Tense

- a characteristic of verb that indicates the time of the action or

state of being that a verb expresses.
- grammatical category that locates a situation or action in time,
that indicates when the situation or action takes place. In
languages which have tense, it is usually indicated by a verb or
modal, often combined with categories such as aspect, mood,
and voice.

I) Present Tense
(a) Simple Present: This Tense is used to express the habits,
daily routine and universal truths. In this tense the first form
(basic form) of the verb is used.
The formula for simple present is Subject + Verb
Ex. He plays football every Tuesday.
(b) Present Continuous/Progressive: This Tense is used to
express an action which is continuing or taking place now. In
this tense the ‘ing’ form of the verb is used.
The formula for present continuous is Subject + Aux
+Verb(ing form)
Ex. He is playing football.
 (c) Present Perfect: This Tense is used to express an action
which is over just now or completed today. In this tense the past
participle form of the verb is used.
The formula for present perfect is Subject +Auxiliary Verb
+ Verb (Past Participle Form)
Ex. He has played football today.
(d Present Perfect Continuous/Progressive : This Tense is
used to express an action which began at some point of time in
the past and is still continuing. In this tense the ‘ing’ form of the
verb is used.
The formula for present perfect continuous is
Subject+Aux+Aux+Verb(ing form)
Ex. He has been playing football for ten years.
II) Past Tense
(a) Simple Past: This Tense is used to express an action which
is over or completed at some point of time in the past. In this
tense the past tense of the verb is used.
The formula for simple past is Subject + Verb (-ed form) or
its past tense form
Ex. He played football yesterday.
 (b) Past Continuous/Progressive: This Tense is used to
express an action which was continuing at some point of time in
the past. In this tense the ‘ing’ form of the verb is used.
The formula for past continuous is Subject +Aux + V(ing
form)
.Ex. He was playing football a while ago.
(c) Past Perfect: This Tense is used to express an action which
was over long ago. In this tense the past participle form of the
verb is used.
The formula for past perfect is Subject +Aux + V(past
participle form)
Ex. He had played football six years ago.
(d) Past Perfect Continuous/Progressive: This Tense is used
to express an action which began at some point of time in the
past, continued for some time and was subsequently
discontinued. In this tense the ‘ing’ form of the verb is used.
The formula for past perfect continuous is Subject +Aux
+Aux + V(ing form)
Ex. He had been playing football until last year.
III) Future Tense
(a) Simple Future: This Tense is used to express intention. In
this tense the basic form of the verb is used.
The formula for simple future is Subject + Aux + V
Ex. He will play football tomorrow.
Here it may be mentioned that strict grammar rules prefer the
use of ‘shall’ for ‘I’ and ‘We’ – First person singular and plural.
However, in interrogative sentences ‘shall’ has to be used with
‘I & We’ instead of ‘will’.
(b) Future Continuous: This Tense is used to express an action
which is imagined to be continuing at some point of time in
future. In this tense the ‘ing’ form of the verb is used.
The formula for future continuous is Subject +Aux+Aux+
V(ing form)
Ex. He will be playing football in the near future.
(c) Future Perfect: This Tense is used to express an action
which is imagined to have been completed at some point of time
in future. It may be noted that this tense is basically theoretical
and rarely used.
The formula for future perfect is Subject+Aux+Aux+V(past
participle form)
Ex. He will have played football by this time tomorrow.
 (d) Future Perfect Continuous: This Tense is used to express
an action which is imagined to began at some point of time in
future and continue for sometime. It may be noted that this tense
is basically theoretical and rarely used. In this tense the ‘ing’
form of the verb is used.
The formula for future perfect is Subject+Aux+Aux+Aux
+V(ing form)
Ex. He will have been playing football for ten years.
Controlling Shifts in Verb Tense

General guideline: Do not shift from one tense to another if

the time frame for each action or state is the same.
Examples:
1. The ocean contains rich minerals that washed down from
rivers and streams.
Corrected: The ocean contains rich minerals that wash down
from rivers and streams.
2. About noon the sky darkened, a breeze sprang up, and a low
rumble announces the approaching storm.
Corrected: About noon the sky darkened, a breeze sprang up,
and a low rumble announced the approaching storm.
General guideline: Do shift tense to indicate a change in time
frame from one action or state to another.
Examples:
1. The children love their new tree house, which they built
themselves.
2. Before they even began deliberations, many jury members
had reached a verdict.
3. Workers are installing extra loudspeakers because the music
in tonight's concert will need amplificati
Controlling Shifts in a Paragraph or Essay
General guideline: Establish a primary tense for the main
discourse, and use occasional shifts to other tenses to
indicate changes in time frame.
Hints:
• Rely on past tense to narrate events and to refer to an
author or an author's ideas as historical entities
(biographical information about a historical figure or
narration of developments in an author's ideas over time).
• Use present tense to state facts, to refer to perpetual or
habitual actions, and to discuss your own ideas or those
expressed by an author in a particular work. Also use
present tense to describe action in a literary work, movie, or
other fictional narrative. Occasionally, for dramatic effect,
you may wish to narrate an event in present tense as though
it were happening now. If you do, use present tense
consistently throughout the narrative, making shifts only
where appropriate.
• Future action may be expressed in a variety of ways,
including the use of will, shall, is going to, are about to,
tomorrow and other adverbs of time, and a wide range of
contextual cues.
General Guidelines for Use of Perfect Tenses
• Past primary narration corresponds to Past Perfect (had +
past participle) for earlier time frames
• Present primary narration corresponds to Present Perfect
(has or have + past participle) for earlier time frames
• Future primary narration corresponds to Future Perfect
(will have + past participle) for earlier time frames
• Time-orienting words and phrases like before, after, by the
time, and others—when used to relate two or more actions
in time—can be good indicators of the need for a perfect-
tense verb in a sentence.
Example:
• By the time the Senator finished (past) his speech, the
audience had lost (past perfect) interest.
• By the time the Senator finishes (present: habitual action)
his speech, the audience has lost (present perfect) interest.
• By the time the Senator finishes (present: suggesting future
time) his speech, the audience will have lost (future perfect)
interest.
Example paragraph:
The gravel crunched and spattered beneath the wheels of the bus
as it swung into the station. Outside the window, shadowy
figures peered at the bus through the darkness. Somewhere in
the crowd, two, maybe three, people were waiting for me: a
woman, her son, and possibly her husband. I could not prevent
my imagination from churning out a picture of them, the town,
and the place I will soon call home. Hesitating a moment, I rise
from my seat, these images flashing through my mind.