Main verbs
The main verb (V) may be in one of the 12 tenses:
Simple present He likes it.
Simple past He told me a story ten years ago.
Simple future He will tell us the truth tomorrow.
Present progressive He is watching television now.
Past progressive He was watching television while I was sleeping.
Future progressive He will be watching television this time tomorrow.
Present perfect I have just finished it.
Present perfect progressive I have been doing it for about two hours.
Past perfect I had finished it when Mum returned home.
Past perfect progressive I had been doing it for about two hours when Mum
returned home.
Future perfect I will have finished it when Mum returns home next week.
Future perfect progressive I will have been doing it for about two hours when Mum
returns home.
The main verb may be in either active or passive voice.
ACTIVE PASSIVE
1 V(s) take(s) is/am/are taken
2 V-ed took was/were taken
3 will* V will take will be taken
4 has/have V-ed has/have taken has/have been taken
5 had V-ed had taken had been taken
6 will* have V-ed will have taken will have been taken
7 is/am/are V-ing is/am/are taking is/am/are being taken
8 was/were V-ing was/were taking was/were being taken
9 will* be V-ing will be taking
10 has/have been V-ing has/have been taking
11 had been V-ing had been taking
12 will* have been V-ing will have been taking
* In general, modals follow the same pattern as will.