ENGLISH GRAMMAR

TENSES

TENSE MEANS TIME____

PRESENT TIME PAST TIME FUTURE TIME

Simple Present

I play.

Simple PastI played.

Simple FutureI will play.

Present ContinuousI am playing.

Past ContinuousI was playing.

Future ContinuousI will be playing.

Present PerfectI have played.

Past PerfectI had played.

Future PerfectI will have played.

Present Perfect ContinuousI have been playing

for two hours.

Past Perfect ContinuousI had been playingwhen you came.

Future PerfectContinuousI will have been playingfor two hours at 2 o’clock.

There are threeMain tenses

The PresentThe PastThe Future

EACH TENSE HAS FOUR FORMSSIMPLE: Present, Past, Future

CONTINUOUS: Present, Past, Future

PERFECT: Present, Past, Future

PERFECT CONTINUOUS: Present, Past, Future

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Present Form Of verb ORPresent Form Of Verb +‘s’ or ‘es’

USES

Repeated Actions

Habitual Actions

Universal Truth

A Future Action

Examples:

1.I drink tea daily.2. She drinks tea daily.3. I sing well.4. She sings well.

5. Honesty is the best policy.6. Our school re-opens in July.7. Ram doesn’t go to school .8. I don’t like to read sad stories.9. Does he know the way?10. Doesn’t he play rugby?

Simple Past Tense

Past Form Of Verb

Uses:

oPAST ACTIONoNARRATION OF STORIESoDESCRIPTION OF SERIES OF PAST EVENTS

Examples:

1. I / She received your letter yesterday.

2. It rained last week.

3. She watched her brother being awarded.

Simple Future Tense

Will + Present form of the Verb

Uses:

oFUTURE ACTIONS

Examples:

1.She will receive your letter tomorrow.

2.It looks like it will rain tomorrow.

3.She will watch her brother being awarded.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSEIs, am, are + Present Participle

Uses:To describe an action that :

Is happening at the moment of speaking.

Going on over a period of time.

Examples:1. It is raining.

2. She is watching her brother play.

3. My sister is singing on the stage.

PAST CONTINUOUS TENSEWas, were + Present Participle

Uses:To describe an action that Was going on at a point of time, When another action took place.

Examples:1. It was raining at this time yesterday.

2. She was watching her brother play when the thieves entered the house.

3. He was typing in his office when the fire broke out.

FUTURE CONTINUOUSTENSEWill be +Present Participle

Uses:To describe an action:

That will be in progress at a given point of time in the future.

Examples:

1.This time tomorrow, I shall be flying over London.

2. I won’t be going for theparty tomorrow.

3. The school team will be going to Agra next week.

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

has/ have +Past Participle

Uses:To describe an action:Which has been completedor done just now, near the present time.An action that has taken placeIn the past, but the action hasIts effect In the present.An action that began in the past,and is continuing in the present.

Examples:1.He has eaten all the biscuits.

2.He has lived here for ten years.

PAST PERFECT TENSE

Had + Past Participle

Uses:To describe an action that had already taken place in the past before another action took place In the past.

Examples:

1.When I reached the station, the train had left.

2. They had already pulled down the old building before the order was given.

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

Will/ shall have + PastParticiple

Uses:To describe an action thatwill be completed bysome point of time in thefuture.

Examples:

1.He will have left beforeyou reach.

2. They will have cleanedthe streets in an hour.

PRESENT PERFECTCONTINUOUS

Has been/ have been +Present Participle

Use:To describe an action which began in the past butIs still continuing in the present.

Examples:

1.He has been sleeping for five hours.

2.They have been working since 9a.m.

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Had been + Present Participle

Use:

To describe an action that began in the past and continued in the past forsometime.

Examples:

1.When I visited him, he had been teaching there for five years.

FUTURE PERFECTCONTINUOUS

Will have been +Present Participle

Use:

To describe an actionThat will be in progress even after a given point of time.

Examples:

1.By next December,We will have been livinghere for five years.

PRESENT TENSESIMPLE PRESENT

I/WE/THEY/YOU READ.

SHE/HE/IT READS.PRESENT PERFECT

CONTINUOUSI/ WE/ THEY/YOU

HAVE BEEN READING +TIME.SHE/HE/IT HAS BEEN READING

+TIME.

PRESENT PERFECT

I/WE/THEY/YOU HAVE READ.

SHE/HE /IT HAS READ.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

I AM READING.YOU/WE/THEY ARE

READING.SHE/HE/IT IS

READING.

SIMPLE PAST

I/WE/THEY/YOU/SHE/HE/IT

READ.PAST PERFECT

I/HE/SHE/YOU/WE/THEY

HAD READ THE BOOK LAST

WEEK.

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

I/WE/SHE/HE/THEY/YOU HAD BEEN READING THE

BOOK WHEN THE TEACHER WENT INTO

THE CLASSROOM.

PAST CONTINUOUS

I/SHE/HE/IT WAS READING.

YOU/WE/THEY WERE READING.

PAST TENSE

FUTURE TENSE

FUTURE PERFECT

I/WE/YOU/SHE/HE/THEY WILL

HAVE READ THE BOOK BY NEXT

WEEK.

FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS

I/WE/YOU/SHE/HE/THEY WILL HAVE BEEN READING THE BOOK FOR FIVE DAYS ON

MONDAY.

SIMPLE FUTURE

I/WE/YOU/SHE/HE/THEY

WILL READ THE BOOK

TOMORROW.

FUTURE CONTINUOUS

I/WE/YOU/THEY/HE/SHE

WILL BE READING THE BOOK SOON.

COMMON MISTAKES IN TENSES

1.It is raining since yesterday. X It has been raining since yesterday.

2. I reached the station before the train had arrived. X I had reached the station before the train arrived.

3. Yesterday we had seen the panther. X Yesterday we saw the panther.

4. I had been playing a match. I had been playing a match yesterday, so couldn’t go out with my friends.