Definition ? Verb tense is the form of the verb that indicates time. A verb tense not only indicates past, present, and future action, but also indicates whether the action is ongoing or complete.
All verb tenses are derived from a few basic forms of the verb called the principal parts The Four Principal Parts of a Verb 1. simple 2. Past 3. Past participle. 4. Present participe.
Verb Tense: Time The four past tenses are: 1. 2. 3. 4.
the simple past ("I went") the past progressive ("I was going") the past perfect ("I had gone") the past perfect progressive ("I had been going")
The four present tenses are the simple present ("I go") the present progressive ("I am going") the present perfect ("I have gone") the present perfect progressive ("I have been going")
The four future tenses are
the simple future ("I will go") the future progressive ("I will be going") the future perfect ("I will have gone") the future perfect progressive ("I will have been going")
Although the various shades of time and sequence are usually conveyed adequately in informal speech and writing, especially by native speakers and writers, they can create havoc in academic writing and they sometimes are troublesome among students for whom English is a second language
A few basic grammatical rules applying to modal verbs Modal verbs are NEVER used with other auxiliary verbs such as do, does, did etc. The negative is formed simply by adding "not" after the verb; questions are formed by inversion by inversion of the verb and subject: You should not do that. Could you pick me up when I've finished? Modal verbs NEVER change form: you can never add an "-s" or "-ed", for example. Modal verbs are NEVER followed by to, with the exception of ought to.
WILL
Making personal predictions. Talking about the present with certainty (making deductions) Talking about the future with certainty. Talking about the past with certainty. Reassuring someone.
Shall is a form of will, used mostly in the first person. Its use, however, is decreasing, and in any case in spoken English it would be contracted to "-ll" and be indistinguishable from will.
The only time you do need to use it is in questions, when:
Making offers Making suggestions
MAY & MIGHT May & might are used, then, for: Talking about the present or future with uncertainty. Talking about the past with uncertainty. MAY Talking about things that can happen in certain situations With a similar meaning to although MIGHT Saying that something was possible, but did not actually happen.
WOULD As the past of will, for example in indirect speech
Polite requests and offers (a 'softer' form of will). In conditionals, to indicate 'distance from reality': imagined, unreal, impossible situations. Talking about past habits (similiar meaning to used to).
SHOULD Giving advice. Obligation: weak form of must Deduction. Things which didn't or may/may not have happened. Ought to Ought to usually has the same meaning as should, particularly in affirmative statements in the present: You should/ought to get your hair cut. Should is much more common (and easier to say!), so if you're not sure, use should.
CAN & COULD Talking about ability. Making requests. Asking permission. Reported speech. General possibility. Choice and opportunities. Future probability Present possibility. Past possibility
MUST Necessity and obligation. Strong advice and invitations. Saying you think something is certain.