Tenses

When we speak or write, we need to show whether we are talking about something in the present, the past or the future time. Therefore, we have to be careful about the tense we use.

PAST	Simple Past	Past Continuous	Past Perfect	Past Perfect Continuous
	He walked	He was walking	He had walked	He had been walking

 

PRESENT	Simple Present	Present Continuous	Present Perfect	Present Perfect Continuous
	He walks	He is walking	He has walked	He has been walking

 

FUTURE	Simple Future	Future Continuous	Future Perfect	Future Perfect Continuous
	He will walk	He will be walking	He will have walked	He will have been walking

 

The present tense shows habitual action, a general trugh, some action actually taking place (as in exclamatory sentences) and sometimes to show a planned event.

Examples:

• I walk everyday
  
  
• Meena prays every morning
  
  
• Man is mortal
  
  
• The sun sets in the West
  
  
• Here comes the train!
  
  
• India goes to poll next week
  
  
• Arpita leaves for the U.S. in August

is used for an action actually going on at the time of speaking OR for an action which may not be actually happening at the time of speaking OR for an action planned in the future.

Examples:

• The girls are playing throwball.
  
  
• I am reading the book 'The Hungry Tide'.
  
  
• I am going to market in the evening.
  
• Present Perfect shows an action completed in the immediate past OR to show an action started in the past and going on upto the present moment. Sometimes it shows past events with some effect on the present.

Examples:

• Ram has complained to the teacher.
  
  
• I have worked in this school for thirteen years.
  
  
• I have resigned so that I can look after my children at home.
  
  

Look at these two pictures of the same girl, Rita. Write a few sentences describing the changes in Rita and highlight the present perfect tense.

Example: She has got a promotion.

They have bought a new house.

Over the last fifteen years Rita has grown quite a bit. She has become taller. She has grown her hair. Her eyesight has become bad so she is using spectacles. She has got a two-wheeler now.

Over the last fifteen years Rita has grown quite a bit. She has become taller. She has grown her hair. Her eyesight has become bad so she is using spectacles. She has got a two-wheeler now.

Look at the incomplete sentences below. Complete each sentence using a suitable tense.

1. In recent years there______ (be) many beauty pageants in Bangalore.

2. In 2000 Lara Dutta _____ (be) Miss universe.

3. Dr. Manmohan Singh _____ (be) the Prime Minister of India in May 2004.

4. Pervez Musharaff ____ (be) Army General till he declared himself the President.

5. Lately Meera _____not____ (be) keeping well.

6. Last month Meera _____ (be) down with typhoid.

7. So far Ram ____ not ___ (fail) in any subject.

8. Last test Raghu _____ (fail) in Maths.

9. The fly over _____not yet ______ (be) completed.

10. The work ______ (be) completed long back.

1. In recent years there have been (be) many beauty pageants in Bangalore.

2. In 2000 Lara Dutta was (be) Miss universe.

3. Dr. Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister of India in May 2004.

4. Pervez Musharaff was (be) Army General till he declared himself the President.

5. Lately Meera has not been (be) keeping well.

6. Last month Meera was (be) down with typhoid.

7. So far Ram has not failed (fail) in any subject.

8. Last test Raghu failed (fail) in Maths.

9. The fly over has not yet been (be) completed.

10. The work was (be) completed long back.

Note

The present perfect is often used with the following time expressions:For many years/since 200/in the past few months/years/recently/until now/lately etc.

We often use the Present Perfect with time expressions using 'since' or 'for'

1. _____ a short time I actually believed what she said.

2. _____ Christmas Sophia has not bought any new dress.

3. _____ yesterday Sriram has been feeling unwell.

4. In India _____ centuries we have held on to blind beliefs and superstitions.

5. Mrs. Dutta was on leave ______ several months as she was out of station.

6. ______ 20^th February Ram has been on a strict diet trying to shed off weight.

7. ______ eight long months I worked hard not taking any break.

8. She has been the General Manager of the company ______ a decade now.

9. I have not met Sangeeta ______ last week.

10. I have not seen my aunt ______ a week.

1. For a short time I actually believed what she said.

2. Since Christmas Sophia has not bought any new dress.

3. Since yesterday Sriram has been feeling unwell.

4. In India for centuries we have held on to blind beliefs and superstitions.

5. Mrs. Dutta was on leave for several months as she was out of station.

6. Since 20^th February Ram has been on a strict diet trying to shed off weight.

7. For eight long months I worked hard not taking any break.

8. She has been the General Manager of the company for a decade now.

9. I have not met Sangeeta since last week.

10. I have not seen my aunt for a week.

refers to a period of time.

is used before a specific date/time/year etc.

Look at these sentences:

1. He usually walks fast.

2. He is walking fast at the moment.

The first sentence describes repeated action.

The second sentence describes action in progress.

Be careful with the verb 'to have'. Do not use 'having' when it means 'to possess'.

	Wrong	Correct
X X X	I am having a car I am having a headache I am having a pen	I am having a bath now I am having my meal now I am having a party tonight

The correct sentences show a continuous activity. Hence, one has to use the present continuous tense.

The main verbs have been underlined in the sentences below

1. Ram went to the village school.

2. His parents worked in the family fields.

3. His elder brother taught in the village school.

4. Ram studied well.

5. His two sisters had died of cholera when he was five years old.

6. Since then he had promised to himself to become a doctor.

Sentences 1 to 4 are in simple past whereas 5 and 6 are in past perfect.

Simple past is used to indicate an action completed in the past.

The past perfect describes an action completed before a certain moment in the past.

If two actions occur in the past it is necessary to use the past perfect tense to indicate the sequence of events.

The simple past is used in one clause and the past perfect tense in the other.

• When I reached (simple past) the train had left. (past perfect)
  
  
• I had finished (past perfect) my homework when Meenu came. (simple past)
  
  
• Sita had written (past perfect) the letter before they arrived. (simple past).
  
  

It is used for an action that began before a certain point in the past and continued up to that time.

• When I joined school in 1992, Seeta had already been teaching there for five years.
  
  
• Shyam has been saving since Diwali to buy a car.
  
  
• The police had been suspecting Mohan for murder.
  
  
• He had been robbing for quite some time.
  
  

• When Sheila met Kajol and Reena they were dancing.
  
  
• When Sheila met Kajol and Reena they had been dancing.
  
• In the first sentence Shiela met them when they were actually dancing. In the second sentence Shiela met them when they had finished dancing.

Explain the two pairs of sentences:

A.1 When I entered the party I could see Diana crying.

A.2 When I entered the party I could see Diana had been crying.

B.1 When they reached home, the children were playing.

B.2 When they reached home the children had been playing.

Answer:

In A.1, Diana was crying in the party when I entered the party. In B.1 the children were playing when they reached home.

However in B.2 the children were no longer playing when they reached home. In A.2 Diana was no long crying when I entered the party.

The Simple Future tense is used for an action that has still to take place.

• I shall meet him next week.
  
  
• Tomorrow will be Sunday.
• The Future Continuous tense represents an action as going on at some point in future time.

• I shall be eating them.
  
  
• When I reach home, my children will be playing.
• The Future Perfect tense is used to indicate the completion of an action by a certain future time.

• I shall have finished my studies by that time.
  
  
• Before you reach there, the train will have left.
• The Future Perfect Continuous tense indicates an action as being in progress over a period of time that will end in the future.

• By next April, I will have been working for ten years.
  
  
• When he gets his degree, he will have been studying at Oxford for four years.

Correct the following sentences.

• Sita did not finish her work yet.
  
  
• Seem lived in Channai since 2000.
  
  
• The servant had not responded when called.
  
  
• She has cooked a meal for him yesterday.
  
  
• A moment ago I have seen him in the office.
  
  
• I had scolded Ram yesterday.
  
  
• Sarah had gone to the U.S. last week.
  
  
• The patient died before the doctor arrived.
  
  
• Meena told the teacher that she was sick for ten days.
  
  
• Gopal will reach school before the chief guest will arrive.
  
  

1. Sita has not finished her work yet.
   
   
2. Seema has lived in Chennai since 2000.
   
   
3. The servant did not respond when called.
   
   
4. She cooked a meal for him yesterday.
   
   
5. A moment ago I saw him in the office.
   
   
6. I scolded Ram yesterday.
   
   
7. Sarah went to the U.S. yesterday.
   
   
8. The patient died before the doctor had arrived.
   
   
9. Meena told that the teacher that she had been sick for ten days.
   
   
10. Gopal will reach school before the chief guest arrives.