Verb-al Part 2

Don't worry! Tomorrow will be MUCH lighter in topics. I am thinking linking verbs! (Kidding. Those are kind of complex too!)

One more tense. That's all. Bear with me here, then we will go over it all again.

Perfect Progressive.

Maude has been climbing trees since she was five. (Present Perfect Progressive. The action (climbing trees) began in the past, continues in the present and might continue into the future. This tense is formed by using has/have been and the present participle of the verb (the verb form ending in -ing).

Before she met Grandma Rose, Maude had been dreading the move. (Past Perfect Progressive. The action, dreading the move, was a past, ongoing action. She was dreading it for a while, not just once. The action-- in this case the dreading, was completed--also in the past. She was dreading the move before she met Grandma Rose, but then she met her and the dreading was over. This tense is formed by using will have been and the present participle of the verb (the verb form ending in -ing).

By the time Maude starts school in the fall, she will have been living in her new house for a month. (Future Perfect Progressive. Awkward, I know. It describes a future, on-going action that occurs before a specified time. In this case, the on-going action is living in the house, the specified time is in the fall. This tense is formed by using will have been and the present participle of the verb (the verb form ending in -ing).

And I am going to do some breaking down of it now. Will you ever need to know what verb tense you are using? Probably not. We generally can get by using words that we think sound right together. But the potential for grammatical errors increases the more fancy you get with the tenses. That being said, it makes for boring writing (and reading) to have just subject/verb/object in simple tenses.

Maude jumped from the tree. She walked across the yard. She opened the door. She walked inside.

See? By the end of the last sentence you want to push Maude off a cliff to get her to do something interesting. So *knowing* the basics of the verb tenses can be helpful so you can express yourself more creatively. Studying them so you can parse your co-worker's e-mail or boss's memo is just plain not worth it. Unless you are a Grammar Snob and a great big meanie!

I am borrowing a table from here to have everything listed in one place.

Active Verb Tenses

Simple Present
Present or Action Condition	General Truths
Maude jumps out of the tree.	August is a really hot month.

Present Progressive
Activity in Progress	Verbs of Perception
Maude is jumping out of the tree.	She is feeling sleepy.

Simple Past
Completed Action	Completed Condition
Maude jumped out of the tree.	It was very hot last week.

Past Progressive
Past Action that took place over a period of time	Past Action interrupted by another
Maude grew taller.	Maude was jumping out of the tree when she spotted the cat.

Future
With will/won't — Activity or event that will or won't exist or happen in the future	With going to — future in relation to circumstances in the present
Maude will be jumping out of the tree as soon as the bee comes close.	Maude is hungry so she is going to get something to eat.

Present Perfect
With verbs of state that begin in the past and lead up to and include the present	To express habitual or continued action
Maude has climbed the tree since they moved in.	Maude has read since she was four.

Present Perfect Progressive

To express duration of an action that began in the past, has continued into the present, and may continue into the future

Maude has been climbing trees since she was five.

Past Perfect
To describe a past event or condition completed before another event in the past	In reported speech
By the time Maude arrived at the house, Grandma Rose had disappeared.	Maude said that she had gone to Grandma Rose's house.

Future Perfect

To express action that will be completed by or before a specified time in the future

By the time Maude makes it to seventh grade, she will have solved a mystery.

Does that help? Or make things worse?