English - Present Tenses

English :: Tenses :: Present Tenses I) Present Tense (a) Simple Present : This Tense is used to express the habits, daily routine and universal truths. In this tense the first form of the verb is used. Taking the verb eat we can make sentences in the following manner : The formula for simple present is Subject + V1 I eat an apple everyday. We eat apples everyday. You eat apples everyday. He eats an apple everyday. She eats an apple everyday. It eats an apple everyday. They eat apples everyday. (b) Present Continuous : This Tense is used to express an action which is continuing or taking place now. In this tense the ing form of the verb is used. The formula for present continuous is Subject + Aux +V4 (ing form) I am eating an apple now. We are eating apples now. You are eating an apple now. He is eating an apple now. She is eating an apple now. It is eating an apple now. They are eating apples now. (c) Present Perfect : This Tense is used to express an action which is over just now or completed today. In this tense the third form of the verb is used. The formula for present perfect is Subject +Auxiliary Verb + V3 (Past Participle Form) I have eaten an apple today. We have eaten apples today. You have eaten an apple today. He has eaten an apple today. She has eaten an apple today. It has eaten an apple today. They have eaten apples today.

(c) Present Perfect Continuous : This Tense is used to express an action which began at some point of time in the past and is still continuing. In this tense the ing form of the verb is used. The formula for present perfect continuous is Subject+Aux+Aux+V4(ing form) I have been eating apples for the last three months. We have been eating apples for the last three months. You have been eating apples for the last three months. He has been eating apples for the last three months. She has been eating apples for the last three months. It has been eating apples for the last three months. They have been eating apples for the last three months.

English - Past Tenses

English :: Tenses :: Past Tenses II) Past Tense (a) Simple Past : This Tense is used to express an action which is over or completed at some point of time in the past. In this tense the second form of the verb is used. The formula for simple past is Subject + V2 I ate an apple yesterday. We ate apples yesterday. You ate an apple yesterday. He ate an apple yesterday. She ate an apple yesterday. It ate an apple yesterday. They ate apples yesterday. (b) Past Continuous : This Tense is used to express an action which was continuing at some point of time in the past. In this tense the ing form of the verb is used. The formula for past continuous is Subject +Aux + V4(ing form) I was eating an apple yesterday. We were eating apples yesterday. You were eating an apple yesterday. He was eating an apple yesterday. She was eating an apple yesterday.

It was eating an apple yesterday. They were eating apples yesterday. (c) Past Perfect : This Tense is used to express an action which was over long ago. In this tense the third form of the verb is used. The formula for past perfect is Subject +Aux + V3 I had eaten an apple six years ago. We had eaten apples six years ago. You had eaten an apple six years ago. He had eaten an apple six years ago. She had eaten an apple six years ago. It had eaten an apple six years ago. They had eaten apples six years ago. (d) Past Perfect Continuous : This Tense is used to express an action which began at some point of time in the past, continued for some time and was subsequently discontinued. In this tense the ing form of the verb is used. The formula for past perfect continuous is Subject +Aux +Aux + V4(ing form) I had been eating apples until last year. We had been eating apples until last year. You had been eating apples until last year. He had been eating apples until last year. She had been eating apples until last year. It had been eating apples until last year. They had been eating apples until last year.

English - Future Tenses

English :: Tenses :: Future Tenses III) Future Tense (a) Simple Future : This Tense is used to express intention. In this tense the first form of the verb is used. The formula for simple future is Subject + Aux + V1 I will eat an apple tomorrow. We will eat apples tomorrow. You will eat an apple tomorrow.

He will eat an apple tomorrow. She will eat an apple tomorrow. It will eat an apple tomorrow. They will eat apples tomorrow. Here it may be mentioned that strict grammar rules prefer the use of shall for I and We First person singular and plural. However, in interrogative sentences shall has to be used with I & We instead of will. (b) Future Continuous : This Tense is used to express an action which is imagined to be continuing at some point of time in future. In this tense the ing form of the verb is used. The formula for future continuous is Subject +Aux+Aux+ V4(ing form) I will be eating an apple tomorrow in the evening. We will be eating apples tomorrow in the evening. You will be eating an apple tomorrow in the evening. He will be eating an apple tomorrow in the evening. She will be eating an apple tomorrow in the evening. It will be eating an apple tomorrow in the evening. They will be eating apples tomorrow in the evening.

(c) Future Perfect : This Tense is used to express an action which is imagined to have been completed at some point of time in future. It may be noted that this tense is basically theoretical and rarely used. The formula for future perfect is Subject+Aux+Aux+V3 I will have eaten an apple by this time tomorrow. We will have eaten apples by this time tomorrow. You will have eaten an apple by this time tomorrow. He will have eaten an apple by this time tomorrow. She will have eaten an apple by this time tomorrow. It will have eaten an apple by this time tomorrow. They will have eaten apples by this time tomorrow. (d) Future Perfect Continuous : This Tense is used to express an action which is imagined to began at some point of time in future and continue for sometime. It may be noted that this tense is basically theoretical and rarely used. In this tense the ing form of the verb is used. The formula for future perfect is Subject+Aux+Aux+Aux +V4

I will have been eating apples from next year. We will have been eating apples from next year. You will have been eating apples from next year. He will have been eating apples from next year. She will have been eating apples from next year. It will have been eating apples from next year. They will have been eating apples from next year. Active voice and Passive voice usage in tens:s I) Present Tense a) Simple Present I watch movies every week. - Active Voice Movies are watched by me every week. - Passive Voice We watch movies every week. Movies are watched by us every week. You watch movies every week. Movies are watched by you every week. He watches movies every week. Movies are watched by him every week. She watches movies every week. Movies are watched by her every week. It watches movies every week. Movies are watched by it every week. They watch movies every week. Movies are watched by them every week. b) Present Continuous I am watching a movie now. A movie is being watched by me now. We are watching a movie now. A movie is being watched by us now. You are watching a movie now. A movie is being watched by you now.

He is watching a movie now. A movie is being watched by him now. She is watching a movie now. A movie is being watched by her now. It is watching a movie now. A movie is being watched by it now. They are watching a movie now. A movie is being watched by them now. c) Present Perfect I have watched a movie today. A movie has been watched by me today. We have watched a movie today. A movie has been watched by us today. You have watched a movie today. A movie has been watched by you today. He has watched a movie today. A movie has been watched by him today. She has watched a movie today. A movie has been watched by her today. It has watched a movie today. A movie has been watched by it today. They have watched a movie today. A movie has been watched by them today. d) Present Perfect Continuous Normally ideas are not expressed in Passive Voice in this tense. Therefore it is better to avoid attempting a Passive Voice in any Perfect Continuous Tense. II) Past Tense a) Simple Past I watched a movie yesterday. A movie was watched by me yesterday.

We watched a movie yesterday. A movie was watched by us yesterday. You watched a movie yesterday. A movie was watched by you yesterday. He watched a movie yesterday. A movie was watched by him yesterday. She watched a movie yesterday. A movie was watched by you yesterday. It watched a movie yesterday. A movie was watched by it yesterday. They watched a movie yesterday. A movie was watched by them yesterday. b) Past Continuous I was watching a movie yesterday. A movie was being watched by me yesterday. We were watching a movie yesterday. A movie was being watched by me yesterday. You were watching a movie yesterday. A movie was being watched by you yesterday. He was watching a movie yesterday. A movie was being watched by him yesterday. She was watching a movie yesterday. A movie was being watched by her yesterday. It was watching a movie yesterday. A movie was being watched by it yesterday. They were watching a movie yesterday. A movie was being watched by them yesterday. c) Past Perfect I had watched a movie three years ago. A movie had been watched by me three years ago.

We had watched a movie three years ago. A movie had been watched by us three years ago. You had watched a movie three years ago. A movie had been watched by me three years ago. He had watched a movie three years ago. A movie had been watched by him three years ago. She had watched a movie three years ago. A movie had been watched by her three years ago. It had watched a movie three years ago. A movie had been watched by it three years ago. They had watched a movie three years ago. A movie had been watched by them three years ago. d) Past Perfect Continuous As we indicated earlier, ideas are normally not expressed in Passive Voice in this tense. Therefore it is better to avoid attempting a Passive Voice in any Perfect Continuous Tense. III) Future Tense a) Simple Future I will watch a movie tomorrow. A movie will be watched by me tomorrow. We will watch a movie tomorrow. A movie will be watched by us tomorrow. You will watch a movie tomorrow. A movie will be watched by you tomorrow. He will watch a movie tomorrow. A movie will be watched by him tomorrow. She will watch a movie tomorrow. A movie will be watched by her tomorrow. It will watch a movie tomorrow. A movie will be watched by it tomorrow.

They will watch a movie tomorrow. A movie will be watched by them tomorrow. b) Future Continuous I will be watching a movie at this time tomorrow. A movie will be being watched by me at this time tomorrow. We will be watching a movie at this time tomorrow. A movie will be being watched by us at this time tomorrow. You will be watching a movie at this time tomorrow. A movie will be being watched by you at this time tomorrow. He will be watching a movie at this time tomorrow. A movie will be being watched by him at this time tomorrow. She will be watching a movie at this time tomorrow. A movie will be being watched by her at this time tomorrow. It will be watching a movie at this time tomorrow. A movie will be being watched by it at this time tomorrow. They will be watching a movie at this time tomorrow. A movie will be being watched by them at this time tomorrow. c) Future Perfect I will have watched a movie by 6 pm tomorrow. A movie will have been watched by me by 6 pm tomorrow. We will have watched a movie by 6 pm tomorrow. A movie will have been watched by us by 6 pm tomorrow. You will have watched a movie by 6 pm tomorrow. A movie will have been watched by you by 6 pm tomorrow. He will have watched a movie by 6 pm tomorrow. A movie will have been watched by him by 6 pm tomorrow. She will have watched a movie by 6 pm tomorrow. A movie will have been watched by her by 6 pm tomorrow. It will have watched a movie by 6 pm tomorrow. A movie will have been watched by it by 6 pm tomorrow.

They will have watched a movie by 6 pm tomorrow. A movie will have been watched by them by 6 pm tomorrow. d) Future Perfect Continuous Normally ideas are not expressed in Passive Voice in this tense. Therefore it is better to avoid attempting a Passive Voice in any Perfect Continuous Tense. All sentences cannot be made into Passive Voice. Only the sentences with an object in them can be made into Passive Voice. All verbs are not transitive. A verb which takes an object is said to be a Transitive Verb and a Verb which does not take an object is said to be Intransitive. For Example, the following sentence cannot be converted into Passive Voice for the simple reason that the verb go does not take an object. I go for a walk everyday. In the above sentence the verb go is an Intransitive Verb. Such sentences which do not have an object cannot be converted into Passive Voice. More examples of sentences with Intransitive Verbs: Raju jumped 10 feet. David ran fast. Sita drove rashly. A case of double object. Certain sentences contain two objects. In such a case two passive sentences can be made using one object in each case. The principal sent a telegram to Gopi. A telegram was sent by the Principal to Gopi.