Class 9 & 10 | SEBA/ASSEB | Assam's Learning Hub

SEBA English Grammar: Tenses

TENSE-RULE

The Tense denotes the time of action.

There are three types of tenses are there:

1)Present Tense

1. Simple present Tense or Present Indefinite Tense

2. Present Continuous Tense

3. Present Perfect Tense

4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense.

2)Past Tense

1. Simple Past or Past Indefinite Tense

2. Past Continuous Tense

3. Past Perfect Tense

4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense

3)Future Tense

1. Simple Future Tense or Future Indefinite Tense

2. Future Continuous Tense

3. Future Perfect Tense

4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense

1)1. Simple Present Tense or Present Indefinite Tense

Structure: S + V1 + S/es + O

Eg: She writes a book

Rule-01:

The simple present tense is used to denote habitual action.

· Ram watches the cartoon every day.

· She goes to school daily by bus.

· Smita reads the newspaper every day.

Rule-02:

The simple present tense is used to denote a true general statement.

· The sun rises in the east.

· The earth moves around the sun.

· It rains heavily during the Monsoons.

Rule-03

Present indefinite tense is used even if an action takes place in the future according to a Fixed decision.

· I shall wait until he comes. (very important)

· Don’t get off the bus till it stops.

· If he comes tomorrow, he will meet his sister.

2. Present Continuous Tense

Structure: S + am/is/are + v1 + ing + O

Eg: My mom is cooking dinner.

Rule:01

It is used to represent an action that is happening or progressing at the moment that the speaker is speaking.

· My son is working on his science project.

· He is watching a web series.

Rule-02

It is used to depict a future event or arrangement.

· What are you planning to do tomorrow?

· I heard that Amita is moving to America next month.

· I am going to Calcutta tomorrow.

· She is coming here next month.

Ruel-03

Going to is used in the present continuous tense which means It will happen in the future in a particular time.

· I am going to write a letter to my friends.

· They are going to play football tomorrow.

· I am going to give him some money.

· He is going to tell you a story.

Rule-04

Sometimes we can’t write the verb in the present continuous tense and therefore to express these sentences we write in simple present tense.

· He feels better today. (we can’t write it is feeling better)

· I see him. (we can’t write it am seeing him)

· He wants a pen. (we can’t write it is wanting)

Some important verbs are listed below that we can’t write in the present continuous tense.

Feel, think, know, hope, love, like, believe, understand, want, see, matter, resemble, contain, belong, possess, consist, and so on.

3. Present perfect tense

Structure: S + have/has + v3 + O

Eg: We have gone for a walk.

Rule-01

Present perfect tense refers to activities that are already done/completed in the immediate past, i.e. just finished/completed.

· Raj has just gone out to the market.

· The clock has just struck twelve

· Ran has eaten all the cookies.

· I have done all my homework.

4. Present perfect continuous tense

Structure: S + have/has + been + v1 + ing + O

Eg: I have been waiting for the car for an hour.

Rule-01

We use the present perfect continuous tense when the work has started in the past at a particular point of time and this action is not yet finished or continuing in the present time. (Since and for is common)

· It has been raining since morning.

· They have been working at that company for five years.

· She has been living in this city since January.

· The kids have been playing outside all afternoon.

2)1. Simple past tense

Structure: S + v2 + O

Eg: I went to school.

Rule-01

Referring to an action that happened in the past.

· We went to the park yesterday evening.

· I forgot about the meeting.

· She opened the door for the guests.

Rule-02

Some verbs take the same spelling as the base and remain the same in the past.

Cut, put, hurt, set, hit.

· He hit the bicycle while she was driving a car.

· He put his two legs on the desk.

Rule-03

This tense is also used to depict the past habitual action.

· I used to work hard when I am 10 years old boy.

· Every morning, she used to walk her dog around the park.

· She used to play piano when she was a child.

(In the case of “used to” the structure of the sentence always be in the form of like: used to + base form(v1) of the verb. That indicates that an action or state that was habitual or regular in the past but no longer occurs)

Rule-04

(can/may/will) these three modal verbs (Model verbs used to indicate likelihood, ability, and obligations) will change into v2 therefore we don’t need to change the verb again.

· Can: Could you please help me?

· May: Might I ask you about him?

· Will: Would you kindly give me the book?

Rule-05

This tense is used in unreal sentences and if is common in these sentences.

· If I were a king

· If you had an aeroplane.

2. Past continuous tense

Structure: s + was/were + v1 + ing + o

Eg: I was cooking last night.

Rule-01

If any work or task was continuing for a particular point of time in the past then we use past continuous tense.

· Everyone was clapping

· The girls were dancing as the music Played.

· The dog was barking in the night.

· The students were not studying for the test.

· Yesterday, she was waiting for me in the evening.

Rule-02

(while/when) If in the past continuous tense, there is where or when then there should be two tasks which was continuing for some time in the past.

Or we can say it is same as the rule no 1 where one task is continuing at one time and here 2 tasks are continuing at one time.

· While I was reading, my sister was writing.

· When I saw him, he was reading a book. (it is another case)

3. Past perfect tense

Structure: S + had + V3 + O

Eg: The train had left the station, when I reached there.

Rule-01

If two actions happened in the past, the past perfect tense is used to display the action that took place earlier. And which was completed last simple past is used.

· We had returned home before he came.

(Here we use had returned because it was completed earlier and we use simple past in came because it was completed last)

· After I had left the village, the villagers came.

· When my mom arrived, my friends had left.

· We reached the station and the train had arrived on the second platform.

4. Past perfect continuous tense

Structure: S + had been + V1 + ing + O

Eg: He had been preparing for the exam for the last two months.

Rule-01

This tense is used to denote an event that started before a certain point in time and continued for some time in the past. (Here past perfect continuous tense and the simple past tense are used.)

· She had been studying for three hours before they moved.

· He had been working at the company for a decade before he retired.

· They had been living in that city for five years before they moved.

· Derik had been working at the hospital for over two years before he left for America.

3)1. Simple future Tense

Structure: S + will/shall + V1 + O

Eg: Sita will ask the question tomorrow.

Rule-01

This tense is used to express future events or which work will be done in the future.

· Rina and Rahim will go to the gym in the evening.

· She'll write the e-mail after lunch.

2. Future Continuous Tense

Structure: S + will be/ shall be + V1 + ing + O

Eg:I will be playing football on this field tomorrow.

Rule-01

Denoting an action that takes place at a point of time in the future and will continue for some time in the future.

· I will be watching this movie tomorrow.

· She will be writing a letter.

· The baby will be playing the whole night.

· My parents will be flying to Delhi tomorrow.

Rule-02

Indicating more than one action taking place at the same time in the future.

· I will be going to school at 8 am so, I can drop her off as well.

· Sneha told me that she can’t attend his friend’s reception because she will be travelling to Bangalore.

3. Future perfect tense

Structure: S + will/shall have + V3 + O

Eg: She will not have written a letter.

Rule-01

We use the future perfect tense to say that something will be finished by a particular time in the future.

· She will have written a letter.

· Lakshmi will have arrived by then.

· Ram will have planted all the saplings in his garden by 7 pm

· By next Friday she will have finished the project.

· Sindhu will not have completed the invitations before 7 pm.

· We will have met the principal before noon.

Rule-02

Referring to an action or event that will happen before another action or event in the future. (Similar to past perfect tense, but here the simple present tense is used instead of the simple past tense)

· The train will have left by the time before you reach the station.

· The children will have learnt how to do it by themselves before we appoint someone else to teach them.

· I think all the plants will have grown before I return.

· He will have learnt all the songs by heart before anyone else does.

4. Future Perfect continuous tense

Structure: S ­+ Will/Shall + Have been + V1 + ing + O

Eg: Next month, I will have been following a diet for three months.

Rule-01

It is used to talk about an action that will start at a fixed point of time in the future and will go on for some time in the future.

· By next month, I will have been working at this company for five years.

· By 2005, we will have been developing this software for five years.

· Vinita will have been working around for hours.

· How long will they have been playing this guitar next year?

Some additional important questions:

1. If I (be) you, I would not have called him again.

Ans- If I were you, I would not have called him again.

2. It is time we (go) to bed.

Answer: It is time we went to bed.

3. If I (know) his address, I would have contacted him. (past conditional sentence)

Answer: If I had known his address, I would have contacted him.

4. If you (request) him, he would have helped you.

Answer: If you had requested him, he would have helped you