TENSES

WHAT ARE TENSES?

1. 2. 3.

Verbs that refer to time Indicate the time and state of an action or event Tenses indicate three different times: Past (what has happened) Present (what is happening) Future (what will happen/expected to happen)

Further divided into:

Simple - verb itself: walk (ed) talk (ed), laugh (ed), rise (rose) Continuous (also known as Progressive): Participle: -ing or -ed Perfect have/has/had + ing/ed Perfect continuous: have/has/had been + ing

PRESENT TENSES

Simple Tense
1. 2. 3.

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Simple Present: express habit/repeated action. E.g. I like to read. Permanent situations. E.g. I live in Lahore. Talk of general truths. E.g. The sun rises form the East. Exclamatory sentences which refer to actions occurring in the present. E.g. Here comes the bus! Refer to expected future action. E.g. The train leaves at 8.30 am

6. To introduce quotation. E.g. Catherine writes/ mentions/ says 7. Live broadcast of events. Now we see the South African delegation, led by XYZ 8. Newspaper headlines. E.g. Peace talks fail; Mass murderer escapes. 9. Conditional sentences. E.g. If I meet her, Ill tell her.

10. Time clauses:

a)

idea of routine. E.g. He spends money as soon as he earns it. main verb in future form. E.g. We will go out when it stops raining.

b)

Present Continuous:

Form: be + -ing. Uses: 1. For an action happening now, i.e. at the moment of speaking. E.g. The children are playing in the garden; I am working.

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To talk about something which is in progress around the present, but not necessarily exactly at the moment of speaking. E.g. He is staying with his aunt for a month; He is teaching French and learning German. To talk about situations which are changing or developing around the present. E.g. Your children are growing up very quickly; Computers are becoming an important part of our lives.

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For an action arranged to take place in the near future. E.g. My uncle is arriving tomorrow; I am meeting my friend on Sunday. To refer to a frequently repeated, mostly annoying habit/action. E.g. She is always complaining; Tom is always losing his keys. For an action which appears to be continuous but not annoying. E.g. He is always working; She is always studying.

Present Perfect:

Form: be have/has + -ed/ -ed, -d, -t, -en, -n. Uses: Always connect past with the present. It is used to talk about something that was begun in the past and continues to the present. E.g. How long have you lived here?

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For referring to things which have happened during a period of time that continues up to the present. E.g. I have been to India and Africa; Have you ever eaten Chinese? Indicate activities just completed. E.g. It has just struck ten; The plane has just landed. When the result of a past action is connected to the present. E.g. Someone has broken the window; The taxi has arrived; We have cleaned the flat; I have cut my finger.

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For actions which occurred further back in the past, with the possibility of being repeated, i.e. the action could be repeated in the present. E.g. I have seen wolves in that forest. Often used with words which denote indefinite time: ever, never, yet, before. E.g. I have never seen a ghost; She has been there before; Have you read Gullivers Travels? Used with today, this morning, this afternoon, etc, when these periods of time are not finished at the time of speaking. E.g. I have attended three lectures this morning.

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Note: Present Perfect is not used with definite past time words: yesterday, last night, in 1985, etc.

Present Perfect Continuous:

Form: have/has been + -ing Uses: Connect present and the past. It is used to talk about something that was begun in the past and continues to the present. E.g. She has been waiting for an hour; I have been working all day.

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When an action has concluded in the recent past but has results in the present. E.g. It has been snowing; Have you been painting? I have been watering the lawn. To talk about repeated actions or situations in a period up to the present (or recent past). E.g. I have been taking driving lessons for six months; How long have you been living here?

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PAST TENSES

Past Simple

Form: verbs in past tense: ed, -d, -t, -en, -n Same for all persons. E.g. I bent, They bent, She bent, He bent, It bent, We bent Uses: To talk of actions and situations in the past. E.g. I played football yesterday; The baby cried all night; We did not go out last night; She left school last year.

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Time can be indefinite: E.g. She left school; I went to the market; They played the piano. To refer to past habits. E.g. He studied many hours everyday; She always carried an umbrella. To describe events and actions while telling a story. E.g. Suddenly a woman came round the corner, walked up to him, and asked, Are you Mr. Marlowe?

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Past Continuous:

Form: was/ were + -ing Uses: To talk about something that was in progress at a past time, something which had started about not finished at that time. The time of the action may or may not be indicated. E.g. I was watching TV at eight o clock last night; I was writing a letter; It was getting darker.

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2) Past simple and past continuous often used together in a sentence:

Past Continuous
I was driving along

Past Simple
When suddenly a child ran across the road. The telephone rang.

When Kate was watching TV We were walking in the When it started to rain. park The past continuous describes a longer action/ situation in progress at a past time whereas the past simple describes a new, shorter action which happens during the longer action, or interrupted it.

If one thing happened after another, simple past can be used:

1)

E.g. When the telephone rang, Kate answered it. To refer to persistent habits in the past. Used with: always, continually, etc. E.g. He was always grumbling.

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To describe background scene when telling a story. E.g. I was standing outside the bus station. It was getting late and I was feeling tired. I was waiting for a man called Mr. Marlowe.

Past Perfect: Form: had + - ed, -d, -t, -en, -n Uses:

Referring to something in the earlier past when talking about the past. E.g. We arrived at the cinema at 8.00 o clock, but the movie had started at 7.30. When I spoke to the woman, I realized I had met her somewhere before.

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It describes an action completed before a certain moment in the past. E.g. I had last seen him five years before. Simple past and past perfect can be used together in a sentence in which two actions are mentioned. E.g. When I reached (simple past) the station, the train had started (past perfect). I had written (past perfect) the letter before he arrived (simple past).

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The past perfect is the past form of the present perfect:

Present Perfect: It has just struck ten. Past Perfect: It had just struck ten.

Past Perfect Continuous:

Form: had been + -ing Uses: Referring to something in the earlier past when talking about the past. E.g. He had been driving for an hour when the car broke down. (Past continuous is used to refer to the earlier past event.) I had been walking for an hour when it suddenly started to rain.

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To refer to an action that began before a certain point in the past and continued up to that time. E.g. At that time, he had been writing a novel for two months.

3. The past perfect continuous is the past form of the present perfect continuous. E.g.

Present perfect continuous: She has been waiting for an hour. Past perfect continuous: She had been waiting for an hour.

THE END