Tense

Of Tense

The word ‘Tense’ is coined from the Latin word ‘Tempus’ which means time. So in brief, we can say that Tense deals with the time of an action or event. Tense can be classified into 3 (three) major divisions as: a) Present Tense b) Past Tense c) Future Tense. All the three major Tenses can be classified into 12 (twelve) sub-divisions:

Present Tense

a) Present Simple Tense

b) Present Continuous tense

c) Present Perfect Tense

d) Present Perfect Continuous tense

Past Tense

a ) Past Simple Tense
b) Past Continuous tense
c) Past Perfect Tense
d) Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Future Tense

a) Future Simple Tense
b) Future Continuous tense
c) Future Perfect Tense
d) Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Person is of three kinds:

a) First Person  b) Second Person  c) Third Person

1st Person	2nd  Person	3rd  Person
I, We	You, Your	He, she, it, Shorna, they, father, development, honesty, paper, furniture, money, book, sincerity

Note: All nouns around us are 3^rd Person except 1^st Person and 2^nd Person.

Number is of two kinds:

a) Singular Number (GK ePb)  b) Plural Number (eü ePb)

Present Indefinite Tense

            a) Present Indefinite Tense: The action that takes place any time in the present is called Present Indefinite Tense.

Affirmative Sentence

Rule: Subject + verb (present) + extension

For example,

I eat rice. (1^st Person). He goes to school. (3^rd Person)

Note: If the subject is 3^rd Person Singular Number, the verb takes ‘s/es’ after it.

For example,

I rise up from sleep at 6.30 am everyday. He often meets me at school.

Note: There are some Time Adverbs that we often use in Present Indefinite Tense. They are as following: Generally, often, usually, frequently, normally, sometimes, occasionally, daily, everyday, always, regularly,      

Adding ‘s’/ ‘es’

Rule 1: If any verb ends with ch, ss, o, sh, x and z, we add ‘es’ with the verb.

For example,

Mr. John teaches me English. Alex possesses a car.

Borney goes to university everyday. My teacher often punishes me. He always foxes me easily.

Rule 2: If any verb ends with ‘y’ and the ‘y’ precedes a vowel (a, e, i, o, u), we add only ‘s’ with the verb.

For example,

The boy sometimes plays table tennis. 

Rule 3: If any verb ends with ‘y’ and the ‘y’ precedes a consonant, we add ‘i’ in the place of ‘y’ and then we add ‘es’. (i + es)  

For example,

The bird flies in the sky. (fly) Borney tries to help me. (try)  

We use Present Indefinite Tense in the following cases:

a) The universal truth: The earth moves round the sun. The sun rises in the east.

b) The habitual fact: He takes tea three times a day.

c) In the proverbs: As you sow, so you reap. It is easy to say but difficult to do. Where there is a will, there is a way.

d) Quotation by poets / authors / novelists / dramatists:

John Keats says, “Beauty is truth, truth is beauty.

Francis Bacon says, “It is a prince’s part to pardon.”

Soul Bellow says, “Past is no good to us, future is full of anxiety and present is true, now seize the day.”    

William Shakespeare says, “Life is a tale told by an idiot.”

e) Factual truth / natural truth: Borney is his sister. It is hot in the summer.

Interrogative Sentence

Rule: Do/does + Subject + verb + extension + Interrogation mark (?)

For example,

Does he go to school regularly?

What do you want? Why do they often come here? Why do they go there everyday?

Where does he work? Why do they swim? Why do we eat?

Remember: If the subject is 1^st Person/ 2^nd Person/ 3^rd Person Plural, we use ‘do’ in an Interrogative Sentence. Otherwise, we should use ‘does’. So if the subject is 3^rd Person Singular Number, it takes ‘does’ after it.  

Negative Sentence

Rule: Subject + do/does + not + verb (present) + extension

For example,

I do not look down upon the poor. He does not go to university regularly.

Note: If the subject is 3^rd person, we use ‘does not’ and in other cases, we use ‘do not’. 

Present Continuous Tense

            b) Present Continuous / Progressive Tense: The action that is progressing at this moment is called Present Continuous Tense. It is also called Present Progressive Tense.

Affirmative Sentence

Rule: Subject + am / is/ are (auxiliary) + verb + ing + extension

For example,

I am studying a novel now. He is teaching me English. You are not doing well in your examinations. Sorna is reading a comic book now. I am still living in Satkhira. At this moment, I am taking my meal. The company is not doing well this year.  

Note: The Time Adverbs used in Present Continuous Tense: Now, still, at present, at this moment, this year, this week,

For example,

These grapes are tasting sour. (Wrong)

I am thinking that the earth moves round the sun. (Wrong)

She is seeming sad. (Wrong). I am seeing a helicopter. (Wrong)

Note: The following verbs are not used in Continuous Tense rather used in Present Indefinite Tense. They are: Like, love, hate, want, need, prefer, know, realise, suppose, mean, understand, believe, remember, belong to, fit, contain, consist of, seem, see, hear, smell, taste, look, feel, deem, possess, continue, notice, recognise, appear, wish, desire, hope, refuse, prefer, think, suppose, agree, forget, imagine, mind, trust, consider, have (possess), own, doubt, weigh, cost, measure, equal, dislike,       

           

            For example,

I am going to the Ukraine tomorrow.

He is going to start an essay titled ‘Of Studies’ by Francis Bacon.

Note: We use Present Continuous Tense with near future. In this case, you are well prepared to do it.

Rule: For temporary actions, we use the tense:

For example,

Borney is studying English. She is fishing now.  

Negative Sentence

Rule: Subject + am / is / are + not + verb + ing + extension

For example,

He is not helping me. I am not watching television. They are not cutting the trees.

Adding ‘ing’

Rule 1: If a verb ends a ‘consonant’ and the ‘consonant’ precedes a ‘vowel’, we must double the ending consonant.

For example,

He is swimming in the river. (Swim)

The thief is running away. (Run). He is cancelling the items. (Cancel)

Rule 2: If a verb ends with ‘y’/ ‘w’, we keep the ‘y’ / ‘w’ while adding ‘ing’.

For example,

Kona is trying to help me. He is studying a poem titled “The Road Not Taken.”

Rule 3: If a verb ends with ‘e’, we leave out the vowel while adding ‘ing’.

For example,

            He is making a cup of tea. (Make). They are taking her to prison for treason. (Take)  

            Exceptional: Age – ageing, singe – singeing, dye – dyeing

            Exceptional: A verb ending with the double ‘ee’ is not changed while adding ‘ing’. Such as: agree – agreeing, see – seeing,  

Interrogative Sentence

Rule: Am / is / are + subject + verb + ing + extension + ?

For example,

Are you learning English? What am I doing now? Where are you going? Is she teaching you?

Modal Auxiliary

 Can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, need, dare, ought to and the rest.  

For example,

            I could do it. He should help the poor.  Sabina would go there. I ought to read Shakespeare.

Present Perfect Tense

            c) Present Perfect Tense: An action that has taken place just before a while is called Present Perfect Tense. There certainly be no mentioning of any time. If any time is mentioned, the sentence will be a Past Tense.

Affirmative Sentence

Rule: Subject + have / has + verb (past participle) + extension.

For example,

I have done better in the final examination. He has just taken his breakfast. I have already passed B.A. Honours. He has been ill since last week. I have known him for a long time.  

Note: The Time Adverb used in this tense: just, just now, recently, currently, yet already, lately, never, ever, so far, till now, today, this week, this month, since, for, not yet,

Negative Sentence

Rule: subject + have / has + not + verb (past participle) + extension

For example,

I have never gone to China. He has not yet helped me.  

Interrogative Sentence

Rule: Have / has + subject + verb (past participle) + extension + ?

For example,

Have you ever been to the Philippines? Has she fed her baby?

Note: The 3^rd Person Singular Number takes ‘has’ and the rest take ‘have’.

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

            d) Present Perfect Continuous Tense: An action that started in the past and continues till now is called Present Perfect Continuous Tense. Here we use ‘since’ and ‘for’.  

Affirmative Sentence

Rule: Subject + have / has + been + verb + ing + extension + since / for + time expression

For example,

It has been raining since mid-night. They have been writing down a note for three hours.

The use of ‘Since’

            a) Since (the point of time): Morning, last day, last Monday, last year, last night, year(1986), time (9.00 am), mid-night,   

For example,

Borney has been studying at Dhaka University since 2006. It has been raining since mid-night.  

The use of ‘For’

            b) For (the period of time / duration of an action / number): One second, two minutes, three hours, four days, five months, six years, seven decades.

For example,

I have been learning English for eleven years.

Mr. David has been treating her for three months.

Negative Sentence

Rule: Subject + have / has + not + been + verb + ing + extension.

For example,

Nasim has not been listening to me for five minutes. They have not been trying since 2011.

Interrogative Sentence

Rule: Have / has + subject + been + verb + ing + extension + ?

For example,

Have I been learning English since 2002?

Past Indefinite Tense

            a) Past Indefinite Tense: The action that took place in the indefinite time of past is called Past Indefinite Tense. Here we find the mention of time.

Affirmative Sentence

Rule: Subject + verb (past form) + extension

 For example,

Once upon a time there lived a king named Arthur in England. 

I got myself admitted at Dhaka University in 2006.

An angel came to me last night. I saw a fairy in my flower garden yesterday.

Note: The Time Adverbs used in Past Indefinite Tense are: Ago, long long ago, long since, once upon a time, last, last year, yesterday, the previous day, once year back,  (1985), used to, today, this afternoon, then.

Rule: Regular habitual action in the past is expressed through the Past Indefinite Tense with ‘used to’.

For example,

He used to play chess when he was 15 years old.   

Rule: Irregular habitual action in the past is expressed with ‘would’

For example,

He would bathe in the river Hariabhanga / Meghna every afternoon.

Rule: After the phrase ‘as if’ / ‘as though’ we use Past Indefinite Tense.

For example,

He behaves as if / as though he were mad.

Rule: If the Reported Speech is in Present Indefinite Tense, in the Indirect Speech we use Past Indefinite Tense.

For example,

He said to me, “I see a movie titled ‘Devil’s Advocate’.”

He told me that he saw a movie titled ‘Devil’s Advocate’. (Past Indefinite Tense)

Negative Sentence

Rule: Subject + did not + verb (present) + extension

For example,

I did not kill a snake. He did not eat a mango.

He did not give me a gift. They did not go to the cinema.

She did not write a letter to him.  I did not make a table.  You did not answer correctly.

Interrogative Sentence

Rule: Did + subject + verb (present) + object + ?

For example,

Did he give me a gift yesterday? Did they go to the cinema the previous day?

Did she write a letter to him? Did I make a table? Did you answer correctly?

Past Continuous Tense

            b) Past Continuous Tense: The action that was progressing in past but not completed is called Past Continuous Tense.

Affirmative Sentence

Rule: Subject + was / were (auxiliary) + verb + ing + extension

For example,

They were laughing at the joker. He was taking examination. While I was walking in the garden, I saw a poisonous snake. You were waiting for him. She was working in a factory. It was raining.

Negative Sentence

Rule: Subject + was / were (auxiliary) + not + verb + ing + extension

For example,

They were not laughing at the joker. He was not taking exam.
You were not waiting for him. She was not working in a factory.

Interrogative sentences

Rule: Was / were (auxiliary) + subject + verb + ing + extension + ?

For example,

Were they laughing at the joker? Was he taking exam?
Were you waiting for him? Was she working in a factory? Was it raining?

 Past Perfect Tense

            c) Past Perfect Tense: Past Perfect Tense describes an action completed before a certain moment in the past. If two actions took place in the past, it is necessary to show which action happened earlier than the other. The Past Perfect Tense is mainly used in such situations. The Simple Past Tense is used in one clause and the Past Perfect Tense in the other.

Affirmative Sentence

Rule: Subject + had + verb (past participle) + extension + before / after + Past Indefinite Tense.

For example,

The doctor had come before the patient died. The doctor came after the patient died. I had written the letter before he arrived. No sooner had the thief seen me than he started running. Hardly had I learnt English grammar when I could speak in English fluently.

Note: ‘Before’ _vK‡j Past Perfect Tense Av‡M, Avi  ‘After’ _vK‡j  Past Perfect Tense c‡i  e‡m|  GKwU Past Perfect Tense n‡j, Ab¨wU Past Indefinite Tense n‡e| We should keep in mind that the earlier action is in Past Perfect Tense and the latter one in Past Indefinite Tense. 

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

            d) Past Perfect Continuous Tense: This tense is used for an action that began before a certain point in the past and continued up to that time.

Affirmative Sentence

Rule: Subject + had been + verb + ing + extension + since / for (time expression)

For example,

At that time he had been writing a novel for two months. When Mr. Mofizzar Rahaman came to the school in 1995, Mr. Dipak Kumar had already been teaching there for five years.

Future Indefinite Tense

            a) Future Indefinite Tense: An action that has not taken place yet rather will take place in future is called Future Indefinite Tense.

Affirmative Sentence

Rule: Subject + shall / will + verb ( present ) + extension

For example,

I shall be 20 next Saturday.

It will be Ramadan in a week. We will know our examination results in May.  

Note: We use ‘shall’ with the 1^st but ‘will’ with 2^nd Person and 3^rd Person accordingly. But now in modern English we can use ‘will’ with 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Person.  

Negative Sentence

Rule: subject + shall / will + not + verb (present) + extension

For example,

He will not start a business. She will not send me a letter. They will not buy a new car. The pattern of exam will not change next year. I will not give you a pen tomorrow. Students will not take exams at the end of semester.

Interrogative Sentence

Rule: Shall / will + subject + verb (present) + extension + ?

For example,

Will he start a business? Will she send me a letter? Will they buy a new car? Will the Pattern of examination change next year? Shall I give you a pen tomorrow? Will students take exams at the end of semester?

Future Continuous Tense

            b) Future Continuous Tense: We use the tense when we talk about something that we have planned to do in the future. Here in this tense, the action is thought to be going on in the future.

Affirmative Sentence

Rule: Subject + shall / will + be + verb + ing + extension.

For example,

He will be catching fish.

I shall be swimming in the pond. I will be staying her till Sunday.

Negative Sentence

Rule: Subject + shall / will + not + be + verb + ing + extension.

For example,

I shall not be catching fish. Borney will not be studying by day.

Interrogative Sentence

Rule: Shall / will + subject + be + verb + ing + extension + ?

For example,

Will you be taking tea in the morning? Shall I be doing the work? 

Future Perfect Tense

            c) Future Perfect Tense: It is used to express an action which will occur in future and is thought to be completed in future. It expresses a sense of completion of an action which will occur in future.

For example,

John will have gone tomorrow.

            Note: It shows a sense of completion of an action (go) which will occur in future (tomorrow).

Affirmative Sentence

Rules: Subject + shall / will + have + verb ( past participle ) + extension.

Examples:
She will have finished the work by Wednesday. I will have left for home by the time he gets up. You will have started a job.

Negative Sentence

Rule: Subject + shall / will + not + have + verb ( past participle ) + extension.

Examples:
She will not have finished the work by Wednesday. I will not have left for home by the time he gets up. You will not have started a job. By the end of the month, I will not have worked here.

Interrogative Sentence

Rule: Shall / will + Subject + have + verb ( past participle ) + extension + ?

Examples

Will she have finished the work by Wednesday? Will Borney have come here by 2020? Shall I have finished the work by June?

Note: fwel¨‡Z GKwU Kv‡Ri Av‡M Avi GKwU KvR n‡e eySv‡j, ‡h KvRwU Av‡M n‡e †mwU Future Perfect Tense Avi †h KvRwU c‡i n‡e †mwU Present Indefinite Tense or Future Indefinite Tense n‡e|

Example:

They will have reached the station before the train leaves / the train will leave.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

            d) Future Perfect Continuous Tense: It is used to express a continued or ongoing action that will start in future and is thought to be continued till sometime in future. (Remember, an ongoing action in future which will continue till some time in future). There will be a time reference, such as “since 1980, for three hours” from which the action will start in future and will continue. A sense of time reference is found which gives an idea that action will start at some time in future and will continue for some time.  Such time reference or sense of time reference is the identity of Future perfect continuous tense because it tells that action will start at a particular time in future.

Affirmative Sentence

Rules: Subject + shall have / will have + been + verb + ing + since/ for + extension + time reference

Examples:

I will have been waiting for him for an hour. She will have been playing football since 2015.

            For example:

            He will have been studying in this school since 2005.

            Note: So it means that he will start studying in this school in 2005 and will study in this school till sometime in future. Note: If there is not time reference or sense of time reference then it is not Future Perfect Continuous Tense because there is no hint about the time of action when it will start in future and it seems just an ongoing action in future, which resembles ‘Future Continuous Tense’. So the reference of time differentiates between Future perfect continuous tense between Future Continuous Tense.

Negative Sentence

Rule: Subject + shall / will  + not + have been + verb + ing + extension + time reference

            Note: To make negative sentence, the word “not” is added inside auxiliary verb, so it becomes “will not have been”.

Examples: I will not have been waiting for him for one hour. She will not have been playing football since 2015.

Interrogative Sentence
Rule: Will / shall + subject + have been + verb + ing + extension + time reference + ?

Examples:

Shall I have been waiting for him for one hour?

Will she have been playing football since 2015?

            Note: ‡h KvRwU Av‡M NU‡e †mwU Future Perfect Continuous Tense n‡e, Avi †h KvRwU c‡i NU‡e †mwU Present Indefinite Tense or Future Indefinite Tense n‡q _v‡K|

Example,

They will have been playing in the field for an hour.

He will have been doing the sum before he goes to school.

Structures of Tense

Present Tense

1. Present Indefinite Tense: Subject + verb (present form) + extension

2. Present Continuous Tense: Subject + am/is/are + verb + ing + extension

3. Present Perfect Tense: Subject + have/ has + verb (past participle form) + extension

4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense: Subject + have been/ has been + verb + ing + since/ for + extension

Past Tense

1. Past Indefinite Tense: Subject + verb (past form) + extension

2. Past Continuous Tense: Subject + was/were + verb + ing + extension 

3. Past Perfect Tense: Subject + had + verb (past participle form) + extension 

4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense: Subject + had been + verb + ing + extension

Future Tense

1. Future Indefinite Tense: Subject + shall/will + verb (present form) + extension

2. Future Continuous Tense: Subject + shall be/ will be + verb + ing + extension

3. Future Perfect Tense: Subject + shall have/ will have + verb (past participle form) + extension

4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense: Subject + shall have been/ will have been + verb + ing + extension 

Md. Saiful Alam

B. A. Honours and M. A. in English

Lecturer of English

Queen’s College, Dhaka

E-mail: suman64924@gmail.com

My affectionate Readers,

Please, never hesitate to comment and any correction or suggestion regarding my writings will be largely appreciated and valued and you can ask me any grammatical questions regarding English. I promise I would try my level best to assist you, all. Thank you very much.