English Grammar: Tenses | General Aptitude for GATE - Mechanical Engineering PDF Download

How would you define the term ‘Tense’?

The term ‘Tense’ denotes the form of a verb which shows the time at which an action happened.
So, the tense shows two things:

• the time of the action
• state expressed by the verb.

Look at these sentences:

• Reshma goes to school.
• Reshma went to school.
• Reshma will go to school.

In the above sentences (i) ‘goes’ (ii) ‘went’ and (iii) ‘will go’ are verbs.

• In sentence (i), the verb ‘goes’ denotes the present tense and refers to the present time.
• In sentence (ii), the verb ‘went’ denotes the past tense and refers to the past time.
• In sentence (iii), the verb ‘will go’ denotes the future tense and refers to the future time.

By ‘Tense’ we can understand the correspondence between the form of the verb and our concept of time (past, present and future).

‘Time’ and ‘Tense’ are not the same thing

‘Time’ is a universal concept. It has three divisions: past, present and future. ‘Tense’ is related only to the verb.
It is not necessary that if the verb is in the present tense, it will show only the present time. It is also not necessary that if the verb is in the past tense, it will show the past time.
Look at the sentences:

• The match takes place on Sunday.

Here the verb ‘takes place’ is in simple present tense but expresses an action that will take place in the future time.

• Mohan is about to come.

Here ‘present tense’ expresses the near future time.

• The Sun sets in the west.

It is a universal truth. Here, it stands for all the three times: past, present and future.
Modern grammarians believe that there is no future tense in English to express future time. We use the modal auxiliaries ‘shall’ and ‘will’, with the present tense, etc. to express future time. But we are following the traditional grammarians.
According to them English has three tenses,

• Present Tense
• Past Tense and
• Future Tense

Different forms of Verb

Forms of Present Simple Tense

• Thus we have seen that the Simple Present Tense is formed by using the plain infinitive. But -s or -es are added to the bare infinitive (i.e. infinitive without ‘to’) for the third person singular (He, She) and singular noun (Nitu)
• We form the negative sentences by using doesn’t or don’t before the main verb.
• The interrogative sentences are formed by using do or does before the subject.
• The negative interrogative sentences are formed by using do or does before the subject and not after the subject.

But the short forms don’t and don’t come before the Subject. 

Uses of Present Simple Tense

The Simple Present Tense is used

(i) to express universal truths, facts, customs:

• The sun sets in the west.
• The earth revolves around the sun.
• Water freezes at 0° centigrade.
• The Hindus cremate their dead.

(ii) to express habitual actions: 

• I go to temple daily.
• My father goes for a walk in the evening.
• He gets up at 4 a.m. daily.
• She walks to the office every day.

(iii) to express a permanent state:

• My house faces west.
• Delhi stands on the bank of the Yamuna.
• NH-1 (National Highway) leads to Amritsar.
• The house has four rooms.

(iv) in exclamatory sentences:

• Look out!
• Here comes the bus!
• There goes the train!

(v) in subordinate clauses beginning with ‘if and when’:

• If you request him, he will help you.
• If he works hard, he will pass.
• When you go there, try to meet him.

(vi) in imperative sentences:

• Let us go out for a walk.
• Obey your elders.
• Shut the door.
• Please, give me a glass of water.

(vii) to indicate a planned future action or series of actions when they refer to a journey:

• He comes here tomorrow
• This aeroplane flies for London next week.
• Our examination commences on next Monday.
• We leave Delhi at 9 a.m and reach Amritsar at 3 p.m.

(viii) for narrative events in a dramatic way:

• The sound of firing is heard.
• Lights are switched on.
• The hero is seen lying dead on the stage.

(ix) in running commentaries on sports events:

• Mohit passes the ball to Rohit.
• Rohit hits the ball straight into the goal.

(x) to introduce quotations:

• Our teacher says, “Slow and steady wins the race.
• My father says, “Hard work is the key to success.

Note: We generally use the following adverbs or adverbial phrases in the present tense: always, often, daily, generally, usually, everyday, every week, frequently, etc.

Present Progressive Tense Form

(i) The Present Progressive Tense is formed by adding present participle (verb + ing) to the present forms of the auxiliary,
be: am/is/are + present participle:

• She is singing.
• I am working.
• They are sleeping.

(ii) The negative is formed by putting not after the auxiliary:

• She is not singing, (isn’t)
• I am not working, (ain’t)
• They are not sleeping, (aren’t)

(iii) The negative interrogative is formed by placing the auxiliary verbs before the subject and by placing not after the subject:

• Is she not singing? (Isn’t she … ?)
• Am I not working? (Ain’t I… ?)
• Are they not sleeping? (Aren’t they … ?)

Note: The negative interrogative form of ‘I am’ is Am I not? But the contracted form is: Ain’t I?

Uses of the Present Progressive Tense

(i) The Present Progressive Tense is used for an action that is in progress at the time of speaking:

• He is reading a newspaper.
• The children are playing football.
• The girl is singing a song.
• I am doing my work.

(ii) It is used for an action that is in progress and will continue in future. It may not be going on at the time of speaking:

• He is learning English.
• My neighbour is writing a novel.

(iii) It is used to describe an action that is planned to take place in the near future:

• I am meeting him tomorrow.
• He is going to England next week.
• They are not coming here on Monday.

(iv) It is used to express disapproval of a persistent habit or something done again and again. We generally use adverbs such as always, constantly, repeatedly, etc:

• She is continually watching movies on T.V.
• He is always doing one mischief or the other.
• He is repeatedly making the same mistakes.
• They are constantly changing their statements.

Note: Verbs of perception and some other verbs are not generally used in the present progressive tense, for example see, smell, hear, taste, know, understand, hate, like, want, wish, etc.

Present Perfect Tense Form

(i) The present perfect tense has the form ‘have/has +past participle’, be verb + ed/en. Has is used with the third person singular and singular nouns and have is used with plural forms and I, we, you, they:

• She has written this essay.
• I have completed my work.
• They have helped me.

(ii) The negative sentences have the form ‘have/has + not’ or haven’t, hasn’t in contracted form:

• We haven’t made any mistake.
• He hasn’t played with us.

(iii) The interrogative sentences have the form ‘have/has + subject’:

• Have you packed all your books?

(iv) The negative interrogative sentences are formed by putting have/has before the subject and not after it or haven’t, hasn’t before the subject:

• Have you not finished your homework so far?

Uses of Present Perfect

The present perfect tense is used

(i) to express an action that has been recently completed:

• He has just left the place.
• Our team has won the match.
• She has finished her work.

(ii) for past actions whose time is not given:

• He has been to Agra.
• Has she cooked lunch?
• I have met him before.

(iii) with adverbs like already, often, recently, yet,

• I have already read this novel.
• He has recently met the Prime Minister.
• She has not replied to my letter yet.

(iv) for an action which began in the past and is still continuing:

• They have lived in this city for a long time.
• He has been ill since Tuesday. I have always helped him.

Present Perfect Progressive Tense Form

(i) The Present Perfect Progressive Tense has the form ‘have/has+present participle’ (verb+ing):

• The farmers have been ploughing their fields since morning.
• The children have been playing for the last two hours.

(ii) The negative sentences are formed by placing ‘not ’ after ‘have/has ’ and before ‘been’:

• He has not been doing his work.
• I have not been going there.

(iii) The interrogative sentences are formed by putting have/has before the:

• Has he been doing his work?
• Have you been going there?

(iv) The negative interrogative sentences have the form: ‘have/has + subject + not’ or ‘haven ’t/hasn ’t + subject:

• Hasn’t he been doing his work?
• Have you not been going there?

Uses of the Present Perfect Progressive Tense

The Present Perfect Progressive Tense is used
(i) to express an action which began at some time in the past and is still continuing:

• It has been raining since morning.
• The farmers have been working for the last five days.

Simple Past Tense Form

(i) The Simple Past Tense is formed by using the past tense form of the verb:

• She sang.
• The children played.
• I wrote a letter.

(ii) The negative sentences have the form ‘did not/didn’t + the main verb’:

• She did not sing.
• The children didn’t play.
• I did not write a letter.

(iii) The interrogative sentences are formed by placing ‘did before the subject and the base form of the verb after the subject:

• Did she sing?
• Did the children play?
• Did I write a letter?

(iv) The negative interrogative sentences are formed by placing ‘did’ before the subject and not ’ before the verb:

• Did she not sing? or Didn’t she sing?
• Didn’t the children play?

Uses of the Simple Past

The Simple Past Tense is used
(i) to indicate an action that was completed in the past. Generally the adverbials of the past time are used:

• I went to Delhi yesterday.
• He wrote a letter to her last week.
• She met us two days ago.

(ii) sometimes without adverbials of time:

• My father congratulated me on my brilliant success.
• Our team won the match.

(iii) for an activity done in the past:

• Satish studied for three hours.
• I swam for half an hour.
• We talked for five minutes,

(iv) to express a habitual or regular action in the past:

• My father always got up at 4 a.m.
• She visited the temple every day.
• He worked in his garden every Sunday.

(v) in conditional clauses:

• If you went there, you should meet him.
• If she worked hard, she would pass.
• If he accepted my advice, he would overcome his difficulty.

(vi) in the indirect form of speech:

• He said, “I work for eight hours every day.”
• He said that he worked for eight hours every day.
• My teacher said, “I pray to God for your success.”
• My teacher said that he prayed to God for our success.

Past Progressive Tense Form

(i) The Past Progressive Tense has the form ‘‘was/were + present participle’ (verb + ing):

• He was writing a letter.
• The children were playing.
• The girls were singing.

(ii) The negative sentences are formed by placing not between was/were and the present participle:

• He was not writing a letter.
• The children were not playing.
• The girls were not singing.

(iii) The interrogative sentences are formed by placing was/were before the subject:

• Was he writing a letter?
• Were the children playing?
• Were the girls singing?

(iv) The negative interrogative sentences are formed by putting was/were before the subject and not before the present participle. In contracted forms, we write wasn’t/weren’t:

Uses of the Past Progressive Tense

The Past Progressive Tense is used
(i) to express a state or an action that was continuing at a certain point of time in the past. It had begun before that point and was probably continuing after it. We use adverbials of time:

• She was cooking at 8 a.m.
• I was going to college in the morning.
• Was the farmer returning from his fields in the evening?

(ii) to express an action that was in progress in the past:

• He was sleeping.
• She was singing.
• I was reading a newspaper.

(iii) to express an action in progress at some point of time in the past when another event took place:

• She was watching T.V. when he came.
• He was reading a novel when the doorbell rang.
• I was sleeping when my father came from his office.

(iv) to describe two or more actions continuing at the same time:

• While I was bathing, my sister was washing clothes.
• While he was doing homework, his brother was listening to songs.

(v) to indicate a frequently repeated action or persistent habit in the past:

• He was constantly complaining about something or the other.
• She was always finding fault with my work.
• Sohan was always smoking whether at home or in the office.

Past Perfect Tense Form

(i) The Past Perfect Tense has the form ‘had+past participle’:

• He had taken his lunch.
• I had read this book before.
• She had never been to Agra.

(ii) The negative sentences are formed by placing ‘not’ after ‘had’. The contracted form is ‘hadn’t:

• He had not taken his lunch.
• I hadn’t read this book before.
• She had not been to Agra.

(iii) The interrogative sentences are formed by using had before the subject:

• Had he taken his lunch?
• Had I read this book before?
• Have you ever been to Agra?

(iv) The negative interrogative sentences are formed by placing ‘had’ before the subject and ‘not’ before the past participle:

• Had he not taken his lunch?
• Had you not read this book before?
• Have you ever been to Agra?

Uses of Past Perfect Tense

The Past Perfect Tense is used:
(i) for an action that had been completed before another action began in the past:

• I had done my work before he came.
• The guests had already left when she reached there.

(ii) to describe an action taking place before a particular time in the past:

• By 2 p.m. all the students had left the school.
• By 6 a.m. he had left for Delhi.

(iii) to describe an action in the past which became the cause of another action:

• The child was crying because the father had beaten him.
• Sonu was weeping because he had lost his bag.

(iv) to describe an action in the past using the time adverbials such as already, since, before, etc:

• He had already left for Ludhiana.
• She had not come here since 1960.
• They had not met each other before.

(v) to express an unfulfilled wish:

• If you had worked hard, you would have passed.
• If they had left early, they would have caught the train.

Past Perfect Progressive Tense Form

(i) The Past Perfect Progressive Tense has the form ‘had + been + present participle’:

• They had been waiting here since morning.
• She had been dancing for half an hour.

(ii) The negative sentences are formed by using ‘not’ between ‘had’ and ‘been’ (had not been):

• They had not been doing any work.
• She had not been dancing.

(iii) The interrogative sentences are formed by using ‘had’ before the subject:

• Had they been doing any work?
• Had she been dancing for half an hour?

(iv) The negative interrogative sentences are formed by placing ‘had’ before the subject and ‘not’ before ‘been’:

• Had they not been waiting for us?
• Had she not been dancing for half an hour?

Uses of Past Perfect Progressive Tense

The Past Perfect Progressive Tense is used
(i) to describe an action in the past that had begun and had been going on for sometime before another action took place in the past:

• She had been dancing for half an hour when we reached there.
• The match had been going on for several hours.

(ii) to express a repeated action in the past:

• She had always been asking us for help.
• They had been trying to meet the Prime Minister.

(iii) to describe an action which began before the time of speaking in the past. The action either stopped before that time or continued upto it:

• The farmer had been ploughing since morning.
• The children had been playing for the last one hour.

Future Time Reference

Future time in English can be expressed in the following ways:
(i) Simple Present Tense
(ii) Present Progressive Tense
(iii) to be/be to
(iv) be about to
(v) be going to.

The Simple Present Tense can be used to express a series of planned actions in the future, especially a journey.

• The meeting starts at 10 a.m.
• He goes to Delhi tomorrow.

The Present Progressive Tense is used when the planned action for the future is definite.

• They are leaving for Japan next week.
• We are visiting the Taj on Monday.

To be/be to: ‘To be/be to’ is used to express a necessity or duty or something planned for the future:

• We are to be in the school at 8 a.m.
• I am to attend the meeting at 10 a.m.

Be about to: ‘Be about to’ may be used to express events or actions which are likely to happen in a very short time.

• The train is about to leave.
• the headmaster is about to come.
• The bell is about to ring.

Be going to: ‘Be going to’ is used to refer to express events or actions that happen in the future as a result of present intention or situation:

• She is not going to give us money.
• Prices are going to rise.
• Do you think it is going to rain?

Note: We generally use the modals ‘shall’ and ‘will’ to express future time.

Simple Future Tense Form

(i) The future time is expressed by using “shall’ or ‘well’ with the base form of the verb:

• I shall go there tomorrow.
• They will come here in the evening.

(ii) The negative sentences are formed by placing ‘not ‘ after ‘shall ’ or ‘will’:

• I shall not go there tomorrow.
• They will not come here in the evening.

(iii) The interrogative sentences are formed by putting ‘shall’ or ‘will’ before the subject:

• Shall I go there?
• Will he come here?

(iv) The negative interrogative sentences have the form: ‘shall/will + subject + not’:

• Shall I not go there?
• Will he not come here?

Uses of the Simple Future

(i) Shall is used with the second and the third persons to express determination, promise, intention, etc.

• I shall not apologise, whatever may happen.
• You shall get a reward if you win the race.
• He shall be fined if he does not attend classes.

(ii) Shall is used with the first person to express an offer or suggestion:

• Shall I open the door?
• Which dress shall I wear?

(iii) Will is used with the first person to express willingness, determination, etc:

• I will do it myself.
• I will help you.
• We will never commit such a mistake again.

(iv) The simple future is used to express the speaker’s opinion, for something to be done in the future. We use such verbs believe, know, suppose, think, etc. We also use such adverbs as perhaps, possibly, surely, etc:

• We think he will reach there in time.
• They suppose that he will never help them,

(v) It is used to express habitual action:

• They will abuse you again and again.
• He will go to church daily.

(vi) It is used for an action that is yet to take place:

• I shall help him.
• He will come here tomorrow.

Future Progressive Form

(i) The Future Progressive has the form shall/will + be + present participle:

• I shall be doing this work tomorrow.
• He will be going to Delhi tomorrow.

(ii) The negative sentences are formed by placing not after shall/will:

• I shall not be doing this work tomorrow.
• He will not be going to Delhi tomorrow.

(iii) The interrogative sentences are formed by placing shall/will before the subject:

• Shall I be doing this work tomorrow?
• Will he not be going to Delhi tomorrow?

(iv) The negative interrogative sentences are formed by putting shall/will before the subject and not before be:

• Shall I not be doing this work tomorrow?
• Will he not be going to Delhi tomorrow?

Uses of the Simple Future:

(i) The Future Progressing Tense is used to express an action that will be in progress at a given fine in future:

• From 5 pm to 6 pm, we will be playing cricket tomorrow.

(ii) The Future Progressive Tense is used to express an action which will take place in the normal course:

• The air conditioner will be running in the month of June.

Future Perfect Form

(i) The future perfect has the form: ‘Shall/will + have + past participle ’:

• We shall have reached there.
• He will have done this work.

(ii) The negative sentences are formed by putting ‘not’ between ‘shall/will’ and ‘have’:

• We shall not have reached there.
• He will not have done this work.

(iii) The interrogative sentences are formed by placing ‘shall/will’ before the ‘subject’:

• Shall we have reached there?
• Will he have done this work?

(iv) The negative interrogative sentences are formed by putting ‘shall/will ’before the ‘subject’ and ‘not’after it:

• Shall we not have reached there?
• Will he not have done this work?

Uses of Future Perfect

(i) The Future Perfect expresses an action that is expected to be completed by a certain time in the future:

• They will have reached the station in half an hour.
• He will have finished his homework by this time.

(ii) It is used to express the speaker’s belief that something has taken place:

• He will have known the Sharmas.
• She will have read “The Tempest.”

Future Perfect Progressive Form

(i) The Future Perfect Progressive has the form: shall/will + have + been + present participle:

• She will have been cooking now.
• I shall have been preparing for my examination

(ii) The negative sentences are formed by putting ‘not’ between ‘shall/will ’ and ‘have’:

• She will not have been cooking now.
• I shall not have been preparing for my examination.

(iii) The interrogative sentences are formed by placing ‘shall/will’ before the ‘subject’:

• Shall I have been preparing for my examination?
• Will she have been cooking now?

(iv) The negative interrogative sentences are formed by placing ‘shall/will’ before the subject and ‘not’ after it:

• Will she not have been cooking now?
• Shall I not have been preparing for my examination?

Uses of Future Perfect Progressive

The Future Perfect Progressive expresses an action as being in progress over a period of time that will end at some point in the future.

• By next June, I shall have been completing my studies.