Tenses
Tenses play a crucial role in the English language. It denotes the time an action
takes place, whether sometime in the past, in the present or will take some time
in the future.
12 Tenses
present simple
past simple
future simple
present perfect
past perfect
future perfect
present continuous
past continuous
future continuous
present perfect continuous
past perfect continuous
future perfect continuous
Simple Tenses
Present Simple
"I play tennis."
Past Simple
"I played tennis."
Future Simple
"I will play tennis."
Perfect Tenses
Present Perfect
"I have played tennis."
Past Perfect
"I had played tennis."
Future Perfect
"I will have played tennis."
Continuous Tenses
Present Continuous
"I am playing tennis."
Past Continuous
"I was playing tennis."
Future Continuous
"I will be playing tennis."
Present Perfect Continuous
"I have been playing tennis."
Past Perfect Continuous
"I had been playing tennis."
Future Perfect Continuous
"I will have been playing tennis."
PAST TENSE
1) Simple Past Tense-
Indicates an action took place before the present moment and that has no real
connection with the present time.
For example, "He danced in the function." (The action took place in the past, is
finished and is completely unrelated to the present)
"He flew to London yesterday."
Note
a. The verb 'flew' is an irregular verb which does not take 'ed' in the past tense
like regular verbs.
Simple Past Tense - verb + ed
2) Past Perfect Tense-
Indicates an action in the past that had been completed before another time or
event in the past.
For example, "He had exercised before it started to rain."
"He had slept before I came back from the market."
Note
Past Perfect Tense - had + verb (past participle form or the 3rd form of the
verb)
3) Past Continuous Tense-
Indicates an action going on at some time in the past or an action in the past that
is longer in duration than another action in the past.
For example, "It was getting darker."
"The light went out while theywere reading."
Note
Past Continuous Tense - was/were + verb + ing
4) Past Perfect Continuous Tense-
Indicates an action in the past that took place before another time or event in the
past and continued during the second event/time point in the past.
For example, "At that time, he had been writing a novel for two months."
"He had been exercising when I called."
Note
Past Perfect Continuous Tense - had + been + verb + ing
PRESENT TENSE
1) Simple Present Tense-
Indicates an action that is generally true or habitual. That is, it took place in the
past , continue to take place in the present, and will take place in the future. This
tense is used to denote
-a habitual action- for instance, "He walk to school."
-general truths- for instance, "The sun rises in the east", "Honesty is the best
policy."
-a future event that is part of a fixed timetable- for instance, "The match starts at
9 o' clock."
Note
Simple Present Tense –verb +s/es (infinitive without 'to' and agreeable with the
subject)
2) Present Perfect Tense-
Indicates an action that has been completed sometime before the present
moment, with a result that affects the present situation.
For example, "He has finished the work."
"He has slept."
Note
Present Perfect Tense - has/have + verb (past participle form or 3rd form of the
verb)
3) Present Continuous Tense-
Indicates an action that is taking place at the moment of speaking.
For example, "She is walking."
"I am studying."
Note
Present Continuous Tense - is/am/are + verb + ing
4) Present Perfect Continuous Tense-
Indicates an action that started in the past and is continuing at the present time.
For example, "He has been sleeping for an hour."
Note
Present Perfect Continuous Tense - has/have + been + verb + ing
FUTURE TENSE
1) Simple Future Tense-
Indicates an action that will take place after the present time and that has no real
connection with the present time.
For example, "She will visit her ailing grandmother soon."
"He will walk home."
Note
Simple Future Tense - will/shall + verb
2) Future Perfect Tense-
Indicates an action in the future that will have been completed before another
time or event in the future.
For example, "By the time we arrive, he will have studied."
Note
Future Perfect Tense - will/shall have + verb(past participle form or 3rd
form of the verb)
3) Future Continuous Tense-
Indicates an action in the future that is longer in duration than another action in
the future.
For example, "He will be walking when it starts to rain."
Note
Future Continuous Tense -will/shall be + verb + ing
4) Future Perfect Continuous Tense-
Indicates an action in the future that will have been continuing until another time
or event in the future.
For example, "He will have been exercising an hour at 2:00."
Note
Future Perfect Continuous Tense - will/shall have been + verb + ing
Identify the TENSES
1.I will speak to you later. (future simple)
2.She works in a shop. (present simple)
3. He is reading a book.( present continuous)
4. It had been raining all night. (past perfect continuous)
5.I watched TV.( past simple)
6.They were looking for you.(past continuous)
7.She'll be coming tonight.(future continuous)
8.You had taken a shower.(past perfect)
9.Have you listened to this CD?(present perfect)
10.I've been thinking about you.(present perfect continuous)
11.By the time she leaves, Jane will have been living here for 3 years.(future
perfect continuous)
