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Introduction to Verb Tenses
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Only two tenses are conveyed through the verb alone: present (“sing") and past (“sang"). Most English tenses, as many as thirty of them, are marked by other words called auxiliaries. Understanding the six basic tenses allows writers to re-create much of the reality of time in their writing.
Simple Present: They walk.
Present Perfect: They have walk ed .
Simple Past: They walk ed .
Past Perfect: They had walk ed .
Future: They will walk.
Future Perfect: They will have walk ed .
Usually, the perfect tenses are the hardest to remember. Here’s a useful tip: all of the perfect tenses are formed by adding an auxiliary or auxiliaries to the past participle, the third principal part.
1 st principal part (simple present): ring, walk
2 nd principal part (simple past): rang, walked
3 rd principal part (past participle): rung, walked
In the above examples, will or will have are the auxiliaries. The following are the most common auxiliaries: be, being, been, can, do, may, must, might, could, should, ought, shall, will, would, has, have, had.
Present Perfect
The present perfect consists of a past participle (the third principal part) with "has" or "have." It designates action which began in the past but which continues into the present or the effect of which still continues.
1. Simple Past : “Betty taught for ten years.” This means that Betty taught in the past; she is no longer teaching.
2. Present Perfect : “Betty has taught for ten years.” This means that Betty taught for ten years, and she still teaches today.
1. Simple Past : “John did his homework so he can go to the movies.” In this example, John has already completed his homework.
2. Present Perfect : “If John has done his homework, he can go to the movies.” In this case, John has not yet completed his homework, but he will most likely do so soon.
Present Perfect Infinitives
Infinitives also have perfect tense forms. These occur when the infinitive is combined with the word “have.” Sometimes, problems arise when infinitives are used with verbs of the future, such as “hope,” “plan,” “expect,” “intend,” or “want.”
I wanted to go to the movies.
Janet meant to see the doctor.
In both of these cases, the action happened in the past. Thus, these would both be simple past verb forms.
Present perfect infinitives, such as the examples below, set up a sequence of events. Usually the action that is represented by the present perfect tense was completed before the action of the main verb.
1. I am happy to have participated in this campaign! The current state of happiness is in the present: “I am happy.” Yet, this happiness comes from having participated in this campaign that most likely happened in the near past. Therefore, the person is saying that he or she is currently happy due to an event that happened in the near past.
2. John had hoped to have won the trophy. The past perfect verbal phrase, “had hoped,” indicates that John hoped in the past, and no longer does. “To have won the trophy” indicates a moment in the near past when the trophy was still able to be won. Thus, John, at the time of possibly winning the trophy, had hoped to do so, but never did.
Thus the action of the main verb points back in time; the action of the perfect infinitive has been completed.
Past Perfect
The past perfect tense designates action in the past just as simple past does, but the past perfect’s action has been completed before another action.
1. Simple Past : “John raised vegetables.” Here, John raised vegetables at an indeterminate time in the past.
2. Past Perfect : “John sold the vegetables that he had raised .” In this sentence, John raised the vegetables before he sold them.
1. Simple Past : “Renee washed the car when George arrived.” In this sentence, Renee waited to wash the car until after George arrived.
2. Past Perfect : “Renee had washed the car when George arrived.” Here, Renee had already finished washing the car by the time George arrived.
In sentences expressing condition and result, the past perfect tense is used in the part that states the condition.
1. If I had done my exercises, I would have passed the test.
2. I think Sven would have been elected if he hadn't sounded so pompous.
Further, in both cases, the word if starts the conditional part of the sentence. Usually, results are marked by an implied then . For example:
If I had done my exercises, then I would have passed the test.
If Sven hadn’t sounded so pompous, then he would have been elected.
Again, the word then is not required, but it is implied.
Future Perfect
The future perfect tense is used for an action that will be completed at a specific time in the future.
1. Simple Future : “On Saturday, I will finish my housework.” In this sentence, the person will finish his or her housework sometime on Saturday.
2. Future Perfect : “By noon on Saturday, I will have finished my housework.” By noon on Saturday, this person will have the housework already done even though right now it is in the future.
1. Simple Future : “You will work fifty hours.” In this example, you will work fifty hours in the future. The implication here is that you will not work more than fifty hours.
2. Future Perfect : “You will have worked fifty hours by the end of this pay period.” By the end of this pay period, you would have already worked fifty hours. However, as of right now, this situation is in the future. The implication here is that you could work more hours.
1. Judy saved thirty dollars. (past—the saving is completed)
2. Judy will save thirty dollars. (future—the saving has not happened yet)
3. Judy has saved thirty dollars. (present perfect—the saving has happened recently)
4. Judy had saved thirty dollars by the end of last month. (past perfect—the saving occurred in the recent past)
5. Judy will have saved thirty dollars by the end of this month. (future perfect—the saving will occur in the near future, by the end of this month)
Verb Tenses
What this handout is about.
The present simple, past simple, and present perfect verb tenses account for approximately 80% of verb tense use in academic writing. This handout will help you understand how to use these three verb tenses in your own academic writing.
Click here for a color-coded illustration of changing verb tenses in academic writing.
Present simple tense
The present simple tense is used:
In your introduction, the present simple tense describes what we already know about the topic. In the conclusion, it says what we now know about the topic and what further research is still needed.
“The data suggest…” “The research shows…”
“The dinoflagellate’s TFVCs require an unidentified substance in fresh fish excreta” (Penrose and Katz, 330).
“There is evidence that…”
“So I’m walking through the park yesterday, and I hear all of this loud music and yelling. Turns out, there’s a free concert!” “Shakespeare captures human nature so accurately.”
Past simple tense
Past simple tense is used for two main functions in most academic fields.
“…customers obviously want to be treated at least as well on fishing vessels as they are by other recreation businesses. [General claim using simple present] De Young (1987) found the quality of service to be more important than catching fish in attracting repeat customers. [Specific claim from a previous study using simple past] (Marine Science)
We conducted a secondary data analysis… (Public Health) Descriptional statistical tests and t-student test were used for statistical analysis. (Medicine) The control group of students took the course previously… (Education)
Present perfect tense
The present perfect acts as a “bridge” tense by connecting some past event or state to the present moment. It implies that whatever is being referred to in the past is still true and relevant today.
“There have been several investigations into…” “Educators have always been interested in student learning.”
Some studies have shown that girls have significantly higher fears than boys after trauma (Pfefferbaum et al., 1999; Pine &; Cohen, 2002; Shaw, 2003). Other studies have found no gender differences (Rahav and Ronen, 1994). (Psychology)
Special notes
Can i change tenses.
Yes. English is a language that uses many verb tenses at the same time. The key is choosing the verb tense that is appropriate for what you’re trying to convey.
What’s the difference between present simple and past simple for reporting research results?
- Past simple limits your claims to the results of your own study. E.g., “Our study found that teenagers were moody.” (In this study, teenagers were moody.)
- Present simple elevates your claim to a generalization. E.g., “Our study found that teenagers are moody.” (Teenagers are always moody.)
Works consulted
We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.
Biber, Douglas. 1999. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English . New York: Longman.
Hawes, Thomas, and Sarah Thomas. 1997. “Tense Choices in Citations.” Research into the Teaching of English 31 (3): 393-414.
Hinkel, Eli. 2004. Teaching Academic ESL Writing: Practical Techniques in Vocabulary and Grammar . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Penrose, Ann, and Steven Katz. 2004. Writing in the Sciences: Exploring the Conventions of Scientific Discourse , 2nd ed. New York: Longman.
Swales, John, and Christine B. Feak. 2004. Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Tasks and Skills , 2nd ed. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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