Tense

Tense

Tense  expresses the time that an action occurs in relation to the moment of speaking. It has three dimensions :

I. Present

II. Past

III. Future

 

List of Pronouns

Personal Pronouns	Singular	Plural
First Person	I, me	We, us
Second Person	You	You
Third Person	She, her, he, it	They, them

To each Tense there are four different forms.

1. Simple

It denotes Present , Past and Future time in its simplest form.

e.g I dance, I danced, I shall dance.

2. Continuous

It denotes that the event  is still continuing and not yet completed.

e.g I am playing, I was Playing, I shall be playing.

3. Perfect

It denotes that the event is in completed state.

e.g I have played, I had played,  I shall have played.

4. Perfect Continuous

It shows that an action which was begun sometimes before, is still continued.

e.g. I have been reading, I had been reading, I shall have been reading.

 

Uses of Tenses

I. Present Tense

1. Simple Present Tense (Present Indefinite)

The simple present tense is the one which we use when an action is happening right now, or when it happens regularly. It is used to denote the following :

i. What is always and necessarily true.

Sun rises in the east.

ii. What is permanent or habitual in life or character.

I brush my teeth everyday.

iii. To express a future event that is part of a fixed programme.

The Eighth standard students go to the ninth in June.

iv. To introduce quotations

Mahatma Gandhi says “ You must be the change you wish to see in the world”.

v. In running commentaries on sports events, simple present is used instead of Present Continuous

The batsman crosses over for a single.

vi. In exclamatory sentences beginning with here and there, to express what is actually taking place in the present.

Here comes the hero !

vii. If type conditional sentences.

If you write that letter, you may get into trouble.

Rules

Affirmative Sentence

 I, we, you, they
Noun + 1^st form of verb
He, she, it
Noun + 1^st form of verb + s or ed
Example
I work in a bank
He works in a bank.
 

Negative Sentences

I, we, you, they
Noun + do not
For Example
I do not eat burgers.
He, she, it
Noun + does not
For Example
He does not eat burgers.
 

Interrogative Sentences

I, we, you ,they
Do  before the subject + first form of verb after the subject
He, she, it
Does before the subject 1^st form of verb after the subject
Example
Do you eat?
Does she eat?
 

2. Present Continuous Tense

Present Continuous tense is used to express an action going on at the time of speaking.
He is writing an article.

Rules

Affirmative Sentences

If Subject is singular – He, she , it
Add is before the verb and ing to the verb
Example
He is dancing.
Ram is palying guitar.
If Subject is Plural or Singular Second Person– We, they , You
Add are before the verb and ing to the verb.
Example
You are dancing like an idiot.
We are going to play football.
When the subject is first person of the singular number – I
Add am before the verb and ing to the verb
For Example
I am eating.
 

Negative Sentences

Sentence in this tense is simply formed by adding not after is, am and are.
For Example
He is not eating.
I am not dancing.
They are not playing.
 

Interrogative Sentences

Sentence in this tense is formed by adding is, am , are before the subject and verb after the subject.
For Example
Is she eating?
Am I dancing?
Are they playing?
 

3. Present Perfect Tense

This tense connects a competed event with the present time.
For Example
I have lived 20 years in Delhi. ( i.e. the person is living there still and began to live there 20 years ago. )
 

Rules

Affirmative Sentence

It formed by adding “has” before the verb if the subject is in the singular form.
For Example
He has eaten.
Mother has cooked food.
If the subject is plural “have” is used.
For Example
I have finished my work.
They have eaten.
 

Negative Sentence

The negative sentence is formed by simply adding “not” between  “has”  or “have”  and verb.
For Example
She has eaten.
I have not eaten.
They have not yet arrived.
 

Interrogative Sentence

It is formed by putting the subject between  “has” or “ have”  and verb.
For Example
Has the boss arrived?
Have you eaten?
Have you read today’s paper?
Have they eaten?
 

Present Perfect Continuous

This tense is used for an action which began something in the past and is still continuing.
For Example
He has been sleeping for 5 years.
 

Affirmative Sentences

It is formed by adding “have been” or “has been” to the verb according to the number of person of the subject.
Have been when the subject is plural and Has been when the subject is singular or with singular 1^st person I.
For Example
We have been working on this project for last two years.
I have been eating.
She has been dancing.
 

Negative Sentences

Negative sentence is formed by adding “not”  between has/have been
For Example
She has not been living in Delhi since 2011.
 

 Interrogative Sentences

“has” or “ have” is placed before the subject and “been” follows the subject.
For Example
Has she been coming here lately?
Have I been eating?