My Hometown – Verb Tenses in Action!

First Published: 1st of January, 2021 by Patrick Carpen.

The following passage utilizes a wide variety of verb tenses. Can you identify them?

Here are some examples:

I presently live – Simple Present

I have not lived – Present Perfect

Had lived – Past Perfect

I arrived – Simple Past

The rainy season will last until… – Future

The scathed vegetation will have regained… – Future Perfect

I presently live in the beautiful city of Campo, Verde, Mato Grosso, Brazil. However, I have not lived here all my life. I only recently moved here about 7 months ago. Before that, I had lived in Lethem (Region 9, Guyana), Georgetown (Region 4, Guyana) and Boa Vista (Roraima, Brazil). And boy, were those places hot!

When I arrived in Campo Verde last May, I enjoyed the moderate weather: it is never too hot, never too cold and sometimes just the perfect temperature. In fact, I had learned about the beautiful climate of this city seven years ago during my first visit here. And experiencing such beautiful weather, together with a beautiful city and friendly people, made me always want to come back. And I sure did! But this time, to stay! That’s right, I plan to call the city of Campo Verde my hometown. This is now my new home!

It is now the month of December and we experience intermittent rainfall – every day or every other day – sometimes in drizzles and sometimes in downpours. I was told that the rainy season lasts for six months after which the dry season starts. During the dry season, there are still some rainy days, and the weather is still just as beautiful – but there are a few days which are a bit hotter than normal.

Based on what I was told, I expect that the rainy season will last until the month of May, 2021. Then, we will have six months of dry season. During the dry season, the city council needs to water the grass on the lawns, but now in the rainy season, it needs to mow it down! Now the grass is long and green, but when the dry season comes, it will start to wither and lose its color. Then the watering of the lawns will start again.

When I arrived in Campo Verde in May, 2020, it was the dry season. The rainy season started in October, 2020. A few days before the rainy season started, the weather station had predicted its arrival, and they were accurate to the day! Before the present rainy season, the residents had been worrying that the dry season was progressing beyond its time, but their worries were soon alleviated. Whistling above the rooftops one fine morning, heavy winds ushered in the rainy season, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

During the last dry season, the bushes around the nearby waterfall ignited due to the heat and dryness. The aftermath of the fire left an eyesore at a scenery that was once a sight for sore eyes. By the time this rainy season is over, however, the now scathed vegetation will have regained its original beauty.