Tense

Tense is a grammatical category that expresses the time of an action or

state, typically through verb forms. In English, tense helps indicate
whether an action occurs in the past, present, or future, and it can also
convey aspects like completion, continuity, or frequency. English tenses
are primarily divided into three main categories—Past, Present, and
Future—each with four subcategories: Simple, Continuous (Progressive),
Perfect, and Perfect Continuous. Below, each tense in detail, including its
uses, structure, and examples, ensuring a comprehensive understanding.

Overview of Tenses-:
Tenses in English are formed by combining time (past, present, future)
with aspect (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous). The aspect
describes how the action relates to time—whether it’s a single event,
ongoing, completed, or ongoing for a duration.

- Simple: Describes general facts, habits, or completed actions.

- Continuous (Progressive): Indicates ongoing actions at a specific time.
- Perfect: Shows actions completed before a certain point in time.
- Perfect Continuous: Emphasizes the duration of an action that
continues up to a specific point.

Each tense is formed using a combination of the base verb, auxiliary

verbs (e.g., be, have, will), and verb forms (e.g., -ing, past participle).

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1. Present Tense

1.1 Simple Present

- Use: Describes habits, general truths, routines, facts, feelings, opinions,
or scheduled events.
- Structure: Subject + Base Verb (add -s/-es for third-person singular
subjects)
- Examples:
- Habit: She walks to school every day.
- General Truth: The sun rises in the east.
- Scheduled Event: The train leaves at 6 PM.
- Feeling/Opinion: I like coffee.
- Note: Used with adverbs like always, usually,never, or every day.

1.2 Present Continuous

- Use: Describes actions happening right now, temporary actions, or
future plans.
- Structure: Subject + am/is/are + Verb-ing
- Examples:
- Current Action: *They are playing football in the park.*
- Temporary Action: *I’m staying with my friend this week.*
- Future Plan: *We are meeting tomorrow at 5 PM.*
- **Note**: Often used with time expressions like *now*, *at the moment*,
or *this week*. Not used with stative verbs (e.g., *know*, *like*) unless
they take on a dynamic meaning.

1.3 Present Perfect

- Use: Describes actions completed at an unspecified time in the past,
experiences, or actions with present relevance.
- Structure: Subject + have/has + Past Participle
- Examples:
- Experience: I have visited Paris twice.
- Completed Action with Present Effect: She has just finished her
homework.
- Unspecified Time: They have already seen that movie.
- Note: Used with just, already, yet, ever, or never. Focuses on the result
or relevance, not the exact time.
1.4 Present Perfect Continuous
- Use: Emphasizes the duration of an action that started in the past and
continues to the present or has recently stopped with present effects.
- Structure: Subject + have/has + been + Verb-ing
- Examples:
- Ongoing Action: I have been studying for three hours.
- Recent Action with Effect: *She has been crying, so her eyes are red.
- Note: Used with for, since, or all day to highlight duration. Often implies
the action may still be ongoing or has just stopped.

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2. Past Tense

2.1 Simple Past

- Use: Describes completed actions, events, or states that happened at a
specific time in the past.
- Structure: Subject + Past Verb (regular: -ed; irregular: e.g., went, saw)
- Examples:
- Completed Action: They played soccer yesterday.
- Past State: I was tired last night.
- Sequence of Events: She woke up, ate breakfast, and left for work.
- Note: Used with time expressions like yesterday, last week, or in 2020.

2.2 Past Continuous

- Use: Describes ongoing actions in the past, often interrupted by another
action, or to set the scene.
- Structure: Subject + was/were + Verb-ing
- Examples:
- Ongoing Action: I was reading a book at 8 PM yesterday.
- Interrupted Action: They were watching TV when the phone rang.
- Scene Setting: The sun was shining, and birds were singing.
- Note: Often paired with simple past for interruptions. Used with while or
when.
2.3 Past Perfect
- Use: Describes an action completed before another past action or time.
- Structure: Subject + had + Past Participle
- Examples:
- Earlier Action: She had finished her work before the meeting started.
- Cause of Past Event: I was upset because I had lost my keys.
- Note: Used with before, after, or by the time to clarify the sequence of
past events.

2.4 Past Perfect Continuous

- Use: Emphasizes the duration of an action that was ongoing in the past
before another past action or time.
- Structure: Subject + had + been + Verb-ing
- Examples:
- Duration Before Event: They had been waiting for two hours before the
bus arrived.
- Cause of Past State: He was tired because he had been working all
day.
- Note: Highlights duration with for or since. Often explains why
something happened.

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3. Future Tense

3.1 Simple Future

- Use: Describes actions that will happen, predictions, decisions, or
promises.
- Structure: Subject + will + Base Verb (or “be going to” for
intentions/plans)
- Examples:
- Prediction: It will rain this afternoon.
- Decision: I will call you later.
- Promise: She will help you with the project.
- Plan (be going to): They are going to visit their grandparents tomorrow.
- Note: Will is used for spontaneous decisions or predictions; be going to
for planned actions or evidence-based predictions.

3.2 Future Continuous

- Use: Describes actions that will be ongoing at a specific time in the
future.
- Structure: Subject + will + be + Verb-ing
- Examples:
- Ongoing Future Action: At 7 PM, I will be studying for my exam.
- Polite Inquiry: *Will you be attending the meeting tomorrow?
- Note: Used with time markers like at this time tomorrow or next week.

3.3 Future Perfect

- Use: Describes actions that will be completed before a specific future
time.
- Structure: Subject + will + have + Past Participle
- Examples:
- Completion Before Time: By next month, I will have finished this book.
- Assumption: They will have arrived by now.
- Note: Used with by, by the time, or before to indicate a deadline.

3.4 Future Perfect Continuous

- Use: Emphasizes the duration of an action that will continue up to a
specific point in the future.
- Structure: Subject + will + have + been + Verb-ing
- Examples:
- Duration Up to Future: By 2026, she will have been teaching for 10
years.
- Cause of Future State: He will be tired because he will have been
working all day.
- Note: Rare but used to stress how long an action will have been
happening.

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Tense chart
Present Tense-:

Tense Assertive Negative Interrogative

Subject + V1 + s/es + Subject + do/does Does + Subject + V1

Simple Present Object not + V1 + Object + Object
Tense Example: He goes to Example: He does Example: Does he go
school. not go to school. to school?
Subject + is/am/are
Subject + is/am/are + is/am/are + Subject +
Present + not + V1+ing +
V1+ing + Object V1+ing + Object
Continuous Object
Example: He is going Example: Is he going
Tense Example: He is not
to school. to school?
going to school.
Subject + has/have + Subject + has/have + Has/have + Subject +
Present Perfect V3 + Object not + V3 + Object V3 + Object
Tense Example: He has gone Example: He has not Example: Has he gone
to school. gone to school. to school?
Subject + has/have +
Subject + has/have + Has/Have + Subject +
not + been + V1+ing
Present Perfect been + V1+ing + been + V1+ing +
+ Object
Continuous Object Object
Example: He has not
Tense. Example: He has been Example: Has he been
been going to
going to school. going to school?
school.

Past Tense-:

Tense Assertive Negative Interrogative

Subject + did not + V1 + Did + Subject + V1 +
Subject + V2 + Object
Object Object
Simple Past Tense Example: He went to
Example: He did not go to Example: Did he go to
school.
school. school?
Subject + was/were + Subject + was/were + not + Was/were + Subject +
Past Continuous V1+ing + Object V1+ing + Object V1+ing + Object
Tense Example: He was going Example: He was not going Example: Was he going to
to school. to school. school?
 Subject + had + V3 + Subject + had + not + V3 + Had + Subject + V3 +
Object Object Object
Past Perfect Tense
Example: He had gone Example: He had not gone Example: Had he gone to
to school. to school. school?
Subject + had been + Subject + had + not + been Had + Subject + been +
Past Perfect V1+ing + Object + V1+ing + Object V1+ing + Object
Continuous Tense. Example: He had been Example: He had not been Example: Had he been
going to school. going to school. going to school?

Future Tense-:

Tense Assertive Negative Interrogative

Subject + will/shall + V1 Subject + will/shall + not Will/shall + Subject + V1 +
Simple Future + Object + V1 + Object Object
Tense Example: He will go to Example: He will not go Example: Will he go to
school. to school. school?
Subject + will/shall + be Subject + will/shall + not Will/shall + Subject + be +
Future Continuous + V1+ing + Object + be + V1+ing + Object V1+ing + Object
Tense Example: He will be Example: He will not be Example: Will he be going
going to school. going to school. to school?
Subject + will/shall + Subject + will/shall + have Will + Subject + have + V3
Fututre Perfect have + V3 + Object + not + V3 + Object + Object
Tense Example: He will have Example: He will have not Example: Will he have
gone to school. gone to school. gone to school?
Subject + will/shall + Subject + will/shall + not
Will/shall + Subject + have
have + been + V1+ing + + have + been + V1+ing +
Future Perfect + been + V1+ing + Object
Object Object
Continuous Tense. Example: Will he have
Example: He will have Example: He will not have
been going to school?
been going to school. been going to school.

Assignment-1
Q. 1. Underline the verb(s) in each sentence and state their tense.
1) She will pass the exam with flying colors.
2) They had finished their work before the boss asked them to stay late.
3) I am going to the store now.
4) My friend will have graduated from university by the end of the next
academic year.
5) He didn't want to go to the party.
6) I always drink coffee in the morning.
7) I will pay you back by next week.
8) The old man was walking his dog when he suddenly slipped on the ice.
9) They have lived in this house for ten years
10) By this time next year, I will have been working here for five years.
11. By the time we get there, they will have been waiting for hours, which
annoys them.
12. Although she is trying to save money, she spent a lot yesterday
because she saw a sale.
13. If he had been paying attention, he wouldn’t have missed the
deadline that was set last month.
14. While we are planning the trip, she has been researching destinations
that offer great views.
15. After he finishes his degree, he will travel to Europe, where he plans
to work.
16. Because she had forgotten her lines, she improvised during the play,
which impressed the
audience.
17. If you are working late, I will bring you dinner, so you don’t go hungry.
18. Since they moved to the city, they have been exploring new places
and meet interesting people.
19. When he returns from his trip, he will share stories that he has
collected.
20. Although they were tired, they continued working because the
deadline was approaching.

Q.2. Analyze the following sentences. For each sentence, identify

whether it is an interrogative (question) or a negative interrogative
sentence, and identify the tense(s) used in each.
1) Didn't they say they were coming to the party tonight?
2) Have you already finished reading that book I lent you?
3) Why isn't he answering his phone if he knows we are waiting?
4) Will she not be attending the conference, even after all the planning?
5) Hasn't the news reported on the recent events since yesterday?
Q.3. Unjumble the words to form correct sentences. Identify the
tense.
1. won / team / match / our / the / finally / .
2. going / we / next / week / on / are / vacation / a / .
3. tomorrow / rain / it / heavily / will / .
4. had / train / already / the / station / the / left / .
5. interesting / you / book / an / did / read / yesterday / ?
6. cleaned / neatly / she / has / her / room / .
7. exams / they / are / studying / seriously / for / .
8. enjoyed / the / everyone / party / at / celebration / the / .
9. always / arrives / early / at / she / work / .
10. have / we / been / regularly / the / visiting / museum / .
11. is / she / school / for / never / late / .
12. now / he / playing / is / in / park / the / .
13. have / completed / the / assignment / they / .
14. you / finished / homework / your / have / ?
15. she / to / coming / is / the / party / ?
16. you / yesterday / did / go / where / ?
17. been / you / have / how / feeling / ?
18. the / they / completed / project / have / ?
19. teacher / the / class / enter / did / when / ?
20. will / you / attend / tomorrow / school / ?