
Present continuous tense is used to describe an action happening now, or an ongoing action.
Present Continuous (Progressive) Tense Definition
We write content for clothing and fashion websites. ‘What do you usually do on Sundays?’ ‘I read.’. Subject + main verb (s/es for third person) Examples It can also talk about what is happening right now. Simple present tense is a verb tense that talks about what happens habitually or continually. simple present, present continuous, present perfect, and present perfect continuous. We use the present tense to talk about actions or events happening now or completed. I had been painting the house when the rain stopped. She had been working for 3 hours before her friend phoned her. Before they left, my friends had been travelling for two days in the car. I had been waiting there since ten o’clock when she entered the room. Betty Ann had been working for many hours that day. Subject + had been + present participle + time reference Examples The past perfect continuous tense is a verb tense that is used to express an action that started in the past and continued up until another point in the past.įor example, “She had been talking for an hour when I arrived.” Structure/Formula Jill had not visited Rome by the time she turned 30. Jack had traveled all over Europe by the age of 18. It is often used when talking about things that happened before another event in the past. It is also used to describe an action that was completed at some point in the past. The past perfect tense uses had and a past participle for the first person, third person singular, and third person plural subjects. While we were eating dinner, he went outside to play soccer with his friends. When we came in, he was telling a story. He was telling a story when we came in. Subject + was/were + present participle Examples In the past continuous tense, “was” or “were” is used with an -ing verb to show that something was happening. It can also refer to a specific action that was happening at a specific point in time. The past continuous tense is used to talk about an unfinished period of time. In English, the past continuous tense expresses an action that was in progress at some point in the past. Past Continuous (Progressive) Tense Definition He did not know you were kidding when you said that. She tried to make us feel better, but it didn’t work. The bus was late, so I missed the train. Subject + main verb(+ed) or second form of verb Examples It’s often used to talk about what someone did or experienced on a particular day or to talk about the weather.
Simple past tense is used in stories with a definite beginning and end. Simple past tense is used to describe actions that occurred in the past, which were completed at a definite time and are not happening currently.įor example, “I went to school yesterday.”