This page shows the basic tenses with the irregular verb sing, including the following structures:
- affirmative or positive (+)
- negative (-)
- interrogative or question (?)
The basic structures are:
| + | positive | subject + auxiliary + main verb |
| – | negative | subject + auxiliary + not + main verb |
| ? | question | auxiliary + subject + main verb |
Here are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:
| base | past | past participle | present participle -ing |
|---|---|---|---|
| sing | sang | sung | singing |
And here is the result:
| 12 tenses (sing) | past | present | future | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SIMPLE do + base except future: will + base |
+ | I did sing I sang |
I do sing I sing |
I will sing |
| – | I did not sing | I do not sing | I will not sing | |
| ? | Did I sing? | Do I sing? | Will I sing? | |
| CONTINUOUS be + ing |
+ | I was singing | I am singing | I will be singing |
| – | I was notsinging | I am notsinging | I will not be singing | |
| ? | Was I singing? | Am I singing? | Will I be singing? | |
| PERFECT have + past participle |
+ | I had sung | I have sung | I will have sung |
| – | I had not sung | I have notsung | I will not have sung | |
| ? | Had I sung? | Have I sung? | Will I have sung? | |
| CONTINUOUS PERFECT have been + ing |
+ | I had been singing | I have been singing | I will have been singing |
| – | I had not been singing | I have notbeen singing | I will not have been singing | |
| ? | Had I been singing? | Have I been singing? | Will I have been singing? | |
The basic structure of tenses for regular verbs and irregular verbs is exactly the same (except the verb be). The only difference is that with regular verbs the past and past participle are always the same (worked, worked), while with irregular verbs the past and past participle are not always the same (sang, sung). But the structure is the same! It will help you a great deal to really understand that.