Verb Forms

Verbs can be used in a variety of forms for different purposes. They can be in a non-finite form, which simply means that they do NOT show tense, or in a finite form, such as present or past tense. Below is an example of a number of verbs and their various forms.

Verb Forms

Infinitive Present Simple Present Participle Past Simple Past Participle

be is/am/are being was/were been

do do/does doing did done

have have/has having had had

eat eat/eats eating ate eaten

drink drink/drinks drinking drank drunk

When we look at these forms, the only ones that show tense are the 'present simple' and 'past simple' forms. The participles and infinitives are used with the auxiliary verbs to show a tense such as 'is eating', 'has eaten' or 'does eat'. In addition, the present participle can also be used as a 'gerund', which is similar in use as a noun(see SUBJECTS), as well as both participle forms being used as adjectives.