Verb

Verbs constitute one of the main word classes in the English language. Like other types of words in the language, English verbs are not heavily inflected. Most combinations of tense, aspect, mood and voice are expressed periphrastically, using constructions with auxiliary verbs.

Generally, the only inflected forms of an English verb are a third person singular present tense form in -s, a past tense, a past participle (which may be the same as the past tense), and a form ending in -ing that serves as a present participle and gerund. Most verbs inflect in a simple regular fashion, although there are about 200 irregular verbs; the irregularity in nearly all cases concerns the past tense and past participle forms. The copula verb be has a larger number of different inflected forms, and is highly irregular.

A typical English verb may have five different inflected forms:

• The base form or plain form (go, write, climb), which has several uses—as an infinitive, imperative, present subjunctive, and present indicative except in the third-person singular
• The -s form (goes, writes, climbs), used as the present indicative in the third-person singular
• the past tense or preterite (went, wrote, climbed)
• The past participle (gone, written, climbed) – this is identical to the past tense in the case of regular verbs and some irregular ones (here the first two verbs are irregular and the third regular)
• The -ing form (going, writing, climbing), used as a present participle, gerund, and (de)verbal nounThe verb be has a larger number of different forms (am, is, are, was, were, etc.), while the modal verbs have a more limited number of forms.

Some forms of be and of certain other auxiliary verbs also have contracted forms ( 's, 're, 've, etc.).

In English, verbs frequently appear in combinations containing one or more auxiliary verbs and a nonfinite form (infinitive or participle) of a main (lexical) verb.

Examples

The first verb in such a combination is the finite verb, the remainder are nonfinite (although constructions in which even the leading verb is nonfinite are also possible – see below). Such combinations are sometimes called compound verbs; more technically they may be called verb catenae, since they are not generally strict grammatical constituents of the clause.

• The dog was barking very loudly.
• My hat has been cleaned.
• Jane does not really like us.

As the last example shows, the words making up these combinations do not always remain consecutive.

Tenses, Aspects and Moods

The means English uses for expressing the three categories of tense (time reference), aspect and mood are somewhat conflated. English has only limited means for expressing these categories through verb conjugation, and tends mostly to express them periphrastically, using the verb combinations mentioned in the previous section. The tenses, aspects and moods that may be identified in English are described below (although the terminology used differs significantly between authors). Note that in common usage, particular tense–aspect–mood combinations such as "present progressive" and "conditional perfect" are often referred to simply as "tenses".

Irregular Verbs

The English language has a large number of irregular verbs, approaching 200 in normal use—and significantly more if prefixed forms are counted. In most cases, the irregularity concerns the past tense (also called preterite or the past participle.

The other inflected parts of the verb—the third person singular present indicative in -[e]s, and the present participle and gerund form in -ing—are formed regularly in most cases. There are a few exceptions: the verb be has irregular forms throughout the present tense; the verbs have, do, go and say have irregular -[e]s forms; and certain defective verbs (such as the modal auxiliaries) lack most inflection.

The irregular verbs include many of the most common verbs: the dozen most frequently used English verbs are all irregular. New verbs (including loans from other languages, and nouns employed as verbs) usually follow the regular inflection, unless they are compound formations from an existing irregular verb (such as housesit, from sit).

Irregular verbs in Modern English typically derive from verbs that followed more regular patterns at a previous stage in the history of the language. In particular, many such verbs derive from Germanic strong verbs, which make many of their inflected forms through vowel gradation, as can be observed in Modern English patterns such as sing–sang–sung. The regular verbs, on the other hand, with their preterites and past participles ending in -ed, follow the weak conjugation, which originally involved adding a dental consonant (-t or -d). Nonetheless, there are also many irregular verbs that follow or partially follow the weak conjugation.

For information on the conjugation of regular verbs in English, as well as other points concerning verb usage, see verbs.

Strong Verbs

A large number of the irregular verbs derive from Germanic strong verbs, which display the vowel shift called ablaut, and do not add an ending such as -ed or -t for the past forms. These sometimes retain past participles with the ending -[e]n, as in give–gave–given and ride–rode–ridden, but in other cases this ending has been dropped, as in come–came–come and sing–sang–sung. This verb group was inherited from the parent Proto-Germanic language, and before that from the Proto-Indo-European language. It was originally a system of regular verbs, and in modern German the system remains more or less regular; however in Modern English relatively few verbs continue to follow such a pattern, and they are classed as irregular.

Verbs that retain a strong-type inflection in modern English and add -[e]n in the past participle include bear, beat, beget, bite, blow, break, choose, cleave, draw, drive, eat, fall, fly, forbid, forget, forsake, freeze, give, grow, know, lie, ride, rise, see, shake, shear, slay, smite, speak, steal, stride, strive, swear, take, tear, throw, tread, wake, weave, and write.

Those that do not add -[e]n in the usual past participle include become, begin, bind, burst, cling, come, drink, fight, find, fling, get (but with past participle gotten in American English), grind, hang, hold, let, ring, run, seek, shed, shine, shit, shoot, shrink, sing, sink, sit, slide, sling, slink, slit, spin, spring, stand, sting, stink, strike, swim, swing, win, wind and wring.

The verbs sow and swell are now usually regular in the past tense, but retain the strong-type past participles sown and swollen. Other verbs retain participles in -n for certain adjectival uses, such as drunken and sunken. The verb crow is now regular in the past participle, but the strong past tense crew is sometimes used.

Some originally weak verbs have taken on strong-type forms by analogy with strong verbs. These include dig, dive (when dove is used as the past tense), hide, mow, prove (when proven is used as the past participle), saw (past participle sawn), sew (past participle sewn), show (past participle shown), spit, stick, strew, string, and wear (analogy with bear).

Weak Verbs

Some other irregular verbs derive from Germanic weak verbs, forming past tenses and participles with a -d or -t ending (or from originally strong verbs that have switched to the weak pattern). The weak conjugation is also the origin of the regular verbs in -ed; however various historical sound changes (and sometimes spelling changes) have led to certain types of irregularity in some verbs. The main processes are as follows (some verbs have been subject to more than one of these).

• Some weak verbs with long vowels in their present tense stems (such as keep) took a short vowel in the past tense and past participle (kept).
• In some weak verbs ending in a final -t or -d, this final consonant coalesced (contracted) with the weak past ending to leave a single -t or -d in the past forms.
• Some verbs ending in l or n had their past ending irregularly devoiced to -t, and in a few verbs ending with a v or z sound (leave, lose), both that sound and the past ending were devoiced. (The regular ending -ed is also devoiced after voiceless consonants in regular verbs, as described under, but this is not now shown in the spelling – for example, the -ed in blessed and whipped is pronounced as a t, and these words were formerly written blest and whipt. The spelling -t following a voiceless consonant is retained for verbs that display an irregularity, as in kept and cost.)
• Some weak verbs continue the vowel shift called Rückumlaut ("reverse umlaut"); those with -gh- in the spelling were also affected by the Germanic spirant law.
• A few weak verbs have undergone additional contractions or vowel shortenings in their past or present tense forms.
• A few verbs are regular in their spoken forms, but have irregular spelling.

The irregular weak verbs (being in normal use) can consequently be grouped as follows:

For weak verbs that have adopted strong-type past tense or past participle forms, see the section above on strong verbs.

More information on the development of some of the listed verbs can be found at List of irregular verbs.

• Verbs with vowel shortening: creep, flee, hear, keep, leap, shoe (when shod is used), sleep, sweep and weep. (Of these, creep, flee, leap, sleep and weep derive from verbs that were originally strong.)
• Verbs with vowel shortening and devoicing of the ending: deal, dream, feel, kneel, lean, leave, lose (originally strong) and mean. Some of the verbs in this and in the preceding group have alternative regular forms, such as dreamed and leaped.
• Verbs with coalescence of consonants: bet, bid, cast, cost, cut, fit, hit, hurt, knit, put, quit, rid, set, shed, shut, split, spread, thrust, wed and wet. Some of these verbs have alternative regular forms, such as wedded and wetted. (The verb hoist behaves similarly to verbs in this group, but this was originally itself a past form of the now obsolete verb hoise; similarly clad was originally – and sometimes still is – a past form of clothe.)
• Verbs with coalescence of consonants and devoicing of the ending: bend, build, lend, rend, send, spend.
• Verbs with coalescence of consonants and vowel shortening: bleed, breed, feed, lead, light, meet, read (past tense and past participle also spelt read, but pronounced with a short vowel), and speed.
• Verbs with devoicing of the ending and no other irregularity: burn, dwell, learn, smell, spell, spill and spoil. Most of these have regular -ed forms as alternatives.
• Verbs continuing the Rückumlaut pattern: bring–brought, buy–bought, seek–sought, sell–sold, teach–taught, tell–told, and think–thought. The borrowed verb catch (caught) has also fallen into this pattern as a result of analogy.
• Verbs with additional contractions and shortenings: have–has–had, make–made, say–says–said (where says and said are pronounced with a short vowel ). (The verb do has a similar vowel shortening in does and done)
• Verbs irregular only in spelling: lay–laid, pay–paid (although in the meaning "let out", of a rope etc., pay may have the regular spelling payed).

Anomalous Cases

The following verbs do not fit exactly into any of the above categories:

• The modal verbs, which are defective verbs – they have only a present indicative form and (in some cases) a preterite, lacking nonfinite forms (infinitives, participles, gerunds), imperatives, and subjunctives (although some uses of the preterites are sometimes identified as subjunctives). Moreover, they do not add -s in the third person singular – this is because they derive either from preterites, or from Germanic preterite-present verbs, which were conjugated using the (strong-type) preterite form with present tense meaning. (Additional "true" preterites with past tense meaning were formed with the addition of dentals in the manner of the weak verbs.) The chief verbs of this class are can–could, may–might, shall–should, will–would, and must and ought (These last two have no preterites. They were originally preterites themselves). There are also dare and need, which follow the same pattern (no -s) in some contexts: "Dare he jump? She needn't worry" (dare derives from a preterite-present verb, but need is from an Old English regular verb).
• Two verbs (be and go) that contain suppletive forms, i.e. one or more of their parts came from an entirely different root. With go this applies to the past tense went, which is originally from the verb wend. With be it applies to a number of different forms. Derived from be is the defective verb beware, which does not inflect in normal use and which appears only in those forms in which the plain form of be would be used, namely the infinitive, the imperative, and the subjunctive.
• The verb do, which has the reduplicated form did for its past tense (an irregularity that can be traced back to Proto-Germanic). Its past participle done can be compared to typical strong participles in -[e]n; however both this and the third person present tense does feature a short vowel in modern pronunciation.

Verbs With Irregular Present Tenses

Apart from the modal verbs, which are irregular in that they do not take an -s in the third person, the only verbs with irregular present tense forms are be, do, have and say (and prefixed forms of these, such as undo and gainsay, which conjugate in the same way as the basic forms).

The verb be has multiple irregular forms. In the present indicative it has am in the first person singular, is in the third person singular, and are in the plural and second person singular. (Its present subjunctive is be, as in "I suggest that you be extremely careful", though that is not irregular, as all verbs use the infinitive/imperative form for the present subjunctive.) It also has two past tense forms: was for the first and third persons singular, and were for the plural and second person singular (although there are certain subjunctive uses in which were can substitute for was). The past participle is been, and the present participle and gerund forms are regular: being.

As mentioned above, apart from its other irregularities, the verb do has the third person present indicative does pronounced with a short vowel.

The verb have has a contracted third person present indicative form: has. This is formed similarly to the verb's past tense had.

The verb say displays vowel shortening in the third person present indicative (although the spelling is regular): says . The same shortening occurs in the past form said . (Compare the diphthong in the plain form say .)

Coincident Forms

In regular English verbs, the past tense and past participle have the same form. This is also true of most irregular verbs that follow a variation of the weak conjugation, as can be seen in the list below. Differences between the past tense and past participle (as in sing–sang–sung, rise–rose–risen) generally appear in the case of verbs that continue the strong conjugation, or in a few cases weak verbs that have acquired strong-type forms by analogy—as with show (regular past tense showed, strong-type past participle shown). However, even some strong verbs have identical past tense and participle, as in cling–clung–clung.

In some verbs, the past tense, past participle, or both are identical in form to the basic (infinitive) form of the verb. This is the case with certain strong verbs, where historical sound changes have led to a leveling of the vowel modifications: for example, let has both past tense and past participle identical to the infinitive, while come has the past participle identical (but a different past tense, came). The same is true of the verbs listed above under as having undergone coalescence of final consonants (and without other irregularities such as vowel shortening or devoicing of the ending): bet, bid, etc. (these verbs have infinitive, past tense and past participle all identical, although some of them also have alternative regular forms in -ed). The verb read has the same spelling in all three forms, but not the same pronunciation, as it exhibits vowel shortening.

In a few cases the past tense of an irregular verb has the same form as the infinitive of a different verb. For example, bore and found may be past tenses of bear and find, but may also represent independent (regular) verbs of different meaning. Another example is lay, which may be the past tense of lie, but is also an independent verb (regular in pronunciation, but with irregular spelling: lay–laid–laid). In fact lay derives from a causative of the verb from which lie derives. The two verbs are sometimes confused, with lay used in the intransitive senses prescriptively reserved for lie.

Prefixed Verbs

Nearly all of the basic irregular verbs are single-syllable words. (Their irregular inflected forms are normally single-syllable also, except for the past participles in -en like chosen and risen.) However many additional irregular verbs are formed by adding prefixes to the basic ones: understand from stand, become from come, mistake from take, and so on. (These prefixed forms are generally omitted from the list below, but a large number appear in the table at List of English irregular verbs.) As a general rule, prefixed verbs are conjugated identically to the corresponding basic verbs; for example, we have understand–understood–understood and become–became–become, following the patterns of stand–stood–stood and come–came–come. However, there are occasional differences: in British English, for instance, the past participle of get is got, while that of forget is forgotten.

Only a few irregular verbs of more than one syllable cannot be analyzed as prefixed compounds of monosyllables. The only ones in normal use are begin–began–begun and forsake–forsook–forsaken (these both derive from prefixed verbs whose unprefixed forms have not survived into Modern English). There is also beseech–besought–besought (this is from Old English besēcan "to seek or inquire about", making it equivalent to be- + seek, but it has moved away from seek in both form and meaning); however the form besought is now archaic, the verb normally being conjugated regularly (beseeched).

List

The following is a list of 204 irregular verbs that are commonly used in standard modern English. It omits many rare, dialectal, and archaic forms, as well as most verbs formed by adding prefixes to basic verbs (unbend, understand, mistake, etc.).

It also omits past participle forms that remain in use only adjectivally (clad, sodden, etc.).

The list that follows shows the base, or infinitive form, the past tense and the past participle of the verb.

• a- : for abide, arise, awake, see bide, rise, wake
• be (am, is, are) – was, were – been
• be- : for become, befall, beset, etc. see come, fall, set, etc.
• bear – bore – borne spelt born in passive and adjectival uses relating to birth
• beat – beat – beaten
• beget – begot – begot(ten) Biblical past tense: begat
• begin – began – begun
• bend – bent – bent
• bet – bet – bet past tense and participle also sometimes betted
• beware – defective verb see anomalous cases above
• bid – bid – bid as in an auction
• bid – bade/bid – bidden/bid meaning "request"
• bide – bided/bode – bided/bidden but abide mostly uses the regular forms only
• bind – bound – bound
• bite – bit – bitten
• bleed – bled – bled
• blow – blew – blown
• break – broke – broken
• breed – bred – bred
• bring – brought – brought
• build – built – built
• burn – burnt/burned – burnt/burned
• burst – burst – burst
• buy – bought – bought
• can – could defective; see anomalous cases above
• cast – cast – cast prefixed forms broadcast, forecast, etc. sometimes take -ed
• catch – caught – caught
• choose – chose – chosen
• clad – clad/cladded – clad/cladded clad is also sometimes used as past form of clothe
• cleave – clove/cleft – cloven/cleft but regular when meaning "adhere"
• cling – clung – clung
• come – came – come
• cost – cost – cost but regular when meaning "calculate the cost of"
• creep – crept/creeped – crept/creeped
• crow – crowed/crew – crowed crew normally used only of a cock's crowing
• cut – cut – cut
• dare – regular except for possible third person singular present dare (see anomalous cases above)
• deal – dealt – dealt
• dig – dug – dug
• dive – dived/dove – dived the form dove is chiefly American
• do (does ) – did – done
• drag – dragged/drug – dragged/drug* the form drug is chiefly dialectal
• draw – drew – drawn
• dream – dreamed/dreamt – dreamed/dreamt
• drink – drank – drunk
• drive – drove – driven
• dwell – dwelt/dwelled – dwelt/dwelled
• eat – ate – eaten
• fall – fell – fallen
• feed – fed – fed
• feel – felt – felt
• fight – fought – fought
• find – found – found
• fit – fit/fitted – fit/fitted
• flee – fled – fled
• fling – flung – flung
• fly – flew – flown the form flied is common in the baseball sense
• for(e)- : for forgo, foresee, etc. see go, see, etc.
• forbid – forbade/forbid – forbidden
• forget – forgot – forgotten
• forsake – forsook – forsaken
• freeze – froze – frozen
• get – got – gotten/got past participle got in British English, gotten in American, but see have got*
• gild – gilded/gilt – gilded/gilt
• give – gave – given
• go) – went – gone see also have been
• grind – ground – ground
• grow – grew – grown
• hang – hung/hanged – hung/hanged* the form hanged is more common in the sense of execution by hanging
• have (has) – had – had
• hear – heard – heard
• hew – hewed – hewn/hewed
• hide – hid – hidden
• hit – hit – hit
• hoist – hoist/hoisted – hoist/hoisted
• hold – held – held
• hurt – hurt – hurt
• in- : for inlay, input, etc. see lay, put, etc.
• inter- : for interlay, interweave, etc. see lay, weave, etc.
• keep – kept – kept
• kneel – knelt/kneeled – knelt/kneeled
• knit – knit/knitted – knit/knitted
• know – knew – known
• lay – laid – laid
• lead – led – led
• lean – leaned/leant – leaned/leant
• leap – leaped/leapt – leaped/leapt
• learn – learned/learnt – learned/learnt
• leave – left – left
• lend – lent – lent
• let – let – let
• lie – lay – lain but regular when meaning "tell an untruth"
• light – lit/lighted – lit/lighted
• lose – lost – lost
• make – made – made
• may – might defective; see anomalous cases above
• mean – meant – meant
• meet – met – met
• mis- : for misspeak, mistake, etc. see speak, take, etc.
• mow – mowed – mowed/mown
• must – defective see anomalous cases above
• need – regular except for possible third person singular present need (see anomalous cases above)
• off- : for offset see set, etc.
• ought – defective see anomalous cases above
• out- : for outbid, output, etc. see bid, put, etc.
• over- : for overbid, overdo, etc. see bid, do, etc.
• pay – paid – paid but sometimes spelt regularly when meaning "let out" (rope etc.)
• plead – pleaded/pled – pleaded/pled
• pre- : for prepay, preset, etc. see pay, set, etc.
• prove – proved – proved/proven
• put – put – put
• quit – quit – quit
• re- : for redo, remake, etc. see do, make, etc.
• read – read – read
• rend – rent – rent
• rid – rid/ridded – rid/ridded/ridden
• ride – rode – ridden
• ring – rang – rung
• rise – rose – risen
• run – ran – run
• saw – sawed – sawn/sawed
• say (says ) – said – said
• see – saw – seen
• seek – sought – sought
• sell – sold – sold
• send – sent – sent
• set – set – set
• sew – sewed – sewn/sewed
• shake – shook – shaken
• shall – should defective; see anomalous cases above
• shear – sheared/shore – shorn/sheared
• shed – shed – shed
• shine – shone/shined – shone/shined
• shit – shat/shit/shitted – shat/shit/shitted
• shoe – shoed/shod – shoed/shod
• shoot – shot – shot
• show – showed – shown/showed
• shrink – shrank/shrunk – shrunk*
• shrive – shrove – shriven
• shut – shut – shut
• sing – sang – sung
• sink – sank – sunk
• sit – sat – sat
• slay – slew/slayed – slain/slayed
• sleep – slept – slept
• slide – slid – slid
• sling – slung – slung
• slink – slunk – slunk
• slit – slit – slit
• smell – smelled/smelt – smelled/smelt
• smite – smote – smitten
• sneak – sneaked/snuck – sneaked/snuck* snuck is chiefly American, is regarded as informal and is only cited from 1887
• sow – sowed – sown/sowed
• speak – spoke – spoken
• speed – sped/speeded – sped/speeded
• spell – spelled/spelt – spelled/spelt
• spend – spent – spent
• spill – spilled/spilt – spilled/spilt
• spin – spun – spun
• spit – spat/spit – spat/spit* the form spit rather than spat is common in America
• split – split – split
• spoil – spoiled/spoilt – spoiled/spoilt
• spread – spread – spread
• spring – sprang/sprung – sprung*
• stand – stood – stood
• stave – staved/stove – staved/stove
• steal – stole – stolen
• stick – stuck – stuck
• sting – stung – stung
• stink – stank – stunk
• strew – strewed – strewn/strewed
• stride – strode – stridden/strode
• strike – struck – struck/stricken
• string – strung – strung
• strive – strove/strived – striven/strived
• swear – swore – sworn
• sweat – sweated/sweat – sweated/sweat
• sweep – swept – swept
• swell – swelled – swollen/swelled
• swim – swam – swum
• swing – swung – swung
• take – took – taken
• teach – taught – taught
• tear – tore – torn
• tell – told – told
• think – thought – thought
• thrive - thrived/throve - thrived/thriven
• throw – threw – thrown
• thrust – thrust/thrusted – thrust/thrusted
• tread – trod – trodden/trod
• un- : for unbend, unweave, etc. see bend, weave, etc.
• under- : for underlie, undergo, understand, etc. see lie, go, stand, etc.
• up- : for upset see set, etc.
• wake – woke – woken
• wear – wore – worn
• weave – wove – woven
• wed – wed/wedded – wed/wedded
• weep – wept – wept
• wet – wet/wetted – wet/wetted
• will – would defective; see anomalous cases above
• win – won – won
• wind – wound – wound but regular in the meanings connected with air and breath
• with- : for withdraw, withhold, withstand, see draw, hold, stand
• wring – wrang/wrung – wrung*
• write – wrote – written

Simple Past

The simple past, past simple or past indefinite, sometimes called the preterite, is the basic form of the past tense in Modern English. It is used principally to describe events in the past, although it also has some other uses. Regular English verbs form the simple past in -ed; however there are a few hundred irregular verbs with different forms.

The term "simple" is used to distinguish the syntactical construction whose basic form uses the plain past tense alone, from other past tense constructions which use auxiliaries in combination with participles, such as the past perfect and past progressive.

Formation

Regular verbs form the simple past end-ed; however there are a few hundred irregular verbs with different forms. For details see.

Most verbs have a single form of the simple past, independent of the person or number of the subject (there is no addition of -s for the third person singular as in the simple present).

However, the copula verb be has two past tense forms: was for the first and third persons singular, and were in other instances.

The form were can also be used in place of was in conditional clauses and the like; for information on this, see subjunctive.

This is the only case in modern English where a distinction in form is made between the indicative and subjunctive moods in the past tense.

Questions, other clauses requiring inversion, negations with not, and emphatic forms of the simple past use the auxiliary did.

A full list of forms is given below, using the (regular) verb help as an example:

• Basic simple past:
  • I/you/he/she/it/we/they helped
• Expanded (emphatic) simple past:
  • I/you/he/she/it/we/they did help
• Question form:
  • Did I/you/he/she/it/we/they help?
• Negative:
  • I/you/he/she/it/we/they did not (didn't) help
• Negative question:
  • Did I/you/he/she/it/we/they not help? / Didn't I/you/he/she/it/we/they help?

Usage

The simple past is used for a single event (or sequence of such events) in the past, and also for past habitual action:

• He took the money and ran.
• I visited them every day for a year.

It can also refer to a past state:

• I knew how to fight even as a child.

For action that was ongoing at the time referred to, the past progressive is generally used instead (e.g. I was cooking). The same can apply to states, if temporary (e.g. the ball was lying on the sidewalk), but some stative verbs do not generally use the progressive aspect at all, and in these cases the simple past is used even for a temporary state:

• The dog was in its kennel.

However, with verbs of sensing, it is common in such circumstances to use could see in place of saw, could hear in place of heard, etc.

• I felt cold.

If one action interrupts another, then it is usual for the interrupted (ongoing) action to be expressed with the past progressive, and the action that interrupted it to be in the simple past:

• Your mother called while you were cooking.

The simple past is often close in meaning to the present perfect.

The simple past is used when the event happened at a particular time in the past, or during a period which ended in the past (i.e. a period that does not last up until the present time).

This time frame may be explicitly stated, or implicit in the context (for example the past tense is often used when describing a sequence of past events).

• I was born in 1980.
• We turned the oven off two minutes ago.
• I came home at 6 o'clock.
• When did they get married?
• We wrote two letters this morning.
• She placed the letter on the table, sighed, and left the house.Contrast these examples with those given at.

Note also that for past actions that occurred before the relevant past time frame, the past perfect is used.

Various compound constructions exist for denoting past habitual action.

The sentence When I was young, I played football every Saturday might alternatively be phrased using used to (... I used to play ...) or using would (... I would play...).

The simple past also has some uses in which it does not refer to a past time.

• If he walked faster, he would get home earlier.
• I wish I knew what his name was.

These are generally in condition clauses and some other dependent clauses referring to hypothetical circumstances, as well as certain expressions of wish:

• He said he wanted to go on the slide.

Past Progressive

The past progressive or past continuous construction combines progressive aspect with past tense, and is formed using the past tense of be (was or were) with the present participle of the main verb.

It indicates an action that was ongoing at the past time being considered:

• At three o'clock yesterday, I was working in the garden. For stative verbs that do not use the progressive aspect, the simple past is used instead (At three o'clock yesterday we were in the garden).

The past progressive is often used to denote an action that was interrupted by an event, or for two actions taking place in parallel:

• While I was washing the dishes, I heard a loud noise.
• While you were washing the dishes, Sue was walking the dog.(Interrupted actions in the past can also sometimes be denoted using the past perfect progressive.)

The past progressive can also be used to refer to past action that occurred over a range of time and is viewed as an ongoing situation:

• I was working in the garden all day yesterday. That could also be expressed using the simple past, as I worked..., which implies that the action is viewed as a unitary event (although the effective meaning is not very different).

Past Perfect

The past perfect, sometimes called the pluperfect, combines past tense with perfect aspect; it is formed by combining had (the past tense of the auxiliary have) with the past participle of the main verb.

It is used when referring to an event that took place prior to the time frame being considered.

This time frame may be stated explicitly, as a stated time or the time of another past action:

• We had finished the job by 2 o'clock.
• He had already left when we arrived.

The time frame may also be understood implicitly from the previous or later context:

• I was eating ... I had invited Jim to the meal but he was unable to attend. (i.e. I invited him before I started eating)
• I had lost my way. (i.e. this happened prior to the time of the past events I am describing or am about to describe)

Compare He had left when we arrived (where his leaving preceded our arrival), with the form with the simple past, He left when we arrived (where his leaving was concurrent with or shortly after our arrival).

Note that unlike the present perfect, the past perfect can readily be used with an adverb specifying a past time frame for the occurrence.

For example, while it is incorrect to say I have done it last Friday (the use of last Friday, specifying the past time, would require the simple past rather than the present perfect), there is no such objection to a sentence like "I had done it the previous Friday".

The past perfect can also be used for states or repeated occurrences pertaining over a period up to a time in the past, particularly in stating "for how long" or since when". However, if the state is temporary and the verb can be used in the progressive aspect, the past perfect progressive would normally be used instead. Some examples with the plain past perfect:

• I had lived in that house for 10 years.
• The children had been in their room since lunchtime.

Past Perfect Progressive

The past perfect progressive or past perfect continuous (also known as the pluperfect progressive or pluperfect continuous) combines perfect progressive aspect with past tense.

It is formed by combining had (the past tense of auxiliary have), been (the past participle of be), and the present participle of the main verb.

Uses of the past perfect progressive are analogous to those of the present perfect progressive, except that the point of reference is in the past.

For example:

• I was tired because I had been running.
• By yesterday morning they had already been working for twelve hours.
• Among the witnesses was John Smith, who had been staying at the hotel since July 10.

This form is sometimes used for actions in the past that were interrupted by some event (compare the use of the past progressive as given above).

For example:

• I had been working on my novel when she entered the room to talk to me.

This implies that I stopped working when she came in (or had already stopped a short time before); the plain past progressive (I was working...) would not necessarily carry this implication.

If the verb in question does not use the progressive aspect, then the plain past perfect is used instead.

The past perfect progressive may also have additional specific uses similar to those of the plain past perfect.

Simple

"Simple" forms of verbs are those appearing in constructions not marked for either progressive or perfect aspect (I go, I don't go, I went, I will go, etc., but not I'm going or I have gone).

Simple constructions normally denote a single action (perfective aspect), as in Brutus killed Caesar, a repeated action (habitual aspect), as in I go to school, or a relatively permanent state, as in We live in Dallas. They may also denote a temporary state (imperfective aspect), in the case of stative verbs that do not use progressive forms.

Simple Present

The simple present or present simple is a form that combines present tense with "simple" (neither perfect nor progressive) aspect.

In the indicative mood it consists of the base form of the verb, or the -s form when the subject is third-person singular (the verb be uses the forms am, is, are). However, with non-auxiliary verbs it also has a periphrastic form consisting of do (or third-person singular does) with the bare infinitive of the main verb — this form is used in questions (and other clauses requiring inversion and negations, and sometimes for emphasis.

The principal uses of the simple present are given below.

To refer to an action or event that takes place habitually. Such uses are often accompanied by frequency adverbs and adverbial phrases such as always, often, from time to time and never.
Examples:

• I always take a shower.
• He writes for a living.

This contrasts with the present progressive, which is used for actions taking place at the present moment.

With stative verbs in senses that do not use progressive aspect, to refer to a present or general state, whether temporary, permanent or habitual. (In senses that do use progressive aspect, the present simple is used when the state is permanent or habitual.)

• You are happy.
• I know what to do.
• Denmark lies to the north of Germany.

When quoting someone or something, even if the words were spoken in the (usually very recent) past:

• The label says "External use only".
• Mary says she's ready.

To refer to a single completed action, as in recounting the events of a story in the present tense (see historical present), and in such contexts as newspaper headlines, where it replaces the present perfect:

• In Hamlet, Ophelia drowns in a stream.

• 40-year-old wins gold medal.

Sometimes to refer to an arranged future event, usually with a reference to time:

• We leave for Berlin tomorrow at 1 pm.

  In providing a commentary on events as they occur, or in describing some theoretical sequence of events:

• I chop the chives and add them to the mixture.

• According to the manager's new idea, I welcome the guests and you give the presentation.

In many dependent clauses referring to the future, particularly condition clauses, clauses expressing place and time, and many relative clauses (see below):

• If he finds your sweets, he will eat them.
• We will report as soon as we receive any information.

In certain situations in a temporal adverbial clause, rather than the present progressive:

• We can see the light improving as we speak.

In colloquial English it is common to use can see, can hear for the present tense of see, hear, etc., and have got for the present tense of have (denoting possession.

See have got and can see below.

For the present subjunctive, see subjunctive.

For uses of modal verbs (which may be regarded as instances of the simple present) see modal verbs.

Present progressive

The present progressive or present continuous form combines present tense with progressive aspect. It thus refers to an action or event conceived of as having limited duration, taking place at the present time. It consists of a form of the simple present of be together with the present participle of the main verb and the ending -ing.

• We are cooking dinner now.

This often contrasts with the simple present, which expresses repeated or habitual action (We cook dinner every day). However, sometimes the present continuous is used with always, generally to express annoyance about a habitual action:

• You are always making a mess in the study.

Certain stative verbs do not use the progressive aspect, so the present simple is used instead in those cases. The present progressive can be used to refer to a planned future event:

• We are tidying the attic tomorrow.

It also appears with future reference in many condition and time clauses and other dependent clauses:

• If he's sleeping when you arrive, wake him up.
• I will finish the job while the children are playing.

It can also refer to something taking place not necessarily at the time of speaking, but at the time currently under consideration, in the case of a story or narrative being told in the present tense (as mentioned above under present simple):

• The king and queen are conversing when Hamlet enters. For the possibility of a present subjunctive progressive, see English subjunctive.

Present Perfect

The present perfect (traditionally called simply the perfect) combines present tense with perfect aspect, denoting the present state of an action's being completed, that is, that the action took place before the present time. (It is thus often close in meaning to the simple past tense, although the two are not usually interchangeable.) It is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary have (namely have or has) and the past participle of the main verb.

The choice of present perfect or past tense depends on the frame of reference (period or point in time) in which the event is conceived as occurring. If the frame of reference extends to the present time, the present perfect is used. For example:

• I have written a letter this morning. (if it is still the morning)
• He has produced ten plays. (if he is still alive and professionally active)
• They have never traveled abroad. (if they are still alive and considered capable of traveling)

If the frame of reference is a time in the past, or a period that ended in the past, the past tense is used instead. For example:

• I wrote a letter this morning (it is now afternoon);
• He produced ten plays (he is now dead or his career is considered over, or a particular past time period is being referred to);
• They never traveled abroad (similarly).

See Simple past for more examples.

The simple past is generally used when the occurrence has a specific past time frame – either explicitly stated (I wrote a book in 1995; the water boiled a minute ago), or implied by the context (for example, in the narration of a sequence of events). It is therefore normally incorrect to write a sentence like I have written a novel yesterday; the present perfect cannot be used with an expression of past time such as yesterday.

With already or yet, traditional usage calls for the present perfect: ''Have you eaten yet? Yes, I've already eaten. However, current informal American speech tends to use the simple past: Did you eat yet? Yes, I ate already.''

Use of the present perfect often draws attention to the present consequences of the past action or event, as opposed to its actual occurrence. The sentence she has come probably means she is here now, while the simple past she came does not. The sentence, "Have you been to the fair?" suggests that the fair is still going on, while the sentence, "Did you go to the fair?" could mean that the fair is over. (See also been and gone below.) Some more examples:

• I have eaten. (implies that I'm no longer hungry)
• We have made the dinner. (implies that the dinner is now ready to eat)
• The weather has gotten cloudier. (implies that it is now more cloudy than previously)

It may also refer to an ongoing state or habitual action, particularly in saying for how long, or since when, something is the case. For example:

• I have lived in Paris for five years.
• He has held the record since he won his Olympic gold.
• We have eaten breakfast together every morning since our honeymoon.

This implies that I still live in Paris, that he still holds the record and that we still eat together every morning (although the first sentence may also refer to some unspecified past period of five years).

When the circumstance is temporary, the present perfect progressive is often appropriate in such sentences (see below); however, if the verb is one that does not use the progressive aspect, the basic present perfect is used in that case too:

• Amy has been on the swing for ten minutes.

The present perfect may refer to a habitual circumstance, or a circumstance being part of a theoretical or story narrative being given in the present tense (provided the circumstance is of an event's having taken place previously):

• Whenever I get home, John has usually already arrived.
• According to the plan, the speeches have already been given when the cake is brought out.

The present perfect may also be used with future reference, instead of the future perfect, in those dependent clauses where future occurrence is denoted by present tense. For example:

• When you have written it, show it to me.

Present Perfect Progressive

The present perfect progressive (or present perfect continuous) construction combines some of this perfect progressive aspect with present tense.

It is formed with the present tense of have (have or has), the past participle of be (been), and the present participle of the main verb and the ending "-ing"

This construction is used for ongoing action in the past that continues right up to the present or has recently finished:

• I have been writing this paper all morning.
• Why are his eyes red? He has been crying.

It is frequently used when stating for how long, or since when, something is the case:

• She has been working here since 1997.
• How long have you been sitting there?
• They have been arguing about it for two weeks.

In these sentences the actions are still continuing, but it is the past portion of them that is being considered, and so the perfect aspect is used. (A sentence without perfect aspect, such as I am sitting here for three hours, implies an intention to perform the action for that length of time.)

With stative verbs that are not used in the progressive, and for situations that are considered permanent, the present perfect (nonprogressive) is used instead.

A2 / Elementary / Pre-intermediate

A CEFR A2 level English language user is considered to be at an elementary level. At this level, an individual is expected to have a basic understanding of the English language and be able to use simple phrases and sentences to communicate in everyday situations. They should be able to understand and use basic grammar and vocabulary, and be able to understand short, simple texts.

At A2 level, They can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). They can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. They can describe in simple terms aspects of their background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need. They can also interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.

A2 | Elementary | Pre-intermediate.

Difficulty: Easy

Easy difficulty. Difficulty levels represent author's opinion about how hard a question or challenge is.