Time and Tense, the most important chapter of English Grammar is very easy and simple. You just need to memorise and follow the rules. And practice them so that you can score good marks for the upcoming Exams of West Bengal School Service Commission 2020, West Bengal Primary Tet 2020 and Madhyamik Pariksha 2020 – 2021. Besides, this is undoubtedly very important to make sentences which we need to express ourselves. So Let’s get started from the very beginning.
‘Time’ is only the perception of reality while ‘tense ‘ denotes the time of action of a verb. We may divide ‘Time ‘ into 3 categories – Present, Past, and Future. But Tense is divided into 2 categories – Present and Past.
Let’s try to understand with examples….
He is a handsome doctor. – Present Tense
He was in Delhi yesterday. – Past Tense
They will go to America. –
Here the sentence is in Present Tense but according to its meaning it is in Future Tense. Look at the structure or the form of the main verb of the sentence. It is written in Present Tense. What I mean is “ Will “ itself is in Present Tense but it denotes the action of Future. So, syntactically, it is in Present Tense but its meaning expresses the meaning of an action which takes place in Future.
So, it is understood that ‘Time’ has 3 categories – Present, Past, and Future. But for convenience to understand better we must know Time and Tense from the very beginning.
TENSE : Tense is categorised into 3 parts : Present, Past and Future. And each of all these three parts is classified into 4 parts. They are
- Indefinite or Simple
- Continuous
- Perfect and
- Perfect Continuous
Let’s discuss in detail one by one.
| PRESENT | PAST | FUTURE |
| 1. Present Indefinite / Simple PresentI go to school.I do not go to school.Do I go to school ? | 1. Past Indefinite / Simple Past I went to school.I did not go to school.Did I go to school ? | 1. FutureIndefinite / Simple Future I shall go to school.I shall not go to school.Shall I go to school ? |
| 2. Present ContinuousHe is playing.He is not playing.Is he playing ? | 2. Past Continuous He was playing.He was not playing.Was he playing ? | 2. Future ContinuousHe will be playing.He will not be playing.Will he be playing ? |
| 3. Present Perfect She has danced.She has not danced.Has she danced ? | 3. Past Perfect She had danced.She had not danced.Had she danced ? | 3. Future Perfect She will have danced.She will not have danced.Will she have danced ? |
| 4. Present Perfect ContinuousThey have been reading for 3 hours. They have not been reading for 3 hours. Have they been reading for 3 hours ? | 4. Past Perfect ContinuousThe patient had died before the doctor came.The patient had not died before the doctor came.Had the patient died? | 4. Future Perfect ContinuousHe will have been playing. He will not have been playing. Will they have been playing ? |
PRESENT TENSE
Present Indefinite or Simple Present Tense :
Something happens in present time is expressed in Simple Present or Present Indefinite Tense.
Structure : –
Subject + present form of main verb + object / others.
If the subject is Third person and Singular number, ‘-s’ or ‘ -es ‘ is added with the main verb.
Raju plays football. They watch movies.
Rules or when we should use :
- To express simple incidents or actions in present
We eat rice. / They play cricket.
- To express habits or habituated actions of present.
The boys play football everyday. / My father takes tea in the morning everyday.
- To express a truth or natural incidents.
The sun rises in the east. / Or The sun sets in the west.
Flood destroys everything.
Negative Sentence :
Subject + do / does/ not + present form of main verb + object / others. ( If the subject is Third person and Singular number, ‘does’ is placed after the subject but for the rest of all ‘ do’ is used.)
She does not cry. He does not work.
Interrogative sentence :
Do/ does + Subject + Root form of main verb + object / others ?
(Root form of verb : The main form of verb )
Does he win the game ?
Do they go to school ?
PRESENT CONTINUOUS / PROGRESSIVE :
An action which is in progress i.e. not ended is expressed in Present Continuous.
STRUCTURE / FORM :
Subject + am/is/are + ing with main verb + object / others.
RULES :
- To express a work which is in progress.
I am learning English.
They are playing video games.
- To denote action which is going to be continued in near future.
We are going to Puri tomorrow.
- To express universal truth / historical events/ natural occurrences.
The flood destroys all. The sun rises in the east. The sun is hot. Oil floats on water.
Negative Sentence :
Subject + am/is/are + not + ing with main verb + object / others.
Sima is not performing dance well.
It is not going to rain.
Interrogative Form :
Am/is/are + subject + ing with main verb + object / others + ?
Example :
Are you reading a novel ?
Is your father going to Delhi ?
Present Perfect Tense :
When an action has been done but its effect still remains we use Present Perfect Tense.
Structure / Form :
Subject + has / have + Past Participle of Main verb + object / others.
Roni has done the work.
They have written an application.
Has : after Third person singular number subject
Have : Rest of all subject takes ‘have ‘..
Excetion : If past time is mentioned, Siple Past Tense is used.
Example : She got my letter yesterday ( past time ).
Negative sentence :
Subject + has / have + not + past participle of main verb + object / others.
She has not answered the question. They have not learnt tense.
Interrogative Sentence :
Has / have + subject + past participle of main verb + object / others ?
Has she done it ?
Have they seen the Taj ?
Present Perfect Continuous :
When an action is in progress for a certain time but it has begun earlier is written in Present Perfect Continuous.
Structure / Form :
Subject + has / have + ing with main verb + for / since / from + others.
She has been suffering from fever for 4 days.
They have been working from / since 5th March or the Sunday last.
For : Period of time like 3 days, 4 months, 7 years etc.
Since : Point of time like Yesterday, 5th March, 10th October, January etc.
PAST TENSE
Past Indefinite :
To describe an action of past Past Indefinite or Simple Past Tense is used.
Structure / Form :
Subject + past form of main verb + object / others.
She danced well. They came home.
Negative sentence:
Subject + did + present form of main verb + object / others.
She did not sing a song.
He did not write a letter.
Interrogative sentence:
Did + subject + present form of main verb + object / others ?
Did he notice you ?
Did my father call me ?
PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE :
We use past continuous tense when an action of past time was in progress.
STRUCTURE / FORM :
Subject = was / were + ing with main verb + object / others.
She was making a paper boat. They were serving tea to the travellers.
NEGATIVE SENTENCE :
Subject + was / were + not + ing with main verb + object / others.
She was not helping people.
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE :
Was / were + subject + ing with main verb + object / others ?
Was she playing piano ?
Were the boys throwing stones ?
PAST PERFECT :
From the two past consecutive incidents the earlier incident is written in Past Perfect Tense and the latter is written in Past Indefinite or Simple Past Tense.
Structure / Form :
Subject + had + past participle of the main verb + before + Subject + past form 2nd main verb.
Or,
Subject + past form of the 1st main verb + after + subject + had + past participle of the 2nd main verb + Object / others.
The patient had died before the doctor came.
The police came after the thieves had escaped.
Rule: Past Perfect should be written : –
after “after ” and before ” before “.
The student came after the teacher had come.
We had reached the station before the train left the station.
Past Perfect + before + Simple Past Tense.
Simple Past Tense + after + Past Perfect Tense.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense :
coming soon
