Verb tense time expressions

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LEARNING SPACE

TOPIC: Verb tense: time expressions


Sometimes you may have difficulty to determine the correct verb tense in a sentence.
What you can do is try to identify the time expression in the sentence (that is any word or
phrase that tells you when it happened. For example: last week, ten years ago, by the
time the meeting started, etc.) These expressions of time are linked to specific verb
tenses. So, based on which time expression you see in the sentence, you will know which
is the correct tense for the verb.

Time expressions will help you to recognize verb tenses

SIMPLE CONTINUOUS PERFECT
PRESENT Every day, every
month, every week,
usually, often,
sometimes, seldom,
never, on Sundays,
on Fridays, in the
mornings, at night,
etc.
Now, right now,
nowadays, today, at
this moment, this
week, this month,
etc.
Since, just, already,
yet, ever, never,
etc.
PAST Yesterday, last
night, last week,
(two years) ago, in
2007, etc.
Yesterday at 5
o’clock, while, when
something
happened in the
past – something
else was happening;
By 5 o’clock, by the
time they arrived,
(before, after,
when = used to
show what
happened first
between two past
events. The first
event to happen
must be in past
perfect.)

_________________________________________________________ ________________
NOTE THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES

Simple present: Daniel reads his emails every morning.
Simple past: Tania went to London two weeks ago.
Present continuous: Her father is working in Paris this month.
Past continuous: While we were visiting our friends, thieves broke into our house.
Present perfect: I haven’t eaten anything since I got up this morning.
Past perfect: After she had moved out, I found her notes.