The ACT English section will include several items that test your knowledge of verb tense. While it can be beneficial to know all 12 tenses in the English language, the ACT will focus on only six: past, present, future, past perfect, present perfect, and future perfect tenses.
The table below provides an explanation of and examples for each of the tenses, as well as past, present, and future progressive and the conditional.
Simple Present
Present Progressive/ Continuous
Present Perfect
Present Perfect Continuous
Base form of the verb
the action is happening now
the action happens regularly
Example: She walks every day.
is + verb–ing
a temporary action is happening now
Example: She is walking right now.
has/have + verb–ed/d
the action is presumably continuing in the present.
Example: Kate has studied Spanish for 13 years.
has been + verb–ing
when the action is presumably continuing in the present.
Example: Kate has been studying Spanish for a long time.
Simple Past
Past Progressive/ Continuous
Past Perfect
Past Perfect Continuous
Often ends with –ed
action already happened
Example: She walked home yesterday.
There are many verbs that do not take the -ed form in simple past tense. These are called irregular verbs.
Examples include:
run ➜ ran
swim ➜ swam
speak ➜ spoke
eat ➜ ate
was + verb–ing
action happened continuously
action happened concurrently with another action
an incomplete action happened before a completed action
Example: She was walking yesterday when the storm rolled in.
had + verb
action happened in the past before another past action started
Example: She had walked for one hour before the storm rolled in.
had been + verb–ing
action happened continuously in the past over a period of time
Example: She had been walking for an hour before the storm rolled in.
Simple Future
Future Progressive/ Continuous
Future Perfect
Future Perfect Continuous
will + verb
action will happen in the future
Example: She will walk to school tomorrow.
will + be + verb–ing
action is ongoing in the future
Example: She will be walking to school tomorrow around 8 AM.
will + have + verb
action will have started and finished before another action.
Example: She will have walked to school by tomorrow at 9 AM.
will + have been + verb–ing
action will continue up until some point in the future.
Example: By the time school starts, she will have been walking for an hour.
Conditional
would + verb
usually describes something that would happen if a condition had been met
Examples
The trip would have been more fun if it hadn’t rained.
She would walk to school tomorrow at 7 a.m. if the school were open that early.
More Verb Forms
Gerunds
Gerunds are verbs ending in -ing that act as nouns. Often, a gerund is a direct object of a verb.
She likes walking.
Gerunds sometimes follow possessive pronouns to indicate an activity or behavior attributed to a subject.
No words could excuse his acting like a boor.
With practiceher coding improved rapidly.
Infinitives
Infinitives are the base form of the verb and usually have the word “to” in front of them. They must always follow another verb.
She likes/lovesto walk.
The dog loves to play.
Infinitive forms don’t change to indicate tense, mood, or subject—they always take the base form.
Subjunctive
The subjunctive represents a mood, rather than a tense. It is used to indicate when something is desired or imagined.
When to use the subjunctive:
Hypothetical or unreal conditions
Wishes or desires
Suggestions, demands, or necessities
Uncertainty or doubt
The verb remains in its base form but follows a request, demand, wish, or hypothetical.
Examples
It is advised that he remain in bed while recovering.
We insist that Maria come with you to dinner.
The to be verb always takes the form were and is used in hypotheticals.
If I were rich, I would donate more money.
If she were not so far away, we could see each other more.
How Will the Test Try to Trick You?
The test will include items that require you to decide between commonly confused verb tenses.
Future vs. Conditional
Future: will + verb
Conditional: would + verb
Use the conditional when there is an impossible if condition.
Examples: Answers are in bold, and conditions are in italics.
The teacher [will grade/would grade] the papers later today.
The deli worker [will open/would open] his own shop if he had the time.
The deli worker [will open/would open] his own shop if he has the time.
If the coach gets to the field, he [will tell/would tell] his players to warm up.
Past vs. Past Perfect
Simple past: usually -ed
Past perfect: had + verb
In some cases, both tenses are correct, but the ACT will not test you on those.
Important to remember: In sentences with two events that occurred in the past, the past perfect describes the action that occurred first.
Examples
🚫 They ordered their food by the time Ronhad arrived.
✅ Theyhad ordered their food by the time Ron arrived at the restaurant.
🚫 By the time Ron had arrived at the restaurant, they ordered their food.
✅ By the time Ron arrived at the restaurant, they had ordered their food.
🚫 The couple already bought the house when the real estate market had boomed.
✅ The couple had already bought the house when the real estate market boomed.
🚫 When the real estate markethad boomed, the couple already boughtthe house.
✅ When the real estate market boomed, the couple had already bought the house. (“already” goes between the modal and the verb)
Present Perfect vs. Past Perfect
Present perfect: has/have + verb Past perfect: had + verb
Use the sentence’s context and other words to determine the time sequence, ongoing actions take present perfect, completed actions take past perfect.
Examples
🚫 My sibling had annoyed me more than usual today. (It’s still today: the sibling is still annoying.)
✅ My sibling has annoyed me more than usual today. (It’s still today: the sibling is still annoying.)
🚫 The midfielder had worked out every day so far this month, including weekends.
✅ The midfielder has worked out every day so far this month, including weekends
🚫 All of the employees had met their sales quota this quarter.
✅ All of the employees have met their sales quota this quarter.
🚫 All of the employees have met their sales quota before the branch moved offices.
✅ All of the employees had met their sales quota before the branch moved offices.
Gerunds vs. Infinitives
Gerund: verb with -ing
talking: I was talking to you.
sleeping: The cat is sleeping on the chair.
Infinitive: to with verb
to talk: I want to talk to you.
to sleep: The cat wants to sleep on the chair.
The answer depends on whether the word functions as a verb or a noun
The school’s goal isto motivate teachers.
The deli worker said he wants to openhis own shop one day.
Workingwith others is an important skill to develop.
Tips and Strategies
Remember that, in most cases, verbs should remain consistent throughout a sentence and even paragraph.
If the answer options include verbs of different tenses, be sure to check the other verbs in the sentence and surrounding sentences and select the option that would be consistent.
Use context clues in the sentence to determine what tense should be used. For example, reference to a past event or historical figure, the use of an impossible if condition, and so on.
