The verbal group: tenses

TABLE 1 (cont.)


TENSES

Finite Operators


Auxiliaries


Main Verb
Time
Modal
have
be
be
PERFECT
present perfect
has
shown
past perfect
had
shown
future perfect
will
have
shown
PASSIVE
present perfect
has
been
shown
past perfect
had
been
shown
future perfect
will
have
been
shown
ought to
have
shown
ought to
have
been
shown
PERFECT CONTINUOUS
present perfect continuous
has
been
finding
past perfect continuous
had
been
finding
future perfect continuous
will
have
been
finding
PASSIVE
present perfect continuous
has
been
being
found
past perfect continuous
had
been
being
found
future perfect continuous
will
have
been
being
found
may
have
been
finding
may
have
been
being
found

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Basic English Grammar Module: Unit 2B. Independent Learning Resources
© Learning Centre University of Sydney. This Unit may be copied for individual student use.
11

1.4
Tense and Context
The third problem you may be having with verbs is choosing the correct tense for the
context. As you have seen from Table 1, The English tense system, which gives you
information about time, is complicated. It requires that in your writing you are able to
shift your perspective from whether things are happening now (present), to whether
they have already happened (past), to whether they will happen in the future.
Fortunately in academic written English, the range of tenses commonly used is much
narrower than in spoken English. Mostly we find either simple forms e.g. simple present,
simple past or forms with one secondary tense e.g. present perfect and past perfect.
The following two texts should illustrate this. One is an essay from the social sciences;
the other is a research paper from the physical sciences.
Each finite verbal group in the main clauses of the texts have been highlighted and then
the verbal group has been placed in a column which indicates whether it is past time,
present time or future time. Please note that not all of the essay (Text 1) or the research
paper (Text 2) has been reproduced.
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