Tenses (1).
Today: Generally.
The following shows the basic tenses in English with the verb “be” conjugated in the indicative mood, showing the singular and plural forms for the first, second, and third person.
Present Tense
1st person: I am / We are
2nd person: You are / You are
3rd person: He, she, or it is / They are
Past Tense
1st person: I was / We were
2nd person: You were / You were
3rd person: He, she, or it was / They were
Future Tense
1st person: I will be / We will be
2nd person: You will be / You will be
3rd person: He, she, or it will be / They will be
Present Perfect Tense
1st person: I have been / We have been
2nd person: You have been / You have been
3rd person: He, she, or it has been / They have been
Past Perfect Tense
1st person: I had been / We had been
2nd person: You had been / You had been
3rd person: He, she, or it had been / They had been
Future Perfect Tense
1st person: I will have been / We will have been
2nd person: You will have been / You will have been
3rd person: He, she, or it will have been / They will have been
And following are the tenses in the subjunctive mood.
Present Tense
1st person: (If) I be, I were / (If) we be, we were
2nd person: (If) you be, you were / (If) you be, you were
3rd person: (If) he, she, or it be; he, she, or it were / (If) they be, they were.
Past Tense
1st person: (If) I had been / (If) we had been
2nd person: (If) you had been / (If) you had been
3rd person: (If) he, she, or it had been / (If) they had been
Present Perfect Tense
1st person: (If) I have been / (If) we have been
2nd person: (If) you have been / (If) you have been
3rd person: (If) he, she, or it has been / (If) they have been
Next: Sequence of Tenses.
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Quotation of the Day: “How do you make ideas parallel? In a series, all the items should be alike, whether all nouns, all gerunds, all infinitives, all phrases or all clauses. If a series of verbs is used, they should all be in the same tense, voice and mood. Subjects of parallel clauses should be in the same person and number. When two phrasal prepositions or conjunctions are used together, both need to be present in their entirety.” Brian S. Brooks & James L. Pinson, Working with Words 73 (2d ed. 1993).
