Verb Tenses :


Tense shows the time of a verb's action or being. There are three inflected forms reflected by changes in the endings of verbs. The present tense indicates that something is happening or being now:

She is a student. She drives a new car.

The simple past tense indicates that something happened in the past:

She was a student. She drove a new car.

And the past participle form is combined with auxiliary verbs to indicate that something happened in the past prior to another action:

She has been a student. She had driven a new car.

Unlike most other languages, English does not have inflected forms for the future tense. Instead, English future forms are created with the use of auxiliaries:

She will be a student. She is going to drive a new car.

English can even create the future by using the present tense :

The bus arrives later this afternoon.

or the present progressive :

He is relocating to Portland later next month.