Tenses in English

What are tenses in English? A tense is a form of the verb that allows you to express time. The tense of the verb tells us when an event or something existed or when a person did something. Past, present, and future are the three main types of tenses

Past tense The past tense is used to describe an activity or an event that has happened in the past or a past state of being and needs to include a time marker for when the event or action took place. Structural formula: Subject + verb (2nd form) + object. Examples: We met yesterday. He bought a new laptop last week.

Present tense The simple present tense or present tense is one of the most basic tenses in English. We use present tense to talk about something that is currently going on, something that is habitually performed, or a state that generally or currently exists. Structural formula: Subject + verb (s/es) + object. Examples: She lives in Spain. Bob drives a taxi.

Future tense The future tense is a verb tense used to describe an event or action that has not yet happened and is expected to happen in the future. Structural formula, Subject + shall/will+ verb (s/es) + object. Example: He will be here soon. Now that we have understood the three main types of tenses, communicating in English with a native English speaker will become easier. But to make communication in English easier and simpler, we need to learn more about tenses.

Past continuous tense The past continuous tense is used to describe events or actions that have already occurred in the past. It's employed to describe any action which has happened in the past. Structural formula: Subject + helping verb (was/were) + verb (ing) + object. Examples: I was watching TV. We were sleeping. She wasn’t eating her lunch.

Past perfect tense The past perfect tense is used to describe an event that occurred before a completed action in the past. Structural formula: Subject + had + verb (ed) + object. Examples: He had gone when she became ill. She had not lived in New York. They had not been married long when I was born.

Past perfect continuous tense The past perfect continuous tense represents any action or event that started in the past and sometimes continued into another action or another time. Structural formula: Subject + had been + Verb (ing) + object (optional) + time of action. Examples: We had been playing games for 6 hours when Dad came home. She had been reading magazines for 1 month before she decided to apply for the job. Had she been washing dishes all day?

Present continuous tense The present continuous tense is used to talk about the ongoing actions, events, or conditions that are still not finished. Structural formula: Subject + helping verb (is / am/ are) + main verb (ing) + object. Examples: She is playing basketball. Birds are flying in the sky. I’m learning English.

Present perfect tense The present perfect tense is used to describe a situation or event that has already occurred but has immediate ramifications. The present perfect tense can be used to describe experiences, and situations that occurred in the past but still have an influence on the present. We don't use it with time markers. Structural formula: Subject + helping verb (have/has) + verb (ed) + object. Examples: She has not finished her work yet. I have seen that movie twice. We have visited LA several times.

Present perfect continuous tense The present perfect continuous tense shows a situation that has started in the past and continues in the present. Structural formula: Subject + helping verb (have/has) + been + verb (ing) + object (optional) + since / for + time duration + object. Examples: I have been learning English for many years. He has been working here since 2010. We have been saving money.

Future continuous tense The future continuous tense is used to describe an ongoing action that will occur or occur in the future. Structural formula: Subject + shall/will be + verb (ing) + object. Example: He will be coming to visit us next week. She will be watching TV. He will be writing a letter to Mary.

Future perfect tense The future perfect is used to describe an action that will be completed between now and a certain point in the future. Structural formula: Subject + shall/will + have + verb (3rd form) + object. Examples: They will have finished the film before we get home. She will have cleaned the house by 9pm.

Future perfect continuous tense We use the future perfect continuous to focus on the duration of an action before a specific time in the future. Structural formula: Subject + shall/will + have been + verb (ing) + object (optional) + time instant. Examples: He will have been studying hard for 2 weeks before the exam. By the time the alarm goes off, we will have been sleeping for 8 hours.

Tense Present Past Future Simple- He rides a bike. He rode a bike. He will ride a bike. Continuous- He is riding a bike. He was riding a bike. He will be riding a bike Perfect He has ridden a bike. He had ridden a bike. He will have ridden a bike Perfect continuous He has been riding a bike since the morning. He had been riding a bike since 8 am. He will have been riding a bike at 8 am tomorrow

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not follow the normal patterns for tense and past participle. Present tense – Past Tense: Example Sentence Be – was/were: They were happy. ….. The boy was tired. Become – became: They became very angry. begin – began: He began work at seven. bend – bent: He bent over to pick up the newspaper. bet – bet: He bet all of his money. bite – bit: The dog bit the postman. bleed – bled: My finger bled for a while. blow – blew: She blew some bubbles. break – broke: She broke her pencil. bring – brought: The waiter brought my order to the table.

build – built: The boy built a sandcastle. buy – bought: She bought many things at the shopping mall. catch – caught: He caught a small fish. choose – chose: He chose something from the menu. come – came: She came to my birthday party wearing a costume. cost – cost: It cost me a lot of money. cut – cut: She cut the paper with a pair of scissors. deal – dealt: She dealt the cards to the other players. dig – dug: The dog dug a hole in the backyard. do – did: She did her homework.

draw – drew: He drew another cartoon. drink – drank: He drank a glass of water. drive – drove: The clown drove a small car. eat – ate: She ate all of the cake. fall – fell: The bowling ball fell on his foot. feed – fed: She fed the pigeons. feel – felt: She felt cold. fight – fought: They fought with pillows. find – found: She found a coin on the ground. fly – flew: The pilot flew to another city.

forget – forgot: I forgot what I had to do. forgive – forgave: She forgave him. freeze – froze: He froze outside in the blizzard. get – got: He got the high score. give – gave: My children gave me a birthday present. go – went: The kids went to the local park to play. grow – grew: Flowers grew under the hammock. hang – hung: The monkey hung from the branch. have – had: I had pancakes for breakfast. hear – heard: She heard a sound coming from the box.

hide – hid: He hid his face. hit – hit: The ball hit the back of her head. hold – held: She held an egg in her hand. hurt – hurt: You hurt my feelings. keep – kept: He kept his tools in a toolbox. know – knew: She knew the answer. lead – led: He led his pet along the street. leave – left: They left the office at 5 o’clock. lend – lent: He lent me some money. let – let: My boss let me leave work early.

light – lit: He lit a match. lose – lost: He lost the match. make – made: She made a chocolate cake. mean – meant: I don’t know what you meant. meet – met: We met for the first time yesterday. pay – paid: She paid her taxes. put – put: He put his suggestion in the box. quit – quit: He quit his job last month. read – read: I read the book in three days. ride – rode: She rode her horse.

ring – rang: He rang the doorbell. rise – rose: Profits rose considerably last year. run – ran: He ran in the marathon. say – said: He said that he liked flowers. see – saw: The pirate saw another ship in the distance. sell – sold: He sold lemonade in front of his house. send – sent: He sent a postcard. set – set: He set the table. shake – shook: Everything in the house shook during the earthquake. shine – shone: He shone a flashlight to see where he was going.

shoot – shot: He shot at the target. shut – shut: The boy shut his eyes. sing – sang: She sang very well. sink – sank: He slowly sank in the quicksand. sit – sat: They sat on the park bench. sleep – slept: He slept in the armchair. slide – slid: She slid to second base. speak – spoke: He spoke about how to be successful in life. speed – sped: He sped along the road. spend – spent: He spent all of his money on a new bicycle. spin – spun: The dancer spun around very quickly. spread – spread: I spread a lot of jam on the bread. stand – stood: A guard stood at the entrance. steal – stole: The thief stole a painting from the museum. stick – stuck: Some chewing gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

sting – stung: A bee stung my arm. strike – struck: He struck the ball well. sweep – swept: The man swept the path. swim – swam: The boy swam to the edge of the pool. swing – swung: He swung on a vine. take – took: She took her medication. teach – taught: He taught geography at a local high school. tear – tore: She tore the paper in half. tell – told: I told you to be careful. think – thought: He thought about a possible solution to the problem. throw – threw: She threw the can into the bin. understand – understood: He understood the lesson. wake – woke: He woke up at 6 o’clock. wear – wore: She wore a blue hat and a blue dress. win – won: He won three medals. write – wrote: The teacher wrote a message on the board.