Tenses by sohail ahmed solangi

Tenses
An aspect of verb which tells the time of an action is called tense.
Tenses have certain rules, according to which a sentence is made.
1/29/2015
Sohail Ahmed
asohail24@yahoo.com

Tenses
Sohail Ahmed Page 1
Tense
An aspect of verb which tells the time of an action is called tense. Tenses have certain rules,
according to which a sentence is made.
There are mainly three kinds of tenses.
 Present tense
 Past tense
 Future tense
Each of present, past and future tense is further divided into four kinds.
 Simple (Indefinite)
 Continuous (progressive)
 Perfect
 Perfect Continuous (Perfect progressive)
In this way, there are 12 kinds of tense, which are explained in detail as below
PRESENT TENSE
 Present simple tense
 Present Continuous tense
 Present Perfect tense
 Present Perfect Continuous tense
PAST TENSE
 Past simple tense
 Past Continuous tense
 Past Perfect tense
 Past Perfect Continuous tense
FUTURE TENSE
 Future simple tense
 Future Continuous tense
 Future Perfect tense
 Future Perfect Continuous tense

Tenses
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Simple Present Tense (Present Indefinite)
It is used to express an action in present time, habitual or usual actions or daily event or
universal fact. It is used to express an action in present time which is usually done on a regular
basis. For example a student says, “I go to school”. It is a daily activity of a student to go to
school, so such actions are expressed by present simple tense. Another example is, “I work in a
factory”. It tells about a usual action of a person that he works in a factory on regular basis.
Rules. 1st form of verb or base verb is used as main verb in sentence.
Structure of sentence – Rules
Positive Sentence
• Subject + Main verb + Object
• Subject + 1st form of verb (or base verb) + Object
Note: If the subject in a sentence is “he, she, it, singular or proper noun” then “s” or “es” is
added to the first form of verb or base form in the sentence.
Examples.
I write a letter.
He gets up early in the morning.
Sun rises in east.
Negative Sentences
• Subject + auxiliary verb +NOT + Main verb +object
• Subject + Do not/Does not + 1st form of verb (or base form) + object
Examples.
I do not write a letter.
He does not get up early in the morning.
Sun does not rise in east.
Note: In negative sentence auxiliary verb “do or does” along with “not” is used. If the subject
in a sentence is “he, she, it, singular or proper noun”, then “Does not” is used after subject in
sentence. If subject is “I, we, they, you or plural” then “Do not” is used after subject in sentence.
“s” or “es” is not added to main verb in negative sentence
Interrogative Sentence
• Auxiliary verb + Subject + Main verb + Object
• Do/Does + Subject + 1st for of verb (or base verb) + Object

Tenses
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Examples.
Do I write a letter?
Does he get up early in the morning?
Does sun rise in east?
Note: If the subject in a sentence is “he, she, it, singular or proper noun” the sentence is started
with Auxiliary verb “Does”. If the subject in a sentence is “I, we, they, you or plural” the
sentence is started with auxiliary verb “Do”. “s” or “es” is not added to main verb in
Interrogative sentence
Present Continuous Tense
It is used to express a continued or ongoing action at present time. It expresses an action which
is in progress at the time of speaking. For example, a person says, “I am writing a letter”. It
means that he is in the process of writing a letter right now. Such actions which are happening
at time of speaking are expressed by present continuous tense. Present Continuous tense is also
called Present progressive tense.
Rules. Auxiliary verb “am or is or are” is used in sentence. 1st form of verb or base verb + ing
(present participle) is used as main verb in sentence.
Structure of sentence
Positive Sentence
• Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb-ing (Present participle) + object
• Subject + am/is/are + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object
If the subject is “I” then auxiliary verb “am” is used after subject in sentence.
If the subject is “He, She, It, singular or proper name” then auxiliary verb “is” is used after
subject in sentence.
If subject is “You, They or plural” then auxiliary verb “are” is used after subject in sentence.
The participle “ing” is added to the 1st form of verb i.e. going (go) writing (write)
Examples
I am playing cricket.
He is driving a car
They are reading their lessons.

Tenses
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Negative Sentence
• Subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb-ing (Present participle) + object
• Subject + am/is/are + not + (1st form of verb + ing) + object
Rules for using auxiliary verbs (am or is or are) after subject in negative sentences are same as
mentioned above.
Examples.
I am not playing cricket.
He is not driving a car
They are not reading their lessons.
Interrogative Sentences
• Auxiliary verb + Subject + main verb-ing (Present participle) + object
• Am/is/are + Subject + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object
For making interrogative sentences, the sentence is started with auxiliary verb rather than
putting auxiliary verb inside the sentence. If the subject is “I” the sentence starts with auxiliary
verb “am”. If the subject is “He, She, It, singular or proper name” the sentence starts with
auxiliary verb “is”. If subject is “You, They or plural” the sentence starts with auxiliary verb
“are”.
Examples.
Am I playing cricket?
Is he driving a car?
Are they reading their lessons?
Present Perfect Tense
It is used to expressed an action which happened or completed in past but usually the action
which happened or completed at a short time before now (near past) not a very long time
before now. Specific time such as two years ago, last week or that day is usually not used in the
sentences of in this tense. It means that this tense expresses the action whose time when it
happened, is not exactly specified but it sounds to refer to some action that happened or
completed in near past.
Rules: Auxiliary verb “has or have” is used in sentence. 3rd form of verb (past participle) is
used as main verb in sentence.

Tenses
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Structure of Sentence
Positive Sentence
• Subject + Auxiliary verb + main verb (past participle) + Subject
• Subject + has/have + 3rd form of verb or past participle + subject
If the subject is “He, She, It, singular or proper name” then auxiliary verb “has” is used after
If subject is “You, They or plural” then auxiliary verb “have” is used after subject in sentence.
Examples
I have eaten meal
She has learnt a lesson
Negative Sentence
• Subject + Auxiliary verb + NOT + main verb (past participle) + Subject
• Subject + has/have + NOT + 3rd form of verb or past participle + subject
Rules for using auxiliary verb “has or have” in negative sentence are same as mentioned above.
Examples
I have not eaten meal.
She has not learnt a lesson.
Interrogative Sentences
• Auxiliary verb + Subject + main verb (past participle) + Subject
• Has/have + Subject + 3rd form of verb or past participle + subject
Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb. If the subject is “He, She, It, singular or proper
name” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “has”.
If subject is “You, They or plural” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “have”.
Examples
Have I eaten meal?
Has she learnt a lesson?

Tenses
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Present Perfect Continuous tense
It is used to express a continued or ongoing action that started in past and is continued until
now. There will be a time reference, such as “since 1980, for three hours etc” from which the
action has been started. A sense of time reference is found in these sentences which gives an
idea that action has been continued from some time in past till now. Such time reference or
sense of time reference is the identity of Present perfect continuous tense because it tells that
action has started from a particular time in past. For example, “He has been reading in this
school since 2005”, so the it means that he has started his education in this school in 2005 and
he is studying in this school till now.
Note: If there is not time reference or sense of time reference then it is not Present perfect
continuous tense because there is no hint about the time of action when it started in past and it
seems just an ongoing action at present time which resembles “present Continuous tense. So
the reference of time differentiates between Present perfect continuous tense and Present
continuous tense.
Positive Sentence.
• Subject + Auxiliary verb + main verb (Present participle) + Object + Time reference
• Subject + has been/have been + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object + time
reference
If the subject is “He, She, It, singular or proper name” then auxiliary verb “has been” is used
after subject in sentence.
If subject is “You, They or plural” then auxiliary verb “have been” is used after subject in
sentence.
Examples.
He has been watering the plants for two hours.
I have been studying since 3 O’clock
Negative Sentence.
• Subject +”Not” between the Auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + Object +
Time reference
• Subject + has not been/have not been + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object + time
reference

Tenses
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To make negative sentence, the word “not” is written between the auxiliary verbs, so it
becomes like “has not been or have not been”. The rule for using auxiliary verb “has been or
have been” in negative sentences is as same as mentioned above.
Examples.
He has not been watering the plants for two hours.
I have not been studying since 3 O’clock.
Interrogative Sentence.
• Auxiliary verb + Subject + Auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object + time
reference
• Has/have + Subject + been + (1st form of verb or base verb+ing) + object + time reference
Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb. If the subject is “He, She, It, singular or proper
name” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “has” and auxiliary verb “been” is used after
subject
If subject is “You, They or plural” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “have” and
“been” is used after subject
Examples.
Has he been watering the plants for two hours?
Have I been studying since 3 O’clock?
Past Simple Tense
It is used to express an action that happened or completed in past, usually a very little time
before speaking, or action which is just completed. Time of action is not specified in terms of
long time ago or short ago but it make a sense that the action has done a little time ago. For
example, a person says, “I watched a movie”, it means the speaker of this sentence watched a
movie a little time ago or little time ago in the same day, but it has no connection with present
tense.
Rules: 2nd form of verb (past simple) is used as main verb in the positive sentences and base
form is used in negative and interrogative sentences.
Structure of sentences
Positive Sentence
• Subject + main verb (past simple) + object

Tenses
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• Subject + 2nd form of verb (past simple) + object
Examples
I killed a snake
He ate a mango.
Negative sentences
• Subject + (auxiliary verb + not) main verb (base form) + object
• Subject + did not + 1st form of verb or base form + object
In negative sentence “did not” is written and the 1st form of verb (base verb) is used instead of
using 2nd form (or past simple verb).
Examples.
I did not kill a snake
He did not eat a mango
Interrogative sentences
• Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb (base verb) + object
• Did + subject + 1st form of verb (or base verb) + object
Interrogative sentence starts with “did” and the 1st form of verb (base verb) is used instead of
using 2nd form (or past simple verb).
Examples
Did I kill a snake?
Did he eat a mango?
Past Continuous tense
It is used to express a continued or ongoing action in past, an ongoing action which occurred in
past and completed at some point in past. It expresses an ongoing nature of an action in
past. For example, “he was laughing.” This sentence shows ongoing action (laughing) of a
person which occurred in past. Past continuous tense is also called past progressive.
Rules: Auxiliary verb “was or were” is used in sentence. 1st form of verb or base verb + ing
(present participle) is used as main verb in sentence.

Tenses
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Positive sentences
• Subject + auxiliary verb + Main Verb (present participle) + object
• Subject + was/were + (1st form of verb or base verb +ing) +object
If the subject is “he, she, It, I, singular or proper noun” then auxiliary verb “was” is used. If
subject is “you, we, they or plural” then auxiliary verb “were” is used.
Examples.
She was crying yesterday.
They were climbing on a hill.
Negative sentences
• Subject + auxiliary verb + NOT + Main verb (present participle) + object
• Subject + was/were + NOT + (1st form of verb or base verb +ing) +object
Rules for using auxiliary verb after subject are same as mentioned above.
Examples.
She was not crying yesterday.
They were not climbing on a hill.
Interrogative sentences
• Auxiliary verb + Subject + Main verb (present participle) + object
• Was/were + Subject + (1st form of verb or base verb +ing) +object
The interrogative sentence starts with the auxiliary verb. If the subject is “he, she, It, I, singular
or proper noun” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “was”. If subject is “you, we, they
or plural” then the sentence starts with auxiliary verb “were”.
Examples.
Was she crying yesterday?
Were they climbing on a hill?
Past perfect tense
It is used to express an action which has occurred in past (usually, a long time ago) and action
which has occurred in past before another action in past.

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For example,
I had lived in America. (The sense of time in this sentence refers to a completed action in past
and especially a long time ago)
Rules. Auxiliary verb “had” is used in sentence. 3rd form of verb (past participle) is used as
main verb in sentence
Positive sentence
• Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (past participle) + object
• Subject + had + 3rd form of verb or past participle + object
Examples.
He had taken the exam last year
A thief had stolen my watch.
Negative sentence
• Subject + auxiliary verb + NOT + main verb (past participle) + object
•Subject + had + not + 3rd form of verb or past participle + object
“Not” is written after auxiliary verb in negative sentence.
Examples.
He had not taken the exam last year
A thief had not stolen my watch.
• Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb (past participle) + object
• Had + subject + 3rd form of verb or past participle + object
Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb “had”
Examples.
Had he taken the exam last year
Had a thief stolen my watch?
Past Perfect continuous tense
It is used to express a continued or ongoing action that started in past and continued until
sometime in past. (Remember, an ongoing action in past which continued till some time in past)
There will be a time reference, such as “since 1980, for three hours etc” from which the action
had started. A sense of time reference is found in these sentences which shows that action had

Tenses
started in past and continued till some time in past. Such time reference or sense of reference is
the identity of Present perfect continuous tense because it tells that action has started from a
particular time in past or for some time period. For example, “He had been studying in this
school since 2005”, so the it means that he had started his education in this school in 2005 and
he studied in this school till sometime in past.
Positive Sentence.
• Subject + had been + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object + time reference
Examples.
I had been waiting for him for one hour.
She had been playing chess since 7 O’clock.
Negative Sentence.
• Subject +”Not” between the Auxiliary verbs + main verb (present participle) + Object +
Time reference
• Subject + had not been + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object + time reference
To make negative sentence, the word “not” is added inside auxiliary verb, so it becomes “had
not been”.
Examples.
I had not been waiting for him for one hour.
She had not been playing chess since 7 O’clock.
• Auxiliary verb+ Subject + Auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object + time
reference
• Had + Subject + been + (1st form of verb or base verb+ing) + object + time reference
Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb “had” and auxiliary verb “been” is used after
Examples.
Had I been waiting for him for one hour?
Had she been playing chess 7 O’clock?

Tenses
Future simple tense
It is used to express an action which has not occurred yet and will occur after saying or in
future. For example, “I will/shall go to zoo tomorrow”, in this sentence the person intend for
tomorrow’s visit to zoo. In short, these sentences express actions which will be done in future.
Rules. Auxiliary verb “will” is used in sentence. 1st form of verb or base form is used as main
verb in sentence.
The traditional rule in standard British English is that shall is used with first person pronouns
(i.e. I and we) to form the future tense, while will is used with second and third person forms
(i.e. you, he, she, it, they).
For example:
I shall be late.
They will not have enough food.
However, when it comes to expressing a strong determination to do something, the roles are
reversed: will is used with the first person
Positive sentence
• Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object
•Subject + will + (1st form of verb or base form +ing) + object
Examples.
I will/Shall buy a computer tomorrow.
They will come here.
Negative sentence
• Subject + auxiliary verb+ not + main verb (present participle) + object
• Subject + will +not + (1st form of verb or base form +ing) + object
To make negative sentence “not” is written after auxiliary verb in sentence.
Examples.
I will/Shall not buy a computer tomorrow.
They will not come here.

Tenses
• Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb (present participle) + object
• Will + subject + (1st form of verb or base form +ing) + object
Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb “will”
Examples.
Shall I buy a computer tomorrow?
Will they come here?
Future Continuous tense
It is used to express a continued or an ongoing action in future. For example, “I will be waiting
for you tomorrow”, it conveys ongoing nature of an action (waiting) which will occur in future.
Rules. Auxiliary verb “will/Shall be” is used in sentence. 1st form of verb + ing (present
participle) is used as main verb in sentence.
Positive sentence
• Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object
• Subject + will be+ 1st form of verb or base form+ing (present participle) + object
Examples.
I will/Shall be waiting for you.
You will be feeling well tomorrow.
Negative sentence
• Subject + not between auxiliary verbs+ not + main verb (present participle) +
object
• Subject + will not be + 1st form of verb or base form+ing (present participle) +
object
To make negative sentence “not” is written between auxiliary verbs “will and be” in sentence.

Tenses
Examples.
I will/Shall not be waiting for you.
You will not be feeling well tomorrow.
• Auxiliary verb + subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object
• Will + subject + be+ 1st form of verb or base form+ing (present participle) + object
Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb “will” and auxiliary verb “be” comes after
subject in interrogative sentence
Examples.
Will/Shall I be waiting for you?( Will when it put to other’s choice)
Will you be feeling well tomorrow?
Future Perfect tense
It is used to express an action which will occur in future and is thought to be completed in
future. It expresses a sense of completion of an action which will occur in future. For example,
“Ayaan will have gone tomorrow”. It shows a sense of completion of an action (go) which will
occur in future (tomorrow).
Rules. Auxiliary verb “will/Shall have” is used in sentence. 3rd form of verb or past participle
form of verb is used as main verb in sentence.
Positive sentence
• Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (past participle) + object
• Subject + will have + 3rd form of verb or past participle + object
Examples
She will have finished the work by Wednesday.
I will/Shall have left for home by the time he gets up.
You will have started a job.
Negative sentence
• Subject + Not between auxiliary verbs + main verb (past participle) + object
• Subject + will not have + 3rd form of verb or past participle + object
Examples
She will have finished the work by Wednesday.

Tenses
I will/Shall have left for home by the time he gets up.
You will not have started a job.
• Auxiliary verb + Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (past participle) + object
• Will + Subject +have + 3rd form of verb or past participle + object
Examples
Will she have finished the work by Wednesday?
Will/Shall I have left for home by the time he gets up?
Will you have started a job?
Future Perfect Continuous tense
It is used to express a continued or ongoing action that will start in future and is thought to be
continued till sometime in future. (Remember, an ongoing action in future which will continue
till some time in future). There will be a time reference, such as “since 1980, for three hours”
from which the action will start in future and will continue. A sense of time reference is found
which gives an idea that action will start at some time in future and will continue for some
time. Such time reference or sense of time reference is the identity of Future perfect continuous
tense because it tells that action will start at a particular time in future. For example, “He will
have been studying in this school since 2005”, so the it means that he will start studying in this
school in 2005 and will study in this school till sometime in future.
Positive Sentence.
•Subject + will have been + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object + time reference
Examples.
I will/Shall have been waiting for him for one hour.
She will have been playing football since 2015.
Negative Sentence.
• Subject +”Not” inside Auxiliary verbs + main verb (present participle) + Object + Time
reference
• Subject + will not have been + (1st form of verb or base verb + ing) + object + Time reference
To make negative sentence, the word “not” is added inside auxiliary verb, so it becomes “will
not have been”.

Tenses
Examples.
I will/Shall not have been waiting for him for one hour.
She will not have been playing football since 2015.
• Auxiliary verb + Subject + auxiliary verb + main verb (present participle) + object + time
reference
• Will + Subject + have been + (1st form of verb or base verb+ing) + object + time reference
Interrogative sentence starts with auxiliary verb “will” and auxiliary verb “have been” is used
after subject in sentence.
Examples.
Will/Shall I have been waiting for him for one hour?
Will she have been playing football since 2015?
References and For Further Reading
n.d. 28 1 2015 <http://www.studyandexam.com/learn-english.html>.
Martinet, A v and A J Thomson. A Practical English Grammar. Karachi: Oxford University
Press, 2006.
oxforddictionaries. 28 1 2015 <http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words>.
Grammarly. Grammarly Handbook. n.d. 28 1 2015
<http://www.grammarly.com/handbook/grammar/verbs/8/simple-present-tense-
present-indefinite/>.
Murphy, Raymond. English Grammar in use. London: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Quirk, Randolph and Sidney Greenbaum. A Concise Grammar of Contemporary English.
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,, 1978.
Wekipedia. n.d. 14 1 2015 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_tense>

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