TENSES

There are three broad categories of tenses

in the English language, the Present, Past and
Future. These are only grammatical categories
but do not always correspond to the present,
past, and future time as such. For example
when we say 'He is leaving for New Delhi
tomorrow', the tense is the Present Continuous
and the time is future.
The tenses, Present, Past and Future each
can further be divided into Simple, Continuous,
Perfect and Perfect Continuous.

CVS Ravindranath

Time and Tense are two different

aspects. Time is a concept which is
related to our perception of reality.
Tense is a grammatical structure of a
verb and usually informs us whether
the action is complete or not.

Fortune favours the brave...

Simple Present Tense

TENSES IN CONDITIONAL CLAUSES

The Simple Present Tense is used to express

Hobbies and Habitual actions:

i) I often go to the cinema.

ii) She always wakes up early in the
morning.
Universal truths:

Oil floats on water.

A fixed official schedule or time table:

i) Our college reopens in the second week of

next month.
ii) The Prime Minister arrives here next
Friday.
Dramatic narratives:

Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes

the throne for himself.
Reports / Announcements / Notices:

i) The Telangana government announces

two bedroom housing scheme.
ii) The magic show begins at 5 p.m.
Quotations, Proverbs etc.:

i) Fortune favours the brave.

ii) God helps those who help themselves.
Radio and television commentaries:

The batsman hits the ball and goes for a

run.

Present Continuous Tense

The Present continuous tense is used to
express:
An activity in progress at the time of
speaking:

I am driving a car now.

Planned future actions:

They are visiting Agra next week

To emphasize the present moment which
is a temporary situation:

We are staying at Hotel Taj.

Things happening around now, but not
necessarily at this moment:

i) I am writing a paper on 'The Relevance of

Shakespeare Today'.
ii) He is looking for a good job.
Note: The following verbs are not generally
used in continuous form
Area
1. Perception
(senses)

Verb
see, smell, hear,
feel, taste,
recognize, notice

2. Feelings
and emotions

love, like, hate,

dislike, detest,
desire, wish, want,
fear, prefer,
refuse, hope

3. Mental activity

know, understand,
remember, recollect,
believe, expect,
forget, think,
suppose, consider,
trust, imagine,
mean, mind

4. Possession

5. Appearing

owe, have, possess,

own, belong (to),
contain, consist (of)
appear, look, seem

Type

Verb form in If
Clause

Verb form in
Main Clause

--- --Tx-

Simple Present (V1)

But if the verbs given above describe an

event or action, they can be used in present
continuous tense.

Simple
Future
(will + V1)

If you work hard,

you will pass.

Possible to
happen

II

Simple Past (V2)

would + V1

If you worked hard,

you would pass.

Doubtful

III

Past Perfect
(had + V3)

would + have
+ V3

If you had worked hard,

you would have passed.

Unfulfilled

i) I am seeing the doctor this evening (visiting).

ii) We are having breakfast right now (eating).

Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect tense is used to refer to
Past situations those continue up to the
present:

He has worked in this office for five years.

An action just completed:

Don't touch the door. They have painted it

just now. (It is still wet).
A past action, the result of which still continues:

She has burnt her fingers. (She is unable to

write now).

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

The Present Perfect Continuous Tense is
used to express an action which began in the
past and is continuing right up to the present.

To express a desirable or an unreal state of

things:

I wish I became a millionaire.

After certain phrases like 'as if', 'as though',
'it's time' etc.:

i) She behaves as if she knew everything

ii) It's time the bus started.

Past Continuous Tense

The Past Continuous Tense is used to
express...
An action which was going on at sometime in
the past:

Last night at 10 p.m, I was eating dinner.

The longer of the two past actions happened
at the same time:

He was taking a bath when the phone rang.

I have been teaching English since 2001 /

for fifteen years.

Two or more parallel activities happening at

the same time:

'Since' is used with a point of time and 'for'

with a period of time.

While I was watching TV, my sister was listening to the radio.

Example

Result

to refer to some action which began before a

certain point in the past and continued till that
time in the past.

NTR had been acting in films for more

than three decades before he floated Telugu
Desam Party.

Simple Future Tense

The Simple Future Tense is used to indicate actions which take place in the future.

He will come tomorrow.

The Simple Future Tense is used to express
pure or colourless future. When the future is
coloured by intention or likelihood, 'be +
going to + 'V1' form is used.

i) It is going to rain (likelihood).

ii) I am going to buy a flat (intention).

Future Continuous Tense

Simple Past Tense

Past Perfect Tense

The Future Continuous Tense is used to

express an action going on at some point in the
future.

The Simple Past Tense is used...

To describe events, actions and situations
that occurred in the past and are now finished:

When two actions happened one after

another in the past, the past perfect tense is
used to describe the earlier action.

Future Perfect Tense

We went to Chennai last week.

To describe past habits:

He played hockey every day in his college

days.

PRACTICE TEST
Choose the correct answer
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ...........
3 years in office by next May.
1) will complete
2) will have completed
3) will be completed
4) will have been completed
2. The match ........... by the time we reached
the stadium.
1) started
2) was starting
3) had started
4) would have started
3. When Sunita reached home, her children
........... T.V.
1) watched
2) had watched
3) were watching
4) watch
4. If he invited me, I ........... the party.
1) would attend
2) attended
3) will attend
4) attend
5. My colleague ........... a new car a few days
ago.
1) has bought
2) bought
3) have bought
4) had bought

When they went to the railway station the

train had already left.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

The past perfect continuous tense is used
6. Mother: Why are your clothes wet?
Daughter: I .............. plants in the garden.
1) have watered
2) water
3) am watering
4) watered
7. It's time I ........... to bed.
1) go
2) am going
3) will go
4) went
8. The coffee ........... bitter. I can't drink it any
more.
1) taste
2) tastes
3) tasted
4) is tasting
9. I know you completed your Post graduation
in 2012. But what ......... you ........ since
then?
1) were, doing
2) are, doing
3) have, been doing
4) have, done
10. Listen to those people. What language
........... they ...........?
1) is, speak
2) are, speak
3) do, speak
4) are, speaking

We will be writing the entrance test at this

time tomorrow.

The Future Perfect Tense is used to

express an action which will be finished or complete by a certain time in the future.

She will have finished her research by the

end of next year

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

The Future Perfect Continuous Tense is
used to express an action that will be in
progress over a period of time in the future.

Amitab Bachchan will have been acting in

films for fifty years by next year.
Formerly 'shall' was used as an alternative to
'will' with 'I' and 'we'. Today, 'will' is normally
used. We don't use 'shall' very frequently in
modern English. It is used with 'I' and 'we' to
make offers and suggestions and to ask for
advice.

i) What time shall we meet?

ii) Shall I open the window?
In legal documents, 'shall' is often used with
third-person subjects to refer to obligations
and duties.

The borrower shall repay the loan in a

year.
'Shall' is unusual in American English.

Answers
1-2
2-3

3-3
4-1

5-2
6-1

7-4
8-2

9-3
10-4

Mail your feedback to..

pratibhadesk@eenadu.net