Tenses
Detailed explanation:-
Present indefinite/simple:–
It is used to express what takes place at present or to talk about things in general.
Rules
- The first form of the verb is used. Sentence Structure:- Subject+v1+object. E.g. He drives a car.
- With singular subjects(he, she, it), ‘s’, ‘es’ is used. E.g. She cooks food.
- Do not/does not is used in negative sentences. E.g. I/we/you/they do not play. or He/she/it does not play.
- In question/interrogative sentences, do/does is used at the starting of the sentence. E.g. Do I/we/you/they play? or Does he/she/it work?
Present simple is also used for actions happen all the time, repeatedly or true in general. E.g. The school open at 8:00 am. or The earth revolves around the sun.
Present Continuous:
Present continuous is used to describe an action which is going on at the time of speaking or have not finished.
Rules
- ‘Is, am, are’ is used after the subject.
- The first form of verb+ing is used. Sentence Structure:- Subject+v1+ing+object. E.g. I am working. or He/she/it is working. or We/you/they are working.
- In a negative sentence, ‘not’ is used after is/am/are. E.g He/she/it is not eating food. or We/they/you are not playing. or I am not cooking.
- In question/interrogative sentences, is/am/are is used before the subject. E.g. Are they enjoying the party?
- Present continuous is also used with today/this week/this year. E.g. I am working hard today. or The cost of petrol is rising this year.
Present perfect :-
The present perfect tense is used to express an action that has just been completed, and it has a connection with now.
Rules
- The third form of the verb is used with has/have. Sentence Structure:- Subject+has/have+v3+object. E.g. I/we/you/they have tired. or He/she/it has arrived.
- In negative sentences, ‘not’ is used after has/have. E.g. He has not cooked the food.
- In question/interrogative sentences, has/have is used before subject. Sentence Structure:- Has/have+subject+v3+object?
E.g. Has she not cooked the food? or Have they gone?
Present Perfect Continuous:-
This tense is used to describe an action that begins in the past and still going on. Time is also given in these sentences.
Rules
- Have/has ‘been’ is used with the first form of the verb with ‘ing’. Sentence Structure:- Subject+have/has+been+v1+ing+object.
- To mention time, since (for the point of time) /for (for the duration of time) is used. E.g. They have been working for five hours.
- In negative sentences, has/have ‘not’ been is used. E.g. He has not been working for many days.
- In question/interrogative sentences, has/have is used before the subject and ‘been’ is written after the subject. Sentence Structure:- Has/have+subject+been+v1+ing. E.g Have they been playing since morning?
Past Indefinite/simple:-
Past simple is used for actions which have happened in the past.
Rules
2nd form of the verb is used. Sentence Structure:- Subject+v2+object. E.g He enjoyed the party. or They left the school.
In negative sentences, did ‘not’ is used. After using ‘did’, you should always use the first form of the verb. E.g. He/she/they/I did not work
- In question/interrogative sentences, ‘did’ is used at the starting of the sentence. E.g. Did they come?
Past Continuous:-
This tense is used to describe an action that was going on in the past at a certain time.
Rules
- Was/were is used after the subject with the first form of the verb with ‘ing’. E.g. I/he/she/it was working. or They/we/you were teaching.
- In negative sentences, ‘not’ is used after was/were. Sentence Structure:- Subject+was/were+not+v1+ing. I was not playing tennis.
- In question/interrogative sentences, was/were is used before the subject. Sentence Structure:- Was/were+subject+v1+ing+object? E.g Were they living in India? E.g. Was he going to work?
Past Perfect:-
The past perfect tense is used for an action that happened before another action was begun.
Rules
- The ‘Third form of the verb’ and ‘had’ is used in this tense. Sentence Structure:- Subject+had+v3+object. E.g. They/we/she had gone home.
- In negative sentences, ‘not’ is used after ‘had’. E.g. They had not finished their work.
- In question/interrogative sentences, ‘had’ is used before the subject. Sentence Structure:- Had they cleaned the house?
Past perfect continuous:-
This tense is used for an action that had been happening for some time before something else happened. ‘Since’ and ‘for’ is also used in this tense.
Rules
- ‘Had been’ and the first form of the verb with ‘ing’ is used. Sentence Structure:- Subject+had been+v1+ing+object+for/since. E.g. I had been waiting for twenty minutes.
- In negative sentences, ‘not’ is used between ‘had’ and ‘been’. Sentence Structure:- Subject+had+not+been+v1+ing.
E.g. It had not been raining for three hours. - In question/interrogative sentences, ‘had’ is used before subject then ‘been’ is written after the subject.
E.g. Had they been running since morning?
Future Indefinite/simple:
This tense is used to express future actions or event which we have just decided. Future simple is also used to announce any decision.
Rules
- Will/shall is used with the first form of the verb.
- Shall is used with ‘I’ and ‘we’. Will is used with the second and third person(He/she/it/you/they). Sentence Structure:- Subject+will/shall+v1+object. E.g. I shall read a novel. or You will win the race.
- In negative sentences, ‘not’ is used after will/shall. Sentence Structure:– Subject+will/shall+not+v1+object. E.g. Anil will not drink.
- In question/interrogative sentences, ‘will/shall’ is used before subjects. Sentence Structure:– Will/shall+subject+v1+object. E.g.Will he play cricket?
Future continuous:
It is used to describe an action that will be going on at some time in the future.
Rules
- Shall be/will be is used before the first form of the verb with ‘ing’. Sentence Structure:– Subject+will/shall+be+v1+ing+object.
E.g. You will be playing football. - In negative sentences, ‘not’ is used between will/shall and ‘be’. Sentence Structure:- Subject+will/shall+not+be+v1+ing.
E.g. He will not be driving a bus. - In question/interrogative sentences, will/shall is used before a subject at the beginning of the sentence and after subject ‘be’ is used. Sentence Structure:- Will/shall+subject+be+v1+ing. E.g.Will she be playing tennis?
Future Perfect:
This tense is used to describe the completion of an action in the future.
Rules
- Will have/ Shall have is used before the third form of the verb. Sentence Structure:- Subject+will/shall+have+V3+object. E.g. She will have baked the cake.
- In negative sentences, ‘not’ is used between will/shall and ‘have’. Sentence Structure:- Subject+will/shall+not+have+V3+object. E.g. She will not have cooked food.
- In question/interrogative sentences, will/shall is used before the subject, and ‘have’ is written after the subject. Sentence Structure:- Will/shall+subject+have+V3+object.
E.g. Will they have finished work?
Future Perfect Continuous:
It is used to describe an action that will have been going on at, or before some point of time in the future. Or this tense is used to describe an action that will continue until a point in the future. Duration of time is given in this tense.
Rules
- Will/shall ‘have been’ is used with the first form of the verb with ‘ing’. Sentence Structure:- Subject+will/shall+have+been+V1+ing+object+time. E.g. He will have been living here for six months in October.
- In negative sentences, ‘not’ is used after will/shall and then ‘have been’ is written. Sentence Structure:- Subject+ will/shall+not+have been+v1+ing+object+time. E.g. He will not have been working here on Friday.
- In question/interrogative sentences, will/shall is used before the subject at the beginning of the sentence and ‘have been’ is written after the subject. Sentence Structure:- Will/shall+subject+have been+v1+ing+object+time. E.g. How long will you have been studying here in September?