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ACTIVE | ||
| VERB TENSE | EXAMPLE | HOW TO FORM |
| Present | I eat. | Base form (add -s for 3PS) |
| Past | I ate. | Simple past |
| Present Progressive | I am eating. | Present form of 'be' + [base form + -ing] |
| Past Progressive | I was eating. | Past form of 'be' + [base form + -ing] |
| Present Perfect | I have eaten. | Present form of 'have' + past participle |
| Past Perfect | I had eaten. | Past form of 'have' + past participle |
| Present Perfect Progressive | I have been eating. | Present form of 'have' + been + [base form + -ing] |
| Past Perfect Progressive | I had been eating. | Past form of 'have' + been + [base form + -ing] |
| Modal + Base Form | I will eat. | Modal + base form |
| Modal Progressive | I will be eating. | Modal + be + [base form + -ing] |
| Modal Perfect | I will have eaten. | Modal + have + past participle |
| Modal Perfect Progressive | I will have been eating. | Modal + have + been + past participle |
PASSIVE (the verb 'to be' in its active form + the past participle of the verb) | ||
| VERB TENSE | EXAMPLE | HOW TO FORM |
| Present | The food is eaten. | Present form of 'be' + past participle |
| Past | The food was eaten. | Past form of 'be' + past participle |
| Present Progressive | The food is being eaten. | Present form of 'be' + being + past participle |
| Past Progressive | The food was being eaten. | Past form of 'be' + being + past participle |
| Present Perfect | The food has been eaten. | Present form of 'have' + been + past participle |
| Past Perfect | The food had been eaten | Past form of 'have' + been + past participle |
| Present Perfect Progressive | The food has been being eaten. | Present form of 'have' + been + being + past participle |
| Past Perfect Progressive | The food had been being eaten. | Past form of 'have' + been + being + past participle |
| Modal + Base Form | The food will be eaten. | Modal + be + past participle |
| Modal Progressive | The food will be being eaten. | Modal + be + being + past participle |
| Modal Perfect | The food will have been eaten. | Modal + have + been + past participle |
| Modal Perfect Progressive | The food will have been being eaten. | Modal + have + been + being + past participle |
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Return to English Grammar on the Web Home Page.Pat Byrd and Tom McKlin
Department of Applied Linguistics & ESL
Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA 30302
patbyrd@gsu.edu & tmcklin@gsu.edu
Telephone: 404-651-2934