The verb “look’’ can be used in the present, past, or past participle forms in various forms of tenses. Let us look over its usage in three tenses and their forms.
The verb “look’’ has various forms that are used in the different tenses. We must add the “s” with the root word to frame “looks” which is used in the simple present tense in the case of third person singular number subject. The other forms looking and looked are used in continuous and past tense forms.
Now, let us discuss more interesting facts regarding the usage of “look” in the three tenses along with relevant examples and detailed explanations.
“Look’’ in the present tense.
The present tense is a grammatical tense form that is used to present the actions of the present moment. Let us check how “look” acts in the present tense.
The verb “look’’ in the forms “looks’’, “look’’, or “looking’’ are used to form the present tense. We use the verb “look’’ to refer to the action of watching any person or thing in a general sense.
When can we use “look’’ in the present tense?
We use the word “look’’ when we need to watch something or someone close. We must use look, looks, or looking along with am/is/are, had, or had been to form sentences in the present tense.
Sentence structure of “look’’ in the present tense-
| Type of present tense | Rule to form a sentence with “look’’ in the present tense |
| 1. Present indefinite tense/ Simple present tense | (i) Subject (any person) + look/looks + object + remaining part (assertive sentence) (ii) Do/does + Subject (any person) + look + object +remaining part ? ( to frame interrogative sentence) (iii) Look(base form) + object + rest of the sentence (imperative sentence) |
| 2. Present continuous tense/ Present progressive tense | a. Subject (any person) + am/is/are + looking + object + rest of the sentence (framing assertive sentence) b. Am/is/are + subject + looking + object + remaining part (interrogative sentence) |
| 3. Present perfect tense | a. Subject (any person) + has/have + looked (past participle form) + object + rest (assertive sentence) b. Has/have + subject looked + object + remaining part +?(question formation sentence) |
| 4. Present perfect continuous tense/ Present perfect progressive tense | a. Subject(any person) + has/have been looking + object + remaining part (statement) b. Has/have + been + subject (any person) + looking + object + remaining part (question) |
Examples and explanations with the usage of “look’’ in the present tense-
| Type of present tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Present indefinite tense/ Simple present tense | You look like the wisest of all in the group. | In this scenario, the verb “looks’’ is used to show that you appear very wise now among all of the members of the group. |
| 2. Present continuous tense/ Present progressive tense | Rohamat is looking out of the window as it rains cats and dogs. | We find the term “is looking’’ is used to form the continuous action of making the girl handsome for she wears the two parts. |
| 3. Present perfect tense | The woman has looked at the stranger as if she knows him. | We come to know that the woman has stared at the unknown person as if she knows him for a long. |
| 4. Present perfect continuous tense/ Present perfect progressive tense | Gargi has been looking for her handkerchief in the room for an hour. | Through this sentence we get the concept that the verbs “has been looking’’ are used to frame a sentence to give an action of Gargi’s looking for the handkerchief is in progress for some time. |
“Look’’ in the past tense.
A past tense is the verb form that shows an act of the past. Now, we will gain an explanation of how the verb “look’’ plays its role in the past tense.
The regular verb “look’’ is used in the past tense to show the particular appearance of someone that was seen before.
When can we use “look’’ in the past tense?
We use the verb “look” in the 2nd form “looked” in the past tense when we need to present the action of watching things or watching them directly. We must use this verb along with was/were, had, and had been as per the requirement to frame sentences in the past tense.
Sentence structure or formation with the verb “look’’ in the past tense-
| Type of past tense | How to form a sentence with “look’’ in the past tense- |
| 1. Past indefinite tense/ Simple past tense | a. Subject (any person) + looked (past form) + object + rest of the sentence(in time of framing assertive sentence) b. Did + subject (any person) + look + object + rest of the sentence(to make question) |
| 2. Past continuous tense/ Past progressive tense | a. Subject (any person) + was/were + looking + object + remaining part of the sentence (while framing assertive sentence) b. Was/were + subject (any person) + looking + object + remaining part of the sentence (interrogative sentence or question |
| 3. Past perfect tense | a. Subject (any person) + had looked (past participle form) + object + rest of the sentence(while framing assertive sentence) b. Had +subject + looked (past participle form) + object + rest of the sentence(question) |
| 4. Past perfect continuous tense/ past progressive tense | a. Subject (any person) + had been looking + object + rest of the sentence(for framing assertive sentence) b. Had + subject (any person) + been + looking + object + rest +?(to make question) |
Examples and explanations of “look’’ in the past tense-
| Type of past tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Past indefinite tense/ Simple past tense | We looked for the day when we would get the opportunity to enjoy the cricket match in the stadium. | In the sentence, the verb “looked’’ is used to frame a sentence to form a completed act in the past. It is seen that we looked for the day when we would enjoy the match. |
| 2. Past continuous tense/ Past progressive tense | My father was looking into the cause of our dispute with the neighbor. | Here “was looking’’ is in the usage to form past progressive tense. We come to know that my father was searching for the reason for the dispute with the neighbor. |
| 3. Past perfect tense | The soup had looked delicious before the spices were added to it. | This example shows us the verb “had looked’’ is in the usage of a sentence with a sense to provide that the soup had appeared very delicious before the spices were added to it. |
| 4. Past perfect continuous tense/ Past perfect progressive tense | The baby had been looking at the kittens at their play for two hours. | In this sentence, the verb “had been looking’’ is in the usage to refer to an ongoing action of the past. We see that the baby was enjoying the kitten at their game for some time. |
“Look’’ in the future tense.
The verb “look’’ will bring shall/will after it to frame future tense to mention future actions. Let us find out the aspects of how “look’’ acts in the future tense.
We can use the verb “look’’ in the future tense to display the act of finding something or someone in the future.
When can we use “look’’ in the future tense?
We use the verb “look’’ along with shall/will to display our intention to find out the situations of watching something in the future. We are also certain to use it when we will want someone to look at something being surprised or interested.
Sentence structure of “look’’ in the future tense-
| Type of future tense | Sentence formation with “look’’ in the future tense |
| 1. Future indefinite tense/ Simple future tense | a. Subject (any person) + shall/will look + object + remaining part(assertive or declarative sentence) b. Shall/will + subject (any person) + look + object + remaining part +?(in case of framing question) |
| 2. Future continuous tense/ Future progressive tense | a. Subject (any person) + shall/will + be looking + object + remaining part(statement or descriptive sentence) b. Shall/will + subject (any person) + be + looking + object + remaining part +?(in case of making question) |
| 3. Future perfect tense | a. Subject (any person) + shall/will + have looked + object + remaining part (while framing assertive sentence) b. Shall/will + subject (any person) + have looked + object + remaining part +?(to make question) |
| 4. Future perfect continuous tense/ Future perfect progressive tense | a. Subject + shall/will + have + been + looking + object + remaining part(for making assertive sentence) b. Shall/will + subject (any person) + have + been + looking + object + remaining part(for making question) |
Examples and examples of “look’’ in the future tense-
| Type of future tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Future indefinite tense/ Simple future tense | I shall look at the way how they build the house. | The verb “look’’ along with will is used to give us an example of making me stare at the way how they construct the house in the future. |
| 2. Future continuous tense/ Future progressive tense | The solution to the problems will be looking easy for a good explanation. | Here we have found that the verb “will be looking’’ has formed a continuous action in which we see that the solution to the problems will be looking very simple and easy for a good explanation. |
| 3. Future perfect tense | Vairabi will have looked for someone to watch her house. | The sentence provides us with the sense that the girl Vairavi will have wanted someone to watch her house. |
| 4. Future perfect continuous tense/ Future perfect progressive tense | The painters will have been looking at their paintings for several minutes. | The verb “will have been looking’’ has made a sentence in the progressive form in which we find the painters will have been looking at their creation for some time. |
Conclusion
At the end of the article, we may say that we can make phrases with the verb “look’’ such as “do not look now’’, “look before you leap’’, “look the other way’’, “need to look no further’’, etc. We can frame phrasal verbs like “look for’’, and “look up’’, “look ahead’’, “look into’’, “look around’’, “look at’’ etc with this verb form.
Hi…. I am Goutam Datta. I have completed a double M. A. in English and B. Ed. I am a creative writer. Currently, I am a part of the LambdaGeeks.
