Identify the verb tense in the following sentences.

1. Zach stopped to call a friend
Past continuous
2. What are you doing?
present continuous
3. I was hoping to hear from you.
Simple past
4.The guy makes his own instruments.
simple present

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/simplepresent.html

1.Simple present

3.Simple past

1. Present???

3. No.

Please study the page I posted for you. You'll also find links to other tenses there.

1. present continuous

3. past continuous

I don't understand what is so hard about number 1. Zach stopped once. Isn't that simple past?

2. Yes. Past continuous.

If he stopped to make a call why isnt that now

The verb ends in -ed, making it past tense.

Present: Zach stops for red lights.
Present continuous: Zach is stopping for a red light.
Past: Yesterday Zach stopped to make a call.
Past continuous: Zach was stopping for a red light when he got a phone call.

To identify the verb tense in each of the given sentences, you need to understand the different verb tenses in English grammar. Here's an explanation of each sentence and the verb tenses used:

1. "Zach stopped to call a friend."
Here, the verb tense is past simple. The word "stopped" indicates an action that occurred in the past.

2. "What are you doing?"
The verb tense in this sentence is present continuous. The word "are doing" indicates an action that is happening at the present moment.

3. "I was hoping to hear from you."
In this sentence, the verb tense is past continuous. The words "was hoping" indicate an action that was ongoing in the past.

4. "The guy makes his own instruments."
The verb tense in this sentence is simple present. The word "makes" indicates a general action that happens regularly or repeatedly.

To identify verb tenses in sentences, you need to analyze the specific verb forms used in relation to the time the action is happening or happened. Understanding the different verb tenses will help you accurately identify the tense in any given sentence.

1. What makes you think that "stopped" is an ongoing (continuous) action?

2. Correct.

3. Did he hope for just a moment? Did he only hope once?

4. Correct.

thanks