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    Six Basic Tenses of Verbs

    English has six basic tenses: present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect. In addition, the progressive and conditional forms are used for special functions. The progressive form (I am singing, I was singing, I will be singing) is used to indicate continuity of action rather than its completion. For example, compare I wrote a letter with I was writing a letter. The first sentence simply states that an action was completed in the past, while the second sentence implies that the action is connected to another event. Adverbs are often used with progressive forms to stress the continuous nature of the action or state of being (He is always singing in the shower). Progressive forms can be used with all six tenses. The conditional form (I can sing, I could sing, I could have sung) conveys intention to do or be something.

    Following is a complete conjugation of the verb to watch. The function of each tense is discussed following the conjugation.

    Present Tense

    Singular

    Plural

    First person:

    I watch

    we watch

    Second person:

    you watch

    you watch

    Third person:

    he/she/it watches

    they watch

    Present progressive form:

      • I am (you are) watching, etc.

    Present conditional form:

      • I can (I could) watch, etc.

    Past Tense (Base Form of the Verb d or ed)

    Singular

    Plural

    First person:

    I watched

    we watched

    Second person:

    you watched

    you watched

    Third person:

    he/she/it watched

    they watched

    Past progressive form:

      • I was watching, etc.

    Past conditional form:

      • I could have watched, etc.
      • I could have been watching, etc.

    Future Tense (Will or Shall + the Base Form of the Verb)

    Singular

    Plural

    First person:

    I will (shall) watch

    we will (shall) watch

    Second person:

    you will watch

    you will watch

    Third person:

    he/she/it will watch

    they will watch

    Future progressive form: I will (shall) be watching, etc.

    Present Perfect Tense (Have or Has + the Past Participle)

    Singular

    Plural

    First person:

    I have watched

    we have watched

    Second person:

    you have watched

    you have watched

    Third person:

    he/she/it has watched

    they have watched

    Progressive form: I have been watching, etc.

    Past Perfect Tense (Had + the Past Participle)

    Singular

    Plural

    First person:

    I had watched

    we had watched

    Second person:

    you had watched

    you had watched

    Third person:

    he/she/it had watched

    they had watched

    Progressive form: I had been watching, etc.

    Future Perfect Tense (Will Have or Shall Have the Past Participle)

    Singular

    Plural

    First person:

    I will (shall) have watched

    we will (shall) have watched

    Second person:

    you will have watched

    you will have watched

    Third person:

    he/she/it will have watched

    they will have watched

    Progressive form: I will have been watching, etc.

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