cyrus said:
Hi, I am self studying English Grammar and one activity in my workbook is the need to define these sentences into the following Categories:
Past/Present/Future Perfect Simple
Past/Present/Future Progressive
Past/Present Future Perfect Progressive
Sentences are:
We had finished fishing before they arrived.
I met Brian as I was walking to the restaurants.
I had been cycling all night and was exhausted.
She had had that cat since she was twelve.
He walked to work every day.
I have been waiting for Tim over an hour.
He became a success in later life.
They will have finished their work before breakfast time.
I'll be waiting by the City Hall.
**please help i have been studying for one week and cannot understand**
The following may help you to understand tenses better.
1. Tenses are of 2 basic types (a) Simple (b) Compound
2. Simple tenses do not have a supporting verb, therefore, the Simple Present tense and Simple Past tense.
3. The Future tense is not a Simple Tense. It uses the supporting verb Will or Shall.
4. A compound tense comprises the main verb and at least one supporting verb (called auxiliary verb). E.g. Will (auxiliary) go (main verb).
5. In a compound tense, the Auxiliary Verb indicates TIME (Present, Past, Future), using the auxiliary's Present Form, or Past Form, or Will/Shall.
(a) Auxiliary BE: Present forms are AM/IS/ARE, past forms WAS/WERE
(b) Auxiliary HAVE: Present form HAVE/HAS, past form HAD.
(c) Auxiliary WILL/SHALL: Since it expresses a future time, we do not use it like BE and HAVE. The past forms WOULD and SHOULD are used to indicate not (just) Time but additional meanings like Intention, Compulsion, etc.
6. In a compound tense, the Main Verb indicates ASPECT (Infinitive, Continuous or Perfect) using the main verb's Infinitive Form, Continuous Participle Form, or Perfect Participle Form. E.g., using the verb GO:
(a) Future Tense: Will (aux) + Go (main, Infinitive)
(b) Present Cont Tense: Am/Is/Are (aux, Present) + Going (main, Cont Participle)
(c) Past Cont Tense: Was/Were (aux, Past) + Going (main, Cont Participle)
(d) Future Cont Tense: Will/Shall (aux) + Be (aux, Infinitive) + Going (main, Cont Participle)
(e) Present Perf Tense: Have/Has (aux, Present) + Gone (main, Perf Participle)
(f) Past Perf Tense: Had (aux, Past) + Gone (main, Perf Participle)
(g) Future Perf Tense: Will/Shall (aux) + Have (aux, Infinitive) + Gone (main, Perf Participle)
(h) Present Perf Cont Tense: Have/Has (aux, Present) + Been (aux, Perf Participle) + Going (main, Cont Participle)
(i) Past Perf Cont Tense: Had (aux, Past) + Been (aux, Perf Participle) + Going (main, Cont Participle)
(j) Future Perf Cont Tense: Don't worry about this one because it is rarely used.