4.3.1: Non-Continuous Tenses (Active Voice and Passive Voice)

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Don Bissonnette
South Seattle Community College

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Non-Continuous Tenses (Active Voice and Passive Voice)

Simple Present Tense Active Simple Present Tense Passive

I                                                               History is studied (by me).
You           study history.
We            eat lunch.              Lunch is eaten.
They   watch TV.
---------------------------
He             studies history and art         History and art are studied (by him).
She            eats lunch.
It              watches me.                           I am watched (by him).

The simple present tense is used in situations that occur generally. They happen all the time or only sometimes, but they are not happening right now. It is also called the habitual present tense because it refers to habits or general truth actions.

Simple Past Tense Active Simple Past Tense Passive

I                                                                Children were studied (by me).
He
She        studied children.                           Two hamburgers were eaten (by her).
It           ate two hamburgers.
We watched a game show.                A game show was watched (by us).
You
They

The simple past tense is used for situations that are finished and the time must also be finished. It says that something began and ended.

Simple Future Tense with Will and Other Modal Verbs Passive Modals

I
He         ought to study English.                  English ought to be studied.
She        will study
It           will eat its dog food.                     Its dog food will be eaten.
We might watch  our spending.
You   must study
They should watch their children. Their children should be watched.

The simple future tense is used for actions in the future. Besides “will,” all of the other modal verbs and quasi modal verbs may be used with a future meaning.

Present Perfect Tense Active Present Perfect Tense Passive

I
You           have studied math.                              Math has been studied (by you).
We            have eaten
They   have watched their diet.                   Their diet has been watched (by them).
He             has studied
She           has eaten her two sandwiches.           Her two sandwiches have been eaten.
It              has watched

The present perfect tense is used for situations that began in the past, continue to the present, and may continue into the future. It may also be used for situations that began at some indefinite time in the past (present perfect in the indefinite past time).

Past Perfect Tense Active Past Perfect Tense Passive

I
He
She         had studied Chinese.                          Chinese had been studied.
It            had eaten its food.                               Its food had been eaten.
We   had watched the chickens.                   The chickens had been watched (by us).
You
They

The past perfect tense is used when two related situation occur at different times in the past. The action that happened first uses the past perfect tense; the action that happened second uses the simple past tense.

Future Perfect Tense Active Future Perfect Tense Passive

I
He
She will have studied for the test. The test will have been studied for.
It will have eaten her breakfast. Her breakfast will have been eaten.
We will have watched the news. The new will have been watched (by us).
You
They

The future perfect tense is used when two related actions occur in the future at different times. First one action will occur and then the other action will occur. The action that happens first uses the future perfect tense; the action that happens second uses the simple present tense.