Tenses and Verb English Language
Dear students, we are going to discuss tenses and verbs. this section is very important when you are solving grammatical error questions and you are asked fill in the blanks questions, so, it becomes a need to have a good hand at tenses and verbs. continue to read the article…..
What is tense in English Grammar
Tense explains the time when an action or event takes place (we all know that a verb means an action). we can find the tense of a sentence with the help of the verb. the verb is used to identify the time.
In English grammar, there are three types of tenses: they are
- Present Tense
- Past Tense
- Future Tense.
further, they are divided into four types such as Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous.
Basics of Past, Present and Future Tense
before going to advance level of Tense, first, we will see the basics of Past Tense, Present Tense and Future tense.
Present Tense
A sentence will be called in the present tense if the verb points an action.
- Going on at the current moment (Example: he is playing Game)
- Unchanged state (Example: he is a motivated boy.)
- Repeated action or daily works. ( Example: he always comes to the college by bike .)
Past Tense
A sentence will be called in the past tense if the verb points an action was occurred in the past time.
Example: I played cricket yesterday.
Future Tense
A sentence will be called in the future tense if the verb points an action will happen or work will be done after the present time.
Example: he will go to market tomorrow.
Types of tense
| Tense | Simple | Continuous | Perfect | Perfect Continuous |
| Present | Simple Present | Present Continuous | Present Perfect | Present Perfect Continuous |
| Past | Simple Past | Past Continuous | Past Perfect | Past Perfect Continuous |
| Future | Simple Past | Past Continuous | Past Perfect | Past Perfect Continuous |
Simple tense– Only Action in sentence. .
Continuous– the action is continuous.
Perfect– the action is complete, finished or perfect with respect to a certain point of time.
Perfect Continuous– the action is going on for a long time and is yet to be ended.
Verb forms in various tenses
| Present Tense Type | Active (V -Verb) | Passive (V -Verb) |
| Simple Present | Subject + V1 | Subject + am + V3 |
| Present Continuous | Subject + am + V1 + ing | Subject + am+ being + V3 |
| Present Perfect | Subject + have + V3 | Subject + have been + V3 |
| Present Perfect Continuous | Subject + have been + V1+ ing | – |
| Past Tense Type | Active | Passive |
| Simple Past | Subject + V2 | Subject + was + V3 |
| Past Continuous | Subject + was + V1+ ing | Subject + was + being + V3 |
| Past Perfect | Subject + had + V3 | Subject + had been + V3 |
| Past Perfect Continuous | Subject + had been + V1 + ing | – |
| Future Tense Type | Active | Passive |
| Simple Future | Subject + shall + V1 | Subject + shall be + V3 |
| Future Continuous | Subject + shall be + V1 + ing | – |
| Future Perfect | Subject + shall have + V3 | Subject + shall have been + V3 |
| Future Perfect Continuous | Subject + shall have been + V1 + ing | – |
There are some example using rules –
| Present Tense Type | Rules | Example |
| Simple Present | Subject + verb +s/es (when subject is singular) | I sing a song (मैं एक गाना गाता हूं। ) |
| Present Continuous | Subject + is/am/are + V1 + ing + object | I am playing cricket. (मैं क्रिकेट खेल रहा हूं । ) |
| Present Perfect | Subject + has/have+ V3 + object | I have written a letter. ( मैंने एक पत्र लिखा है। ) |
| Present Perfect Continuous | Subject + has been/have been+ V1 + ing + object | I have been playing PubG game for the last 30 minutes. ( मैं पिछले 30 मिनट से पबजी गेम खेल रहा हूं । ) |
| Past Tense Type | Rules | Example |
| Simple Past | Subject + V2 | I played cricket |
| Past Continuous | Subject + was/were + V1+ ing + object | I was playing cricket |
| Past Perfect | Subject + had + V3 + object | I had played cricket |
| Past Perfect Continuous | Subject + had been + V1 + ing + object | I had been playing for the last One hour |
| Future Tense Type | Rule | Example |
| Simple Future | Subject + shall/will + V1 | I will play cricket. |
| Future Continuous | Subject + shall/will be + V1 + ing + object | I will be playing cricket. |
| Future Perfect | Subject + shall/will have + V3 + object | I will have played cricket. |
| Future Perfect Continuous | Subject + shall/will have been + V1 + ing + object | I will have been playing cricket for the last 40 minutes. |