The verb. General characteristics. Classifications of english verbs. Categories of tense, aspect, mood, voice, person, and number. Method: discussion. Reja: Introduction to Verbs: Tense, Aspect, and Mood

Present Progressive

The present progressive expresses continuous actions.

• 
  I am reading a letter.
  
• 
  The car is running at high speed.
  
• 
  Michael and Anna are always working in the library.
  

To show that the action is continuous the verbs reading, running, and working are paired with the appropriate form of the verb to be (am, is, are). 

Present Perfect

The present perfect expresses a completed event that is still relevant to the present.

• 
  I have read several of Shaw’s novels.
  
• 
  She has seen him every Saturday this month.
  
• 
  Jed has sampled six ice cream flavors so far.
  

In these examples, have and has are paired with read, seen, and sampled to show readers that these actions began in the past and are still occurring in the present.

Present Perfect Progressive

Finally, the present perfect progressive expresses a continuous action that began in the past and continues into the present.

• 
  I have been standing on this corner for six hours.
  
• 
  She has been dreaming of becoming an actress since she was ten.
  
• 
  Even though it’s raining, that Girl Scout has been selling cookies all day.
  

The present perfect progressive tense combines have/has with been and the verb to show that the action began in the past and is still occurring in the present.

Past Tenses

The past tense refers to events that have occurred in the past or an event that occurred continually in the past. It can also be used when discussing hypothetical situations. The types of past tense are simple past, past progressive, past perfect, and the past perfect progressive.

Simple Past

First, the simple past expresses a past event:

• 
  Last week, I read several of Shaw’s novels.
  
• 
  The mother took her son to the beach every day last summer.
  
• 
  The book sat on the shelf, collecting dust.
  

The verbs read, took, and sat are in the past tense to show these actions have already occurred.