Tenses Notes

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St.

Teresa’s Day School & College


Tenses Notes

Meaning: A tense is a form of the verb that allows you to express time. The tense of the verb
tells us when an event or something existed or when a person did something.
Kinds of Tenses :
Past, present and future are the three main types of tense. Each tense is further subdivided
into four subcategories:

 Simple/ Indefinite
 Continuous
 Perfect
 Perfect Continuous

Past tense
The past tense is used to describe an activity or an event that has happened in the past or a
past state of being and needs to include a time marker for when the event or action took place.
Examples:

 We met yesterday.
 He bought a new laptop last week.

Simple Past Tense


Simple past tense is used to narrate an action of the past. The verb in the past tense
ends with an '-ed' and hence, there are seven ways of marking the irregular verbs in the
past tense. The most common being the change of the vowel as in 'drink' - 'drank'.

Structure
Subject + verb + Object

Examples:

 Katie worked in that office for almost four years.


 He passed away in 1999.
 We went for the movie yesterday.
 Three years ago, I studied at the Canada University.

Past Continuous Tense


This from of tense indicates activities that have already happened in the past and have
been completed before the time of mention. These sentences are formed with the help
of an auxiliary verb and giving the main verb an 'ing' ending.

Structure
Subject + was/were + Verb in its -ing form + Object

Examples:

 He was washing the dishes, while she was cooking dinner.


 I was working at 11p.m yesterday.
 We were playing football when it started to rain.
 She was reading a thriller novel when I called her.
 What were you doing when Sam arrived?
 I was walking down the street yesterday when the police van was
patrolling the city.

Past Perfect Tense


This tense refers to a non-continuous action that was already completed in the past.
Such sentences are formed by using the Simple Past form of the auxiliary verb 'to have',
followed by the past participle form of the verb.

Structure
Subject + had + past participle form of verb + Object

Example:

 I had never seen such a beautiful before.


 She understood the movie only because she had read the book.
 Clara had never been to a club before last night.
 We didn’t get a room in the hotel because we had not booked in advance.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
A continuous action that was completed sometime in the past falls under Past Perfect
Continuous tense. Such sentences are framed by using the modal, 'had' + 'been' + the
present participle of the verb (-ing).

Structure:
Subject + had + been + Verb (ing) + object

Example:

 I had been playing the guitar all morning.


 I had been sleeping all the way from the beginning of the class.
 He had been trying to call her.
 Until this year, Neha had been going to a village school.
 The baby had been crying out loud for minutes when her mother fed her.

Present tense
The simple present tense or present tense is one of the most basic tenses in English. We use
present tense to talk about something that is currently going on, something that is habitually
performed, or a state that generally or currently exists.
Examples:

 She lives in Spain.


 Bob drives a taxi..

Simple present
The simple present is the most basic of the English tenses. It’s used for individual actions or
habitual actions in the present. Often the simple present is just the root verb with no changes or
additions.
Note: The main exception to this is when the subject is third person and singular. In this case
you add the suffix –s. If the verb ends in o, ch, sh, th, ss, gh, or z, you add –es. If the verb ends
in a consonant and y (and the subject is third-person singular), drop the y and add –ies.
Examples:

 Today I feel like a million bucks!


 My brother carries the groceries while my sister stays on the couch.
 The sun sets in the west.
 All the cars stop at this crossing.
 Michael teaches social studies in a school.
 That notice reads, “No parking”.
 Radha leaves at seven in the morning.
 The teacher said if she works hard she will pass.
 There goes the taxi.
 Do you play tennis?
 He does not go to the temple.
 Does he write novels?

Present Progressive Or Present Continuous


Though the simple present and present continuous tenses are used interchangeably,
present continuous usually defines an act that is going on at the time of speaking.

The sentences with present progressive tense are used when:

 Something is taking place now, while speaking and has a definite end as
well.
 When something is already decided and arranged as well to perform it.
 To indicate an undesirable habit.
Structure:

 Use first form of the verb “+ing”


 Singular 3rd person subject — use ‘is’
 Plural 1st, 2nd and 3rd person and singular 2nd person subject — use
‘are’
 1st person singular — use ‘am’
In other words, it is "Subject + be (is, am, are) + Verb+ -ing + Object"

Some Examples:

 Please wait for a moment, Shyam is talking to Mary.


 We are late; he will be waiting for us at the restaurant now.
 Mom, I am playing football.
 Are they still living here?
 She is having her breakfast now.
 I’m planning to meet the Director tonight.

Present Perfect Tense


It's probably the most used tense form in English Grammar and is also considered
difficult to understand. The Present Perfect Tense explains the incident that has
happened in the past and that continues until the present time.

Examples

 For almost five generations, my family members have been engineers.


 In order to avoid delays in my work, I have been doing it regularly.
 I have always wanted to ride on this vehicle.

Present Perfect Continuous Tense


Usually, Present Perfect Continuous Tense is used for a situation that has occurred in
the past and which continues until that moment.

Structure:

 Use the first form of the verb + “–ing”


 Singular subject (has been), Plural subject or I (have been)
 ‘Since’— if the point of time is mentioned.
 ‘For’ — if the duration of time is specified.
Examples:

 I have been eating apples today.


 You have not been studying for the past month.
 We haven’t been playing with Mary since Tuesday.

Future tense
The future tense is a verb tense used to describe an event or action that has not yet happened
and is expected to happen in the future. Structural formula, Subject + shall/will+ verb (s/es) +
object.
Examples:
 He will be here soon.
 It will work
 Will you do it for me?

Simple Future Tense


This tense is used for those sentences which refer to the actions which will occur later,
in future. This requires a future tense auxiliary verb even though the verb would be
unmarked.

Examples:

 You will be done before me.


 She will not come tomorrow.
 Will you come to play with me after school?
 I will keep in touch with you.
 I will reach home by 7p.m.
 He will stay with us for 3 days.

Future Continuous Tense


This tense defines those acts which will be continued at a future point of time. In order
to form a future continuous tense sentence, a future auxiliary verb is required followed
by a main verb that ends with -ing.

Structure:
'will' + 'be' + present participle of the verb (ing).

Construction

 Use first form of the verb (+ing)


 1st and 2nd person — ‘Shall be’
 3rd person — ‘Will be’
However, nowadays this distinction of 'will' and 'shall' is not followed. Instead, 'will' is
used wherever absolute conviction is required to be expressed while the usage of 'shall'
depends on individual writing style.

Examples:
 We assume that our representative will be winning the elections that are
to be held at the end of April.
 Today, she will be walking all the way to her house from her office.
 I will be watching the new movie next week.
 By this time tomorrow, I will be at home watching T.V.

Future Perfect Tense


This tense is used to express an act that is predicted to be finished within a certain span
of time in the future. Such sentences are formed by 'will' + 'have' + 'past participle of the
verb'.

Examples:

 By the end of the year, he will have saved enough for his sister’s wedding.
 You will have left for London by the time this bridge gets renewed.
 Calvin will have gone by the time you reach there by bus.
 I will have walked 15 kms by this time.
 How long will it have been since we were here together?

Future Perfect Continuous Tense


This tense form indicates an action that is continuous and, at some point in the future, it
will be completed. It is formed using the modal 'will/shall' + 'have' + 'been' + 'the past
participle of the verb (-ing)'.

Examples:

 Next Saturday, I will have been working on this assignment for three
years.
 Tomorrow, at this time, I shall have been playing cricket since morning.
 I will have been studying English for two hours by the time you arrive
here.

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