/Progressive Tense

Perfect Tenses

• Present Perfect
• Past Perfect
• Future Perfect