Grammar of English Tense

MHC

Simple Present Tense

Structure of the present simple tense: subject + auxiliary verb (do/does) + main verb (base form)
There are two exceptions:
1. For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary. (I/we/they/we like coffee.)
2. For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s or es to the main verb. (He/she likes coffee)
We use the simple present tense when:
 the action is general (I live in New York.)
 the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future (John drives a
taxi.)
 the action is not only happening now (Do you play football?)
 the statement is always true (The Moon goes round the Earth.)

Present Continuous Tense:

We often use the present continuous tense in English. It is very different from the simple present
tense, both in structure and in use.
s

The structure of the present continuous tense is subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (base +
ing)
Look at these examples:
 I am speaking to you. You are reading this. We are not playing.
We use the present continuous tense to talk about:
 action happening now
 action in the future
Present continuous tense for action happening now
a) for action happening exactly now (I am eating my lunch.)
b) for action happening around now (John is going out with Mary.)
Present continuous tense for the future
We can also use the present continuous tense to talk about the future - if we add a future word!!
 I am taking my exam next month.

Present Perfect Tense

Structure of the present perfect tense is subject + auxiliary verb (have/has) + main verb (past
participle form)
 I have seen Jack. She has not been to Rome.
This tense is called the present perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with the
present. There are basically three uses for the present perfect tense:
1. experience (He has lived in Bangkok.)
2. change/new information (John has broken his leg.)
3. continuing situation (I have worked here since June.)

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Present Perfect Continuous Tense
The structure of the present perfect continuous tense is subject + auxiliary verb (have/has) +
main verb (base + ing)
 I have been waiting for one hour. It has not been raining.
This tense is called the present perfect continuous tense. There is usually a connection with the
present or now.
There are basically two uses for the present perfect continuous tense:
1. An action that has just stopped or recently stopped (I’m tired because I've been running.)
2. An action continuing up to now (I have been reading for 2 hours.)
We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.
 We use for to talk about a period of time - 5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years. (I have been
studying for 3 hours.)
 We use since to talk about a point in past time - 9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday. (He has
been playing football for a long time.)
For can be used with all tenses. Since is usually used with perfect tenses only.

Simple Past Tense

To make the simple past tense, we use past form only (I went to school) or auxiliary did + base
form (She did not go with me).
We use the simple past tense to talk about an action or a situation - an event - in the past. The event
can be short (The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.) or long (The Jurassic period lasted about 62
million years.).

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the
past, or millions of years in the past. We use the simple past tense when:
 the event is in the past
 the event is completely finished
 we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event
In general, if we say the time or place of the event, we must use the simple past tense; we cannot
use the present perfect.
 I lived in that house when I was young. He didn't like the movie. What did you eat for
dinner? John drove to London on Monday. Mary did not go to work yesterday. Did you play
tennis last week?

Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense is an important tense in English. We use it to say what we were in the
middle of doing at a particular moment in the past.
The structure of the past continuous tense is subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (base +
ing)
 I was watching TV. You were working hard. We were not joking.
The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action started
before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I watched a film on
TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm. (At 8pm yesterday, I was watching TV.)

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Past Perfect Tense
The past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. This tense talk about the past
in the past.
The structure of the past perfect tense is subject + auxiliary verb (had) + main verb (past
participle).
 I had finished my work. We had not left. Had you arrived? She had not gone to school.
The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past
in the past. For example:
 The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left.

Look at some more examples:

 I wasn't hungry. I had just eaten. I had never seen him before.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

The structure of the past perfect continuous tense is subject + auxiliary verb (had) + auxiliary
verb (been) + main verb (base + ing)
 I had been working.
The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions in the
past before another action in the past. For example:
 Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been waiting for
two hours.
Here are some more examples:
 John was very tired. He had been running. I could smell cigarettes. Somebody had been
smoking. Had the pilot been drinking before the crash?

Simple Future Tense

The simple future tense is often called will, because we make the simple future tense with the
modal auxiliary will.
The structure of the simple future tense is subject + auxiliary verb (will) + main verb (base)
 I will open the door.
 You will finish before me.
 We will not leave yet.
How do we use the Simple Future Tense?
No Plan: We use the simple future tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before
we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Look at the example:
 Hold on. I'll get a pen.
Prediction: We often use the simple future tense to make a prediction about the future. Again, there
is no firm plan. We are saying what we think will happen. Here is an example:
 It will rain tomorrow.
Be: When the main verb is be, we can use the simple future tense even if we have a firm plan or
decision before speaking. Examples:
 I'll be in London tomorrow.
 I'm going shopping.
 I won't be very long.

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Future Continuous Tense
The structure of the future continuous tense is subject + auxiliary verb (will) + auxiliary verb
(be) + main verb (base + ing)
 I will be working at 10 am.
 She will not be working using the car.
The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action will
start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For example:
 Tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm.
When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we
are talking about. Look at these examples:
 I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow.
 They won't be watching TV at 9pm tonight.
 What will you be doing at 10pm tonight?
 What will you be doing when I arrive?

Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and use. The future perfect tense talks
about the past in the future.
The structure of the future perfect tense is subject + auxiliary verb (will) + auxiliary verb (have)
+ main verb (past participle)
 You will have forgotten me by then.
 We will not have left. Will you have arrived?
The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future. This is the
past in the future. For example:
 The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When you
arrive, the train will have left.
Look at some more examples:
 You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8.
 They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

The structure of the future perfect continuous tense is subject + auxiliary verb (will) + auxiliary
verb (have) + auxiliary verb (been) + main verb (base + ing)
 I will have been working for four hours.
 Will you have been playing football?
 We will not have been waiting long.
 Will they have been watching TV?
We use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about a long action before some point in the
future. Look at these examples:
 I will have been working here for ten years next week.
 He will be tired when he arrives. He will have been travelling for 24 hours.

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 Some Important Questions on Tense
Name: Class: Section: Roll:
Answer the following questions consulting the sheets containing the discussion of Tense given to you. All the answers are
given in the sheets. (Answer on the question paper.)

1. What is the structure of present perfect tense?

2. How many basic uses for the present perfect continuous tense? Give examples.

3. Past perfect tense talks about what?

4. What is the structure of past perfect continuous tense?

5. Why is simple future tense called will?

6. Write three sentences of three types of use of simple future tense.

I.

II.

III.

7. What is the difference between past perfect and past perfect continuous tense?

8. When do we use future perfect continuous tense?

9. Write three new sentences of three exceptions you find in present simple tense.

I.

II.

III.

10. Which tense do we use to talk about action happening now and action in the future?

11. Can we talk about the future using the present continuous tense? How?

12. Are there any differences between ‘for’ and ‘since’? if yes, what are they?

13. Why present perfect continuous tense has been given such a name?

14. When must we use the simple past tense?

15. What does past continuous tense express?

16. What is the structure of future continuous tense?

17. Give an example of future tense.

18. Where and when do we add s or is to the main verb?

19. What is the time of action in future continuous tense?

20. What is the structure of simple past tense?

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