Active tense examples Active Verb Tenses Present Perfect Progressive To express duration of an action that began in the past, has continued into the present, and may continue into the future David has been working for two hours, and he hasn't finished yet. Future Perfect To express action that will be completed by or before a specified time in the future. 1 be verb sentences 2 For example, the continuous tense shows that an action is ongoing. It can be used in the present (she is sleeping), past (she was sleeping), or future (she will be sleeping). Past, present, and future tenses The past, present, and future are the central divisions of time in English. 3 passive voice 4 There are 12 types of verb tenses in total, each based on the time an action occurs. Learn how to use each verb tense in a sentence with these examples. 5 The man cut down the tree. Columbus discovered America. His teacher praises him The boy teased the dog. Passive Voice When the object is affected by the action, we use passive voice. A verb is in the passive voice when its form shows that something is done to the person or thing denoted by the subject. 6 Most sentences are active. [Thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action] Examples: Passive Form In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence. 7 be verb sentence examples 8 Below, you will find two examples of the same text, one using the active voice, the other using the passive voice. 9 Example: Peter fried the bacon. 10 Level: beginner Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms: Passive forms are made up of the verb be with a past participle: If we want to show the person or thing doing the action, we use by: She was attacked by a dangerous dog. The money was stolen by her husband. Active and passive voice 1 Active and passive voice 2. 11