Verb Tense

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Verb Tense
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1. What is Tense?

• The tense of a verb indicates the time of the
  action or of the state of being that is expressed
  by the verb.
• Examples
• Denise served bagels for breakfast
  yesterday.
• Randy will play the drums tonight.

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1. What is Tense?

• There are three basic tenses (past, present,
  future).
• Each basic tense has a perfect form, indicating a
  completed action.
• When you list the different forms (tenses) of a
  verb, it is called conjugating.

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2. The Six Tenses
Draw this in your notes, please.
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2. The Six Tenses

• Past- existing or happening in the past (-ed or
  form of the verb).
• Examples
• I saw the rainbow yesterday.
• She took the bus last night.

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2. The Six Tenses

• Present- existing or happening now (present form
  of the verb, or with an s).
• Examples
• I see the rainbow now.
• She takes the bus to save on gas.

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2. The Six Tenses

• Future- existing or happening in the future
  (will/shall).
• Examples
• I will see the rainbow soon.
• She will take the bus tomorrow.

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2. The Six Tenses

• Past Perfect- existing or happening before a
  specific time in the past (had).
• Examples
• I had seen a rainbow before today.
• She had taken the bus last Thursday.

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2. The Six Tenses

• Present Perfect- existing or happening sometime
  before now may be continuing now (have/has).
• Examples
• We have seen rainbows in the past.
• She has taken the bus before.

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2. The Six Tenses

• Future Perfect- existing or happening before a
  specific time in the future (will have).
• Examples
• We will have seen a rainbow after the next
  thunderstorm.
• She will have taken the bus for seven days in
  a row on Tuesday.

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2. The Six Tenses
This should be in your spiral!
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3. Consistency of Tense

• Do not change needlessly from one tense to
  another.
• Examples
• When we go to the movies, we bought some
  popcorn.

Wrong!
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3. Consistency of Tense

• Do not change needlessly from one tense to
  another.
• Wrong Example
• When we go to the movies, we bought some
  popcorn.
• When we go to the movies, we buy some
  popcorn. OR
• When we went to the movies, we bought some
  popcorn.