Tenses

Tenses​ help one understand how to correctly use the different tenses in a
sentence without making a grammatical mistake and also by easily
indicating when an event or action has occurred.
Aspirants who are willing to apply for the various Government exams 2020
must go through these tenses rules carefully as English language is a part
of the syllabus for most of these exams.
Tenses can be divided into three parts:
1. Present Tense
2. Past Tense
3. Future Tense
Each of the three above mentioned tenses can further be divided into sub
parts. These sub parts include:
● Simple
● Continuous
● Perfect
● Perfect Continuous

In this article, we shall discuss in detail the tenses rules for the above
mentioned types of verb tenses followed by examples to explain them
clearly.

Present Tense
Present Tense can be defined as an expression for an activity that is
currently in action or is habitually performed. It is used for a state that
generally exists or is currently ongoing.
Simple Present

Simple Present Tense

Singular Plural

Rule: Subject + V1 + s/es + Rule: Subject + V1 + Object

Object

Example: Girl sings a song Example: Girls sing a song

Here the subject is Girl Here the subject is Girls (plural)

(singular) and “s” has been and no changes have been
added to the verb (sing), made with V1 (firm form of verb)
followed by the object (song) and the object
Present Continuous

Present Continuous Tense

Rule: Subject + is/am/are + V1 + ing + object

Example: She is eating food

Here the subject is She, followed by “is”

The first form of verb (V1) here is “eat” and “ing” has been added to it,
followed by the object “food”
Present Perfect

Present Perfect Tense

Singular Plural

Rule: Subject + has + V3 + Rule: Subject + have + V3 +

Object Object

Example: He has cleaned the Example: They have cleaned

utensils the utensils

Here, “He” is the subject + has Here, “They” is the subject +

have
“Cleaned” is the third form of
verb and utensils is the object “Cleaned” is the third form of
verb and utensils is the object
Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Singular Plural

Rule: Subject + has been + Rule: Subject + have been +

V1 + ing + Object V1 + ing + Object

Example: She has been Example: They have been

practising since morning practising since morning

Here “She” is the subject + has Here “They” is the subject +

been, followed by “ing” added have been, followed by “ing”
to the the first form of verb added to the the first form of
“practise” and then the object verb “practise” and then the
object
Given below are a few examples that may help you differentiate between
the four sub parts of present tense easily:
1. Raj speaks German (Simple Present for Singular)
2. They speak German (Simple Present for Plural)
3. She is speaking German (Present Continuous)
4. He has learnt German (Present Perfect for Singular)
5. They have learnt German (Present Perfect for Plural)
6. She has been learning German (Present Perfect Continuous for
Singular)
7. They have been learning German (Present Perfect Continuous for
Plural)

Past Tense
Any event or action that took place in the past can be referred to as the
past tense. Below we have discussed in detail the four sub parts of the past
tense in English grammar.
Simple Past

Simple Past Tense

Rule: Subject + V2 + Object

For example: He ran away

Here, subject is “He” and “ran” is the second form of verb (V2) of
“run” followed by the object
Past Continuous

Past Continuous Tense

Singular Plural

Rule: Subject + was + V1 + Rule: Subject + were + V1 +

ing + Object ing + Object

For example: She was going For example: They were

shopping going shopping

Here, the subject is “She” + was Here, the subject is “They” +

were
It is followed by the first form of
verb (V1) “go” + “ing” and then Followed by the first form of
the object “shopping” verb (V1) “go” + “ing” and then
the object “shopping”
Past Perfect

Past Perfect Tense

Rule: Subject + had + V3 + Object

For example: Sumit had left the job

Here the subject is “Sumit” + had

Then “left”, which is the third form of verb (V3) “leave” is given
followed by the object
Past Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Rule: Subject + had been + V1 + ing + Object

For example: They had been preparing for their performance

for two months

Here the subject is “They” + had been

It is followed by “preparing”, which is the first form of verb (V1) of

“prepare” and then the object

To help you understand the past tense and its form even better, given
below are a few examples to simply the concept for you:
1. I played football yesterday (Simple Past)
2. I was playing football yesterday (Past Continuous for Singular)
3. They were playing football yesterday (Past Continuous for Plural)
4. They had played football yesterday (Past Perfect)
5. They had been playing football the entire yesterday (Past Perfect
Continuous)
Given below are a few articles to clarify the confusion between various
common but confusing words in the English Language to gain clarity on the
basic concepts to ace this section, as aspirants are very well aware that
English is an important part of the syllabus of various competitive exams.
Future Tense
The actions that are to take place in the future fall in the category of future
tense. We have discussed the sub parts of future tense in detail further
below in the article followed by the examples for the same.
● Simple Future

Simple Future Tense

Rule: Subject + will/shall + V1 + Object

For example: I will visit my Uncle tomorrow

Here, the subject is “I” + will

It is followed by the first form of verb (V1) “visit” and then the
object
Future Continuous

Future Continuous Tense

Rule: Subject + will be/shall be + ing + V1 + Object

For Example: I shall be going to the market tomorrow

In this example, the subject is “I” + shall be

Following it is the first form of verb (V1) “go”+ing and then the
object
Future Perfect

Future Perfect Tense

Rule: Subject + will have/shall have + V3 + Object

For example: I shall have prepared the notes by tomorrow

morning

In this example, the subject is “I” + shall have

It is followed by “prepared”, which is the third form of Verb (V3)

“prepare” and then the object
Future Perfect Continuous

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Rule: Subject + will have been + V1 + ing + Object

For Example: She will have been working here since 2015

Here, the subject is “She” + will have been

It is followed by the first form of verb “work”+ing and then the

object
Errors in the Use of Tenses

The changed forms of a verb that indicate time of the action are called
Tenses of the verb.

1. ​When the verb in the Principal Clauses is in the Past tense, the
verbs of the Subordinate Clauses should be in the Past tense.

Examples:

He said that he had finished his work.

I was informed that her mother was ill.

2. ​But a past tense in the Principal Clauses may or may not be

followed by the Past tense in the sub-ordinate clauses if the latter
expresses universal or habitual truth​.

Examples:

The teacher said that the earth revolves round the sun.

3. ​Any tense may be used in the sub-ordinate clause if it gives a

comparison by using the word than.

Examples:

The teacher liked Anil better than he liked me.

4. ​Any tense can be used when the sub-ordinate clause is in a
quotation.

Examples:

I said, “I am going to “Delhi today.”

5. ​The Present Perfect Tense (subject + has/have +3rd form of verb)

cannot be used when an expression of Past time (yesterday, last
night, ago etc.) is used.

Examples:

We wrote to you yesterday about his mother.

6.​ In conditional sentences the subordinate clause, beginning with if,

is generally in Present or Past tense but not in future tense​.

Examples:

If I go to Delhi, I shall see the Red Fort.

If he had worked hard, he would have passed.

7. ​With the phrases as if and as though, Past tense and plural form of
the verb should be used.

Examples:

He behaves as if he were a millionaire.

8. ​Past Perfect tense (subject + had + 3rd form of verb) is used when a
sentence refers to two past actions and one of them occurs earlier
than the other.

Examples:

When my uncle came to India I had passed M.A.

9. ​Words like usually, generally, often, whenever etc. are used in

Present Indefinite tense.

Examples:

I usually go to play cricket.

10. ​If the action began in the past and is still continuing in the
present, use Present Perfect tense (Subject + has/have + been + 1st
form of verb + ing).

Examples:

I have been reading in this class for two months.

11. ​Don’t use of Future or the Present tenses after such expressions
as suppose that, it is high time; it is time, as if etc.

Examples: