The English Tense System

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12 basic tenses

For each tense we look at:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional matters  and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.|| tense

• Present Simple
  I do, I do do
• Present Continuous
  I am doing
• Present Perfect
  I have done
• Present Perfect Continuous
  I have been doing

• Past Simple
  I did, I did do
• Past Continuous
  I was doing
• Past Perfect
  I had done
• Past Perfect Continuous
  I had been doing

• Future Simple
  I will do
• Future Continuous
  I will be doing
• Future Perfect
  I will have done
• Future Perfect Continuous
  I will have been doing

Introduction

tense is nothing time of action. Every sentence is related to or according to the time. So the uses of all English tenses are very important and we are going to learn all the 37 important uses of tenses in English language grammar here.|| tense

What is tense

Form of verb that shows the time of action is called as tense. We can call tense as time and in every language uses of tenses are almost the same.

There are three main tenses in English.

1)Present tense

2)Past tense

3)Future tense

There are four subtypes of three main tenses.

1)Simple or indefinite

2)Continuous or progressive

3)Perfect

4)Perfect continuous or progressive

So altogether there are 12 tenses in English language.

Now we will see uses of every tense in English language grammar. They are highly important in our day-to-day speaking and writing.

Uses of tenses with examples in daily use

Here are the 37 important uses of all the 12 tenses in English language grammar.

1)uses of Simple present tense

The important uses of simple present tense are as follows. Generally we use simple present tense for actions taking place regularly or after a fixed time interval

1)simple present tense is used to give daily routine that the things that we do on regular basis.

For example

1)I get up at 6.00 a.m.

2)I go to bed at 11.00 p.m.

Learn here how to tell my daily routine in English and how to tell my friend’s or any third person’s daily routine.

2)We use simple present tense to tell the universal truths.

For example

1)The sun rises in the East.

2)The sun sets in the West.

3)The earth revolves round the sun.

3)Simple present tense is used for the narration of film or drama.

4)Commentary of live events or sports matches like cricket, football, hockey matches.

For example

Virat Kohli hits the ball to midwicket boundary and gets four runs.

5)Simple present tense is commonly used for the headlines of the newspapers to catch the attention of the readers. All the other details of the news are given in the past tense as most of the news are about the past happenings.

For example

1)The prime minister visits America.

2)Heavy rains disturb normal life in London.

3)India wins the ICC cricket world cup.

6)Simple present tense is used to give nature and habits of the people.

For example

1)He always speaks the truth.

2)She never complains about her problems.

3)Sam takes exercises daily.

7)Simple present tense is used for telling the proverbs and idioms.

For example

1)Slow and steady wins the race.

2)Try try but don’t cry.

3)Don’t cross the bridge until you reach on it.

8)Simple present tense is used to give general truths which occur daily, weekly, monthly, yearly or after the fortnight.

For example

1)He goes to school daily.

2)We go to picnic weekly.

3)They visit their native place yearly.

These are all important uses of simple present tense in English language grammar.

2)Uses of Present continuous (Progressive) tense

1)Present continuous tense is used to denote the action taking place right now.

For example

1)I am learning the uses of tenses.

2)It is raining now.

3)She is reading a book.

2)Present continuous tense is used as an equivalent to simple present tense.

For example

1)My friend learns music. (simple present tense)

-My friend is learning music. (Present continuous tense equivalent to simple present tense)

2)She worships God now a days.

-She is worshipping God now a days.

3)Present continuous tense is used for planned future. Actually such actions take place in simple future tense but when it is planned future, we can use going to of present continuous tense.

For example

1)I will learn English.(Simple future tense)

-I am going to learn English.(Present continuous tense)

2)She will help me.

-She is going to help me.

3)Uses of present perfect tense.

1)Present perfect tense is used to show actions completed just now.

For example

1)I have just reached home.

2)They have finished their project just now.

2)Present perfect tense is used for the past action having its effect in the present. If there is no effect in the present then simple past tense is used.

For example

1)My bother has met with an accident. Now he is in the hospital.(Past action having effects in the present)

–My brother met with an accident. Now he is all right.( no effect of past action. So simple past tense is used)

3)present perfect tense is also used for the past action that is likely to take place in present or future.

For example

1)Kishor Kumar sang many songs. (Past action not likely to take place in present or future. So simple past tense.)

Kumar Sanu has sung many songs.(Past action likely to take place in present or future)

4)We use present perfect tense for the long term action going on right now. If it is not going on right now then use simple past tense.

1)I have learned in this school. (You are learning in school at the time of speaking)

2)I learned in this school. (You are not learning in school at the time of speaking. So simple past tense is used)

4)uses of Present perfect continuous tense

1)Present perfect tense is used for the action started in the past and going on in present and will go on in the future.

For example

1)It has been raining since yesterday.

2)He has been working for 8 hours.

3)They have been playing since morning.

5)uses of Simple past tense

1)Simple past tense is used for telling what happened or what did you do?

For example

1)I watched the latest movie yesterday.

2)He reached home safely.

3)We discussed about the problem.

2)simple past tense is also used for narration, story telling, report writing

3)simple past tense is used for the past habitual actions. Normally we use used to or would but simple past tense can be used.

For example

1)I always played cricket in my childhood.

-I used to play cricket in my childhood.

-I would play cricket in my childhood.

2)She always studied in her school days.

-she used to study in her school days.

-She would study in her school days.

4)If past action is going on in the present or it has effect in the present then use present perfect but if it is not going on in the present or it does not have effects in present then use simple past tense.

6)uses of Past continuous tense

1)Past continuous tense is used for the actions going on in the past for short time.

For example

1)He was reading a book.

2)She was waiting for the bus.

3)Students were learning new things.

2)past continuous tense is also used for the past action taking place slowly.

For example

1)The sun was rising in the East.

2)He was walking towards the hills.

3)past continuous tense is used in the following condition.

When one action was going on in the past, another action took place. In such conditions, past continuous tense is used for the action going on and simple past tense is used for the another action that took place during first action going on.

For example

1)When I was watching TV, Electricity got failed.

2)When we were making noise, our teacher entered in the class.

3)He fell down while he was riding his bike.

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7)uses of Past perfect tense

1)Past perfect tense is used for stressing your speech or what you want to say.

For example

1)I told you.(Simple past no stress)

-I had told you.(Past perfect to stress your speech)

2)When two actions took place in the past and there was a time difference between them then first action is given in past perfect tense and the second action is given in the simple past tense.

For example

1)When I reached the airport, the flight had already taken off.

Here first action is in past perfect and second action is given in simple past.

2)When Virat had scored century, fans started jumping.

3)When the doctor reached the hospital, the patient had become well already.

Note -when two actions take place at the same time or one after other without any time difference then simple past tense is used,

Eg. when the teacher entered the class, all the students stood up.

8)uses of Past perfect continuous tense

For example

1)Past perfect continuous tense is used for the actions taking place in the past for a long time.

For example-

1)It had been raining for 5 days in the last month.

2)She had been playing for 4 hours.

9)Uses of simple future tense-

1)simple future tense is used for the future plans or ideas.

For example-

1)I will become a doctor.

2)They will start a new company.

2)simple future tense is used for telling what will happen or what will you do.

For example-

1)It will rain today.

2)I will meet her tomorrow.

3)Simple future tense is also used for taking opinions or suggestions from others.

For example-

1)Shall I buy this car?

2)Shall we go on foot?

3)Shall we wait here?

10)Uses of future continuous tense-

1)future continuous tense is used for the action taking place for short time in the future.

For example-

1)He will be reading book.

2)They will be playing.

2)Future continuous tense is also used for telling the possibility of future action.

For example-

1)It will be raining tomorrow.

2)She will be waiting for us.

11)Uses of future perfect tense.

1)Future perfect tense is used for the action taken place in future in fixed time.

For example-

1)He will have finished his study by 5.00 p.m.

2)I will have completed the reading of this book by next Monday.

2)Future perfect tense is also used for expressing the possibility of action completed in the future.

For example-

1)He will have reached home by now.

2)They will have won the match.

12)Uses of future perfect continuous tense

1)Future perfect continuous tense is used for the action going on for a long time in the future.

For example-

1)It will have been raining since June.

2)They will have been playing since morning.

These are the important uses of all the 12 tenses in English language grammar.

Conclusion

You can easily master all the 37 important uses of 12 tenses in English language grammar with the help of above given article.

All Tenses Rules

To understand the Tenses rules here is a tabulated representation.

V1 =  first form of the verb 
V2 = second form of the verb
V3 = third form of the verb 

We will now discuss each category with different types of tenses, the tenses rule, and their examples.

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Types of Tenses

There are three types of tenses.

• Past
• Present
• Future

These tenses can further be categorized into 4 types:

• Simple Tense
• Continuous Tense
• Perfect Tense
• Perfect Continuous Tense

Past Tense Rules

Past tense is used to describe a past activity or action. It is a form of the verb that defines the events that have already occurred. Examples

• Reema attended the wedding functions.
• He left before I reached.
• Priya wrote a letter to her friends from camp.

Simple Past Tense Rules

Subject + V2 + Object

Examples:
Rita went to school.
Minty ate food.

Past Continuous Tense Rules

Subject + was + V1 + ing + Object (Singular) Subject + were + V1 + ing + Object (Plural)

Examples:
I was eating pudding.
Sia was writing a letter to the editor.

Past Perfect Tense Rules

Subject + had + V3 + Object

Examples:
He had taken the token.
I had brushed my teeth.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense Rules

Subject + had been + V1 + ing + Object

Examples:
He had been standing in the rain the whole night.
I had been eating diet food for the whole summer.

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Present Tense Rules

The present tense is used to describe the current or present being, situation, or event. It is a form of the verb that defines the events that are currently happening. Examples

• I am going to the office
• She has been part of this group for 4 years now.
• The concert is amazing.

Simple Present Tense Rules

Subject + V1 + s/es + Object (Singular)
Subject + V1 + Object (Plural)

Examples:
The Sun rises in the East.
Rita goes to school.

Past Continuous Tense Rules

Subject + is/am/are + V1 + ing + object

Examples:
I was eating pudding.
Sia was writing a letter to the editor.

Present Perfect Tense Rules

Subject + has + V3 + Object (Singular)
Subject + have + V3 + Object (Plural)

Examples:
He has just eaten food.
I have just read the book.

Present Perfect Continuous Tense Rules

Subject + has been + V1 + ing + Object (Singular)
Subject + have been + V1 + ing + Object (Plural)

Examples:
I have been cleaning regularly since Monday.
She has been using the night cream for several months.

Future Tense Rules

The future tense is used to describe the future events that haven’t occurred but possibly will occur in the future. It is a form of the verb that will occur in the future & not exist currently. Examples

• She will be dancing to classical music.
• We will be shifting to the house upstate tomorrow morning.
• The train will leave in 10 minutes.

Simple Future Tense Rules

Subject + will/shall + V1 + Object

Examples:
I shall go to school tomorrow.
My mother will feed me.

Future Continuous Tense Rules

Subject + will be/shall be + ing + V1 + Object

Examples: 
He shall be writing his exam.
We will be going to the zoo.

Future Perfect Tense Rules

Subject + will have/shall have + V3 + Object

Examples:
I shall have started writing by that time.
We will have reached Goa by then.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense Rules

Subject + will have been + V1 + ing + Object

Examples:
By next year we will be graduating.
They shall be serving food in the slum area tomorrow.

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Tenses Rules & Application

Sometimes understanding tenses can be confusing, to sort it out & make it easier we have represented a tabulated version of tenses rules & where they are applied with the help of examples.

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Tenses Rules Practice Questions

Now you know all about the types & tenses rules. Here are some practice questions to test your knowledge.

1. Riya _____ (wants/ wanting)to be a pilot.
2. The dinner ______ (smells/smelling) great.
3. She _______ (has been crying/cried) since last night.
4. I _______ (will be lying, will lie) on the beach with my friends.
5. Give me a call when you ______ (have, had) time.
6. I _______ (spent/spend) all my teenage years at math camp.
7. When we were in the hostel we _____ (made/make) our breakfast.
8. Sandhya is ________ (running/ran) for student election this semester.
9. He _____ (plays/playing) tennis most of his evening.
10. When you called, I was______ (taking/took) a shower.

Answers

1. Wants
2. Smells
3. Has been crying
4. Will be lying
5. Have
6. Spent
7. Made
8. Running
9. Plays
10. taking

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