Discussing Tenses in detail ~ Grammar Tutor

OBJECTIVES

So Friends ! We come to a very important topic in grammar ie. Tense. Tense shows the time and state of any action. Any and every action and event occurs in a time frame. Hence every sentence too is referred to a time frame and that is tense. After studying this chapter you would be able to use tenses correctly.

INTRODUCTION

Tense is defined as that form of a verb which shows the time and the state of an action or event.

Accordingly there are three major tenses :

Present Tense : Action or event occurring in the present eg. I Write

Past Tense : Action/event that has occurred in the past.

e.g. I wrote

Future Tense : Action/ event that is likely to occur in the future.

e.g. I will write.

We may define Tense as that form of a Verb which shows the time and the state of an action or event.

There are three main tenses, the Present, the Past and the Future. A verb may refer to present, past or future time. The tense of a verb shows the time of an action or an event.

PRESENT TENSE

The present tense has four forms :

I write Simple Present

Here the verb shows that the action is mentioned simply, without anything being said about the completeness or incompleteness of the action.

I am writing Present Continuous

It shows the action is mentioned as incomplete or continuous, or as still going on I have written Present Perfect

The verb shows that the action is mentioned as finished, complete at the time of speaking

I have been writing Present Perfect Continuous

The verb shows that the action is going on continuously, and not completed at this present moment.

As the Present Tense has four forms, similarly the Past Tense and Future Tense also has the four forms.

I wrote Simple Past

I was writing Past Continuous

I had written Past Perfect

I had been writing Past Perfect Continuous

And:

I shall/will write Simple Future

I shall/will be writing Future Continuous I shall/will have written Future Perfect

I shall have been writing Future Perfect Continuous

Simple Present Tense

The Simple Present is used as:

1. To express a habitual action; as

for eg., He drinks tea every morning, My watch keeps good time

2. To express general truths; as

for eg., The sun rises in the east, Fortune favors the brave.

3. In exclamatory sentences beginning with here and there to express what is actually taking place in the present; as

for eg., There goes the bus!

4. In vivid narrative, as substitute for the Simple Past; for eg., Immediately the Sultan hurries to his capital

5. To express a future event that is part of a fixed timetable or fixed programme;

for eg., The next flight is at 7.00 tomorrow morning, When does the coffee house reopen?

Present Continuous Tense

The Present Continuous is used in

1. For an action going on at the time of speaking; as for eg., The boys are playing cricket.

2. For a temporary action which may not be actually happening at the time of speaking; as

for eg., I am reading ‘Great Expectations’ (though not at this very moment).

3. For an action that has already been arranged to take place in the near future; for eg., I am going to the cinema tonight. My uncle is arriving tomorrow.

Present Perfect tense

1. To indicate completed activities in the immediate past; for eg., He has just left. It has just struck ten.

2. To express past actions whose time is not given and not definite;

for eg., Have you read ‘Gulliver’s Travels’? Mr. John has been to America.

3. To describe past events when we think more of their effect in the present than of the action itself;

for eg., I have finished my work (ie., I am free now).

4. To denote an action beginning at some time in the past and continuing up to the present moment;

for eg., We have lived here for ten years.

Present Perfect continuous Tense

1. It is used for an action which began at some time in the past and is still continuing; for eg., They have been building the bridge for several months (and is still building).

2. The tense is also sometimes used for an action already finished. In such cases the continuity of the activity is emphasized as an explanation of something.

for eg., ‘Why are your clothes so wet’? – ‘I have been watering the garden’.

PAST TENSE

Simple past Tense

1. The Simple Past is used to indicate an action completed in the past. for eg., He received his letter a week ago. She left school last year.

2. Sometimes it is used without an adverb of time. In such cases the time may be either implied or indicated by the context.

for eg., Babar defeated Rana Sanga at Kanwaha. I learnt Hindi in Nagpur.

3. It is used for past habits; as

for eg., He studied many hours everyday. She always carried an umbrella.

Past Continuous Tense

1. The past continuous is used to denote an action going on at sometime in the past, the time of the action may or may not be indicated;

for eg., We were listening to the radio all evening.

2. This tense is also used with always, continually for persistent habits in the past; for eg., He was always grumbling.

Past Perfect Tense

1. The Past Perfect describes an action completed before a certain moment in the past.

for eg., I met him in New Delhi in 1996, I had seen him last five years before.

Present Perfect

Used to say how

Progressive

long someone

has been doing

I have been studying English for 2 years.

I have been studying English since 1997.

2. If two actions happened in the past, it may be necessary to show which action happened earlier than the other. The Past Perfect is mainly used in such situations. The Simple Past is used in one clause and the Past Perfect in the other.

for eg., When I reached the station the train had started (so I couldn’t get into the train).

I had done my exercise when Hari came to see me.

Past perfect continuous Tense

The Past Perfect Continuous is used for an action that began before a certain point in the past and continued up to that time;

for eg., At that time he had been writing a novel for two months.

The Past Tenses Simple Past Simple Past Used to show a I studied English last Saturday. completed action
Past Progressive/Continuous
Past Progressive Often used to say	I was studying English last Monday when
when something	my friend rang.
was being done
or what was
happening when	I was studying English at 5pm last Monday.
something else
happened
Past Perfect Simple
Past Perfect Simple The past of have	I had done my English homework by 6.30
done. Used to	pm last Saturday.
say when
something was	I had done my English homework by the
done by.	time I ate dinner last Saturday.

Simple Future Tense

FUTURE TENSE

1. The Simple Future Tense is used to talk about things which we cannot control. It expresses the future as fact;

for eg., We will know our exam results in May.

2. We use this tense to talk about what we think or believe will happen in the future; for eg., I think Pakistan will win the match.

3. We can use this tense when we decide to do something at the time of speaking; for eg., It is raining, I will take an umbrella.

4. The Simple Present is often used for future time in clauses with if, unless, when, while, as (= while), before, after, until, by the time and as soon as. The Simple Future Tense is not used in such cases.

for eg., I won’t go out if it rains. Can I have some milk before I go to bed?

Past Perfect
Progressive	The past of have	I’d been doing my English homework for 30
	been. Used to	minutes when my friend rang last Saturday.
	show how long
	something was	I’d been doing my English homework for 30
	done for by a	certain time. minutes by 1 pm last
		Saturday.

Simple Future	Decide to do	I think I’ll do my English homework tonight.
(Some uncertainty)	something at the
	time of speaking

Simple Future	Have already	I am going to study English next Saturday.
(Certain)	decided or
	arranged to do
	something

Present Continuous Tense

We use present continuous tense when we talk about something that we have planned to do in the future;

for eg., I am going to Shimla tomorrow. Mr. Hari is arriving this evening.

Future Continuous Tense

It is used to talk about actions which will be in progress at a time in the future. for eg., I suppose it will be raining when we start.

This time tomorrow I will be sitting on the beach in Singapore.

We also use this tense to talk about actions in the future which are already planned or which are expected to happen in the normal course of things;

for eg., I will be staying here till Sunday. He will be meeting us next week.

Future Progressive/Continous (uses will be, shall be or going to be +-ing form)

Future Progressive The English I will be starting my English lesson at 7.30 (Some uncertainty) lesson should pm.

begin at 7.30 and end at 9.15, so the person should be studying at 7.30 (but the lesson might start late).

Future Progressive The English I am going to be studying English when my (Certain) lesson begins at friends arrive at 9.00 pm.

7.30 and ends at 9.15, so he’s certain to be studying when his friend arrives at 8.00

Future Perfect Simple (uses will have or shall have + past participle)

Future Perfect Used to say I will have already done my English Simple something will homework by the time I eat dinner on

already be Saturday.

complete by a time.

Future Perfect Progressive/Continuous (uses will have been or shall have been + -ing form)

Future Perfect Used to say how I will have been studying English for 30 Progressive long something minutes when my friends arrive.

will have been happening in the future by a certain

Future Perfect Tense

It is used to talk about actions that will be completed by a certain future time; for eg., I shall have written my exercise by then.

By the end of this month I will have worked here for five years.

Future Perfect continuous Tense

The Future Perfect Continuous Tense is used for actions which will be in progress over a period of time that will end in the future;

for eg., By next March we shall have been living here for four years.

SUMMARY

Tense forms an integral part of grammar as every sentence occurs in one or other form of Tense. The summary of Tense can be studied as :

* The three basic types of tenses are the Present, Past and Future Tense.

* Each of the above types can be classified as simple, perfect, continuous and perfect continuous.

* Continuous Tense indicates the activity going on in the respective tense while perfect continuous indicates activity that has begun and is continuing.

* To understand Tense or to convert a sentence from one tense to another, it is essential to concentrate on the verb.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS - ANSWERS

1. Have been studying, 2. take 3. go 4. has cleaned 5. had already started

6. received 7. will be staying ? 8. speaks 9. have seen 10. appears

QUESTIONS FOR SELF - STUDY

1. Define Tense

2. State the types of Present Tense with example.

3. State the types of Past Tense with example.

4. State the types of Future Tense with example.

I) Point out the verbs in the following sentences and name their tenses:

1. God forgive you!

2. He told me that he had finished the work.

3. He is waiting for you in the compound.

4. Beware lest something worse should happen to you.

5. The farmer is cutting the corn which has ripened.

II) Choose the correct verb form from those given in brackets:

1. I him only one letter up to now (sent, have sent, send)

2. This paper twice weekly (is appearing, appearing, appears)

3. Every day last week my Aunt a plate.(breaks, broke, was breaking)

4. The town its appearance completely since 1960. (is changing, Changed, has changed)

5. When we went to the cinema, the film (already started, had already started, would already start)

6. She has bought some cloth; she herself a shirt. (will make, is going to make)

7. This book is not long. I it by lunch time. (will be reading, will have read).

8. I into town later on. Do you want a lift? (drive, will be driving).

9. Men to abolish wars up to now, but may be they will find a way in the future. (never managed, have never managed, will have never managed)

10. Did you think you me somewhere before? (have seen, had seen, were seeing)