Tense notes

Tenses play a crucial role in the general life of human. It denotes the time an action takes place, whether sometime in the past, in the present or will take some time in the future.

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Tense Notes

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 Tenses play a crucial role in the English language. It denotes the
time an action takes place, whether sometime in the past, in the
present or will take some time in the future.

 There are 12 Types of Tenses

PRESENT TENSE
1. Present Simple
Indicates an action that is generally true or habitual. That is, it took
place in the past, continue to take place in the present, and will
take place in the future.
This tense is used to denote
-A habitual action- for instance, "He walks to school."
-General truths- for instance, "The sun rises in the east", "Honesty
is the best policy."
-A future event that is part of a fixed timetable- for instance, "The
match starts at 9 o' clock."
Note
a. The form of Simple Present Tense is- verb (infinitive without
'to' and agreeable with the subject)
Ram plays cricket.
Sub + V1 + Object
b. ‘s’ is used according to subject, always use’s’ if subject is
singular
2. Present Continuous
Indicates an action that is taking place at the moment of speaking.
For example, "She is walking."
"I am studying."
Note
a. the form of Present Continuous Tense is- is/am/are + verb +
ing
Ram is playing cricket.
Is / Am / Are + V1 + ing
Sub + V1 + ing+ Object

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3. Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Indicates an action that started in the past and is continuing at the present
time.
For example, "He has been sleeping for an hour."
Note
a. The form of Present Perfect Continuous Tense is- has/have + been +
verb + ing
Ram has been playing cricket since morning or for two hours.
{ Has + Been + V1 + ing + time [since or for] }

4. Present Perfect Tense
Indicates an action that has been completed sometime before the
present moment, with a result that affects the present situation.

For example, "He has finished the work."
"He has slept."

Note
a. The form of Present Perfect Tense is- has/have + verb (past
participle form or 3rd form of the verb)

Ram has played cricket.
Has / Have + V3 + Object

PAST TENSE
5. Past Indefinite
Simple Past Tense-
Indicates an action took place before the present moment and that
has no real connection with the present time.

For example, "He danced in the function." (The action took place

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in the past, is finished and is completely unrelated to the present)
"He flew to London yesterday."
Note
a. The verb 'flew' is an irregular verb which does not take 'ed' in
the past tense like regular verbs.
b. The form of Simple Past Tense is - verb + ed


Ram played cricket. [Sub + V2]


6. Past Continuous

Ram was playing cricket. [Sub + was / were + V1 + ing]
Indicates an action going on at some time in the past or an action in
the past that is longer in duration than another action in the past.
For example, "It was getting darker."
"The light went out while they were reading."
Note
a. The form of Past Continuous Tense is- was/were + verb + ing


7. Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Indicates an action going on at some time in the past or an action in
the past that is longer in duration than another action in the past.
For example, "It was getting darker."
"The light went out while they were reading."
Note
a. The form of Past Continuous Tense is- was/were + verb + ing

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Ram had been playing cricket since morning or for two hours.

{Had + been + V1 + ing + time [since or for]}

8. Past Perfect Tense
Indicates an action in the past that had been completed before
another time or event in the past.
For example, "He had exercised before it started to rain."
"He had slept before I came back from the market."
Note
a. The form of Past Perfect Tense is- had + verb (past participle
form or the 3rd form of the verb)
Ram had played cricket. [Sub + Had + V3]


FUTURE TENSE

9. Future Indefinite
Indicates an action that will take place after the present time and
that has no real connection with the present time.
For example, "She will visit her ailing grandmother soon."
"He will walk home."
Note
a. the form of Simple Future Tense is- will/shall + verb

Modals (will/shall) always use with 1st form of verb.
Ram will play cricket.

10. Future Continuous
Indicates an action in the future that is longer in duration than
another action in the future.

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For example, "He will be walking when it starts to rain."
Note
a. The form of Future Continuous Tense is-will/shall be + verb +
ing
Ram will be playing cricket.

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

11. Future Perfect
Indicates an action in the future that will have been completed
before another time or event in the future.
For example, "By the time we arrive, he will have studied."
Note
a. The form of Future Perfect Tense is- will/shall have + verb
(past participle form or 3rd form of the verb)
Ram will have played cricket.

(Always use 'have' with 'will')

12. Future Perfect Continuous
Indicates an action in the future that is longer in duration than
another action in the future.
For example, "He will be walking when it starts to rain."
Note
a. The form of Future Continuous Tense is-will/shall be + verb +
ing
Ram will have been playing cricket since morning.

Example: I ___ (return) my book in the library yesterday.


The case of after and before

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o The passenger ____ reached the station before the train
_______(arrive).[had,reached (V2) ]
o The doctor came after the patient died (V3).
Conditional Statements
If + Present Indefinite + Future Indefinite + Obj

If + Past + Indefinite + would + V1 + Obj

If + Past Perfect + would + Have + V3 + Obj


Examples:

1. If I will go to Delhi, I will meet her. [Correct: If I go to Delhi]

2. She will come to meet me as soon as I will reached Delhi.[Correct:
I reach Delhi]



Conditional Words
o As soon as
o If
o As If
o If wish
o Unless
o Until
o When
o When ever

3. Unless you will not take care of yours. You will not recover.

4. Until the train will not gets the signal. It will not arrive.

[Always use’s’ or 'es' with verb according to the subject]

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5. Ram had a car. [ had = main verb (past indefinite)]

Ram had had a car. [past perfect]
[Has had had ; be was been ]

Sub + Main Verb + V3 + Obj

6. She was a good girl. [past Indefinite]

She had been a good girl.[past perfect]

7. If I was a bird, I would fly in the sky. [ Correct :were]

Present wish = Past indefinite

[ never depends on subject]

8. If we had ___ mohan in our team we would have won the match.
[Correct: had]
Past wish = Past Perfect

9. If I had seen you, I would ____ stop my car. [ Correct: Have ]

10. He scolded me as if he was my boss. [ Correct: Were ]

[ Never use 'was' in conditional statement after if or as ]

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Present continuous Present simple
present of be + active
participle
base form/s-form
I am reading
you/we/they are
reading
he/she/it is reading
I/you/we/they read
he/she/it reads
Negative
I am not reading
you/we/they are not
reading
he/she/it is not reading
I/you/we they do not
read
he/she/it does not read
Questions
Am I reading?
Are you/we/they
reading?
Is he/she it reading?
Do I/you/we/they
read?
Does he/she/it read?

Past Continuous Present Perfect Continuous
Past of be + active participle Present of have + been + active
participle
I/he/she/it was flying you/we/they
were flying
I/you/we/they have been waiting
he/she/it has been waiting

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Negative
I/he/she/it was not flying
you/we/they were not flying
I/you/we/they have not been
waiting
he/she/it has not been waiting
Questions
Was I/he/she/it flying?
Were you/we/they flying?
Have I/you/we/they been waiting?
Has he/she/it been waiting?

Present Perfect Past simple:
present of have + past participle Past form
I/you/we/they have opened
he/she/it has opened
someone opened
Negative
I/you/we/they have not opened
he/she/it has not opened
someone did not open
Questions
Have I/you/we/they opened?
Has he/she/it opened?
Did someone open?

Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous
had + past participle had been + active participle
someone had invited someone had been going
Negative
someone had not invited someone had not been going
Questions
Had someone invited? Had someone been going?

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Quick Review

The 4 Past Tenses Example 1 Example 2
Simple past tense I went I laughed
Past progressive tense I was going I was laughing
Past perfect tense I had gone I had laughed
Past perfect
progressive tense
I had been going I had been laughing
The 4 Present Tenses Example 1 Example 2
Simple present tense I go I laugh
Present progressive
tense
I am going I am laughing
Present perfect tense I have gone I have laughed
Present perfect
progressive tense
I have been going I have been laughing
The 4 Future Tenses Example 1 Example 2
Simple future tense I will go I will laugh
Future progressive
tense
I will be going I will be laughing
Future perfect tense I will have gone I will have laughed
Future perfect
progressive tense
I will have been going I will have been
laughing

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Tenses with an Example
The Past Tenses
Simple Past Tense. The simple past tense is used to describe a
completed activity that happened in the past.
 I ran to the shops.
Past Progressive Tense. The past progressive tense is used to describe
an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for
another action.
 I was running to the shops when I saw Bruno.
Past Perfect Tense. The past perfect tense is used to emphasize that an
action was completed before another took place.
 I had run to the shops, but they were closed.
Past Perfect Progressive Tense. The past perfect progressive tense is
used to show that an ongoing action in the past has ended.
 I had been running to the shops, but I have now started walking.
The Present Tenses
Simple Present Tense. The simple present tense is mostly used to
describe facts and habits.
 I run daily.
Present Progressive Tense. The present progressive tense is used for an
ongoing action in the present.
 I am running to your house at the moment.
Present Perfect Tense. The present perfect tense is used for actions
began in the past. (Often, the actions continue into the present.)
 I have run for 5 miles so far.

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Present Perfect Progressive Tense. The present perfect progressive
tense is used for a continuous activity that began in the past and
continues into the present, or a continuous activity that began in past but
has now finished (usually very recently).
 I have been running for hours.
The Future Tenses
Simple Future Tense. The simple future tense is used for an action that
will occur in the future.
 I will run to the shops tomorrow.
Future Progressive Tense. The future progressive tense is used for an
ongoing action that will occur in the future.
 I will be running to the shops every day after today.
Future Perfect Tense. The future perfect tense is used to describe an
action that will have been completed at some point in the future.
 I will have run to work by 12 o'clock.
Future Perfect Progressive Tense. The future perfect progressive
tense is used for an ongoing action that will be completed at some
specified time in the future.
 I will have been running for 3 hours by 12 o'clock.