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TENSES
 WHAT ARE TENSES?

• Verbs that refer to time

• Indicate the time and state of an action or event
• Tenses indicate three different times:
1. Past (what has happened)
2. Present (what is happening)
3. Future (what will happen/expected to happen)
 Further divided into:
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 Simple - verb itself:

walk (ed) talk (ed), laugh (ed), rise (rose)
 Continuous (also known as ‘Progressive’):
Participle: “-ing” or “-ed”
 Perfect
have / has/had + ed
 Perfect continuous:
have/has/had been + ing
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PRESENT TENSES
 Simple Tense
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 Simple Present:

1. express habit/repeated action. E.g. I like to read.

2. Present time. E.g. My sister lives in the UK.
3. Talk of general truths. E.g. The sun rises form the East.
4. Exclamatory sentences which refer to actions occurring in the
present. E.g. Here comes the bus!
5. Refer to expected future action. E.g. The train leaves at 8.30
am.
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6. To introduce quotation. E.g. Catherine writes/ mentions/

says
7. Live broadcast of events/ commentaries “… 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, I’ll tell her.
10. Instructions. E.g. First you weigh the ingredients.
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11. Time clauses:

a) idea of routine. E.g. He spends money as soon as he

earns it.

b) main verb in future form. E.g. We will go out when it

stops raining.
  Present Continuous:
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 Form: be + …-ing.

 Uses:

1) 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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2) Temporary actions / situations, not necessarily in

progress exactly at the moment of speaking. E.g. He is
staying with his aunt for a month; He is teaching French
and learning German.
3) 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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4) For an action arranged to take place in the near future,

i.e. planned actions (+ future adverbial reference) E.g.
My uncle is arriving tomorrow; I am meeting my friend
on Sunday.
5) To refer to a frequently repeated habit/action, which
may or may not an annoying habit. E.g. She is always
complaining; Tom is always losing his keys; He is
always working; She is always studying.
  Present Perfect:
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 Form: be have/has + -ed/ -ed, -d, -t, -en, -n.

 Uses: Always connect past with the present.
 Two basic uses:
 For actions that begin in the past and continue to the
present.
Used with time references: before (now), ever, never.. before,
up till now, so far, since, for
E.g. I have received 20 cards so far; I’ve lived in Lahore
since 1990; I’ve lived here for 20 years.
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 For actions that happened at an unspecified time in the

past.
1. With no time reference at all.
E.g. Have you passed your driving test? ( depending on
context, this could mean ‘very recently’ or ‘at any time up
to now’.)
2. With reference to recent time: just, recent, already, still,
yet.
E.g. I’ve just eaten; The plane has just landed.
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3. Repeated/ habitual actions.

E.g. I’ve often met her; I’ve watched him on TV several times.
Also used to:
 talk about something that was begun in the past and
continues to the present. E.g. How long have you lived
here?
 Indicate activities just completed. E.g. It has just struck ten;
The plane has just landed;
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 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.

 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 ‘Gulliver’s 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:
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 Form: have/has been + -ing

 Uses:
1. Use this tense in place of the simple present perfect
when we want to emphasize that something has been in
progress throughout a period of time.
E.g. I’ve worked all day/ I’ve been working all day.
(depending on context, it can mean I’m still working or I’ve
just stopped)
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2. Some verbs like learn, lie, live, rain, sit, sleep, stand, wait,
work, naturally suggest continuity and are often used with
since or for.
Can be used with simple present perfect tense:
I’ve waited here for two hours.
I’ve worked here since 1980.
But most often perfect continuous is used:
I’ve been waiting here for two hours.
I’ve been working here since 1980.
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Also used to:

 Connect present and the past. To talk about something that
was begun in the past and continues to the present. E.g.
She has been waiting for an hour.

 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
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 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:
1) 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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2) Time can be indefinite: E.g. She left school; I went to the

market; They played the piano.

3) To refer to past habits. E.g. He studied many hours

everyday; She always carried an umbrella.

4) 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?”
 Past Continuous:
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 Form: was/ were + -ing

 Uses:

1) 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.
 2) Past simple and past continuous often used
together in a sentence:
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Past Continuous Past Simple

I was driving along When suddenly a child
ran across the road.
When Kate was The telephone rang.
watching TV
We were walking in When it started to rain.
the 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.
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If one thing happened after another, simple past

can be used:

1) E.g. When the telephone rang, Kate answered it.

2) To refer to persistent habits in the past. Used with:

always, continually, etc. E.g. He was always
grumbling.
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3) 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:
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 Form: had + - ed, -d, -t, -en, -n

 Uses:

1) 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.

2) When I spoke to the woman, I realized I had met her

somewhere before.
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3) It describes an action completed before a certain moment

in the past. E.g. I had last seen him five years before.

4) 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).

5) I had written (past perfect) the letter before he arrived

(simple past).
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6) 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:

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 Form: had been + -ing

 Uses:
1) 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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2) 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.
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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.

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THE END