Thursday, March 2, 2023

Tenses in English Grammar | Definitions and examples | Easy English Grammar




What is Tense and Why we read tenses –

What is Tense  ?

Tense is used to describe the time of an action , event , or state . There are three primary tenses in English grammar – (i) Past , (ii) Present and (iii) Future .

Each primary tense has four aspects -  (i) Simple , (ii) Continuous , (iii) Perfect  and (iv) Perfect continuous .

(i) The simple aspect is used to describe a single action or event .

(ii) The continuous aspect is used to describe an ongoing action or event .

(iii) The perfect aspect is used to describe an action that has been completed before another time .

(iv) The perfect continuous aspect is used to describe an ongoing action that has been completed up to a certain point .

 

Why we read tenses ?

(i) It's important to use the correct tense in order to convey the intended meaning of a sentence .

(ii) Tense consistency is important within a sentence or paragraph to avoid confusion .

(iii) The use of specific time markers or adverbs can help clarify the intended tense of a sentence .




 

Different Types of Tenses with Examples :

1. Present Tenses :

It expresses an action that is currently going on or habitually performed , or a state that currently or generally exists .

(i) Present Simple Tense : Used to describe habits, routines, and general truths .

 Example : "I eat breakfast every morning ."

Formation :

 

Subject + V1

 

(i) The first person (I) takes the first form of verb , e.g. I go and I work there etc.


(ii) The second person (You) takes the first form of verb , e.g. You come and You run etc,


(iii) (a) In the third person singular number , the verb always ends with ‘ s ’ , e.g. He goes , She gives, She thinks , She runs etc. In case the verb is ending with ‘ y ’ , it changes to ‘ ies ’ , e.g.  She flies and He cries etc.


(b) In the third person plural number, the first form of verb is used , e.g. They come and They go etc.

 

(ii) Present Continuous Tense : Used to describe actions happening now or around now .

Example : "I am studying for my exams ."

Formation :

(i) Subject + Am / Is / Are + V1 – ing + object

(ii) Present continuous tense is also used to express something not happening or will not happen in the near future , i.e. in negetative sentences .

Subject + Am / Is / Are + Not + V1 – ing + object

                                                                   

(iii) Present Perfect Tense : Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue up to now, or actions that happened at an unspecified time in the past .

Example : "I have lived in this city for five years ."

Formation :

(i) Subject + Has / Have + V3 + Object

(ii) Subject + Has / Have + Not + V3 + Object

(iii) Has / Have + Subject + V3 + Object ; Has / Have + Subject + Not + V3 + Object

 

(iv) Present Perfect Continuous Tense : Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue up to now, with an emphasis on the duration of the action .

Example : "I have been working on this project for two months ."

Formation :

(i) Subject + Has / Have + Been + V1 - ing + Object + Since / For (+ Time being)

(ii) Subject + Has / Have + Not + Been + V1 - ing + Object + Since / For (+ Time being) [ in Negative sentences ]

(iii) Has / Have + Subject + Been + V1-ing + Since / For (+ Time being)  ; Has / Have + Subject + Not + Been + V1-ing + Since / For (+ Time being) [ in Interrogative sentences ]

 More Examples :

(i) I get up every day at four o'clock in the morning .

(ii) Prakash works eight hours every day .

(iii) The president of the USA lives in the White House .

(iv) Rai brushes her teeth twice a day .

(v) She is not sitting over there .

(vi) Are you not coming ?

(vii) She has finish her meal just now .

(viii) My mom has been watching the movie for two hours .

 

Important points :

(i) When Do / Does acts as helping verb with the main verb then we use 1st form of main verb .

For example , She does (does is helping verb here) not complete (we use 1st form of main verb here) the work properly .

(ii) When past point time given then we use simple past , not present perfect .

For example , “ I have done the work a second ago ”  is wonrg .

The correct is – “ I did the work a second ago ” .

 

2. Past Tenses :

It expresses an action or event that has happened or a state that previously existed .

(i) Past Simple Tense : Used to describe actions that happened at a specific time in the past .

Example : "I went to the beach last weekend ."

Formation :

 

(i) Subject + V2 + Object

(ii) Subject +  Did + Not + V1 + Object

(iii) Did + Subject + V1 + Object ; Did + Subject + Not + V1 + Object

 

(ii) Past Continuous Tense : Used to describe actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past .

Example : "I was watching TV when the phone rang ."

Formation :

 

(i) Subject + Was / Were + V1 – ing + Object

(ii) Subject + Was / Were + Not + V1 – ing + Object

(iii) Was / Were + Subject + V1– ing + Object ; Was / Were + Subject + Not + V1– ing + Object

 

(iii) Past Perfect Tense : Used to describe actions that were completed before a specific time in the past .

Example : "I had finished my homework before I went to bed ."

Formation :

 

(i) Subject + Had + V3 + Object

(ii) Subject + Had + Not + V3 + Object

(iii) Had + Subject + V3 ; Had + Subject + Not + V3

 

(iv) Past Perfect Continuous Tense : Used to describe actions that were in progress before a specific time in the past, with an emphasis on the duration of the action .

Example : "I had been jogging for an hour when it started raining ."

Formation :

(i) Subject + Had + Been + V1 – ing  + Object + Since / For

(ii) Subject + Had + Not + Been + V1 – ing  + Object + Since / For

(iii) Had + Subject + Been + V1 – ing ; Had + Subject + Not + Been + V1 – ing

 More Examples :

(i) He went home few minutes ago .

(ii) She used to carry a red umbrella .

(iii) She was waiting for his brother .

(iv) He was riding a bike .

(v) Had she not got it ?

(vi) I had done my homework when Hari came to see me .

(vii) Oindrila had been applying for jobs since May 2020 .

(viii) Rai had been teaching since December , 2022 .

 

3. Future Tenses :

It expresses an action / event that has not yet happened or a state that does not yet exist but it is expected to take place after some time from now .

(i) Future Simple Tense : Used to describe actions that will happen in the future .

Example : "I will meet you at the airport tomorrow ."

Formation :

(i) Subject + Will / Shall + V1 + Object

(ii) Subject + Will / Shall + Not + V1 + Object

(iii) Will / Shall +  Subject + V1 + Object ; Will / Shall +  Subject + Not + V1 + Object

 

(ii) Future Continuous Tense : Used to describe actions that will be in progress at a specific time in the future .

Example: "I will be studying at the library tomorrow afternoon ."

Formation :

(i) Subject + will be + V1 – ing + Object

(ii) Subject + will not be + V1 – ing + Object

(iii) Will + Subject + be + V1 – ing + Object ; Will + Subject + Not + be + V1 – ing + Object

 

(iii) Future Perfect Tense : Used to describe actions that will be completed before a specific time in the future .

Example : "I will have finished my essay by Friday ."

Formation :

(i) Subject + will have + V3 + Object

(ii) Subject + will not have + V3 + Object

(iii) Will + Subject + Have + V3 + Object ; Will + Subject + Not + Have + V3 + Object

 

(iv) Future Perfect Continuous Tense : Used to describe actions that will have been in progress up to a specific time in the future, with an emphasis on the duration of the action .

Example : "By the time you arrive, I will have been waiting for two hours ."

 

Formation :

(i) Subject + will have been + V1 – ing  + Object + Since / For + Time reference

(ii) Subject + will not have been + V1 – ing  + Object + Since / For + Time reference

(iii) Will + Subject + Have been + V1 – ing  + Object + Since / For + Time reference ; Will + Subject + Not + Have been + V1 – ing  + Object + Since / For + Time reference

More Examples :

(i) I will buy a HP laptop at the end of this month .

(ii) We will shift to a new house the next week .

(iii) She will be singing a song for the audience .

(iv) I shall be watching “ The Hindu Editorial by Nimisha Banshal ” then .

(v) She will have completed her project by Sunday .

(vi) I will have taken my lunch .

(vii) The company will not have been advertising posts for two years .

(viii)  Will Rai have been cooking for 3 hours ?


Practice Questions :

Choose the correct verb form in the following sentence :

1. She (study/studies) every day .

2. They (were/was) playing tennis yesterday .

3. I (am going/went) to the movies tonight .

4. He (works/worked) in that company five years ago .

5. By the time she gets here , we (will finish/will have finished) our dinner .

6. I (am reading/was reading) a book when the phone rang .

7. He (has been/was) waiting for two hours .

8. I (will be/will have been) studying for three hours by the time you get here .

9. They (are/were) planning to visit Delhi next summer .

10. Piya (had been cooking/was cooking) dinner for an hour when the guests arrived .

11. I (have been/had been) studying for four hours straight .

12. They (will be/will have been) married for ten years next month .

13. I (am/am going to be) late for the meeting if I don't leave now .

14. Parth (has been/was) a teacher for 15 years .

15. He (had been/was) studying for two hours when he suddenly fell asleep .

16. I (will/will have) finished the project by the end of the week .

17. They (are/were) planning to move to a new city next year .

18. I (am/will be) working from home tomorrow .

19. She (has been/was) waiting for the bus for over an hour .

20. They (had been/were) walking for hours when they finally reached the summit .

 

Answers :

1. Studies ,

2. were ,

3. am going ,

4. worked ,

5. will have finished ,

6. was reading ,

7. has been ,

8. will have been ,

9. are ,

10. had been cooking ,

11. have been ,

12. will have been ,

13. am going to be ,

14. has been ,

15. had been ,

16. will have ,

17. are ,

18. will be ,

19. has been ,

20. had been .

 

 

 

 

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