Name of Tense Indefinite Continuous Perfect Perfect

continuous

Present Verb1 + es, s Is/am/are+ Has/have Has/have+

verb 1 + ing +verb 3 been+verb1
+ing

Past Verb2 Was/were+ Had+verb 3 Had +been +

verb1+ing verb1+ing

Future Will/shall Will/shall be Will/shall+ Shall+have+

+verb 1 +verb1 + ing have +verb 3 been+
verb1+ing
Forms and use of Tenses
1. Verbs are of three kinds of transitive intransitive and
auxiliary
2. Transitive verbs are verbs which have an object after it
3. Intransitive verbs do not require an additional word to
complete the sentence
4. Auxiliary verbs are helping verbs which are used to form
tenses
 1.Anil reads the book
2.Anil read a book 3.Anil
will read a book

The above sentence have different meanings because of the different

forms of verbs
These different forms of the verbs are called tenses
Tenses therefore is the form, taken by a verb to show the time of an action
or a state
In sentence 1 the verb reads refer to present time and therefore said to be
present tense
In sentence 2 the verb read refers to the past time therefore it is said to be
past tense
In sentence 3 verb will refer in the future tense and is therefore said to be
future tense
I do my homework in the evening
I am doing my homework now
I have done my homework I am going to play now
I have been doing my homework since 5 o’clock
In all the sentences refer to the present time but did
not four different forms of the present
The present indefinite or simple present tense

1. The tense is used to express what is actually

happening at the present moment
There goes the school bell .
it rains everyday in summer season.
2. To Express custom or habit or character etc
I take tea every morning
I get up at 5 o’clock
my watch keeps good time
He keeps his promise
 3. To express what is universally true
Fortune favours The Brave
honesty is the best policy
4. To describe vividly what happened
in the past
(this is called historic past )
He attacks the country and carries
away whatever he sees to
5. To express the future action
His marriage comes off next week
Thee school closes next week
In interrogative sentence the word order will
be

Do /does + subject + first form of the verb

What ,why where ,etc + do/does+ subject +
first form of the verb
Do you go to school everyday ?
When do you do your work?
Fill in the blanks with the right form of the simple present tense
of the verb in brackets

1. Sita. ___ gently with everyone (talk)

2. It seldom ____ here in February (rain )
3. My friend___ to finish his work by evening (hope).
4. The boys. ______ their classroom on the occasion of the
inspectors visit (decorate)
5. Do you do for a walk early in the morning before Sunrise go
6. Good boys _____ their elders (obey )
7. The peon ____ the bells at 9:45 a.m. (Ring)
8. Birds ____ in the air( fly)
9. The sun ____ in the east (rise )
10. He ___ picture every Sunday (see)
Always
1.In general 1.Every time 1.Periodically

2.As a rule
2.In modern days 2.Every week 2.Rarely

3.As usual 3.In these days 3.Every year 3.Regularly

4.Never 4.Everyday 4.Scarcely

4.Daily
5.Normally 5.Frequently 5.Seldom

5.Ever
6.Now-a-days 6.Generally 6.Sometimes

6.Every month 7.Occasionally 7.Hardly ever 7.Usually

8.Iften 8.Whenever
Now – They are teaching Math now.

At present – My daughter is going to school at present.

At this moment – The school is going to get closed at this

moment.

Any longer – We are not using this product any longer.

Still – They are still making use of this computer.

Still now – My parents are still now making fun of each

others.

Even now – Even now the computer is working perfectly.

Any more – It is not working any more.

No longer – They are no longer coming to this company.

Always – We are always speaking

The present continuous progressive tense
This indicates action going on at the time of speaking
I am reading my book
the girl is singing
The leaves of the trees are falling on the ground
In making the tense the helping verb
is am are are followed by the verb + ING
Thus.
subject + is am are + present participle, the infinitive
+ing
Interrogative
Is/am/are+subject +Verb +ing
Negative
Is/am/are+subject +not+verb +ing
Remember that if the verb ends in e
1. The final e is dropped before adding ING
Thus
live will become living
Argue. Arguing
Write. writing
2. Again if the verb ends in consonant preceded by A
vowel , the consonant is doubled before adding ing
Stop. Stopping
Swim. Swimming
if the verb end in single l
preceded by a. vowel l is doubled
before adding ING
Quarrel. quarrelling
Compel. Compelling
travel. travelling
Use of the present (progressive) continuous tense
1. This tense indicate that the action is actually
happening at the moment of speaking

2. It describes the action when it is in progress

3. This tense is also used with future meaning

4. It expresses an action that is certain to happen in the

near future
and therefore words like
Soon, tomorrow , this evening etc are used
thus he is meeting me tonight
I am leaving by 6:30 train tomorrow
Put in the verbs in bracket into the present indefinite or the present
continuous tense
1.Someone ___ at the door( Knock)
2. He. go to school by bus (go)
3. Our country steady progress under the present government (make)
4. Children. their homework (do)
5. He usually. his office at 7 o’clock. ( leave)
6. It was cloudy clear this morning but the sun. now (Shine)
7. The clouds. across the sky( move)
8. The child. because it cannot find its mother( cry)
9. He cannot come out to play just now as he. his homework (do)
10. He. . hard these days ( study)
11. I. (write) a new book. I. (hope) to finish it
by the end of this month
12.The assistant. (type) a letter. he usually. (do it
quietly but today he. (take )a long time
13. My friend. (go) to Mussoorie this year. He.
(do) it almost every year
14. The chairman. (make) a short speech today.
Please. (come) to hear him
15. My sister. (teach) in a government Girls School
she. (go) there in the morning
Present perfect tense expresses and action begin in the past time
and completed at the present time
it is a sort of link between the past in the present
we are not interested in the time when the action took place but in
the present we can however show the present tense in the past by
using words
like already , just, not yet
in this way the present perfect tense is a kind of a present tense
As, I have done my work here.
He has gone home
the boys have learnt their lessons
Note: the difference between
I have lived here for 10 years
I lived here for 10 years
number one shows that I am still living here
while sentence number two indicates that I am leaving here no longer
I have written to you yesterday
it should be I wrote to you yesterday
he did not finish his work
it should be he has not finished his work
he did not write to me for a month
it should be he has not written to me for a month
In the present perfect tense
has with the singular number and
have the plural number are followed by the third form
of the word
but I and You r always followed by have
This
subject + has have + third form of the verb
in interrogative
has /have + subject + third form of the verb
in negative
We put not between have and the subject
Sita has taken her dinner
Sita has not taken the dinner
This tense shows that the action had began in the past
is continuing up to the present time as
he has been reading the book since noon
I have been ill for 2 days
remember that since is used for point of time
as since morning
since 1994
since Tuesday last
For is used for period of time as
for 3 years
For 4-5 days
for a long time
Note in this tense
has been and have been are followed by verb + ING +
since or for
As Subject + has/have been +present participle
In negative
Subject + has/have been+the present participle
In interrogative
Has/have +subject +been+present participle
Has/have+subject +not been + the present participle
She has been playing on Sitar for an hour( affirmative )
the girl have been attending music classes since Monday
has he been living in this locality for several year (interrogative)
has he not been living here since 1980 ? (Negative interrogative)
sometime present perfect continuous tense is used to emphasize the
fact that an action has been uninterrupted even though it is not
continuing now as
I am tired, I have been running round the town all day.
Difference between present perfect and present perfect continuous
tenses-
The present perfect continuous tense is used to talk about a
continuous, but not necessarily finished action or situation.
The present perfect tense is used to talk about a finished action or
situation.
Compare:
•I have been gardening since morning. (Focus on continuity)
•I have planted several new saplings. (Focus on completion)
•I have been reading since morning. (Focus on continuity)
•I have read two books since morning. (Focus on completion)
Temporary and permanent
The present perfect continuous tense is used to talk
about more temporary actions and situations; the
present perfect tense is used to talk about longer-
lasting or permanent situations.
•That boy has been standing at the gate for hours.
(Temporary action or situation)
•The temple has stood on the hill for hundreds of
years. (Longer-lasting or permanent situation)
1. What have you been doing since morning?
…………………………………………….. (learning my lessons)
2. How has he been feeling since he took that medicine?
………………………………………… (much better)
3. What has Dad been doing all morning? ……………………………………………..
(reading)
4. Have you been following the developments closel
……………………………… (yes)
5. For whom have you been working so hard?
……………………………………………… (my kids)
Answers
1. I have been learning my lessons.
2. He has been feeling much better.
3. Dad has been reading all morning.
4. Yes, I have been following the developments closely.
5. I have been working so hard for my kids.
 The present perfect continuous
. tense
Recently and lately are words that we often find with verbs in the
present perfect continuous tense.
Mia has been competing in flute competitions recently. (And she will
continue to do so.)
I haven’t been feeling well lately. (And I am still sick now.)
Have you seen my wallet and keys recently? (Because I sure don’t
know where they are.)
Of course, not all verbs are compatible with continuous action. Some
examples of such verbs are to be, to arrive, and to own.
I have been owning my Mazda since 2007.
I have owned my Mazda since 2007. (present perfect tense)
Gus has been being late for work recently.
Gus has been late for work recently. (present perfect tense)
Present Perfect Or Present Perfect Continuous Tense
Fill in the blanks with an appropriate verb form.
1. How long ........................ Julie?
have you known
have you been knowing
Some verbs are not normally used in the continuous form.
Know is one of them.

2. I ............................. all morning. I am tired.

have worked
have been working

3. I ........................ ten letters since morning.

wrote
have written
have been writing
4. I have already ......................... the report.
received
been receiving

5. Sorry about the mess. We ...................... the walls.

have painted
have been painting

6. This is the fifth time you .......................... that question.

asked
have asked
have been asking

7. You ...................... a dozen cookies today.

have eaten
have been eating

8. We ............................. in this city for ten years.

have lived
have been living
9. John ........................... his leg so he can't walk.
has broken
has been breaking
10. You look hot. What ............................ ?
have you done
have you been doing
did you do
11. Help! I ......................... my purse.
have lost
have been losing
12. 'You look tired.' 'Yes, I .............................'
have run
have been running
Answers
1. How long have you known Julie?
2. I have been working all morning. I am tired.
3. I have written ten letters since morning.
4. I have already received the report.
5. Sorry about the mess. We have been painting the walls.
6. This is the fifth time you have asked that question.
7. You have eaten a dozen cookies today.
8. We have lived / have been living in this city for ten years.
9. John has broken his leg so he can’t walk.
10. You look hot. What have you been doing?
11. Help! I have lost my purse.
12. ‘You look tired.’ ‘Yes, I have been running.’