12 Tenses in English Grammar
Simple Present Tense
Simple present tense used for an action which happens every year, every
month, every week, everyday, every time and etc.
Example:
– I make revision every Friday.
– They pass me here every Friday.
– We like English examination.
– She makes me happy.
– She comes from America.
Interrogative form
Example: Do I make revision every Friday.
Negative form
Example: I don’t make revision every Friday.
Present Continuous Tense
Present continuous tense used for an action which is happening at the
time of speaking.
Form: Subject + is/am/are + verb + ing.
Example:
– David is working ministry of youth and sport
– He is helping needy persons.
NOTE: Some verbs are not usually found in present continuous tense
these perception and they are: love, believe, forget, break, understand,
prefer, hate, like, see and etc.
Example:
– We understand our lessons [not we are understanding]
– He hates you [not he is hating you.]
Present Perfect Tense
Present perfect tense is used to express an action which began at some
time in the past and has been completed in the past but which is
connected at present time.
Form: Subject + has/have + verb past participle
Please note that British and American English have different rules for the
use of this tense. The explanation and exercises here refer to British
English. In American English, it is often acceptable to use the past simple
in some of these examples.
NOTE: It is also used an action which recently has been completed
We use the present perfect when we want to look back from the present
to the past. We can use it to look back on the recent past.
Example:
– I have broken my watch so I don’t know what time it is.
– David has just succeeded the president election.
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
Present perfect continuous tense is used to denote an action which
started at some time in the past and still continuing.
Form: Subject + has been/have been + verb + ing
NOTE: This tense is used to talk about an actions that started in the past
and continued until recently or that continue into the future.
Example:
– She has been dancing the theatre all the day.
– He has been writing the lesson for the last three years.
– I have been learning Spanish for 20 years and I still don’t know very
much.
– I have been waiting for him for 30 minutes and he still hasn’t arrived.
– He has been telling me about it for days. I wish he would stop.
Simple Past Tense
Simple past tense used to denote an action which happened some time in
the past or for state of being past.
Form: Subject + verb past + object
Example:
– She graduated comb ridge university last year.
– He invited me twice last week.
– I met her last year.
– He spent all his time strolling.
– They became the highest two ones.
– You understood the lesson but you didn’t read.
– I determined to join high school.
Past Continuous Tense
We use the past simple to talk about actions and states which we see as
completed in the past.
Form: Subject + was/were + verb + ing
Example:
– While I was driving home, Peter was trying desperately to contact me.
– Were you expecting any visitors?
– I was just making some coffee.
– I was thinking about him last night.
– In the 1990 few people were using mobile phones.
– They were speaking her when he arrived by train.
– She was taking too loudly when the principal was in class.
– I was dreaming when my mother was calling me.
– I was crossing the road when some one called by my name.
Past Perfect Tense
It is used two events in the past we use past perfect for the event
completed earlier and simple past for the letter.
Form: Subject + had + verb + past participle
Example:
– She broke the window, I want to kill her, May be that she broke the
window at 8 p.m then you went to kill after words when we compare these
two statements we will use past perfect tense for the event completed
first and simple past for then letter event.
– We returned to London when we had finished our journey.
– They bought new television when they had taken money from the bank.
– The Prime Minister had lectured then sat down.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
We use the past perfect continuous tense to look back at a situation in
progress. Form: Subject + had + been + verb + ing
Example:
– It was a good time to invest. Inflation had been falling for several
months.
– Before I changed jobs. I had been working on a plan to reduce
production.
– Costs we had been thinking about buying a new house but then we
decided to stay here.
– We use it to say what had been happening before something else
happened.
– It had been snowing for a while before we left.
– We had been playing tennis for only a few minutes when it started
raining.
– He was out of breath when arrived because he had been running.
NOTE: We use it when reporting things said in the past.
– She said she had been trying to call me all day.
Simple Future Tense
Simple future tense used to express an action which will take place at
some time in the future or what will expect to happen future time.
NOTE: First personal pronouns I and we are used shall but in Modern
system they are used when they are only interrogative form.
Example:
– I will come home soon.
– Shall I come home soon?
– I will not come home soon.
– I shall visit you next Friday also we can say I will visit you next Friday.
– We shall listen amusing discussion.
– They will get new letter from London.
– The media will interview the President as well as his adviser.
– The government will deport all militant groups.
– You will confuse the final exam.
Future Continuous Tense
This tense is used for an action progress at some time in the future.
Form: Subject + will/shall + be + verb + ing
Example:
– They will be taking their high examination this year.
– We shall be leaving few days after.
– He will be playing the film match tomorrow.
– His father is not well. He will be going to his home town soon.
– He has got job. As a teacher he will be joining on Monday.
Future Perfect Tense
NOTE: Future perfect tense is used for an action which is expected to be
completed by certain point in the future time. The future perfect tense is
used to refer.
To a non-continuous action which will be completed by a certain time in
the future.
Form: Subject + will/shall + have + verb + past participle
Example:
– By December 2008 we will have written another book of English
grammar.
– When she comes back I shall have built this house.
– The show will have started when you go home.
– She will have sent money before she comes London.
– We shall have finished our work by the time you come to me.
Conditional Sentence
NOTE: Conditional sentence has two parts – If-clause, main clause
Example: If you come on time she will talk to you
If-clause main clause
NOTE: There are three different kinds of conditional sentences in english
grammar and they are:
1. Possible condition or likely condition
2. Unlikely or imaginary condition
3. Impossible conditional
USES OF TENSES
The future tense is time. This tense is used to describe an action that has
not happened yet and will happen sometime in the future. The future
continuous perfect describes an action that spans a period of time and will
be performed in relation to some other future event. The continuous past
perfect describes an ongoing action that, like the past perfect, was
performed in relation to another event that happened close to the
present.
This time is used to anticipate the moment in the future when a
continuous action will be completed. The present tense is used to express
what is happening now or is happening at the present moment.
The past is more direct than the present – you only use it to talk about
actions, events, or feelings that happened before. Use the past to refer to
past events, previous conditions, or completed processes. When you’re
referring to a search that took place during an indefinite period of time in
the past (rather than a specific paragraph or search result), use the
present perfect tense instead of the present. If you are writing about
specific research methods, the process of research and data collection, or
what happened during the research process, you will use the past tense as
often as you normally would in a conversation.
In cases where it is useful to compare different ideas from different
periods, past and present or perfect present can be used for this.
Sometimes it can be useful to change tenses to describe actions that
happen at different times. Use the present simple tense to describe
events or activities that you are focused on; other tenses may be used to
refer to different tenses in the text itself.
The present continuous can also be used to talk about a future action or
an action that is happening at the same time as another action. It is also
used to influence the present, ongoing past action in one way or another.
The simple present tense can also be used to describe direct actions that
do not specifically refer to the past or future. The present continuous
tense is used to denote something that happened in the past and stopped
at a particular moment.
The present continuous is another way to talk about the past, but unlike
the simple past, it is used to describe what happened before another
action that happened in the past. Like the present continuous tense, this
tense is used to describe something that started in the past and continued
for a certain period of time. No matter how long it lasts – minutes or years
– you will still use the Present Continuous. For example, use the simple
future tense when strongly predicting the future, or use the progressive
present when describing events that are changing at the time of writing.
The tense used in the first sentence (Present Simple) is more common in
academic writing than the tense used in the second sentence (Present
Continuous). The present simple is the most commonly used tense in
academic writing, so when in doubt, the present simple should be your
default choice. The simple present tense is the best choice when you’re
summarizing research in an abstract, describing your goals, or outlining
the structure of your paper in an introduction.
Present Simple is used when talking about something that happens right
at the moment when the action is described, neither before nor after. The
present simple tense should be used to describe completed actions and
events, including steps in the research process and background historical
information. The past tense is used to describe events that have already
happened (for example, at the beginning of the day, yesterday, last week,
three years ago).
The future describes something that has not yet happened (for example,
after, tomorrow, next week, next year, three years from now). For
example, the future tense: this tense could be tomorrow, next week, two
years from now, etc. The future tense expresses an action or event that
will happen.
Use the Past Perfect to express actions that happened in the more distant
past and were repeated many times. The present perfect tense is also
used to describe an action that began in real life in the past, but did not
end, that is, it can continue or be repeated in the present or in the future.
This usage is different from the mere past, which is used for actions that
were completed in the past with no possible continuation or repetition in
the present or future. This time refers to the present tense, present, past
or future, depending on when the event occurred, is happening, or will
occur.
When talking about simultaneous actions in the future, usually one verb is
in the continuous future, and the other in the simple present. Time-
oriented words and phrases such as “before”, “after”, “time-based” and
others, when used to link two or more actions in time, can be good
indicators of the need for a perfective verb in a sentence.
The tenses used above emphasize the contrast between the old point of
view (from Stanley Fish) indicated by the past tense and the new point of
view (from “recent literary critics”) indicated by the present or present
perfect. According to corpus research, three tenses are most commonly
used in academic writing: present simple, past simple, and present perfect
(Biber et al., 1999; Caplan, 2012).
As a general rule, writers keep time for the main speech and indicate
timeline changes by changing the time from the main time, which is
usually the simple past or present. Some writers use the present to tell
stories, a technique called the “historical present” that creates an
atmosphere of liveliness and immediacy.
Tense plays an important role in the life of every individual. It helps to
understand the language easily. It even plays an important role in writing
and speaking. However, tenses help reduce grammatical errors in your
writing and speaking. It also helps in improving your English skill level.
S. No. Formal Informal
1. Therefore – So
2. Select – Choose
3. Seek/search – Look for
4. Perhaps /i – Maybe
5. Reject – Say no
6. Purchase – Buy
7. Apologize – Sorry
8. Require – Need
9. Inform – Tell
10. Request – Ask for
11. Verify – Check
12. Receive – Get
13. In my opinion – I think
14. In conclusion – To sum up
15. Finally – In the end
16. However – But
17. Indicate – Point out
18. Consider – Think about
19. Commence – Start
20. Portray r – Show
21. Assist/aid – Help
22. Consume – Use
23. Children – Kids
24. Cancel – Call of
25. Vacant – Empty
26. Inferior – Worse
27. Damage – Hurt
28. Desire – Want
29. Construct – Build
30. Appear – Seem
31. Insane – Mad
32. Difficult – Tough
33. Increase – Go up
34. Reserve – Book
35. Transparent – Clear
36. Inexpensive – Cheap
37. Fortunate – Lucky
38. Provide – Give
39. Evade – Avoid
40. Ill – Sick
41. Quit – Give up
42. Repair – Mend
43. Notion – Idea
44. Nevertheless – Anyway
45. Acceptable – All right
46. Tolerate – Put up
47. Establish – Set up
48. Postpone – Put off
49. Decrease – Shorten
50. Principally – Mainly
51. Deficiency – Lack
52. Allow – Let
53. Avid – Eager
54. Challenge – Dare
55. Demonstrate – Show
56. Observe – See
57. Reside – Live
58. Entire – Whole
59. Explore – Blow up
60. Gratitude – s Thanks
61. Futile – hopeless
62. Visit – Call up
63. Complete – Whole
64. Liberate – Free
65. Obtain – Get
66. Permit – Let
67. Preserve – Keep
68. Indistinct – Dim
69. Demise – Death
70. Occupation – Job
71. Father – Dad
72. Vision – Sight
73. Investigate – Look into
74. Consult – Refer to
75. Famished – Hungry
76. Incorrect – Wrong
77. Represent – s Stand for
78. Omit – Leave out
79. Consider – Think about
80. Wealthy – Rich
81. Collapse – Break down
82. Infantile – Childish
83. Marvelous I – Exceptional
84. Fidelity – Faithfulness
85. s Substitute – Fill in
86. s Discover s – Find out
87. Release – Free
88. On the behalf of – From (company)
89. Humorous – Funny
90. Escape – Get away
91. Contact – Get in touch with
92. Decrease a – Go down
93. Exit – Go out of
94. Residence – House
95. It concerns – It’s about
96. Maintain properly – Keep up
97. Cause – Lead up
98. Retain r – Keep
99. Remove s – Take away, take out
100. Discuss s – Talk about
101. Conceive – Think of
102. Discard – Throw away
103. Eject – Throw out
104. Fatigued – Tired
105. Bother – Get on someone’s nerves
106. Yield – Give in
107. Distribute s – Give out
108. Authorize s – Give the go ahead
109. Return – Give/bring back
110. Oppose – a Go against
111. r Proceed – i Go ahead
112. Leave/depart – Go away
113. Precede – Go before
114. Visit – Call on
115. Is capable of – Can
116. Immature – Childish
117. Return a – Come back
118. Reach/attain – Come up to
119. Enter t – t Come/go in
120. Might be able to – Could
121. Handle – Deal with
122. Withdrew (from) – Drop out of
123. Gratification – Enjoyment
124. Moreover s – Plus/also
125. Insert – Put in
126. Deposit a – Put/set down
127. Accumulate – Rack of
128. Considerable – Really big
129. Consult s – Refer to
130. Call – Ring
131. Display – Set up
132. Reimburse – Pay back
133. Choose – Settle for
134. Arrive s – Show up
135. Address – Speak to
136. Contact s – Get in touch with
137. Participate – Join in
138. Explore s – Blow up
139. Eliminate s – Get rid of, remove
140. Extinguish – Put out
141. Disappoint – Let down
142. Enquire – Ask
143. Demonstrate – Show
144. Assist s – Help
145. Give my regards to – Say hello to
146. To conclude – To sum
147. Correct – Right
148. A little – A bit
149. Absent – Away
150. Acceptable – Okay, ok
151. Accelerate – Speed up
152. Utilise s – Use
153. Amiable s – Friendly
154. Anticipate s – Expect
155. Ascent – Climb
156. Assault – Beat up
157. Numerous – A lot of
158. Pursue – Go after
159. Proceed – Go ahead
160. Superior – Better
161. Perhaps – Maybe
