TENSE

What do you mean by tenses they are simply a function of time,

TIME: -
Which has gone by PAST
Which is going on PRESENT
Which is yet to come FUTURE

And it is the doing word or VERB all three of these are of 4 kinds
PAST Simple or Indefinite
PRESENT Continuous
Perfect 3 x 4 = 12
FUTURE Perfect Continuous

So, we speak in English in 12 different ways. Here, I would like to remind

you of -
NOUN SINGULAR NO. PLURAL NO.
1st person I We
2nd person You You
3rd person He/She They

Will is used for command order, promise, and resolution for something
thats definite.
Shall is used when we are talking about simple futurity.
TENSES AT A GLANCE
PRESENT
Simple/ Continuous Perfect Perfect
 Indefinite continuous
I play I am playing I have played I have played

We play We are playing We have played We have been

playing
You play You are playing You have played You have been
playing
He/ She plays He/She is playing He/She has He/She has been
played playing
They play They are playing They have played They have been
playing

PAST
Simple/ Continuous Perfect Perfect
Indefinite continuous
I played I was playing I had played I had been playing

We played We were playing We had played We had been

playing
You played You were You had played You had been
playing playing
He/She played He/She was He / She had He/She had been
playing played playing
They played They were They had played They had been
playing playing
FUTURE
Simple/ Continuous Perfect Future
Indefinite continuous
I shall play I shall be playing I shall have I shall have been
played playing
We shall play We shall be We shall have We shall have
playing played been playing
You will play You will be You will have You will have
playing played been playing
He/She will play He/She Will be He/She will have He/She will have
playing played been playing
They will play They will be They will have They will have
playing played been playing

Now lets go into detail one by one :-

PRESENT TENSE

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE has the following functions

It expresses a daily habit:-
1. I drink coffee every morning.
2. I get up everyday at 4:30 am.
It expresses facts or general truths:-
1. The Sun rises in the east.
2. Sugar is sweet.
Action, which is happening at the present time period:-
1. I am a dietician.
2. It is very hot today.
To express a routine or something having a fixed time table:-
1. The shop open sat 10.
Prayagraj Express, leaves at 9:30
In conditional clauses:-
1. If you dont work hard youll fail.
To introduce quotations:-
1. Shakespeare says, Frailty thy name is woman.
2. Keats says, A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
Also used in news reading or commentaries on sports events.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE
For an action going on at the time of speaking, e.g.,: -
1. I am teaching.
2. The boys are playing hockey.
3. Mother is cooking in the kitchen.
For temporary action which may not be actually happening at the time of
speaking:-
1. I am preparing for my exams.
2. I am reading Gullivers Travels
For a pre-decided action (an action which has already been arranged to
take place in the near future.):-
1. I am going to the cinema tonight.
2. Ram is arriving tomorrow.
3. I am going to take my class in the evening.
For obstinate habits or habits that persist & is used with adverbs like
always, constantly, continually, etc., e.g.,: -
1. My sister is very irritating; shes always talking on the phone.
2. My dog is very annoying, hes continually barking.
3. My cat is very silly; shes constantly nibbling shoes.
The following verbs, on account of their meaning are not used in the
continuous form: -
Verbs of perception see, hear, smell, notice, recognize
Verbs of appearing Look, seem, appear.
Verbs of emotion- Want, wish, desire, feel, like, love, hate, hope, refuse,
prefer.
Verbs of thinking- Think, Suppose, believe, agree, consider, trust,
remember, forget, know, understand, imagine, mean, mind.
Verbs of possession- Have, possess, own, contain, belong to, consist of.
However, the verbs listed above can be used in the continuous tense with a
change of meaning.

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE - can be used

For actions completed in the immediate past e.g.,:-
1. The clock has just struck 11.
2. I have just sat down..
3. He has just come in.
For an indefinite action whose time is not given e.g.,:-
1. I have read David Copperfield
2. I have toured Rajasthan.
3. Mr. Harry has been to Japan.
To describe the present effect of past events e.g.,:-
Ram has eaten all the biscuits.
The cat has drunk all the milk.
I have cut my finger.
To denote an action that begins on the past and is still going on at this
moment e.g.,:-
1. I have known him for a long time.
2. He has been ill since last week.
3. I have lived her for 30 years.
We havent seen Ram for several months. If a Full Verb is proceeded by a
Helping verb
It is in the Present perfect Tense:-

Has
+had = Present Perfect Tense
Have

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Is used for something that began in the past & is still continuing.:-
1. Ram has been sleeping for five hours.
2. They have been playing since four oclock.
3. I have been teaching for one hour.
Is used for an action finished, but its continuing is pointed out as an
explanation:-
1. Why are you so wet? I have been out in the rain.
2. Why are you so late? I have been in a traffic jam.

PAST TENSE

SIMPLE PAST TENSE

Indicate an action completed in the past (adverb or adverb phrases of
time).:-
1. I left school 15 years ago.
2. I received his mail a fortnight ago.
3. The ship sailed yesterday.
The time is implied or indicated by the context without using an adverb of
time.:-
1. Humanyun succeeded Babar to the throne.
2. I didnt follow my routine.
3. I learnt English at ECC.
Is used for past habits.: -
1. My mother always cleaned the house.
 2. Ram laboured many hours every day.

PAST CONTINUOUS TENES

Is used to denote an action going on at sometime in the past.:-
1. We were watching T.V. all evening.
2. It was getting easier.
3. The water ran out while I was bathing
4. When I saw him, he was reading.
Is also used for persistent habits in the past, with always continually,
etc.:-
1. The old lady was continually nagging.
2. The puppy was always barking.

PAST PERFECT TENSE

Describes an action, which was completed at a certain moment in the
past:-
1. I met him in Kanpur in 1996. I had seen him last three years before.
Is used when two actions happened in the past, to show which action
happened earlier.:-
2. My father was gone when my uncle came to see him.
3. I had done my work before he came.

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

It is used for an action, which began sometime before in the past &
continued up to that time.
At that time he had been living there for a year.
When Manoj joined the job in 1999, Manish had already been there for two
years.
 FUTURE TENSE

SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE

Is used when we talk about things, which are out of our control. But are
future facts, e.g.,
1. I shall be 25 next month..
2. It will be Dusshera in a week.
It is also used when we talk about any thing, we think or belief will
happen in the future, e.g.,:-
1. I think Australian will win the series.
2. Im sure that Ill get a first class.
It is also used when we decide to do something at the time of speaking.
e.g.,:-
1. It is raining. I will take an umbrella.
2. It is very bright & sunny. I will wear my goggles.
It is used with a form of be + going to + base of verb, when we have
decided to do something before talking about it, e.g.,:-
1. Why do you want to sell your mobike?- Im going to buy a car.
2. Have you decided what to do? Yes. I am going to join the job.
It is also used in the going to form, when there is something in the present,
which tells us about the future, i.e.:-
When we talk about what seems likely or certain, e.g.,:-
1. It is going to rain, look at those clouds.
2. The boat is full of water. It is going to sink.
3. Shes going to have a baby.
It is also used in the going to form, to express an action which is on the
point of happening, e.g.,:-
1. Lets board the train. Its going to leave.
2. Look! The cracker is going to explode.
It is also used with, be + about to + base form of verb, when used for the
immediate future, e.g.:-
1. Dont go out now. We are about to have lunch.
2. Lets get into the bus. Its about to leave.
FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE
Is used when we talk about actions, which will be in progress at a time in
future, e.g.,:-
1. This time tomorrow I will be sitting in a plane to America.
2. May I see you at 6 Oclock? Please dont come then. I will be
watching a movie then.
It is also used, when we talk about actions in the future which are
preplanned & are expected to happen in the normal course of things,
e.g.,:-
1. I will be staying here till Tuesday.
2. The delivery boy will be coming soon

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

Is used when we talk about actions that will be completed by a certain
future time, e.g.,:-
1. I shall have completed my work by then.
2. He will have left before you go to see him.
FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
Is used for actions which will be in progress over a period of time that will
end in the future, e.g., (is not commonly used)
1. By next August we shall have been living here for thirty years.
2. Ill have been teaching for a year next March.