VERBS AND TENSES

 Today we are trying to describe you the very basic English grammar rules and that's Rules of Tense. With the help of these rules, you will be able to identify the type of tense and you can also form new sentences very easily and quickly. 

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.

We divide tenses into three parts: a) Present Tense  b) Past Tense  c) Future Tense . 

Three categories are further divided into four sub-categories:
(i) Indefinite/Simple     (ii) Continuous     (iii) Perfect     iv) Perfect Continuous . 

A list of the 12 verb tenses in English:

• Present Simple
• Present Continuous/Progressive
• Present Perfect
• Present Perfect Continuous/Progressive
• Past Simple
• Past Continuous/Progressive
• Past Perfect
• Past Perfect Continuous/Progressive
• Future Simple
• Future Perfect
• Future Continuous/Progressive
• Future Perfect Continuous/Progressive

  
  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. You can explain any event, moment, actions that have happened in the past.
  For example:
  I played cricket yesterday. (The action took place in the past, is finished and is completely unrelated to the present) 
  
  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 eaten his food.
  He had completed his homework before I came back from the office. 
  I had seen a movie.     
  
  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.  It is used to describe an action that is ongoing in the past.
  For example: 
  He was completing his workbook.
  It was getting darker. 
  I was seeing a movie. 
  
  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. It will describe the continuing action that has happened in the past and still going on. The action goes on till another action interrupts.
  For example:
  I had been eating an apple.
  He had been fishing when I called.  
  I had been  seeing a movie. 

  
  
  PRESENT TENSE  
  
  1) Simple Present tense - With this tense, you can explain the action, event, conditions that are happening in the present. 
  For example: 
  He plays cricket.
  The sun rises in the east. 
  I see a dog.  
  
  2)  Present Perfect Tense - Indicates an action that has been completed sometime before the present moment, with a result that affects the present situation. With this tense, you can indicate actions that begin in the past and continuous in the present. 
  For example: 
  I have completed this work. 
  I have seen a movie. 
  
  3)  Present Continuous Tense - Indicates an action that is taking place at the moment of speaking. It will be describing the on-going actions that are still going. 
  For example:
  Rahul is playing cricket. 
  I am playing.  
  
  4) Present Perfect Continuous Tense - Indicates an action that started in the past and is continuing at the present time. In this tense, you can describe the actions, events or moments that have been taking place for some time and it is still ongoing. 
  For example:
  He has been playing cricket. 
  He has been drawing for an hour. 
  I have been  seeing a movie. 
  
  
  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: 
  He will eat his food. 
  I will see a movie. 
  
  2) Future Perfect Tense - Indicates an action in the future that will have been completed before another time or event in the future. This tense refers to the actions that will happen in the future before any other action takes place. 
  For example:
  He shall have played before sleeping. 
  I will have seen a movie. 
  
  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 running when it starts to rain. 
  I will be seeing a movie. 
  
  4) Future Perfect Continuous Tense - Indicates an action in the future that will have been continuing until another time or event in the future. This tense indicates all the activities that are ongoing and will be completed at a specific time in the future. 
  For example: 
  He shall be eating food after completing homework.
  I will have been playing cricket by tomorrow. 
  I will have been  seeing a movie. 
  
  The table below gives a glimpse of the way tenses are used using the verb 'play':

  
  Simple Past :   Played     (verb + ed)   
  Simple present : Plays   (verb + s)   
  Simple Future : will/shall play   (will/shall + verb) 
  Past Perfect :  had played    (had + past participle)   
  Present Perfect : has/have played    (has/have + past participle) 
  Future Perfect : will/shall have played     (will/shall + past participle) 
  Past Continuous : was/were  playing     (was/were + verb+ ing) 
  Present Continuous : is/am/are  playing     (is/am/are + verb+ ing)  
  Future Continuous : will/shall be playing    (will/shall be+ verb+ ing) 
  Past Perfect Continuous : had been playing    (had been+ verb+ ing) 
  Present  Perfect Continuous : has/have been playing    (has/have been+ verb+ ing)  
  Future Perfect Continuous : will/shall have been playing   (will/shall have been+ verb+ ing).
  
  
• Tense and Example are given below:  
  Simple Present : I play cricket every week.   
  Present Progressive : I’m playing cricket now. 
  Simple Past : I played cricket yesterday.  
  Past Progressive : I was playing cricket the whole evening. 
  Present Perfect : I have just played cricket.  
  Present Perfect Progressive : I have been playing cricket for 3 hours.

• Past Perfect : I had played cricket before Sachin came.  Past Perfect  Progressive : I had been playing cricket when Sachin came.  Future –  I will play cricket next week.   Future –  I’m going to play cricket this afternoon.  Future Progressive : I will be playing cricket next Sunday.  Future Perfect : I will have played cricket by tomorrow.  Present Tense  1. He reads a book. (Simple Present Tense, verb + s)  He is reading a book. (Continuous Present Tense, is/am/are + ing) He have read a book. (Perfect Present Tense, has/ have + Verb) He has been reading a book.(Perfect Continuous Present Tense, has/have been + ing)  Past Tense   1. He read a book.(Simple Past Tense, verb)  He was reading a book. (Continuous Past Tense, was/were + ing) He had read a book.(Perfect Past Tense, had+ Verb) He had been reading a book. (Perfect Continuous Past Tense, had been + ing)  Future Tense  1. He will read a book.  (Simple Future Tense, will/ shall + verb)  He will be reading a book.(Continuous Future Tense, will/shall + be + ing) He will have read a book.(Perfect Future Tense , will/shall + have +Verb) He will have been reading a book.   (Perfect Continuous Future Tense, will/shall + have + been + ing)   I see a dog.                            Simple Present Tense. I saw a dog.                          Simple Past Tense I will see a dog.                    Simple Future Tense I have seen a dog.                Present Perfect Tense I had seen a dog.                  Past Perfect Tense I will have seen a dog.         Future Perfect Tense I am seeing a dog.                Present Continuous Tense I was seeing a dog.               Past Continuous Tense I will be seeing a dog.          Future Continuous Tense I have been  seeing a dog.   Present Perfect Continuous Tense I had been  seeing a dog.     Past Perfect Continuous Tense I will have been  seeing a dog.              Future Perfect Continuous Tense

  
  

For Example:

1) I had checked the paper beforehand.
Ans. Past Perfect Tense 

2) The tree will give me all I need. ( Change it using present perfect tense)
Ans. The tree has given me all I need. 

3) Nitin approached teacher at staffroom for explanation of maths. ( Change it using past perfect tense)
Ans. Nitin had approached teacher at staffroom for explanation of maths.

4) Hawking's disease helped him to become a notable scientist. (Change it using present perfect tense)
Ans. Hawking's disease has helped him to become a notable scientist.

5) Children were talking in the class. (Change it using present perfect continuous tense)
Ans. Children have been talking in the class.

6) You will feel the joy of giving charity. (Change it using present perfect tense)
Ans. You have felt the joy of giving charity.

7) I started a company. (Change it using present perfect tense)
Ans. I have started a company.

8) I have checked all the papers.
Ans. Present Perfect Tense 

9) I shall be giving all you a gold coin.
Ans. Future Continuous Tense 

10) I slept on the floor.
Ans. Simple Past Tense 

11) The dots will somehow connect. (Change it using past perfect tense)
Ans. The dots had somehow connected.

12) I read a book. (Change it using present continuous tense)
Ans. I am reading a book.

13) Harish had kept this gold with himself. (Change it using past perfect continuous tense)
Ans. Harish had been keeping this gold with himself.

14) Her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its colour.(Pick out the verbs and state the tense)
Ans. were shinning - past continuous tense,  had lost - past perfect tense.