1.2 Simple and continuous

The tenses of most main verbs have two possibilities:

	Simple	Continuous
Present	They walk.	They are walking.
Past	They walked.	They were walking.
Present Perfect	They have walked.	They have been walking.
Past perfect	They had walked.	They had been walking.
Future with will	They will walk.	They will be walking.
Future Perfect	They will have walked.	They will have been walking.
Other modals	They may walk.	They may be walking.

See also stative verbs.

The passive also has both possibilities, although it is unusual in the more complicated forms.

	Simple	Continuous
Present	It is taken	It is being taken
Past	It was taken	It was being taken
Present Perfect	It has been taken	(unusual)
Past perfect	It had been taken	(unusual)
Future with will	It will be taken	(unusual)
Future perfect	It will have been taken	(unusual)
Other modals	It may be taken	(unusual)

Note: when the –ing form is a verb, it is called the

For the use of the simple and continuous, see specific entries,
e.g.: past simple, present continuous, etc.