Tenses can be divided into three parts:
Present Tense
Past Tense
Future Tense
Each of the three above mentioned tenses can further be divided into subparts. These subparts include:
Simple
Continuous
Perfect
Perfect Continuous
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 + Object | Rule: Subject + V1 + Object |
Example: The girl sings a song Here the subject is Girl (singular) and “s” has been added to the verb (sing), followed by the object (song) | Example: The girls sing a song Here the subject is Girls (plural) and no changes have been made with V1 (first form of verb) 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” |
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Present Perfect
Present Perfect Tense |
Singular | Plural |
Rule: Subject + has + V3 + Object | Rule: Subject + have + V3 + Object |
Example: He has cleaned the utensils Here, “He” is the subject + has “Cleaned” is the third form of verb and utensils is the object | Example: They have cleaned the utensils Here, “They” is the subject + have “Cleaned” is the third form of verb and utensils is the object |
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Present Perfect Continuous Tense |
Singular | Plural |
Rule: Subject + has been + V1 + ing + Object | Rule: Subject + have been + V1 + ing + Object |
Example: She has been practising since morning Here “She” is the subject + has been, followed by “ing” added to the the first form of verb “practise” and then the object | Example: They have been practising since morning Here “They” is the subject + have been, followed by “ing” added to the the first form of verb “practise” and then the object |
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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 past tense in English grammar.
Simple Past
Simple Past Tense |
Rule: Subject + V2 + Object |
For example: He ran away Here, the 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 + ing + Object | Rule: Subject + were + V1 + ing + Object |
For example: She was going shopping Here, the subject is “She” + was It is followed by the first form of verb (V1) “go” + “ing” and then the object “shopping” | For example: They were going shopping Here, the subject is “They” + were Followed by the first form of 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 |
Future Tense
The actions that are to take place in the future fall in the category of the future tense. We have discussed the subparts of the 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 + V1 + ing + 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 |