Tenses And It’s Uses

Uses of Tenses

Types of Auxiliary verb

Table Of Formulas For Tenses

Present Tense

 Present Indefinite

1. To show Habitual Actions

For Ex – (a) He goes out for a walk every day.(b) My father visits temple thrice a week.

2. To show General truth/Universal truth/ permanent truth etc.

For Ex – (a) The sun rises in the east.(b) Wate r boils at 100°C.3. To show imperative sentences.For Ex – (a) Always obey your parents.(b) Do not play on the road.

4. In exclamatory sentences which start with ‘Here’ and ‘There’

For Ex – (a) Here comes the train!(b) There rings the bell!

5. In newspaper headlines and commentary of sports.

For Ex – (a) India launches a satellite.(b) Sachin hits a boundary.

6. To describe the events that occurred in past in a dramatic way.

For Ex – (a) India uproots the British Empire.(b) Alexander defeats Paurus.

7. This Tense is also used to express professional activities.

For Ex – (a) A barber cuts hair.(b) A confectioner sells sweetsFor Ex – I am reading a novel.

Present Continuous

Uses:

1. To show a continuous action.

For Ex – (a) She is playing chess.(b) They are not driving a car.

2. To show those actions which have following words

“Now, these days, now-a-days, still, at this time, at this moment, at

present.”For Ex – (a) Is she still reading?(b) My mother is reading the Mahabharata now.

3. To denote a change of present state/situation into another.

For Ex – (a) Cars are becoming costlier day by day.(b) She is getting more and more complicated

Present Perfect

Uses:

1. To show the action that has just ended

For Ex – (a) I have written a letter(b) Ishan has gone to Mumbai.

2. In sentences which consist the following:

“This/That/It is the first/second/third/best/worst”.For Ex – (a) This is the worst novel, I have ever read.(b) It is the best book, I have ever read.

3. To show those sentences which have the following words.

“Already, so far, as yet, yet, upto now, just, just now, recently, ever,lately”For Ex – (a) I have already taken my lunch.(b) Have you ever been to London?

Note: Generally, Present Perfect Tense does not take an adverbof Past time.

For Ex – ‘I have seen Amit yesterday’ is wrong.Simple past is used when an adverb of past is mentioned.

Therefore, the correct usage of sentence given above should be as follows:

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Uses:

1. To show those actions that had begun in the past and are still in Progress.

For Ex – The baby has been sleeping since morning.2. It can be used with time phrases like

“for, since, long, how long, all the time, all week, etc.

For Ex – (a) For how long have you been eating?(b) She has been crying all the time.

Past Tense

Uses:

1. To Show a past action.

For Ex – (a) I wrote a letter yesterday.(b) She came last week.Note:Following words are used in Past Indefinite Tense.

“Yesterday, ago, last, the other day, the day before, etc.”

2. To show a past habit.

For Ex – (a) I played cricket in my childhood.(b) She always prayed to God.

3. This Tense is used in conditional sentences to indicate a condition which is unlikely to occur.

For Ex – (a) I wish I knew singing.(b) If Ravi came we would congratulate him.

4. With the phrase

“It is time, It is high time, It is about time”For Ex – (a) It is time you repaired the A/c.(b) It is about time you got a haircut.

(ii) Past Continuous Tense

This Tense is used to express an action which was

Uses:

1. This Tense is used when two actions were simultaneously in

Progress in the past.

For Ex – (a) While she was preparing lunch, I was taking shower.(b) While I was reading, my wife was watching T.V.

2. This Tense is also used in combination with Simple past

For Ex – (a) While I was walking in the fields, I found a mobile phone.(b) When I was going to school, a dog bit me

Past Perfect

Uses:1. When two actions occur in the past, one after the other, then, the

First action is expressed in Past perfect Tense and the second action is expressed in Simple Past Tense.

For Ex – (a) The patient had died before the doctor came.(b) He came after she had gone.

2. To express some unfulfilled wish in the Past.

For Ex – (a) I had hoped that he would pass.(b) She had expected his arrival, but he did not come.

(iv) Past perfect Continuous Tense

This Tense is used to express an action that started in past, continued

Uses:

1. It is used to express a repeated action in the past.

For Ex – (a) I had been trying to contact you.(b) He had been trying to get a good job.

2. It is used to express an action that had happened in the past and its effects were still visible in the past.

For Ex – (a) She had been playing tennis when the news of herSelection came in.(b) I had been reading novel for 2 hours, when she asked meFuture Tense

Future Indefinite Or Simple Future

Uses:

To show conditional actions that have adverb clause, Present Indefinite Tense along with ‘unless, until, when, if’

For Ex – (a) Unless she works hard, she will not pass.(b) If you run fast, you will win the race.

(ii) Future Continuous Tense

This Tense used to express an action that will be in progression in Future.

Structure:

The structure of sentences with singular/Plural subject remains same

In future continuous Tense.

For Singular

® Sub + will be + V1

For Plural

 Ing + Obj. (Affirmative)For Ex – She will be cooking food at this time tomorrow.

® Sub + will not be + v1

 Ing + Obj. (Negative)

For Ex – She will not be cooking food at this time tomorrow.® Will + Sub + be + V1 Ing + ‘?’ (Interrogative)For Ex – Will she be cooking food at this time tomorrow?® Will + Sub + not + be + V1 Ing + Obj + ‘?’ (Interrogative –Negative)For Ex – Will she not be cooking food at this time tomorrow?

(iii) Future Perfect Tense

This Tense expresses those actions that will certainly be finished at a point in future.

Structure:

® Sub + will have + V3

 + Obj (Affirmative)

For Ex – She will have submitted her project by Monday

® Sub + will not have + V3

 + Obj (Negative)

For Ex – She will not have submitted her project by Monday.

® Will + Sub + have V3

 + Obj + ‘?’ (Interrogative)

For Ex – Will she have submitted her project by Monday?

® Will + Sub + not + have + V3

 + Obj + ‘?’ (Interrogative –

Negative)

For Ex – Will she not have submitted her project by Monday?

Note: In future perfect Tense, when an action is expected to be

Completed in near future, till/by are used before the adverb of future.

For Ex – “by tomorrow, till next week, by Monday”Uses:

To show an action in which ‘when’ or ‘before’ is followed by present

Tense.

For Ex – (a) I will have completed this task before she comes.(b) He will have reached school before the bell rings.

(iv) Future Perfect Continuous Tense:

This Tense is used to express an action that continues upto some

Point of time in future.

Structure:

® Sub + will have been + V1

 Ing + Obj. + Since/for + Time being

(Affirmative)

For Ex – She will have been washing clothes for 3 hours.

® Sub + will not have been + V1

 Ing + Obj + since/for + Time

Being (Negative)

For Ex – Will not have been washing clothes for 3 hrs.

® Will + Sub + have been + V1

 Ing + Obj + Since/for + time being

+ ‘?’ (Interrogative)

For Ex – Will she have been washing clothes for 3 hours?® Will + Sub + not + have been + V1

 Ing + Obj + since/for + time

Being + ‘?’ (Interrogative – Negative)

For Ex – Will she not have been washing clothes for 3 hrs?Note: Future perfect progressive denotes continuous action while

Future perfect denotes completed action.

For Ex – (a) By the end of this month, I will have been travellingFor 6 months (Continuous action)(b) By the end of this month, I will have travelled for 6Months (Completed Action) 

Sample  Questions

Exercise No -1

1. She________  picture yesterday. (paint). 

2. It __________ since 5.00.A.M. (rain).

3)I ________tea in the morning (take). 

4. The aeroplane______ just now (land).

5. We________ you tomorrow (visit).

6. The doctor came but the patient _________ (die).

7. London ________on the Thames. (stand) 

8. Carry an umbrella for it _________now. (rain). 

9. A bus_________ him down when he was crossing the road. (knock). Ans.: 

10. Undue haste normally________ any work. (spoil)

11. She__________ the book last week. (purchase). 

12. He___________ you next Monday. (meet). 

13. He wishes he_________ a car. (have). 

14. He _________tea every morning. (take) Ans.: takes

15. He you next Monday.

16 She __________the book last week..: (purchase)

17. After a long walk, she _________rest now. (take) 

18. If you__________ the dog, it may bite you. (hit) 

19 l_______ in this house since my birth. (live). 

20. I_________the examination in 2004. (pass).

21. The sun ________during the day. (shine)

22. Did you______ the Taj Mahal? (see) 

23. Amir _______your uncle tomorrow. (meet)  

24. Leave me alone I ______(work) 

25. She was watching TV when I________  in.

26. The children________  the Sofa yesterday (break) 

27. They______ to Patna next week. (go)

28. He_______ breakfast at the moment. (have)

29. Don’t disturb me:l_________ (work) 

30.I_________________this book for six days. (read)  

31. The light_________ out while I was reading. (go) 

32, He_______ the house last year. (sell)

33. Let us wait till he_______ back. (come) 

34. It is time we_______ (start) 

35 .My father_______for a walk every morning. (go)

Exercise No -2

A. Fill in the blanks in the sentences/passages below with the right form of the verb in bracket.

1. Listen, they are____________ (make) an announcement.Please pay attention. 

2. I have a sister, Priya . She________ (live) with her family in Bhopal, where her husband and his brothers _________(run) a business. Priya __________(have) a daughter who_______ (study) journalism. Priya_________  (works) in the Chief Minister office. 

3. The players _________(practice) in the gym right now. 

4. Ravi seems happy. He________ (smile) since morning. 

5.Plants _______(produce) their own food through the process of photosynthesis. During this process, plant………….( take in)carbon dioxide from the air and . . . . . . . . . . . . (give out) oxygen.

Ans:

Exercise No…1

1) painted 2) has been raining 3.  take  4) has landed 5) will visit 6) had died 7) stands 8) is raining 9) Knocked 10) spoils 11)purchased 12) will meet 13) had 14) takes  15) meet 16) purchases 17) is taking 18) hit 19) have been living 20) passed  21) shines 22) see 23) will meet 24) am working 25) came 26) broke 27) will go 28) has 29) am working 30) have been reading 31) went 32) sold 33)  comes 34) started 35) goes.

Exercise No-2 

1) are making 2) lives, run, has, Studying, works. 3) are practicing. 4) has been smiling 5) produce, take in.