TOPIC :

TENSES
CONTENT :

TENSE :

Tense is a change of form in a verb to express the time of an action .

Based on time frame the verb may be categorized as follow .
 Present tense
 Past tense
 Future tense
1. PRESENT TENSE :

The present tense is a verb tense used to describe a current activity or state of being.
However, somewhat unusually, the present tense can also be used to describe past and
future activities

Example:

I swim in the sea every Saturday

He goes to school every morning.

TYPES :

The present tense is mainly classified into four parts:

 Simple present
 Present perfect
 Present continuous
 Present perfect continuous

1. SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE :

The simple present tense is when you use a verb to tell about things that happen
continually in the present, like every day, every week, or every month. We use the
simple present tense for anything that happens often or is factual

Formulating the simple present tense :

The formula to construct the simple tense is Subject (third person singular number) +
verb in simple present form + s/es + . . . . . Subject (all other kinds) + verb in simple
present form + . . . .

Examples:
 I go to school every day
 She understands English.
 It mixes the sand and the water.
 He tries very hard.
 She enjoys playing the piano.

2. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE :

The present perfect is used to indicate a link between the present and the past. The
time of the action is before now but not specified, and we are often more interested in
the result than in the action itself

Formulating the present perfect tense :

The formula for present perfect tense is base+ed+…..

EXAMPLES :

 She has lived here all her life.

 They have written three letters already.
 I have worked here since I graduated school.
 He has finished his homework.
 We have been to Canada.

3. PRESENT CONTINOUS TENSE :

The present continuous tense is used for actions happening now or for an action that is
unfinished. This tense is also used when the action is temporary

Formulating the present continous tense

The formula for writing in the present continuous is: 'be' verb [am, is, are…] + present
participle

EXAMPLES:

 am writing articles on different topics.

 He is reading various kinds of books.
 They are playing football now.
 She is drinking coffee.
 He is going to the library.
 We are coming for shopping in this market

4. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINOUS TENSE :

The present perfect continuous tense (also known as the present perfect progressive
tense) shows that something started in the past and is continuing at the present time.

Formulating the present perfect continous tense

The present perfect continuous is formed using the construction has/have been + the
present participle (root + -ing)

EXAMPLES:

 I have been writing articles on different topics since morning.

 He has been reading the book for two hours.
 They have been playing football for an hour.
 She has been finding the dress since morning.
 He has been studying in the library for three hours.
 We have been shopping at this fair for two hours

2. PAST TENSE :

The past tense is a verb tense used for a past activity or a past state of being.
For example:
 I jumped in the lake. (This is a past activity.)
 I was happy.(This is a past state of being )

TYPES OF PAST TENSE :

Each tense has four aspects that talks about the completion of the event or action and
based on that, we have four types of past tense verbs:

 Simple Past Tense.

 Past Continuous Tense.
 Past Perfect Tense.
 Past Perfect Continuous Tense

i. Simple Past Tense :

“The simple past is a verb tense that is used to talk about things that happened or
existed before now .”

The simple past tense of regular verb is marked by the ending -d or -ed. Examples of
regular simple past tense verbs used in a sentence are:

 I solved the puzzle.
 He dumped the garbage.

Irregular verb have a variety of endings.

The simple past tense of some irregular verbs looks exactly like the root form
Put→Put ,Cut→Cut ,Set→Set, Cost→Cost, Hit→Hit

Examples of irregular verbs used in sentence are :

 Janice bought a new watch last week
 We came home earlier yesterday

The simple past is not accompanied by helping verb .

Formulating the Simple Past Tense Verb

To formulate the simple past tense verb, we add ‘- ed’. For verbs ending in ‘e’, we add ‘-
d’ and. However, there are some simple past tense such as cut, put, set etc which
remain the same in the present and past tense. Examples are,

 He worked at the Cheesecake Factory.

  I often brought my lunch to school

The formula for asking a question in the simple past tense is did + [subject] + [root form
of verb]

EXAMPLES :
 I saw a movie yesterday.
 I didn't see a play yesterday.
 Last year, I traveled to Japan.
 Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
 Did you have dinner last night ?
 She washed her car.
 He didn't wash his car.

ii. PAST CONTINOUS TENSE :

The past continuous tense is used to describe actions that began in the past and often
continued for a short period of time after the action started.

Formulating past continous tense :

The past continuous is formed from the past tense of "to be" with the base of the main
verb plus the ending "-ing" form of the verb.

It is formed like this: Subject + was/were + continuous form of the verb ending in –ing

EXAMPLES :

The following are basic examples of the past continuous tense. The verb tense in each
sentence is underlined.

 When we got to the house yesterday morning, the baby was drinking a bottle.
 He was waiting at home all day when she sent him the message.
 Alan was cutting the grass the other day when the snake appeared.
 What were you doing when the alarm went off last night?

 Were you calling me when I emailed you this afternoon?

iii. PAST PERFECT TENSE :

The past perfect, also called the pluperfect, is a verb tense used to talk about actions
that were completed before some point in the past.

Formulating the past perfect tense

The formula for the past perfect tense is had + [past participle]. It doesn’t matter if the
subject is singular or plural; the formula doesn’t change.

EXAMPLES :

 She had met him before the party.

 The plane had left by the time I got to the airport.
 I had written the email before he apologized.
 Kate had wanted to see the movie, but she did not have money for the

iv. PAST PERFECT CONTINOUS TENSE :

The past perfect continuous tense (also known as the past perfect progressive tense)
shows that an action that started in the past continued up until another time in the past

Formulating the past perfect continous tense :

The past perfect continuous tense is constructed using had been + the verb’s present
participle (root + -ing)

EXAMPLES :

 I had been writing articles on various topics for three hours.

 He had been reading different kinds of books since morning.
 They had been playing football in that field before it started to rain.
 Jane had been gossiping in the coffee shop for two hours.
 Jeff had been studying in the library before he came to the class.

3 . FUTURE TENSE :

The future tense is a verb tense used for a future activity or a future state of being.

EXAMPLES :
 I will jump in the lake. (This is a future activity.)
 I will be happy.

TYPES

There are four future verb tenses in English.

 Simple future tense.
 Future continuous tense.
 Future perfect tense.
 Future perfect continuous tense.

i. SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE :

The simple future tense is used when an action is promised/thought to occur in the
future.

Formulating the simple future tense :

The simple future tense is constructed by Subject + shall/will + verb + 

Example:

 We shall move to another city.

 He will come to New York tomorrow.
 They will make a phone which has artificial intelligence.

ii. FUTURE CONTINOUS TENSE :.

Future Continuous tense represents a continuous action which will happen in the future

Formulating the future continous tense

The future continous tense can be construced by Subject + will be+ Present participle
(-ing) form

Examples :

 I will arrive at five o'clock.

 At five o'clock, I will be meeting with the management about my raise.
 Michael will be running a marathon this Saturday.
 Eric will be competing against Michael in the race.
 I will be watching Michael and Eric race.

iii. FUTURE PERFECT TENSE :

The future perfect is a verb tense used for actions that will be completed before some
other point in the future

Formulating the future perfect tense :

The formula for the future perfect tense is pretty simple: will have + [past participle]. It
doesn’t matter if the subject of your sentence is singular or plural. The formula doesn’t
change

EXAMPLES

 I will have finished this book.

 You will have studied the English tenses.
 She will have cooked dinner.
 He will have arrived.
 We will have met Julie.
 It will have stopped raining.
 They will have left Japan.

iv. FUTURE PERFECT CONTINOUS TENSES :

The future perfect continuous, also sometimes called the future perfect progressive, is a
verb tense that describes actions that will continue up until a point in the future.

Formulating the future perfect continous tense :

The future perfect continuous consists of will + have + been + the verb’s present
participle (verb root + -ing).

Examples

 I will have been waiting here for three hours by six o'clock.
 By 2001 I will have been living in London for sixteen years.
 When I finish this course, I will have been learning English for twenty years.
 Next year I will have been working here for four years

RULES FOR ALL TENSES