Tenses

-Explanation
Worksheets
Tense
Tenses: Rules
Present Tense
 SIMPLE PRESENT
Affirmatives:
Interrogatives:
-I work. - Do I work?
-He works. -Does he
work?
Negatives:
-I don't work.
-He doesn't work.
Present Tense
 PRESESNT CONTINUOUS
Affirmative: Interrogative:
-I'm working. -Am I working?
-He's working. - Is he working?

Negative:
-I'm not working.
-He isn't working.
Present Tense
 PRESENT PERFECT

Affirmative: Interrogative:
-I have worked. -Have I worked?
-He has worked. -Has he worked?

Negative:
-I haven't worked.
- He hasn’t worked.
Present Tense
 Present Perfect Continuous

Affirmative:
- I have been working
- He has been working
Negative:
- I have not been working.
- He has not been working.
Interrogative:
- Have I been working?
- Has he been working?
Simple Past vs Present Perfect Tense
Present Perfect Simple Past Simple

•Unfinished actions that started in the past and

•Finished actions:I knew Julie for ten years (but
continue to the present:I've known Julie for ten
then she moved away and we lost touch).
years (and I still know her).

•A finished action in someone's life (when the •A finished action in someone's life (when the
person is still alive: life experience):My person is dead):My great-grandmother went to
brother has been to Mexico three times. Mexico three times.

•A finished action with no result in the

•A finished action with a result in the present:I've
present:I lost my keys yesterday. It was terrible!
lost my keys! (The result is that I can't get into my
(Now there is no result. I got new keys
house now).
yesterday).

•With an unfinished time word (this week, this •With a finished time word (last week, last month,
month, today):I've seen John this week. yesterday):I saw John last week.
 Simple Past vs Present Perfect
Tense

Change the verb into the correct form of the past simple or present perfect

1) Last night I _____(lose) my keys - I had to call my flatmate to let me in.

2) I _____(lose) my keys - can you help me look for them?

3) I ____(visit) Paris three times.

4) Last year I _____(visit) Paris.

5) I _________(know) my great grandmother for a few years - she died when I was eight.

6) I _________(know) Julie for three years - we still meet once a month.

7) I ________(play) Hockey since I was a child - I'm pretty good!

8) She __________(play) hockey at school but she didn't like it.

9) Sorry, I ________(miss) the bus - I'm going to be late.

10) I___________ (miss) the bus and then I __________(miss) the aeroplane as well!
Past Tense

 SIMPLE PAST
Affirmative: Interrogative:
-I worked. -Did I work?
-He worked. - Did he work?
Negative:
-I didn't work.
- He didn't work.
Past Tense
 Past Continuous
Affirmative: Interrogative:
- I was working. - Was I working?
- He was working. - Was he working?
Negative:
-I wasn't working.
- He wasn't working.
Past Tense
 Past Perfect
Affirmative- Interrogative:
-I had worked. - Had I worked?
-He had worked. - Had he worked
Negative:
-I hadn't worked.
- He hadn't worked.
Past Tense
 Past Perfect Continuous
Affirmative:
-I had been working.
Negative:
-I hadn't been working.
Interrogative:
- Had I been working?
Simple Past vs Past Perfect
 1. I can't believe she ___ my sandwich!
ate
had eaten

 2. I couldn't believe she ___ my sandwich!

had eaten
ate

 3. He ___ his homework so he was allowed to eat with us.

had done
did

 4. I ___ of going to Italy before she suggested it.

didn't think
hadn't thought

 5. What ___ today?

did you do
had you done


Simple Past vs Past Perfect
 6. We ___ all our water before we realised there wasn't any left.
drank
had drunk

7. We ___ the test when she told us there wasn't any time left!
hadn't even started
didn't even start

 8. My dog ripped my dress! I was so upset, I ___ it!

just bought
had just bought

 9. My Dad ___ to the supermarket this morning to buy some milk.

had gone
went

 10. I ___ for my exam all morning so I was really upset when I didn't do well.
revised
hadn't revised

Simple Past vs Past Perfect
 These two tenses are both used to talk about things that
happened in the past. However we use past perfect to talk
about something that happened before another action in
the past, which is usually expressed by the past simple.
 For example:
 "I had already eaten my dinner when he called."
In other words, First I ate my dinner, then he called.
The past perfect is often used
with already, yet, just and even.
 In the following sentences, do we need the past simple
form of the verb, or the past perfect? The first two questions
should remind you when we use each tense.
 Note on questions 3 & 6: There is a possibility of both being
correct BUT as we have two actions in the past and the
homework happened first, it is better to use past perfect
Future Tense
 Simple Future
Affirmative: Interrogative:
-I'll work. - Will I work?
-He'll work - Will he work?
Negative:
I won't work.
He won't work
Future Tense
 Future Continuous
Affirmative Interrogative
-I'll be working. - Will I be working?
- He'll be working. - Will he be working?
Negative:
-I’ll not be working
-He’ll not be working
Future Tense
 Future Perfect
Affirmative: Interrogative:
-I'll have worked. - Will I have worked?
-He'll have worked. - Will he have worked?
Negative:
-I won't have worked.
-He won't have worked.
Use of ‘Have Had’ in a sentence
In the present perfect, the auxiliary verb is always have (for I, you,
we, they) or has (for he, she, it).
In the past perfect, the auxiliary verb is always had.
 We use have had in the present perfect when the main
verb is also “have”:
--I’m not feeling well. I have had a headache all day.
--She has had three children in the past five years.
--We have had some problems with our computer systems recently.
--He has had two surgeries on his back.
 We use had had in the past perfect when the main
verb is also “had”:
--Last weekend I just wanted to relax because I had had a busy week.
--The director told me he had had a meeting with the president.
--We had had some trouble with our washing machine, so we called a
repairman.
--She woke up screaming because she had had a bad dream.
Practice Exercise 1:
 Complete the following sentences using the correct form of the
verb given in brackets.
 1. The thief ………………………….. (catch) red-handed.
 2. A bomb scare ………………………. (delay) the flight by almost two
hours.
 3. The stadium ……………………….. (reverberate) with dance, music
and drama as troupes from different parts of the country
………………………… (present) a panorama of color and costume.
 4. I …………………….. (spend) the whole day yesterday in bed.
 5. Students from different parts of the country ……………………………
(participate) in the program.
 6. It is true that Jim-Corbett ………………………………. (love) animals
but he also …………………….. (kill) many man-eaters.
 7. I …………………… (learn) Telugu from a friend who ………………………..
(hail) from Andhra Pradesh.
 8. The bridge across the river …………………………. (build) some two
hundred years ago.
 9. The wicked people who ……………………… (smuggle) brown sugar
into the town ………………………….. (arrest) yesterday.
 10. Last night, the clouds ……………………….. (thunder) in the sky.
 Answers
 1. Was caught
 2. Delayed;
 3. Reverberated, Presented;
 4. Spent;
 5. Participated;
 6. Loved, Killed;
 7. Learned, Hails;
 8. Was built;
 9. Smuggled, Were arrested;
 10. Thundered
Practice Exercise - 2
1. She ——————– the railway station before the train came.
(reach)
2. His uncle does not ——————— here. (live)
3. Peter ————————- editing this magazine for twenty
five years by next January. (be)
4. Peter ——————— two wickets before rain interrupted
play.(take)
5. I ———————– him twice before he left for New York.
(see)
6. There --------------------- a famine in Bengal in 1982. (be)
7. During Akbar's reign the Mughals ------------------------ the
supreme power in India. (become)
8. Janet ----------------------- home. (go)
9. It is 6 o'clock. She ---------------------- home. (reach)
10. She ---------------------- many awards for her contribution to
classical music. (win)
Answers
1. had reached
2. Live
3. Will have been
4. Had taken
5. Had seen
6. Was
7. Became
8. Went
9. Will have reached
10. Won/ has won
Practice Exercise 3
1. I …………………. here since morning.
 a) am waiting
b) have been waiting
c) had been waiting
2. It ………………….. raining since yesterday.
 a) hasn’t stopped
b) didn’t stop
c) hadn’t
3. I ………………….. interested in metaphysics.
 a) am always
b) have always been
c) had always been
4. They …………………. in this street for twenty years.
 a) have lived
b) have been living
c) Either could be used here
5. I …………………. to a foreign country.
a) am never gone
 b) have never been
c) was never gone
6. Where ………………….. the sun rise?
 a) does
b) do
c) had
7. I ………………… Susie on Monday.
 a) see
b) am seeing
c) Either could be used here
8. We ……………….. the money on the 15th.
 a) are needing
b) will need
c) Either could be used here
9. ‘There is the doorbell.’ ‘I …………………’
a) am going
b) will go
c) Either could be used here
10. She …………………. half of her time traveling.
 a) spends
b) is spending
c) Either could be used here
Answers
1.I have been waiting here since morning.
2. It hasn’t stopped raining since yesterday.
3. I have always been interested in metaphysics.
4. They have lived / have been living in this street
for twenty years.
5. I have never been to a foreign country.
6. Where does the sun rise?
7. I am seeing Susie Monday.
8. We will need the money on the 15th.
9. ‘There is the doorbell.’ ‘I will go.’
10. She spends half of her time traveling.
Editing
 Vitamin tablets has been around forever, but antioxidants are the
 a) …………………….
 the last miracle cure. Do they really work? b) …………………….
 If the hype is true, then that the antioxidants do is c)
…………………….
 work for neutralise the free radicals in our bodies d)
…………………….
 and latter excrete them. Free radicals are atoms or molecules
e) …………………..
 that have at least one unpaired electron and is therefore
f) ……………………
 unstable and highly reactive. In animal tissue they are believing to
accelerate the g) ……………………
 progression of cardiovascular and age-related diseases as
dementia and cancer. h)
…………………..
Answers
 a) has (incorrect) – have (correct)
b) last – latest
c) that – what
d) for – to
e) latter – later
f) is – are
g) believing – believed
h) as – such as / like