 Class - +2

 Subject - General English

 Topic - { Tense }

 Prepared by :
 Tenses
 In English, there are three basic tenses:

Present Tense
Past Tense
future Tense
Each has a perfect form, indicating completed action;
each has a progressive form, indicating ongoing action;
and each has a perfect progressive form, indicating
ongoing action that will be completed at some definite
time.
count….
 The list of examples of these tenses and their
definitions:-

Simple Progressive Perfect Perfect

Form Form form Progressive
form
Present take/s am /is /are/ Have/ has/ Have/has been
taking taken taking

Past took Was/were/ Had taken Had been

taking taking

Future Will/shall Will be Will have Will have been

/take taking taken taking
 Tense

Present Tense Past Tense Future Tense

Pre. Perfect Tense Past Perfect tense Future Perfect Tense

Pre Progressive Tense Past Progressive Tense Future Progressive Tense

Pre Perfect Progressive Tense Past Perfect Progressive Tense Future Perfect
Progressive Tense
Flowchart of
Tense
1)Present Tense :-
 Simple Present
Present tense expresses an unchanging, repeated,
or reoccurring action or situation that exists only
Tense : now. It can also represent a widespread truth.

Example Meaning

The mountains are tall Unchanging action

and white.
Every year, the school Recurring action
council elects new
members.
Pb is the chemical Widespread truth
symbol for lead.
 Present
Progressive/continous
Tense
Present progressive tense describes an ongoing
action that is happening at the same time the
statement is written. This tense is formed by
using am/is/are with the verb form ending
in -ing.
Example :
I am eating. I am not eating. Am I eating?
We are eating. We are not eating. Are we eating?
  Present Perfect Tense

Present perfect tense describes an action that happened at an indefinite

time in the past or that began in the past and continues in the
present.This tense is formed by using has/have with the past
participle of the verb. Most past participles end in -ed. Irregular verbs
have special past participles that must be memorized.
Example :
I/We /You/They have I/We /You/They have not Have I/We /You/They
Eaten. eaten. eaten?
He/She Has eaten. He/She Has not eaten. Has he/she eaten ?
  Present Perfect
Continuous Tense
Like the present perfect, the present perfect progressive/ continuous
Tense is used to describe an action, event, or condition that has begun
in the past and continues into the present. The present perfect
progressive, however, is used to stress the on-going nature of that
action, condition, or event.
Example :
I/We /You/They have I/We /You/They have not Have I/We /You/They
been Reading. been Reading. been Reading?.
He/She Had been Reading. He/She Has not been Reading. Has he/she been reading ?
 2)Past Tense :-

 Simple Past Tense :

Past tense expresses an action or situation that was started and

finished in the past. Most past tense verbs end in -ed. The
irregular verbs have special past tense forms which must be
memorized.

Example :

I/We /You/They ate. I/We /You/They did not eat. Did I/We /You/They eat?
  Past
Progressive/continuous
Tense
Past progressive tense describes a past action
which was happening when another action
occurred. This tense is formed by using
was/were with the verb form ending in -ing.

Example :

I/He /She was eating. I/He /She/ was not eating. Was I/He /She/ eating?
We/You/They were eating. We/You/They were eating. Were We/You/They eating?
  Past Perfect Tense

Past perfect tense describes an action that took

place in the past before another past action. This
tense is formed by using had with the past
participle of the verb.

Example :

I/We /You/They had eaten. I/We /You/They had not eaten. Had I/We /You/They eaten?
  Past Perfect Continuous
Tense
Past perfect progressive tense describes a past, ongoing action that was
completed before some other past action. This tense is formed by using
had been and the present perfect of the verb (the verb form ending in
-ing).
Example :

I/We /You/They/He/She I/We /You/They/She Had I/We /You/They/He/She

had been reading. had not been reading. been reading?
3)Future Tense :-

 Simple Future
Tense :
Future tense expresses an action or situation that will occur in the
future. This tense is formed by using will/shall with the simple
form of the verb.

Example :

The speaker of the House will finish her term in May of 1998
.
 Future
Progressive/continuous
Tense
Future progressive tense describes an ongoing or
continuous action that will take place in the
future. This tense is formed by using will be or
shall be with the verb form ending in -ing.

Example :
Dr. Jones will be presenting ongoing research on sexist language next week.
  Future Perfect Tense

Future perfect tense describes an action that will occur

in the future before some other action. This tense is
formed by using will have with the past participle of
the verb.

Example :

By the time the troops arrive, the combat group will have spent several weeks
waiting.
  Future Perfect
Continuous Tense
Future perfect progressive tense describes a future, ongoing action that
will occur before some specified future time. This tense is formed by
using will have been and the present participle of the verb (the verb
form ending in -ing).

Example :

By the year 2020, linguists will have been studying and defining the Indo-
European language family for more than 200 years.
 Bibliography
 English Grammer
 Internet Web Search
1) www.leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/tenses.html
2) www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses.htm
3) www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html