Verb Tense
In English grammar, the term "tense" traditionally refers to any conjugated form
expressing grammatical tense, aspect, or mood. The large number of different composite
verb forms means that English has the richest and subtlest system of tense and
aspect of any Germanic language. This can be confusing for foreign learners;
however, the English system can be presented systematically by noting that each
of the temporal spheres (past, present, future) distinguishes simple forms from
progressive (continuous), perfect, or both.
Sentences can be active or passive. Therefore, tenses also have "active forms"
and "passive forms".
This table, of course, omits a number of forms which can be regarded as
additional to the basic system:
-
the intensive present I do write
-
the intensive past I did write
-
the habitual past I used to write
-
the intensive future I shall write
-
the "going-to future" I am going to write
-
the "future in the past" I was going to write
-
the conditional I would write
-
the perfect conditional I would have written
-
the subjunctive, if I be writing, if I were writing.
