Simple Forms
Present Tense
Present tense expresses an unchanging, repeated, or reoccurring action or situation that exists only now. It can also represent a widespread truth.
| Example | Meaning |
| The mountains are tall and white. | Unchanging action |
| Every year, the school council elects new members. | Recurring action |
| Pb is the chemical symbol for lead. | Widespread truth |
Past Tense
Past tense expresses an action or situation that was started and finished in the past. Most past tense verbs end in -ed. The irregular verbs have special past tense forms which must be memorized.
| W.W.II ended in 1945. | Regular -ed past |
| Ernest Hemmingway wrote "The Old Man and the Sea." | Irregular form |
Future Tense
Future tense expresses an action or situation that will occur in the future. This tense is formed by using will/shall with the simple form of the verb.
- The speaker of the House will finish her term in May of 1998.
The future tense can also be expressed by using am, is, or are with going to.
- The surgeon is going to perform the first bypass in Minnesota.
We can also use the present tense form with an adverb or adverbial phrase to show future time.
- The president speaks tomorrow. (Tomorrow is a future time adverb.)HERE SOME LESSONS
PAST SIMPLEPRESENT SIMPLE
