Formation of Tenses

The auxiliaries combine with other auxiliaries and with principal verbs to form the tenses. The principal verb may be in its present or past participle form:

• with present participles

  For example

  I am writing.

• with past participles

  For example

  He was loved.
  We have written

• with present tense form verbs

For example

I may write.
They shall read.

With the exception of the distinctive form in the most formal English in the present and the past, the subjunctive mode has the same tense forms as the indicative and potential mode. The subjunctive is always preceded by if, unless, though, or some other word that signals the subjunctive situation.

For example

if I love
if I may love

The imperative mode has a single tense, the present, which is used generally without the subject expressed, and with all the four forms of the verb.

For example

Study.
Be studying.
Be loved
Do write.

The infinitive mode has two tenses.

• present
• perfect

The present is used in the common, the progressive, and the passive forms of the verb, and is formed by prefixing to before the simple verb for the common form, to be to the present participle for the progressive form, and to be to the passive participle for the passive form.

For example

to write
to be writing
to be written

The present participle is formed by adding ing to the simple verb.

For example

read + ing becomes reading
sing + ing becomes singing.

For regular verbs, both the past tense form and the past participle are formed for by adding ed to the simple verb.

For example

honor + ed becomes honored
help + ed becomes helped
live + ed becomes lived

The perfect participle is formed by adding:

• having before the past participle of the verb for the common form.
• having been before the present participle for the progressive form.
• having been before the passive participle for the passive form.

For example

having written
having been writing
having been written