What are verbs in English speech?

In English speech, verbs play a fundamental role in transmitting actions, states and experiences. They are the elements that allow us to tell stories, express ideas and opinions, and ask questions effectively.

Types of verbs in English

Verbs in English are conjugated in different verb tenses to indicate when the action or state expressed by the verb occurs. The most common verb tenses are:

The English language has 12 tenses. In order to understand and apply them in sentences, it is important that they are cataloged and separated; subsequently, it is required to learn and memorize the qualities of each verb tense in English.

Present tenses

In English there are 4 ways to classify the present tense: present simple, present continuous, present perfect and present perfect continuous.

Present simple

The present simple tense is one of the most basic and commonly used tenses in English. It is used to express:

• Habits or regular actions: These are actions that we do regularly or repeatedly, such as "I brush my teeth every morning" or "She goes to work from Monday to Friday."
• General truths or facts: These are statements that are always true, such as "The sun rises in the east" or "Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius."
• States of being: These are descriptions of how something is or what it is like, such as "She is a doctor" or "This book is interesting."
• Schedules or timetables: These are plans for what will happen in the future, such as "The train leaves at 10:00 AM" or "The movie starts at 7:00 PM."

Forming the present simple tense:

The form of the present simple tense depends on the person and the verb.

• For first-person singular (I), we use the base form of the verb. For example, "I walk," "I talk," "I think," "I read."
• For second-person singular (you) and plural (you), we use the base form of the verb. For example, "You walk," "You talk," "You think," "You read."
• For third-person singular (he, she, it), we add -s to the base form of the verb. For example, "He walks," "She talks," "It thinks," "It reads."

Exceptions to the rule

There are a few exceptions to the rule for forming the present simple tense.

• Verbs that end in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z: For these verbs, we add -es to the base form in the third-person singular. For example, "He passes," "She wishes," "It catches," "She fixes," "He buzzes."
• Verbs that end in -y preceded by a consonant: For these verbs, we change the -y to -ies and add -s to the base form in the third-person singular. For example, "He cries," "She flies," "It tries," "She studies," "He carries."

The structure of the present simple 

Present Continuous

The present continuous or progressive is the verbal tense that we use to express actions that are carried out at the moment they are mentioned. 

The main characteristic of this verb tense is the use of the gerund "-ing", which in Spanish can be translated as the gerunds "-ando" and "-endo"

In this tense, the verb to be becomes an auxiliary verb and the "-ing" is conjugated with the main verb of the action:

Construction of the "ing"

Let's look at some rules to conjugate the gerund with the main verb.

Verbs ending in "-e":

The letter "e" is deleted and replaced by the gerund "-ing". For example:

Believe / Creer - Believing / Creyendo

Take / Tomar- Taking / Tomando

Verbs ending in "-ie":

When a verb ends in this way, the combination of vowels "ie" is replaced by the consonant "y", adding the gerund "-ing" at the end.

Tie / Atar - Tying / Atando

Lie / Lying 

Verbs ending in "-y":

This is the simplest rule since all you have to do is add the gerund "-ing" to the end of the verb.

Employ / Emplear - Employing / Empleando

Delay  / Delaying

In what cases are consonants doubled?

For verbs that have only one syllable or whose stress falls on the last syllable and end in consonant - vowel - consonant, you must double your last consonant and add "-ing". For example:

Run / Correr - Running / Corriendo

Swim / Nadar - Swimming / Nadando

Structure of the present continuous 

Affirmative form

Negative Form

Interrogative Form

Present Perfect

The present perfect, also known as present perfect simple or present perfect in Spanish, is one of the verb tenses of the present in English. Its correct use is necessary to express experiences or memories that occurred a long time ago, but of which memory is still kept or are important today. Thanks to this, its use is very common and it is important to know it perfectly. 

Functions of the present perfect

The purpose of this tense is to link the past with the present. However, the focus falls on the result, that is, what has or has not happened.

5 main functions can be listed:

1. The action began in the past and continues in the present. For example:

• I have lived in Veracruz since 1990

2. The time for acting has not ended. For example:

• They have gone to swim twice a week

3. The action is constantly repeated in an indeterminate time between the past and the present

• She has visited that museum several times

4. The action concluded recently. For this use use just.

• He has just finished his homework

5. The time at which the action was performed is not relevant.

• We haven't watched Titanic

Other uses:

With adverbs of time like "since", "for", "already", "yet", "just":

• I have been learning Spanish since last year. 

• She has already finished her homework. 

With expressions like "it's been", "how long", "never":

• It's been a long time since I last saw you. How long have you been waiting?*

• I have never been to China. 

Formation of the verb in participle:

The present perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb "have" (I, you, we and they) or "has" (He, she and It) followed by the past participle of the main verb.

For regular verbs: The ending "-ed" is added to the base verb.

Examples: Play - played, Watch - watched, Study - studied.

For irregular verbs: The form of the past participle can be irregular. You have to consult a list of irregular verbs. (Click here)

Examples: Take - taken, eat - eaten, go - gone.

Structure of the present perfect

Affirmative form

Negative Form

Interrogative form

Present perfect continuous

We use this tense when we want to express the sense of continuity of an action that has begun in the past and that still lasts in the present or that has just ended.

We refer to something we have been doing over some time, therefore we use the time prepositions "for" and "since." 

Example:

• I can't believe it is still raining. It's been raining for a week now! 

(No puedo creer que todavía esté lloviendo. Lleva lloviendo desde hace una semana!) 

Structure of the present perfect continuous

Como en el presente perfecto, usamos el verbo auxiliar "to have" además de "been" (el participio pasado del verbo "to be") más el verbo+ing. 

Affirmative form

Examples: 

• They have been talking for three hours. (Han estado hablando durante tres horas.)
• She has been studying English since she was 16. (Ha estado estudiando inglés desde que tenía 16 años.)
• I have been waiting for you for over an hour! 

Negative form

Examples:

• They haven't been talking for more than a few minutes.(No han estado hablando más de unos minutos.)
• She hasn't been studying English for very long.(No ha estado estudiando inglés durante mucho tiempo.)
• Don't worry, I haven't been waiting long.(No te preocupes, no llevo esperando mucho tiempo.) 

Interrogative form

Examples:

• Have they been talking for a long time?(¿Han estado hablando durante mucho tiempo?)
• Have you been waiting long?(¿Llevas esperando mucho tiempo?) 

Past tenses

The verb tenses in English, conjugated in the past tense in English are 4: past simple, past continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous.

Past simple

The past simple or past simple of English is a verbal tense that expresses situations or actions that occurred in the past, and although they may be from the recent past or the distant past, their duration is not important; It should only be understood that these have already ended. 

Examples:

• A year ago I was in Paris. (Hace un año yo estaba en Paris.)
• In 1989 The Berlin Wall fell. (El muro de Berlín cayó en 1989)

What is the structure for past simple sentences? 

Structure of the past simple with regular verbs To properly use the structure of the past simple, let's first remember some important points about the endings of this type of verbs.

 1. -d is the ending of verbs that end in e.

2. -ed is the ending of verbs that end in a consonant or in y. Remember that when the verb ends in a consonant+y, you must replace the y with the i and then add the ending -ed. 

Structure of the past simple 

Affirmative form

Subject + regular verb  (-d, -ed) / Past verb + complement.

Examples: 

• He lived in London 2 years. (Él vivió en Londres 2 años.)
• I cried when he died. (Lloré cuando él murió.)

Negative form

Subject + did not/ didn't + verb in basic form + complement 

Examples:

• We didn't argue this morning. (Nosotros no discutimos esta mañana.)
• He didn't enjoy his birthday party. (Él no disfrutó su fiesta de cumpleaños.)
• She didn't finish her degree. (Ella no terminó su carrera.) 

Interrogative form

Did + subject + verb in basic form + complement + ?

Examples:

• Did she clean her house yesterday?  (¿Ella limpió su casa ayer?)
• Did he call you?. (¿Él te llamó?) 

Past continuous

The past continuous in English is used to: 

1. Express actions or states that were taking place in the past when another action or state interrupts or reinforces it.

•  I was walking when I saw an eagle. (Estaba caminando cuando vi un aguila.)

2. Provide context, that is, provide information about events or situations at a specific time.

•  Last year, I was studying for the exams. (El año pasado, yo estaba estudiando para los examenes). 

3. Mention two or more actions from the past that happened at the same time. 

• While my son was playing video games, I was sleeping in his bedroom. (Mientras mi hijo estaba jugando video juegos, yo estaba durmiendo en su dormitorio.)

Structure of the past continuous

Affirmative form

Subject + auxiliary verb was/were (to be in past) + gerund verb (ing) + complement

Example:

• Your dog was playing with its toys when I arrived. (Tu perro estaba jugando con sus juguetes cuando llegué ) 

Negative form

Subject + auxiliary verb was/were (to be in past) + not + gerund verb (ing) + complement

Example:

• I was not studying Physics at that time. (Yo no estaba estudiando Física en ese momento.)

Interrogative form

Was/were + Subject +  gerund verb (ing) + complement + ?

Example:

• Were you eating candies when I entered the room? (Were you eating candies when I entered the room? ) 

Past perfect

How and when is the past perfect used? 

The past perfect in English is used to: 

The past perfect is used to refer to an action that occurred in the past before another. 

1. In this case, the first action is conjugated in the past perfect, while the second, the most recent, is conjugated in the simple past. 

For example:

• I had watched the movie before I read the book. (Vi la película antes de leer el libro). 

2. It is used to talk about an action that occurred before a specific time in the past. 

For example:

• I had fallen asleep when the clock rang at 11 PM. (Ya me había dormido cuando la alarma sonó a las 11 PM). 

3. It is used to talk about actions that began in the past and continued until a certain time also in the past.

 For example:

• I had been happy in all my jobs until I got this one. (Había sido feliz en todos mis trabajos hasta que entré a este).

4. It is useful for indirect reporting in order to reuse what a person said when they spoke in the present perfect. 

For example:

• I have started a new degree →She said she had started a new degree (Empecé una nueva carrera → Ella dijo que empezó una nueva carrera). 

5. In some situations, it can be used in conditional sentences. 

For example:

• If you had told me before, I would have helped you. (Si me hubieras dicho antes, yo te hubiera ayudado). 

Structure of the past perfect

May

Subject + auxiliary had + past verb + complement 

Examples: 

• I had met them before the meeting. (Los había conocido antes de la reunión.)

Negative form

Subject + auxiliary had + not + past verb + complement 

Examples: 

• I had not said how long will the video call is. (No había dicho cuánto durará la videollamada.)

Interrogative form

Auxiliary had + subject + past verb + complement? 

Examples: 

• Had she gone to eat before lunch time? (¿Había ido a comer antes de la hora del almuerzo?)

Keep in mind! 

Remember that the structure of the past perfect is always with the auxiliary had and the verb conjugated in the past. Also, take into account that there are irregular verbs whose forms in the past tense are idiosyncratic or peculiar.  

Past perfect continuous

Do you want to tell a story? 

The past perfect continuous is the perfect English verb tense to achieve this. Thanks to its characteristics, it will allow you to tell the development of events and their effects in the past in a fluid and interesting way for those who read or listen to you (Past Perfect Continuous: Estructuras Y Usos | British Council, n.d.).

There are two uses for the past perfect continuous. Below you will be able to get to know them with the help of some examples to take into account their possibilities. 

1. Express an action that began in the past and continued for some time until another action interrupted it.

Example:

• She had been reading for seven hours when she fell asleep (Ella había estado leyendo por siete horas cuando se quedó dormida).
• How long had they been running when they took a break? (¿Cuánto tiempo habían estado corriendo cuando tomaron un descanso?)

Example:

• I was tired because I had been working all day (Yo estaba cansado porque había estado trabajando todo el día).
• We were sleepy because we had been dancing all night (Nosotros teníamos sueño porque habíamos estado bailando toda la noche).

Structure of the past perfect continuous

Affirmative form

Subject + auxiliar verb (had been) + verb–ing + complement

Examples:

• I had been working here since I graduated. (He estado trabajando aquí desde que me gradué.)

Negative form

Subject + had not been + verb-ing + complement

Examples: 

• She had not been travelling since the baby was born. (Ella no había viajado desde que nació el bebé.)

Interrogative form

Had + Subject + been + verb-ing + complement + ?

Examples: 

Had we been studying Arts for a long time before the visit to the MoMA? (¿Llevábamos mucho tiempo estudiando Artes antes de la visita al MoMA?)

Future tenses

There are four future tenses in English: 

Future Simple (will/ going to), Future continuous, Future perfect, and future perfect continuous.

Future simple (Will)

With this time, actions or states are expressed that are thought spontaneously and will happen in the future. 

Will is the future of the verb To be.

The structure of the future simple. 

Affirmative form

Subject + auxiliary will + infinitive verb + complement

Examples: 

• I will sleep all weekend. (Dormiré todo el fin de semana.)

Negative Form

In this type of sentence we can use the contraction of the negation Will not: Won't

Subject + auxiliary will + not/won't + infinitive verb + complement

Examples: 

• She will not sleep all weekend. (Ella no dormirá en todo el fin de semana.)

Interrogative form

Auxiliary will + Subject + verb in infinitive + complement + ?

Future simple (Going to)

Structure of the Future Simple (Going to)

Affirmative form

Subject + verb to be (am- is -are) + going to + infinitive verb + complement

Example:

• She is going to swim at the beach. (Ella va a nadar a la playa.)

Negative form

Subject + verb to be + not + going to + infinitive verb + complement

Example: 

• She is not going to swim at the beach. (Ella no va a nadar a la playa.)

Interrogative form

Verb to be + subject + going to + infinitive verb + complement + ?

Examples: 

• Is she going to swim at the beach? (¿Va a nadar a la playa?)

Future continuous

They are states or actions that will have progress in the future. Here we use the - ing format of the verbs and the auxiliary "Will be".

Structure of the future continuous

Affirmative form

Subject + auxiliary will be + gerund verb (- ing) + complement 

Example:

• I will be watching my favorite series all day tomorrow. (Mañana estaré viendo mi serie favorita todo el día.)

Negative form

Subject + auxiliary will + not be + gerund verb (- ing)  + complement

Example: 

• He will not be watching my favorite series all day tomorrow. (Mañana no estará viendo mi serie favorita en todo el día.)

Interrogative form

Auxiliary will + subject + be + gerund verb (- ing) + complement + ? 

• Will I be watching my favorite series all day tomorrow? (¿Estaré viendo mi serie favorita todo el día mañana?

Future Perfect

These are states or actions that will be completed at some point in the future.

Here, as in the other perfect tenses, we also use have as an auxiliary verb.

Structure of the Future Perfect

Remember! In the perfect tenses we use the participle of verbs, so keep in mind the rules that apply to regular verbs and what forms irregular verbs take.

Affirmative form

Subject + auxiliary will + have + participle verb + complement 

Examples: 

• We will have finished university by next year. (El año que viene habremos terminado la universidad.)

Negative form

Subject + auxiliary will + not + have + participle verb + complement 

Example: 

• I will not have finished university by next year. (El año que viene no habré terminado la universidad.)

Interrogative form

Auxiliary will + subject + have + participle verb + complement + ? 

Example: 

• Will she have finished that master's degree in education in that year? (¿Habrá terminado esa maestría en educación en ese año?)

Future Perfect Continuous

The future perfect continuous has two uses and it is necessary to include time expressions in order to give clarity to the sentence. 

1. Visualize actions that will continue for a specific period, or until a specific time in the future. It is important to highlight that these are unfinished actions that are located between the present and a specific time in the future, which may be a few minutes or years from now. For example:

• She will have been working with us for 2 years next Monday (Ella habrá estado trabajando con nosotros por dos años el próximo lunes).

• When he turns 25, he will have been playing football for 5 years (Cuando él cumpla 25, habrá estado jugando futbol por cinco años).

• She will have been studying Architecture for three years when she moves to Chile next summer (Ella habrá estado estudiando Arquitectura por tres años cuando se mude a Chile el próximo verano).

2. Infer the consequences of an action in the future. For example:

• I won't be able to come to the pub with you at 5 because by then I will have been working for 10 hours and I'll want to go home and sleep (No podré ir con ustedes al pub a las cinco, porque para esa hora habré estado trabajando por diez horas y voy a querer irme a casa y dormir).

• Today I will need to have lunch somewhere downtown because I will have been attending a conference all day, and I won't have time to go home (Hoy tendré que comer en algún lugar en el centro, porque habré estado en una conferencia todo el día, y no tendré tiempo de ir a la casa).

• I will give you a lift to the airport, because by the time you need to get there you will have been awake all night working, and you won't be in a condition to drive (Te voy a llevar yo al aeropuerto, porque a la hora que tendrías que estar allá habrás estado despierto toda la noche trabajando, y no estarás en condiciones de manejar).

Structure of the Future Perfect Continuous

Affirmative form

Subject + will + have been + verb ending in –ing + complement 

Examples: 

• This weekend, I will have been studying Arts for five years. (Este fin de semana cumpliré cinco años estudiando Artes.)

Negative form

Subject + will not (won't) + have been + verb ending in –ing + complement 

Examples:

• She won't have been studying until I come home. (Ella no habrá estado estudiando hasta que yo vaya a casa)

Interrogative form

Will + subject + have been + verb ending in –ing + complement + ? 

• Will I have been working in this office for twenty years this Monday? (¿Habré este lunes veinte años trabajando en esta oficina?)

Regarding the difference between the future perfect continuous and the future perfect simple, it is important to remember the following:

Future Perfect Simple: This verb tense serves to express states or situations that will have ended before a specific moment in the future.

Future perfect continuous: The action will not have finished and the emphasis is on its continuation until another action or a deadline finishes it.

What are the modal verbs?

Modal verbs are capable of modifying the context of a sentence, as they can change or express their meaning within an idea in a different way.

To define modal verbs or modal verbs, it is important to understand that these are not conjugated with grammatical persons (I, we, you, they, she, he, it), that is to say that:

• They will never have an infinitive (for example, there is no such thing as "to could")
• They will never be used in a gerund (for example, there is no such thing as "shoulding")
• They will never have a participle (for example, there is no "Shalled")

Modal verbs can mean or express anything from suggestions, needs, requests, probabilities, obligations, advice, to more complex concepts such as "modality"; Therefore, its meaning transforms both the context and the verbs that are related within a sentence.

Let's look at this example:

• I must be home at six o'clock (Debo estar en casa a las 6 en punto) 

There are 4 properties or characteristics in modal verbs:

• As we showed previously, they are never conjugated.

• They change or transform the verbs, that is, always after using a modal verb, the verb must be in its infinitive mode (without the "to"), for example: You can read better.
• They express need, probability, ability, capacity, suggestions or advice; permission, request; obligation, certainty or provision.
• When modal verbs in English are in negative or interrogative form, they do not need an auxiliary, since the verb is used for that purpose; for example: I can't dance Can you sing? (You can sing?)

Now let's get to know the best-known modal verbs in English.

1. Can
2. May
3. Will
4. Must
5. Should
6. Could
7. Might
8. Would
9. Shall
10. Ought to 

The grammatical structure of sentences with modal verbs:

Affirmative form

Negative form

To make a negative sentence with a modal verb, we must add the adverb not after the modal. With the exception of May, all verbs can be contracted in their negative form. Some just add the ending"-n't" at the end, although others change a little more. For example:

• Cannot - Can't
• Will not - Won't
• Should not - Shouldn't

Interrogative form

Let's see in what contexts they are used 

Can

To express ability or possibility. Traducido al español sería como "poder".  

Example: 

• I can cook Italian recipes (Puedo cocinar recetas italianas)
• The doctor can't see you this morning (El doctor no puede verte esta mañana)
• Can you drive this truck? (¿Puedes conducir este camión?)

Could

This is the past form of "can" and is also used to express possibility. It is mainly used to ask questions with a tone of formality. 

Example:

• You could use my pen (Podrías usar mi bolígrafo)
• She could not go to the library with us (Ella no pudo ir a la biblioteca con nosotros)
• Could you pass me that book, please? (¿Podrías pasarme ese libro, por favor?)

May

Using this modal verb in a sentence expresses that there is a possibility or probability. 

Example:

• He may pass the IELTS (Él podría aprobar el IELTS)
• It may not rain tomorrow (Mañana podría no llover)
• May I call tomorrow? (¿Puedo llamar mañana?) 

Might

Mostly used to give suggestions, and possibilities or in cases of requests and offers. 

Example:

• My father might paint my room in pink (Mi padre tal vez pueda pintar mi habitación en rosa)
• This plant might not grow without water (Esta planta puede que no crezca sin agua)
• Might I open this box? (¿Puedo abrir esta caja?)

Will

He is mainly known for expressing the future in English; However, in its modal verb form, it is used to express a decision made in the moment or the intention to do something. 

Example:

• He will teach me English (Él me enseñará inglés)
• They won't play tennis with us (Ellos no jugarán tenis con nosotros)
• Will you drive to work tomorrow? (¿Conducirás al trabajo mañana?)

Would

This modal verb is mostly used to express requests politely and also serves to indicate periodic or constant actions carried out in the past. 

Examples:

• I would like a cup of coffee, please (Me gustaría una taza de café, por favor)
• He would visit his mother every Christmas (Visitaba a su mamá cada Navidad)
• Would you think of me in your dreams? (¿Pensarías en mí en tus sueños?) 

Must

Its most common use refers to a need or commitment, but sometimes it can mean assumptions.

Examples: 

• You must go home (Debes ir a casa)
• You must not eat late (No debes comer tarde)
• Must I go to the doctor? (¿Debería ir al doctor?)

Shall

Although this modal verb has lost its use in the United States, it has the same meaning as will when expressing momentary decisions.

Examples:

• I shall be at your birthday party (Estaré en tu fiesta de cumpleaños)
• You shall not pass! (¡No pasarás!)
• Shall I stop talking? (¿Debería dejar de hablar?)

Should

Traducido al español es "duty." It may represent an obligation or recommendation.

Examples:

• You should take your coat (Debes tomar tu abrigo)
• We should not be here (Nosotros no deberíamos estar aquí)
• What should I do now? (¿Qué debería hacer ahora?)

Ought to

Because it is a synonym for the modal verb should, it is not so used, but it is important to keep it in mind. 

Examples:

• He ought to go with her brother (Él debería ir con su hermano)
• We ought not to spend so much money (No deberíamos gastar tanto dinero)
• You ought to rest more (Deberías descansar más)