Home GRAMMAR TENSES IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR

TENSES IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR

By
TEAM MES
-
GRAMMAR_TENSES

 

 WHAT IS TENSE?
Tense is the form of a Verb that indicates the time something happened, something happening or something is going to happen. It is a form taken by a verb to specify the span of action. Tense is a verb-based method used to indicate the time of an action.

 

TYPES OF TENSES
Tenses are of three types:
PAST TENSE
  Used to indicate things that have already happened in past.
PRESENT TENSE
   Used to indicate things that are happening in present.
FUTURE TENSE
   Used to indicate things that have.yet to happen in future.

 

12 BASIC TENSES
• SIMPLE PAST
    Subject + main verb (past)
    I played football.
• PAST CONTINUOUS
    Subject + was/were + main verb (ing)
    I was playing football.
• PAST PERFECT
    Subject + had + main verb (past participle)
…I had played football.
• PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
    Subject + had been + main verb (ing)
    I had been playing football.
• SIMPLE PRESENT
    Subject + main verb/main verb (s,-es)
    I play football.
• PRESENT CONTINUOUS
    Subject + am/is/are + main verb (ing)
    I am playing football.
• PRESENT PERFECT
    Subject + have/has + main verb (past participle)
    I have played football.
• PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
    Subject + have/has been + main verb (ing)
    I have been playing football.
• SIMPLE FUTURE
    Subject + shall/will + main verb
    I shall play football.
• FUTURE CONTINUOUS
    Subject + shall/will + be + main verb (ing)
    I shall be playing football.
• FUTURE PERFECT
    Subject + shall/will + have + main verb (past participle)
    I shall have played football.
• FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS
    Subject + shall/will + have been + main verb (ing)
    I shall have been playing football.

 

EXAMPLES


SIMPLE PAST TENSE

The principal lost his temper over the matter of admissions of students.
Again, I missed the opportunity to visit that beautiful place.
They went through a very critical situation during the second wave of pandemic.
Her eyes were filled with tears at that moment.
He spoke very arrogantly to that elderly person.
I didn’t like the way you behaved yesterday.
She asked me for help.
We watched that movie last month.
Finally, they won the match.
To my surprise, he cooked so deliciously.
I felt like crying at that time.
Jack insulted Simon so badly.
It started raining cats and dogs all of a sudden.
I made this dish especially for you.
After going home, he had shower.
Covid-19 took many lives so far.
He entertained us a lot with his buffoonery.
The sun rose in the East as usual.


PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

You were just wasting your time with them.
She was sitting idly there.
He was watering plants then.
I was baking a chocolate cake for my son.
They were have a heated argument amongst them over something.
Mary was doing a job to supplement her family financially.
He was sleeping and snoring loudly.
John was brooding over something then.
Jill was painting a picture of Mickey Mouse.
The soldiers were fighting on the border.
Jack was climbing on the tree.
The rattle-snake was making a dreadful sound.
He was cheating on her.
He was constantly maltreating her.
Peter was driving a car so speedily.
We were making a snowman while the snow was falling.
The horse was neighing in the stable.
She was attending lectures regularly.
The day was breaking.
The moonlight was spreading everywhere.


PAST PERFECT TENSE

He had turned the TV on when I was reading a book.
You had hurt me yesterday.
We had visited that exhibition last Friday.
She had given her best performance in the musical competition.
Roger had driven Jane out of his house.
They had visited their ancestral place last month.
The lights had gone off when I was reading.
The function had continued for two hours.
We had decorated the entire house on her birthday.
She had had her hair cut in that salon.
They had committed a blunder while feeding data on the website.
He had played guitar excellently.
He chanted hymns in the morning.
Thieves had jumped over the wall.
We had ordered pizza from hotel last night.
They had bought clothes from this mall.
He had completed the project before the deadline.
They had renovated their house for Christmas celebrations.
The venomous snake had bitten him.
We had gone out of station for two days.


PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

They had been living together for years.
It had been raining cats and dogs for hours yesterday.
He had been working there since 2005.
I had been learning Piano there.
She had been running a beauty salon.
We had been going to school together.
You had been telling lies for few months.
John had been going there for years.
He had been meeting her secretly.
She had been suffering from blood cancer.
Jessica had been talking to Lorenzo.
Shylock had been nurturing hostility for ages.
She had been dreaming to marry a prince.
They had been feeling jealous.
We had been compromising many things.
Jack had been wrestling for ten years.
Tom had been stealing money from his father’s pocket.
She had been writing stories.
We had been playing chess.
I had been missing my childhood days.


SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

He always makes fun of his friends.
They tolerate everything mutely and meekly.
We always abide by rules and regulations.
She is fond of drawing cartoons,
John and James go to college together.
I don’t like copying things.
Mr. Bennett works very honestly.
Mary looks after her entire family.
He works out regularly for physical and mental fitness.
I burn the midnight oil to complete my work.
She doesn’t listen to anybody.
We love spending time in the lap of Nature.
Selena Gomez sings so sweetly and beautifully.
He always comes with flying colours.
Lily speaks English very fluently.
It really makes me feel embarrassed to go there.
I have a complaint against him.
William Wordsworth glorifies Nature in his poetry.
Such pathetic conditions upset me every time.
I do empathize with people rather than sympathize with them.


PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

I am running low on petrol.
He is going to temple this evening.
They are just making noise in the classroom.
We are having shortage of time due to the tight schedule.
You are making me fool, aren’t you?
She is staring at me furiously.
The mother is cooking in the kitchen.
We are mopping the flour clean right now.
Robert is watching a horror film all alone at home.
Those boys are getting away from school secretly.
She is not feeling well today,
They are breaking in the house, look!
We are shifting elsewhere.
The bird is soaring high in the sky.
She is weeping a lot owing to an untimely death of her husband.
I am not talking to you at all.
We are missing you badly.
She is making tea for all.
I am knitting a sweater for my daughter.
They are looking at you with hope.


PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

I have already mentioned all the terms and conditions of this course.
She has prepared well for competitive exams.
The mother has done all the dishes.
They have spent most of their lives helping the poor.
We have got our daughter married to a well-settled man.
Eventually, the quarrel has ended up.
It has vanished into the air.
The show has just started.
You have submitted your form successfully.
The temperature has gone down.
They have gone away.
Mary has forgotten everything about that bad phase of life.
Jack has killed Piggy mercilessly.
That boy has stolen your pen.
She has obtained good marks in all subjects.
He has made me cry a lot.
He has composed a beautiful poem on mother.
I have washed my hands with soap already.
He has worn a beautiful jacket.
They have sent you a message.


PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

It has been raining since morning.
I have been studying for hours.
They have been playing on the ground since evening.
The mother has been working for many hours.
She has been watching TV for three hours.
I have been doing this course for six months.
He has been acting in the movies for last forty years.
Covid-19 has been persisting for over two years.
She has been talking on phone for an hour.
You have not been talking to me for long.
John has been playing games on mobile for two hours.
Mary has been hiding her miseries from all for many years.
He has been thinking over this for long.
We have been caring for each other.
She has been feeling ill for few days.
Peter has been constantly sneezing and coughing.
Jack has been cheating on her for few months.
She has been lamenting his death for years.
We have been waiting for you.
They have been quarreling with each other for few minutes.


SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE

I will help you forever, come what may.
He will complete this task at any rate by tomorrow.
We shall never complain again about it.
You will take care of everybody, promise me!
They will perform together for this show.
Jane will look more beautiful at her wedding.
Lydia will elope with William one day, mark my words!
She will welcome the guest at the inaugural function.
Jack and Jill will work together on this project.
There will be a way, if you have desire.
You will not spill even a single drop of blood from his body.
He will take his revenge definitely.
Bassanio will marry Portia.
I will not make such a mistake again.
Mary will accompany you there.
You will feel better after taking this medicine.
She will catwalk on the ramp tomorrow.
Slow and steady will win the race.
I will upload my resume on the site at the earliest.
She will not meet me again.


FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE

I will be going to London tomorrow.
He will be studying at home.
The sun will be setting after two hours.
The show will be playing on the national TV this time tomorrow.
Mary will be playing with her friends.
Jack will be riding his new bike next week.
She will be jogging on the track.
They will be playing cricket there.
We shall be dancing on the floor this evening.
James will be watching a movie with his friends.
They will be looking perfect together at their wedding.
I will be conducting an exam tomorrow.
You will be regretting for this.
Students will be taking an exam after two days.
She will be singing in the concert.
It will be raining lightly tomorrow.
He will be practicing as a lawyer in future.
They will be studying together.
We shall be missing you.
They will not be having this idea.


FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

He will have completed his homework.
She will have got ready for the function.
You will have been behind the bars for breaking laws.
Jack will have purchased a new car next month.
He will have signed a contract.
I will have realized my dream after two years.
They will have completed 10 years of marriage on 25th December.
The police will have caught him by now.
She will have reached home at 8:00pm.
That flight will have taken off.
John will have finished all sandwiches.
They will have had their dinner.
The children will have made a lot of mess in the house.
The mother will have prepared meal.
Mary will have left the hostel next week.
He will have dialled the wrong number,
William will have left that job.
Susan will have met her childhood friends tomorrow.
They will have relieved from pain forever.
She will have finished cleaning the house.


FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

I will have been working for my college for five years in July.
They will have been waiting for two hours at 11:00am.
When he turns forty, he will have been playing guitar for twenty years.
On Sunday, I will have been missing you for a month.
She will have been taking care of them.
We will have been discussing things pertaining to technology.
Mary will have been staying there for a week.
John will have been swimming for six months tomorrow.
You will have been doing the same mistake for the third time if you fail the exam.
She will have been cooking in the kitchen.
They will have been shifting to a hostel next month.
We will have been completing ten years of married life this November.
They will have been fighting this battle for ten days on Monday.
We shall have been hoisting flag for 75 years on 26th January.
She will have been turning two years this March.
John will have been playing cricket for five years this June.
I will have been contributing to that charity for five years on Thursday.
She will have been dancing Hip-hop for three years this April.
He will have been riding a bike for fifty years tomorrow.
They will have been performing magic tricks for fifteen years on Saturday.
MORE DETAILS ABOUT TENSES
MORE GRAMMAR TOPICS
GRAMMAR: SPOT THE ERROR
USEFUL EXPRESSIONS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING

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