1. VERB TENSES

2. Tenses denote the time of action. They show when the work is done. They are:
(1) Present Tense
(2) Past Tense
(3) Future Tense
NB: Verbs which end in –ing are sometimes referred to as the present participle and verbs which
end in –ed are sometimes referred to as the past participle*

3. Simple Present tense
It is used to denote scientific facts, universal truths and work done on daily basis.
◦ I eat.
◦ I sleep.
◦ I play
Assertive rule: sub + Verb + s/es + object
I/ You/ We/ They work in a bank.
He/ She works in a bank.
She writes a letter.
NB: for 3rd Person Singular (he/ she/ it) add ‘s’ to the base form

4. ◦ Negative Rule: subject + does not + verb+ object
She does not write a letter
I/ You/ We/ They don’t (do not) work.
He/ She/ It doesn’t (does not) work
◦ Interrogative Rule:Does + sub + verb+ object
Does she write a letter?
Do I/ you/we/they work?
Does he/ she work?

5. ◦ The following are some examples of how the simple present tense is formed:
Noun/Pronoun Verb ‘to play’ Verb ‘to go’ Verb ‘to be’
I play go am
You play go are
He plays goes is
She plays goes is
It plays goes is
We play go are
They play go are
John plays goes is
Mary plays goes is

6. Present Continuous Tense
It is used to express an action taking place at the time of speaking.
◦ I am eating.
◦ I am sleeping.
◦ I am playing.
Assertive rule: subject + is/am/are + verb-ing
she is writing a letter
You are cooking.

7. ◦ Negative rule: Subject + is/am/are + not + verb-ing + object
She is not writing a letter.
You aren’t (are not) cooking.
Interrogative Rule: is/am/are + subject + verb-ing + object
Is she writing a letter?
Are you cooking?

8. Present Perfect Tense
It is used to show an action that started in the past and has just finished.
The present perfect tense is formed by using the present tense of the verb ‘to have’ plus the past
participle.
The words have and has show that this tense has a link with the present tense. The past participle
has the same form as the simple past tense for regular verbs.
◦ I have eaten.
◦ I have slept.
◦ I have played.

9. ◦ Assertive rule: Subject + have/ has + Past Participle (3rd Form of the Verb)
She has written a letter
I/ You/ We/ They have finished the letter.
He/ She has finished the letter.
◦ Negative rule: Subject+has/have + not + past participle verb+object
She has not written a letter
I/ You/ We/ They have not finished the letter.
He/ She has not finished the letter.

10. Interrogative rule: has/have + subject + past participle verb+ object
Has she written a letter?
Have I/ you/we/ they finished the letter?
Has he/she finished the letter?

11. Present Perfect Continuous Tense
This tense shows the action which started in the past and is still continuing.
◦ I have been eating
◦ I have been sleeping.
◦ I have been playing.
Assertive rule: subject + has/have + been + verb+ ing
She has been writing a letter .
I/ you/ We/ They have been learning English for a year.
He/ She has been learning English for a year

12. ◦ Negative rule: Subject + has/have + not been + verb-ing + object
She has not been writing a letter.
I/ You/ We/ They haven’t been playing tennis for a long time.
He/ She hasn’t been playing tennis for a long time.
◦ Interrogative rule: have/ has + Subject + been +Verb-ing
Has she been writing a letter?
Have I/ you/ we/ they been learning English?
Has he/ she been learning English?

13. Past Tense
Tense symbolizes the ever moving, non-stop wheel of time which is forever busy gathering
moments of future and throwing them into the dustbin of past.
Simple Past Tense
Used to indicate an action completed in the past. It often occurs with adverb of time. Sometimes
it is used without an adverb of time.
Used for past habits.
◦ I played football when I was a child.
◦ I ate.
◦ I slept.
◦ I played.

14. The simple past tense of regular verbs is formed by adding - ed to the infinitive, or - d in the case of
verbs ending in - e. The irregular verbs have special past tense forms.
Assertive Sentences – Subject + Verb in past tense + Object
◦ She wrote a letter.
◦ I/ You/ He/ She/ It/ We/ They lived in London ten years ago
Negative: Subject + didn’t (did not) + Base Form of the Verb
◦ I/ You/ He/ She/ It/ We/ They didn’t like the film.
◦ She didn’t write a letter.
Interrogative: Question Word + did + subject + Base Form of the Verb
◦ Where did I/ you/ he/ she/ it/ we/ they meet Richard?

15. Past Continuous Tense
Used to denote an action going on at some time in the past.
◦ I was driving a car.
◦ I was eating.
◦ I was sleeping.
◦ I was playing.
Rule: was/were + ing
The past progressive tense is formed by using was or were with the present participle (-ing form of the
verb).
Assertive: Subject + was/ were + Verb-ING
◦ I/He/She was having a shower when you called.
◦ We/ You/ They were watching TV when Bob arrived.
◦ She was writing a letter

16. Negative: Subject + wasn’t (was not)/ weren’t (were not) + Verb-ING
◦ I/ He/ She was not having a shower when you called.
◦ We/ You/ They were not watching TV when Bob arrived.
◦ She was not writing a letter.
Interrogative: was/ were + Subject + Verb-ING
◦ Was she watching TV when he called?
◦ Was she writing a letter.

17. Past Perfect Tense
Used to describe an action completed before a certain moment in the past, usually a long time
ago. If two actions happened in the past, past perfect is used to show the action that took place
earlier.
◦ I had eaten.
◦ I had slept.
◦ I had played.
◦ The patient had died before the doctor came.

18. Assertive: Subject + had + Past Participle verb
◦ I/ You/ He/ She/ We/ They had already met Sarah before the party.
◦ She had written a letter.
Negative: Subject + hadn’t (had not) + Past Participle verb
◦ I/ You/ He/ She/ We/ They hadn’t met Sarah before the party.
◦ She had not written a letter.
Interrogative: had + Subject + Past Participle verb
◦ Had I/ you/ he/ she/ we/ they met Sarah before the party?
◦ Had she written a letter?

19. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Used to denote an action that began before a certain point in the past and continued up to some time
in past.
◦ I had been learning English in this school for 20 days.
◦ I had been eating.
◦ I had been sleeping.
◦ I had been playing
Assertive: Subject + had been + Verb-ING
◦ I/ You/ He/ She/ We/ They had been living in German for years before moving here.
◦ She had been writing a letter.

20. Negative: Subject + had not been + Verb-ING
◦ I/ You/ He/ She/ We/ They had not been living in Germany for a long time before moving here.
◦ She had not been writing a letter.
Interrogative: had + Subject + been + Verb-ING
◦ Had I/ you/ he/ she/ we/ they been living in Germany before moving here?
◦ Had she been writing a letter?

21. Future Tense
Time and tide wait for no man. So, a period of time following the moment of speaking or writing is
called as future tense.
◦ She will write a letter.
Simple Future
This tense tells us about an action which has not occurred yet and will occur after saying or in future
Rule – Will/Shall + Verb (Ist form)
In Future Tense ‘Shall’ and ‘will’ are used to indicate that an action will take place in future.
‘Shall’ is usually used with ‘I’ and ‘we’. ‘Will’ is used with ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’, ‘you’ and ‘they’.

22. ◦ Affirmative Sentences- Subject + Will/Shall + Verb (Ist form) + Object
◦ She will write a letter.
Negative Sentences- Subject + Will/Shall + Not + Verb (Ist form) + Object
◦ She will not write a letter.
◦ They won’t beat us
Interrogative Sentences- Will/Shall + Subject + Verb (Ist form) + Object + (?)
◦ Will she write a letter?

23. Future Continuous Tense
It is used to express an ongoing or continued action in future. e.g. He will be distributing sweets
in temple tomorrow at 12 o'clock. In the example, the action will start in future (tomorrow) and
action is thought to be continued till sometime in future.
We use the future continuous to talk about something that will be in progress at or around a time
in the future.
Rule: Will/Shall + Be + Verb-ing

24. Affirmative Sentences – Subject + Will/Shall + Be + Verb-ing + Object
◦ She will be writing a letter.
◦ James will be working at the service station
Negative Sentences- Subject + Will/Shall + Not + Be + Verb-ing + Object
◦ She will not be writing a letter.
Interrogative Sentences- Will/Shall + Subject + Be + Verb-ing + Object
◦ Will she be writing a letter?

25. Future Perfect Tense
The future perfect tense tells us that an action will be completed at a specified time in the future.
e.g. They will have shifted the house by Sunday morning.
Rule: Will/Shall + Have + Verb (past participle)
By the end of this year, he will have bought a new car.

26. Positive / Affirmative Sentences – Subject + Will/Shall + Have + Verb (past participle) + Object
◦ She will have written a letter.
Negative Sentences- Subject + Will/Shall + Not + Have + Verb (past participle) + Object
◦ She will not have written a letter.
Interrogative Sentences- Will/Shall + Subject + Have + Verb (past participle) + Object
◦ Will she have written a letter?

27. Future Perfect Continuous Tense
It is used to talk about actions that will commence at a fix time in future and will continue for
some time in future.
Future Perfect Continuous is used to talk about an on-going action before some point in the
future.
The future perfect progressive emphasize the duration of an activity that will be in progress before
another time or event in the future.
◦ I will have been sleeping for two hours when you arrive.
◦ I will have been playing for an hour when it is 5 p.m.

28. Affirmative: Subject + Will Have Been + Verb-ING
◦ I/ You/ He/ She/ We/ They will have been working with John for ten years next week.
Negative: Subject + Won’t Have Been + Verb-ING
◦ I/ You/ He/ She/ We/ They will not have been working with John for ten years next week.
Interrogative: Question Word + Will + Subject + Have Been + Verb-ING
◦ How long will I/ you/ he/ she/ we/ they have been working with John next week?

29. ◦ We will have been staying here for a week tomorrow. We won’t have been staying here for a
week tomorrow. How long will we have been staying here?
◦ You will have been living here for thirty years by this time next year. You won’t have been
living here for thirty years by this time next year How long will you have been living here by
time next year?
◦ I‘ll have been playing the guitar for ten years by next year. I won’t have been playing the
guitar for ten years by next year. How long will I have been playing the guitar?

30. Why exercise won’t make you thin
1 As I write this, tomorrow is Tuesday1, which is cardio day. I’ll spend five minutes in the gym warming
up on a towering2 machine that requires you to move your arms and legs simultaneously3. On
Wednesday, a personal trainer will work me like a farm animal for an4 hour, sometimes to the point
that I am dizzy. Friday will bring a5 five kilometre run. I have exercised like this for years. But recently I
began6 to wonder: why am I doing all this? I have never been overweight. One of the most widely
accepted, commonly repeated assumptions in our culture is that if you exercise, you will lose weight.
But I exercise all the time. I still have gut fat that hangs over7 my belt when I sit. Why isn’t all the
exercise wiping it8 out?
2 It’s a question many of us could ask. More than forty-five million people worldwide now belong to a
health club. And yet obesity figures have (to rise)9 dramatically in recent times. One third of our
population (to be)10 obese. It’s entirely possible that those of us who regularly go to the gym would
weigh even more if we (to exercise)11 less. But like many other people, I get hungry after I exercise, so I
I often eat more on the days I work out than on the days I don’t. Could exercise be actually keeping me
me from (to lose)12 weight? The past few years of obesity research show that the role of exercise in
weight loss has been wildly (to exaggerate) 13.

31. 3 In general, for weight loss, exercise are14 pretty useless. Many recent study15 have found that exercise
isn’t as important in helping peoples16 lose weight as you here17 so regularly in advertisements or read
in magazines. The basic problem is that while it’s true that exercise burns calories and that you must
burned18 calories to lose weight, exercise have19 another effect: It can stimulate hunger. That cause us
eat more, which in turn can negate the weight loss benefits we just accrued. Exercise may be making it
harder for us to lose weight!
Name the parts of speech of the words in paragraph 1 numbered 1 – 8.
Write the correct form of the verbs in brackets in paragraph 2 numbered 9 – 13.
Correct the errors in paragraph 3 numbered 14 – 19.