Tenses by sohail ahmed solangi

Tenses An aspect of verb which tells the time of an action is called tense. Tenses have certain rules, according to which a sentence is made. 1/29/2015

Sohail Ahmed [email protected]

Tenses

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Tense

An aspect of verb which tells the time of an action is called tense. Tenses have certain rules,

according to which a sentence is made.

There are mainly three kinds of tenses.

Present tense

Past tense

Future tense

Each of present, past and future tense is further divided into four kinds.

Simple (Indefinite)

Continuous (progressive)

Perfect

Perfect Continuous (Perfect progressive)

In this way, there are 12 kinds of tense, which are explained in detail as below

PRESENT TENSE

Present simple tense

Present Continuous tense

Present Perfect tense

Present Perfect Continuous tense

PAST TENSE

Past simple tense Past Continuous tense Past Perfect tense Past Perfect Continuous tense

FUTURE TENSE

Future simple tense

Future Continuous tense

Future Perfect tense

Future Perfect Continuous tense

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Simple Present Tense (Present Indefinite)

It is used to express an action in present time, habitual or usual actions or daily event or universal fact. It is used to express an action in present time which is usually done on a regular basis. For example a student says, “I go to school”. It is a daily activity of a student to go to school, so such actions are expressed by present simple tense. Another example is, “I work in a factory”. It tells about a usual action of a person that he works in a factory on regular basis. Rules. 1st form of verb or base verb is used as main verb in sentence.

Structure of sentence – Rules

Positive Sentence

• Subject + Main verb + Object

• Subject + 1st form of verb (or base verb) + Object

Note: If the subject in a sentence is “he, she, it, singular or proper noun” then “s” or “es” is

added to the first form of verb or base form in the sentence.

Examples.

I write a letter.

He gets up early in the morning.

Sun rises in east.

Negative Sentences

• Subject + auxiliary verb +NOT + Main verb +object

• Subject + Do not/Does not + 1st form of verb (or base form) + object

Examples.

I do not write a letter.

He does not get up early in the morning.

Sun does not rise in east.

Note: In negative sentence auxiliary verb “do or does” along with “not” is used. If the subject

in a sentence is “he, she, it, singular or proper noun”, then “Does not” is used after subject in

sentence. If subject is “I, we, they, you or plural” then “Do not” is used after subject in sentence.

“s” or “es” is not added to main verb in negative sentence

Interrogative Sentence

• Auxiliary verb + Subject + Main verb + Object

• Do/Does + Subject + 1st for of verb (or base verb) + Object

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Examples.

Do I write a letter?

Does he get up early in the morning?

Does sun rise in east?

Note: If the subject in a sentence is “he, she, it, singular or proper noun” the sentence is started

with Auxiliary verb “Does”. If the subject in a sentence is “I, we, they, you or plural” the

sentence is started with auxiliary verb “Do”. “s” or “es” is not added to main verb in

Interrogative sentence

Present Continuous Tense

It is used to express a continued or ongoing action at present time. It expresses an action which

is in progress at the time of speaking. For example, a person says, “I am writing a letter”. It

means that he is in the process of writing a letter right now. Such actions which are happening

at time of speaking are expressed by present continuous tense. Present Continuous tense is also

called Present progressive tense.

Rules. Auxiliary verb “am or is or are” is used in sentence. 1st form of verb or base verb + ing

(present participle) is used as main verb in sentence.

Structure of sentence

Positive Sentence

• Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb-ing (Present participle) + object

• Subject + am/is/are + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object

If the subject is “I” then auxiliary verb “am” is used after subject in sentence.

If the subject is “He, She, It, singular or proper name” then auxiliary verb “is” is used after

subject in sentence.

If subject is “You, They or plural” then auxiliary verb “are” is used after subject in sentence.

The participle “ing” is added to the 1st form of verb i.e. going (go) writing (write)

Examples

I am playing cricket.

He is driving a car

They are reading their lessons.

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Negative Sentence

• Subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb-ing (Present participle) + object

• Subject + am/is/are + not + (1st form of verb + ing) + object

Rules for using auxiliary verbs (am or is or are) after subject in negative sentences are same as

mentioned above.

Examples.

I am not playing cricket.

He is not driving a car

They are not reading their lessons.

Interrogative Sentences

• Auxiliary verb + Subject + main verb-ing (Present participle) + object

• Am/is/are + Subject + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object

For making interrogative sentences, the sentence is started with auxiliary verb rather than

putting auxiliary verb inside the sentence. If the subject is “I” the sentence starts with auxiliary

verb “am”. If the subject is “He, She, It, singular or proper name” the sentence starts with

auxiliary verb “is”. If subject is “You, They or plural” the sentence starts with auxiliary verb

“are”.

Examples.

Am I playing cricket?

Is he driving a car?

Are they reading their lessons?

Present Perfect Tense

It is used to expressed an action which happened or completed in past but usually the action

which happened or completed at a short time before now (near past) not a very long time

before now. Specific time such as two years ago, last week or that day is usually not used in the

sentences of in this tense. It means that this tense expresses the action whose time when it

happened, is not exactly specified but it sounds to refer to some action that happened or

completed in near past.

Rules: Auxiliary verb “has or have” is used in sentence. 3rd form of verb (past participle) is

used as main verb in sentence.

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Structure of Sentence

Positive Sentence

• Subject + Auxiliary verb + main verb (past participle) + Subject

• Subject + has/have + 3rd form of verb or past participle + subject

If the subject is “He, She, It, singular or proper name” then auxiliary verb “has” is used after


If subject is “You, They or plural” then auxiliary verb “have” is used after subject in sentence.

Examples

I have eaten meal

She has learnt a lesson

Negative Sentence

• Subject + Auxiliary verb + NOT + main verb (past participle) + Subject

• Subject + has/have + NOT + 3rd form of verb or past participle + subject

Rules for using auxiliary verb “has or have” in negative sentence are same as mentioned above.

Examples

I have not eaten meal.

She has not learnt a lesson.

Interrogative Sentences

• Auxiliary verb + Subject + main verb (past participle) + Subject

• Has/have + Subject + 3rd form of verb or past participle + subject

Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb. If the subject is “He, She, It, singular or proper

name” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “has”.

If subject is “You, They or plural” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “have”.

Examples

Have I eaten meal?

Has she learnt a lesson?

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Present Perfect Continuous tense

It is used to express a continued or ongoing action that started in past and is continued until

now. There will be a time reference, such as “since 1980, for three hours etc” from which the

action has been started. A sense of time reference is found in these sentences which gives an

idea that action has been continued from some time in past till now. Such time reference or

sense of time reference is the identity of Present perfect continuous tense because it tells that

action has started from a particular time in past. For example, “He has been reading in this

school since 2005”, so the it means that he has started his education in this school in 2005 and

he is studying in this school till now.

Note: If there is not time reference or sense of time reference then it is not Present perfect

continuous tense because there is no hint about the time of action when it started in past and it

seems just an ongoing action at present time which resembles “present Continuous tense. So

the reference of time differentiates between Present perfect continuous tense and Present

continuous tense.


Positive Sentence.

• Subject + Auxiliary verb + main verb (Present participle) + Object + Time reference

• Subject + has been/have been + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object + time

reference

If the subject is “He, She, It, singular or proper name” then auxiliary verb “has been” is used

after subject in sentence.

If subject is “You, They or plural” then auxiliary verb “have been” is used after subject in

sentence.

Examples.

He has been watering the plants for two hours.

I have been studying since 3 O’clock

Negative Sentence.

• Subject +”Not” between the Auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + Object +

Time reference

• Subject + has not been/have not been + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object + time

reference

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To make negative sentence, the word “not” is written between the auxiliary verbs, so it

becomes like “has not been or have not been”. The rule for using auxiliary verb “has been or

have been” in negative sentences is as same as mentioned above.

Examples.

He has not been watering the plants for two hours.

I have not been studying since 3 O’clock.

Interrogative Sentence.

• Auxiliary verb + Subject + Auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object + time

reference

• Has/have + Subject + been + (1st form of verb or base verb+ing) + object + time reference

Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb. If the subject is “He, She, It, singular or proper

name” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “has” and auxiliary verb “been” is used after

subject

If subject is “You, They or plural” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “have” and

“been” is used after subject

Examples.

Has he been watering the plants for two hours?

Have I been studying since 3 O’clock?

Past Simple Tense

It is used to express an action that happened or completed in past, usually a very little time

before speaking, or action which is just completed. Time of action is not specified in terms of

long time ago or short ago but it make a sense that the action has done a little time ago. For

example, a person says, “I watched a movie”, it means the speaker of this sentence watched a

movie a little time ago or little time ago in the same day, but it has no connection with present

tense.

Rules: 2nd form of verb (past simple) is used as main verb in the positive sentences and base

form is used in negative and interrogative sentences.

Structure of sentences

Positive Sentence

• Subject + main verb (past simple) + object

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• Subject + 2nd form of verb (past simple) + object

Examples

I killed a snake

He ate a mango.

Negative sentences

• Subject + (auxiliary verb + not) main verb (base form) + object

• Subject + did not + 1st form of verb or base form + object

In negative sentence “did not” is written and the 1st form of verb (base verb) is used instead of

using 2nd form (or past simple verb).

Examples.

I did not kill a snake

He did not eat a mango

Interrogative sentences

• Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb (base verb) + object

• Did + subject + 1st form of verb (or base verb) + object

Interrogative sentence starts with “did” and the 1st form of verb (base verb) is used instead of

using 2nd form (or past simple verb).

Examples

Did I kill a snake?

Did he eat a mango?

Past Continuous tense

It is used to express a continued or ongoing action in past, an ongoing action which occurred in

past and completed at some point in past. It expresses an ongoing nature of an action in

past. For example, “he was laughing.” This sentence shows ongoing action (laughing) of a

person which occurred in past. Past continuous tense is also called past progressive.

Rules: Auxiliary verb “was or were” is used in sentence. 1st form of verb or base verb + ing

(present participle) is used as main verb in sentence.

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Positive sentences

• Subject + auxiliary verb + Main Verb (present participle) + object

• Subject + was/were + (1st form of verb or base verb +ing) +object

If the subject is “he, she, It, I, singular or proper noun” then auxiliary verb “was” is used. If

subject is “you, we, they or plural” then auxiliary verb “were” is used.

Examples.

She was crying yesterday.

They were climbing on a hill.

Negative sentences

• Subject + auxiliary verb + NOT + Main verb (present participle) + object

• Subject + was/were + NOT + (1st form of verb or base verb +ing) +object

Rules for using auxiliary verb after subject are same as mentioned above.

Examples.

She was not crying yesterday.

They were not climbing on a hill.

Interrogative sentences

• Auxiliary verb + Subject + Main verb (present participle) + object

• Was/were + Subject + (1st form of verb or base verb +ing) +object

The interrogative sentence starts with the auxiliary verb. If the subject is “he, she, It, I, singular

or proper noun” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “was”. If subject is “you, we, they

or plural” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “were”.

Examples.

Was she crying yesterday?

Were they climbing on a hill?

Past perfect tense

It is used to express an action which has occurred in past (usually, a long time ago) and action

which has occurred in past before another action in past.

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For example,

I had lived in America. (The sense of time in this sentence refers to a completed action in past

and especially a long time ago)

Rules. Auxiliary verb “had” is used in sentence. 3rd form of verb (past participle) is used as

main verb in sentence


Positive sentence

• Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (past participle) + object

• Subject + had + 3rd form of verb or past participle + object

Examples.

He had taken the exam last year

A thief had stolen my watch.

Negative sentence

• Subject + auxiliary verb + NOT + main verb (past participle) + object

•Subject + had + not + 3rd form of verb or past participle + object

“Not” is written after auxiliary verb in negative sentence.

Examples.

He had not taken the exam last year

A thief had not stolen my watch.


• Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb (past participle) + object

• Had + subject + 3rd form of verb or past participle + object

Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb “had”

Examples.

Had he taken the exam last year

Had a thief stolen my watch?

Past Perfect continuous tense

It is used to express a continued or ongoing action that started in past and continued until

sometime in past. (Remember, an ongoing action in past which continued till some time in past)

There will be a time reference, such as “since 1980, for three hours etc” from which the action

had started. A sense of time reference is found in these sentences which shows that action had

Tenses


started in past and continued till some time in past. Such time reference or sense of reference is

the identity of Present perfect continuous tense because it tells that action has started from a

particular time in past or for some time period. For example, “He had been studying in this

school since 2005”, so the it means that he had started his education in this school in 2005 and

he studied in this school till sometime in past.


Positive Sentence.


• Subject + had been + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object + time reference

Examples.

I had been waiting for him for one hour.

She had been playing chess since 7 O’clock.

Negative Sentence.

• Subject +”Not” between the Auxiliary verbs + main verb (present participle) + Object +

Time reference

• Subject + had not been + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object + time reference

To make negative sentence, the word “not” is added inside auxiliary verb, so it becomes “had

not been”.

Examples.

I had not been waiting for him for one hour.

She had not been playing chess since 7 O’clock.


• Auxiliary verb+ Subject + Auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object + time

reference

• Had + Subject + been + (1st form of verb or base verb+ing) + object + time reference

Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb “had” and auxiliary verb “been” is used after


Examples.

Had I been waiting for him for one hour?

Had she been playing chess 7 O’clock?

Tenses


Future simple tense

It is used to express an action which has not occurred yet and will occur after saying or in

future. For example, “I will/shall go to zoo tomorrow”, in this sentence the person intend for

tomorrow’s visit to zoo. In short, these sentences express actions which will be done in future.

Rules. Auxiliary verb “will” is used in sentence. 1st form of verb or base form is used as main

verb in sentence.

The traditional rule in standard British English is that shall is used with first person pronouns

(i.e. I and we) to form the future tense, while will is used with second and third person forms

(i.e. you, he, she, it, they).

For example:

I shall be late.

They will not have enough food.

However, when it comes to expressing a strong determination to do something, the roles are

reversed: will is used with the first person


Positive sentence

• Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object

•Subject + will + (1st form of verb or base form +ing) + object

Examples.

I will/Shall buy a computer tomorrow.

They will come here.

Negative sentence

• Subject + auxiliary verb+ not + main verb (present participle) + object

• Subject + will +not + (1st form of verb or base form +ing) + object

To make negative sentence “not” is written after auxiliary verb in sentence.

Examples.

I will/Shall not buy a computer tomorrow.

They will not come here.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/traditional

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/shall

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/will

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/determination

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/reverse

Tenses



• Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb (present participle) + object

• Will + subject + (1st form of verb or base form +ing) + object

Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb “will”

Examples.

Shall I buy a computer tomorrow?

Will they come here?

Future Continuous tense

It is used to express a continued or an ongoing action in future. For example, “I will be waiting

for you tomorrow”, it conveys ongoing nature of an action (waiting) which will occur in future.

Rules. Auxiliary verb “will/Shall be” is used in sentence. 1st form of verb + ing (present

participle) is used as main verb in sentence.


Positive sentence

• Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object

• Subject + will be+ 1st form of verb or base form+ing (present participle) + object

Examples.

I will/Shall be waiting for you.

You will be feeling well tomorrow.

Negative sentence

• Subject + not between auxiliary verbs+ not + main verb (present participle) +

object

• Subject + will not be + 1st form of verb or base form+ing (present participle) +

object

To make negative sentence “not” is written between auxiliary verbs “will and be” in sentence.

Tenses


Examples.

I will/Shall not be waiting for you.

You will not be feeling well tomorrow.


• Auxiliary verb + subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object

• Will + subject + be+ 1st form of verb or base form+ing (present participle) + object

Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb “will” and auxiliary verb “be” comes after

subject in interrogative sentence

Examples.

Will/Shall I be waiting for you?( Will when it put to other’s choice)

Will you be feeling well tomorrow?

Future Perfect tense

It is used to express an action which will occur in future and is thought to be completed in

future. It expresses a sense of completion of an action which will occur in future. For example,

“Ayaan will have gone tomorrow”. It shows a sense of completion of an action (go) which will

occur in future (tomorrow).

Rules. Auxiliary verb “will/Shall have” is used in sentence. 3rd form of verb or past participle

form of verb is used as main verb in sentence.


Positive sentence

• Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (past participle) + object

• Subject + will have + 3rd form of verb or past participle + object

Examples

She will have finished the work by Wednesday.

I will/Shall have left for home by the time he gets up.

You will have started a job.

Negative sentence

• Subject + Not between auxiliary verbs + main verb (past participle) + object

• Subject + will not have + 3rd form of verb or past participle + object

Examples

She will have finished the work by Wednesday.

Tenses


I will/Shall have left for home by the time he gets up.

You will not have started a job.


• Auxiliary verb + Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (past participle) + object

• Will + Subject +have + 3rd form of verb or past participle + object

Examples

Will she have finished the work by Wednesday?

Will/Shall I have left for home by the time he gets up?

Will you have started a job?

Future Perfect Continuous tense

It is used to express a continued or ongoing action that will start in future and is thought to be

continued till sometime in future. (Remember, an ongoing action in future which will continue

till some time in future). There will be a time reference, such as “since 1980, for three hours”

from which the action will start in future and will continue. A sense of time reference is found

which gives an idea that action will start at some time in future and will continue for some

time. Such time reference or sense of time reference is the identity of Future perfect continuous

tense because it tells that action will start at a particular time in future. For example, “He will

have been studying in this school since 2005”, so the it means that he will start studying in this

school in 2005 and will study in this school till sometime in future.


Positive Sentence.


•Subject + will have been + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object + time reference

Examples.

I will/Shall have been waiting for him for one hour.

She will have been playing football since 2015.

Negative Sentence.

• Subject +”Not” inside Auxiliary verbs + main verb (present participle) + Object + Time

reference

• Subject + will not have been + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object + Time reference

To make negative sentence, the word “not” is added inside auxiliary verb, so it becomes “will

not have been”.

Tenses


Examples.

I will/Shall not have been waiting for him for one hour.

She will not have been playing football since 2015.


• Auxiliary verb + Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object + time

reference

• Will + Subject + have been + (1st form of verb or base verb+ing) + object + time reference

Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb “will” and auxiliary verb “have been” is used

after subject in sentence.

Examples.

Will/Shall I have been waiting for him for one hour?

Will she have been playing football since 2015?

References and For Further Reading

n.d. 28 1 2015 <http://www.studyandexam.com/learn-english.html>.

Martinet, A v and A J Thomson. A Practical English Grammar. Karachi: Oxford University

Press, 2006.

oxforddictionaries. 28 1 2015 <http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words>.

Grammarly. Grammarly Handbook. n.d. 28 1 2015

<http://www.grammarly.com/handbook/grammar/verbs/8/simple-present-tense-

present-indefinite/>.

Murphy, Raymond. English Grammar in use. London: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Quirk, Randolph and Sidney Greenbaum. A Concise Grammar of Contemporary English.

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,, 1978.

Wekipedia. n.d. 14 1 2015 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_tense>

Education

Tenses by sohail ahmed solangi