Tenses

Tenses are that branch of grammar that expresses time references. Tenses define the change in form of a verb due to the change in time and action. There are three main types of tenses: 

• Past tense – The past tense relates to the events that happened in the past.
• Present tense – The present tense relates to the events that take place in the present.
• Future tense – The future tense relates to the events that are going to happen in the future.

Here, in the topic, we will be discussing the English tenses in detail. 

Types of tenses: 

As discussed earlier there are three main types of tenses: Present tense, past tense and future tense. Now let us begin to discuss each of the demon detail.

1. Present tense: 

The present tense is the branch of grammatical tense whose main function is to locate the event in the present time.

The present tense can be divided into the following categories: 

1. Simple present tense: 

The simple present tense is used to express the daily tasks, facts, etc. These are used to express things that are happening and happen daily. 

Usually, the addition of the letter ‘s’ or es’ with the verb makes it a simple present tense.

Form: Subject +V1 (s or es) + Object

Examples: 

1. Anita writes a book.
2. Taj Mahal is situated in Agra.
3. Stefan gets up at 6:30 am every day.
4. The sun rises in the morning.
5. I play cricket every day.

1. Present continuous tense: 

Present continuous tense is a type of verb form that combines the present tense with the continuous aspect.

Form: Subject + is/am/are + V+ ing + Object

Examples: 

1. I am playing cricket now.
2. It’s always raining in Kerala.
3. Tylor is at university
4. Aisha is learning Spanish now
5. He is constantly changing his hair colour

1. Present perfect tense: 

The present perfect tense is a combination of present tense with the perfect aspects that are used to express some past event having present consequences. In other words, the present perfect tense expresses the completed actions.

Form: Subject + has/have + V3 + Object

Examples: 

1. Anastasia has lived here all her life.
2. Meghan has worked here since she got graduated
3. She has finished her homework
4. Our family have been to America
5. She has forgotten her mobile phone at home.

1. Present perfect continuous tense: 

Present perfect continuous tense is used to define when the focus is on a certain action that is not yet completed.

Form: Subject + have/has been+ V1+ ing+ Object

Examples: 

1. I have been watching television for 3 hours
2. I have been studying since 4 pm.
3. Nishanth hasn’t been feeling well for two days
4. My father hasn’t been visiting us since march.
5. Sachin Tendulkar has been playing cricket for a long time.

2. Past tense: 

The tense that places an action for a particular situation in the past is known as the past tense. The past tense can be divided into the following categories:

1. Simple

   Past tense: 

Past tense is used to indicate an action that took place in the past. It may or may not come with an adverb of time. 

Form: Subject + V2 +Object

Examples: 

1. They saw a movie yesterday.
2. I didn’t see a match yesterday.
3. Last year, I travelled to London.
4. Michel wash his car
5. The baby woke up early in the morning.

1. Past continuous tense

Past continuous tense is used to express the situation when an individual is in the middle of doing something in the past.

Form: Subject + was/were + verb + ing + Object

Examples: 

1. As I spoke, children were laughing at my humour.
2. At 9 o’clock, I was eating dinner.

1. Past perfect tense

The past perfect tense talks about an event that happened in the past. If two actions took place in the past the past perfect tense clarifies which action took place earlier.

Form:  subject + had + V3 + Object 

Examples: 

1. The baby had cried before his mother came.
2. By the time I returned home, she had already left.

1. Past perfect continuous tense: 

Past perfect continuous tenses are used to denote an event that begins before a particular point in the past and continues until some point in the past.

Form: Subject + had been + V + ing + Object

Examples: 

1. My friend and I had been playing cricket for two hours.
2. The band had been singing a song since 9 o’clock.

1. Future tense: 

The future tense is the verb tense that is used to describe some future event or its state of being. 

The future tense can be classified into the following categories: 

1. Simple future tense: 

The simple future tense is usually used to describe the events that haven’t taken place yet.

Form: Subject + will + Verb + Object

Examples: 

1. I shall write a poem
2. Sejal will sing a good song. 

2. Future Continuous Tense: 

The future continuous tense states that something will occur in the future and will continue to occur for a certain length of time. 

Form: Subject + will be + Verb + ing + Object

Examples: 

1. My mother will be cooking food at this time.
2. Jonathan will be singing at home.

3. Future perfect tense: 

It expresses an action that will occur in the future and will be completed by a particular time in the future.

Form: Subject + will have + V3 + Object

Examples: 

1. He will have worked hard for the job.
2. The boys will have played cricket by then.

4. Future perfect continuous tense: 

These are used to talk about the actions or events that will begin at a fixed point of time in the future and will go on for some time within the future.

Form: Subject + will have been + Verb + ing + Object

Examples: 

• In January, I have been working on this project for three years.
• When I turn twenty, I will have been playing the guitar for two

Conclusion: 

Tenses are one the most essential components of grammar. There are three main types of tenses: present, past, and future. Each of these categories is divided into four categories. One should remember their uses and formulas in order to avoid any mistake in spoken or written communication. 

years.