ENGLISH GRAMMAR-TENSES, NO TENSION!

>LESSON 7 TENSES – NO TENSION!!! -the tense of a verb tells us about the time of an action and whether that action is completed, going on, will take place…. There are 12 Tense Structures in English: eg: I eat breakfast everyday. I ate breakfast at 7 am. I will eat breakfast after a while. READY RECKONER FOR TENSES TENSE PRESENT PAST FUTURE SIMPLE He/She writes a letter. I/We/You/They write a letter. He/She/ I/We/You/ They wrote a letter. He/She I/We/You/ They will write a letter. CONTINUOUS He/She is writing a letter. I/We/You/They are writing a letter. He/She/ was writing a letter. I/We/You/They were writing a letter. He/She /I/We/You/ They will be writing a letter. PERFECT He/She has written a letter. I/We/You/They have written a letter. He/She/I/We You/They had written a letter when Father cam home. He/She /I/We/You/ They will have written a letter by Monday. PERFECT CONTINUOUS He/She has been writing a letter since morning. I/We/You/They have been writing a letter since morning. He/She/I/We You/They had been writing a letter when Father called up. He/She /I/We/You/ They will have been writing a letter by then. USE OF TENSES: Some tips and rules to remember. THE PRESENT TENSE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE: - used to express habitual actions, scientific facts, truths, planned future action. eg: He goes for a walk in the mornings. (routine) Water boils at 100 C. (scientific fact) Parents love their children. (truth) Our college reopens on the 1st of June. (planned future action) PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE: describes an action in progress and will be continued.. (am/is/are + verb –ing) eg: He is going out with his friends. Water is boiling, you may add the tea leaves. The college authorities are building another hostel. I am going out for a film this evening. The following Non-action verbs are generally not used in the Present Continuous Tense: See, hear, smell, notice, want, desire, wish, refuse, forgive, care, hate, like, admire, love, feel, know, mean, remember, forget, have, own, belong, owe, possess, recall, cost, seem, keep, contain, consist……. eg: I am hearing a noise. (wrong) I hear a noise (correct) He is having a car. (wrong) He has/owns a car. (correct) He is loving his children. (wrong) He loves his children. (correct) I am wanting some money. (wrong) I want some money. (correct) PRESENT PERFECT: to show past events where time is not mentioned, an action that has just been completed, an action started in the Past, is still continuing. (has/have + verb p.p.) eg: Have you eaten? I have not eaten breakfast. He has gone to his uncle’s house. (He gone to his uncle’s house-Wrong) The building has stood there for fifty years. I saw this film last month. I have seen this film. (I have seen this film last month –Wrong) NOTE: For and since are used with Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous. (to be discussed below) eg: These houses have been here since 1998. (They are still there) My brother has worked in Dubai for ten years (He still works) PRESNT PERFECT CONTINUOUS: an action which began in the Past, is still going on. Used with phrases-since, for, long, how long, all day, all week, all the time…(has/have been + verb-ing) eg: The baby has been crying all day. He has been waiting at the bus stop for two hours. It has been raining since yesterday. THE PAST TENSE SIMPLE PAST: to denote a habitual or regular action in the Past, an action which took place in the past, a past habit, at times an improbable condition. eg: He returned from Delhi last month. I worked in Dubai for twenty years. He often went for a morning walk. If I had money, I would travel to all parts of the world. Some Time Expressions that go with the Simple Past, some that go with Present Perfect: PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE PAST already, ever, never, yet, since, last night/week/month/Saturday… So far, recently… in 2011…. at noon two….days ago yesterday eg: Has he come? Yes, he has already come. When did he come? He came in at noon. PAST CONTINUOUS OR PAST PROGRESSIVE TENSE: speaks of a continuing action in the Past - (was/were + verb-ing) eg: He was waiting for me at the bus stop. They were talking when I entered the room. The students were playing football between 4pm and 6pm. It was getting dark. NOTE: Simple Past is used to express a past completed action while Past Continuous suggests an action in progress at some point of time in the past. Non action verbs do not take the Past Continuous Tense… PAST PERFECT: shows an action completed at some point in the Past before another action was begun. (had + verb p.p.) eg: The train had left before I entered the platform. I had made up my mind by then. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS: to talk about an action/event of the Past, whose effects are still visible. (had been + verb-ing) eg: She had been playing for two hours when I went to her house. We had been living in Chennai in our younger days. EXERCISE (ALL TENSES) 1. Talk about your daily routine (Use Simple Present Tense) 2. Describe the day when everything went wrong. (Use Past Tense) 3. How do you see yourself five years from now? (Future Tense) THE FUTURE TENSE SIMPLE FUTURE: refers to some point of time in the Future, offer to do something, a future event. (will/shall + verb) eg: He will come home at 4 pm. If you are not careful, you will cut your hand. Shall I drop you at the bus stop? I will return this book by Monday. FUTURE CONTINUOUS: an action which will be in progress at a given time in the future, fairly certain to happen. (will/shall be + verb-ing) eg: He will be studying for the examination at 9pm. I will be dancing on the stage on Monday. The new Manager will be visiting the office tomorrow. FUTURE PERFECT: some action or something will be over at a given point of time. (will/shall + verb p.p.) eg: She will have finished her training by Saturday. One Monday, they will put her on a regular job. I shall have completed this assignment by afternoon. FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS: to denote continuous action, so it is used with an expression of time or duration. (shall/will + have been + verb-ing) eg: They will have been reaching Mumbai by then. He will have been working for twenty years in this office next month. EXERCISE (ALL TENSES) Choose the correct alternative from those given. 1. When I reached home, I found I …….. (lost/have lost/had lost) my wallet. 2. I wish I…… (was/were/am) rich. 3. Leave me alone. I…… (work/am working/was working) 4. The blue shirt ………(suit/suits/is suiting) him. 5. My father …….(is/was/has been) fifty years old last Sunday. 6. …….to the party yesterday? (Have you gone/Have you went/Did you go) 7. He won’t come unless you…..(invited/had invite/invite) him. 8. I will speak to him if he …..(comes/will come/came) 9. Here are your shoes. I ……them. (have just cleaned/has just cleaned/just cleaned) 10. I …….the tennis match. That is why I am late. (am watching/have been watching/shall be watching) 11. By the end of this year I …….(would have read/will read/ am reading) all the works of J.K. Rowling. 12. The gardener ……..(will have trimmed/ trimmed/ is trimming) all the plants by this evening.