Tenses | English Grammar |

Tenses | English Grammar |

English is based on Tenses. Without Tenses, it is difficult to learn English Grammar. If you want to learn English, improve your Tenses first. Here are all types of Tenses given below:

Tenses are of three types:

a) Present Tense - Present Indefinite, Present Continuous, Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous

b) Past Tense - Past Indefinite, Past Continuous, Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous

c) Future Tense - Future Indefinite, Future Continuous, Future Perfect and Future Perfect Continuous


Tenses | English Grammar |
Tenses | English Grammar | 

Here all Tenses have been discussed with their twelve types:

a) Present Tense

1) Present Indefinite - S + V1 + s/ es + O.

We use ‘s’ or ‘es’ with V1, with Pronouns like 'He', She' and 'It'.

With other Pronouns like 'I', 'We', 'You', 'They', we use only V1.

1) He/ She reads the book.
2) I take exercise daily.
3) We know how to swim.
4) The girls knit sweater.
5) You shirk from work.

2) Present Continuous - S + is/ am/ are + V1 + ing + O.

Use of 'is' with - He, She and It
Use of 'am' with – I
Use of 'are' with - We, You and They

1) The child is feeling sleepy.
2) The well is working.
3) This book is selling like hot cakes.
4) His nose is bleeding.
5) I am acting upon your advice.
6) The children are plucking flowers.
7) The boys are taking bath in the river.
8) We are taking the examination.

3) Present Perfect - S + has/ have + V3 + O.

Use of 'has' with – He, She and It
Use of 'have' with - I, We, You and They

1) He/ She has caught cold.
2) Ram has lost his pen.
3) Ravi has passed the examination.
4) I have taken my breakfast.
5) We have finished our work.
6) They have visited many places.

4) Present Perfect Continuous - S + has/ have + been + V1 + ing + O.

1) He/ She has been reading for two hours.
2) It has been raining continuously since morning.
3) I have been teaching in this school for five years.
4) We have been ploughing the fields since 5 A.M.
5) The dogs have been barking for two hours.

b) Past Tense

1) Past Indefinite - S + V2 + O.

1) He/ She played cricket.
2) I solved all the questions.
3) You told a lie.
4) The students laughed.
5) We sent for the doctor.
6) We did not throw stones at the dog.

2) Past Continuous - S + was/ were + V1 + ing + O.

Use of ‘was’ with - I, He, She and It
Use of ‘were’ with - You, We and They

1) The horse was running fast.
2) It was raining.
3) I was teaching the students.
4) The gardener was planting the trees.
5) The people were decorating their houses.
6) We were swimming in the river.

3) Past Perfect - S + had + V3 + O.

1) He had already finished his work.
2) The match ended before it rained.
3) When I reached the school, the bell had rung.
4) The train had left before we reached the station.
5) The patient had died before the doctor arrived.
6) We had reached the school before the rain started.

4) Past Perfect Continuous - S + had + been + V1 + ing + O.

1) The washer man had been washing the clothes since morning.
2) Sham had been studying in Delhi for five years.
3) We had been preparing for the examination since Tuesday.
4) I had been waiting for you since 7 o’ clock.

c) Future Tense

1) Future Indefinite - S + will/shall + V1 + O.

Use of 'will' with - You, He, She, It and They
Use of 'shall' with - I and We

1) The police will chase the thief.
2) You will speak the truth.
3) They will tell us a story.
4) He/ She will take a cup of tea.
5) It will rain today.
6) We shall go to gym tomorrow.
7) I shall lend you some money.
8) I shall go out for a walk every morning.

2) Future Continuous - S + will/ shall + be + V1 + ing + O.

1) I shall be sleeping.
2) The teacher will be punishing the naughty boys.
3) A cool breeze will be blowing.
4) You will be quarrelling with one another.
5) We shall be playing football.
6) We shall be celebrating Diwali festival tomorrow.
7) The players will be running.

3) Future Perfect - S + will have/ shall have + V3 + O.

1) The patient will have died by tomorrow.
2) He/ She will have taken tea before we reach home.
3) I shall have gone to office by 10 O' clock.
4) I shall have gone to Delhi before you come.

4) Future Perfect Continuous - S + will have/ shall have + been + V1 + ing + O.

1) The boys will have been flying kites since morning.
2) He/ She will have been waiting for us for two hours.
3) We shall have been searching for you for two days.
4) You will have been taking exercise since morning.