Tense: It tells about time as well as state of an action.

There are three types of tenses.

1) Present Tense
2) Past Tense
3) Future Tense
There are four types of Present tense.
1) Simple Present / Present Indefinite Tense (Complete , Incomplete )
2) Present Continuous / Present Imperfect Tense (Incomplete )
3) Present Perfect Tense (Complete )
4) Present Perfect Continuous Tense (Incomplete ), Here Perfect shows starting time.
Point of Confusion:
1) Simple Past / Past Perfect Tense
2) Present Perfect / Simple Past Tense
3) Future (will/shall) / Near future (Simple Present , Present Continuous  )
Outline:
Present Past Future
E.g. He has worked since 2pm (Present Perfect), work started in past but ended in present.
E.g. He has been working since 2pm (Present Perfect Continuous), work started in past but still
is continue.
E.g. He had worked since 2pm (Past Perfect), work started in past and ended in past also.
E.g. He had been working since 2pm (Past Perfect Continuous), work started in past and was
continue in past.
 When we focus on Action, we use Perfect.
 When we focus on Time, we use Indefinite.
E.g.
1) He went to school yesterday. 
He had gone to school yesterday.
2) He had left (action) for airport yesterday (Time) before I reached there.
Here we are using yesterday with perfect because we are focusing on an action more than
time.
3), Haji Shariatullah started / had started Faraizi movement. (because movement started in a
particular time)
Simple Present / Present Indefinite Tense
Uses
1) Universal Truth
E.g. The sun rises in the East. (Universal Truth)
E.g. The teacher said that The sun rises in the East. (Universal Truth)
E.g. He said that he can / could do the work. (Not Universal truth)
2) General statements
E.g. Galileo proved that the earth revolves / revolved around the sun.
3) Habitual action
E.g. He goes / is going for a morning walk every day.
4) Proverb
E.g. Honesty is the best policy.
E.g. All that glitters is / are not gold.

 Simple Present tense is used for near / immediate future. (Official Purpose/Fixed
time/Formal)
E.g. The PM leaves next week for London. (Official Purpose, Formal)
E.g. The match starts at 8 pm. (Time Fixed)
 Present Continuous tense is also used for near / immediate future / informal.
E.g. The PM is leaving next week for London. (Official Purpose, Formal)
E.g. He has / is having a birthday party next week. (Informal)
 Simple Present tense is used for Past Tense to highlight past action.
E.g. Pakistan wins; A glorious victory (News)
 Simple Present Tense for Permanent Action (Positive sense)
 E.g. He always helps me. () Permanent Action
E.g. He is always helping me. ()
 Simple Present & Present Continuous Tense for Permanent Action (Negative sense)
E.g. He always makes mistakes. ()
E.g. He is always making mistakes. ()
Error Detection of Conditional Sentences
He will come and I will go ()
Two future can’t be used together in conditional clauses
If shows 3 things:
 Condition
E.g. If he comes, I will go.
 Doubt
E.g. I don’t know if he will come.
 Imagination
 E.g. If I were a bird, I would fly.

Conditional Words:
If, when, whenever, after, before, until, unless, provided, incase, till, on the condition.
E.g.
1) If he will come / comes, I will go.
2) Unless you work / will work, you will not succeed.
3) If I come / shall come, I shall help him.
4) Wait here till I will / will come.
5) I will take an umbrella in case it rains / will rain.
6) Unless aid arrives within the next few weeks, thousands are starving / will starve.
7) After the letter reaches / reach / will reach me, I shall know the result.
8) If you heat water, it boils / will boil at 100C0. (Universal Truth)

Present Continuous Tense

USES
 It denotes activities (temporary) going on in the present.
Note: Static verbs don’t have “ing” form.
1. Have: Having  (Possession / Ownership)
E.g.
1) He is having (Possession / Ownership) two cars. 
2) I am having (Possession / Ownership) two books. 
3) He is having (Eating) breakfast. 
4) He is having (Suffering) fever. 
5) He is having (Attending / Conducting) a meeting tomorrow. 
6) Ahmed is having a large fan following. 

2. Know: Knowing (Gerund , Main Verb )

E.g.
1) He is knowing (Main Verb) the truth. 
2) After (Preposition) knowing (Noun / Gerund) the truth, I gave my decision. 
3) I am knowing him for two years.
a) I know
b) I have known 
3. Appear: Appearing (Seeming , Participate , Rising )
E.g.
1) It is appearing (Seems) to me that he committed the mistake. 
2) The stars are appearing (Rising) in the sky. 
3) He is appearing (Participating) in the exam. 

4. Hear: Hearing (Listen , Sunai in the court (Proceeding the case) )

Listen: Listening 
E.g.
1) He is hearing (Listen) music. 
2) The judge is hearing (Proceeding) the case. 
3) I am listening to the music. 

5. See: Seeing (Main Verb , Gerund )

Watch: Watching 
E.g.
1) Seeing (Noun / Gerund) is believing. 
2) He is seeing (Main Verb) the movie. 
3) I am seeing (Visiting) the CM tomorrow. 
4) I am watching the movie. 

6. Like: Liking (Main Verb , Gerund )

E.g.
1) He is liking (Main Verb) her a lot. 
2) He has a liking (Noun / Gerund) for sweets. 

7. Belong: Belonging (Possession / Ownership , Noun / Gerund )

E.g.
1) This book is belonging (Possession / Ownership) to me. 
2) All his (Possessive Adjective) belongings (Noun) were stolen. 

8. Hope: Hoping (Main Verb , Noun / Gerund )

E.g.
1) I am hoping (Main Verb) for the best.
2) Hoping (Noun / Gerund) for the best.

9. Believe: Believing (Main Verb , Noun / Gerund )

E.g.
1) Some people are believing (Main Verb) that women cannot compete with men. 
2) Seeing is believing (Gerund) 

10. Remember: Remember (Main Verb , Noun / Gerund )

E.g.
1) He is remembering (Main Verb) his early years. 
2) Remembering (Noun / Gerund) the past memories motivate you. 

11. Understand: Understanding (Main Verb , Noun / Gerund )

E.g.
1) He is not understanding (Main Verb) the problem.
2) Understanding (Noun / Gerund) the problem helps in solving the problem.

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

USES:
1. It is used to indicate a link between the present and the past. It denotes activities beginning in
the past and have the effect in the present.
E.g.
 YET works as Conjunction as well as Adverb.
1) I have lived here since 2016.
 Yet (Time): Present Perfect Tense.
2) He hasn’t come (Verb) yet (Adverb).
3) Although he worked hard yet (Conjunction) he failed.
4) He didn’t complete the work yet. 
5) He hasn’t completed the work yet. 
6) I have known him for a long time.

2. Present Perfect Tense is used when we give more important to the action rather than time of
action.
E.g.  TIME shows time (Waqt).
 One time, two times, three times (Frequency)
1) I have done (Action) the work. 
2) I did / have done the work yesterday (Time).
3) I saw / have seen the movie three times (Frequency).
4) I saw / have seen the movie last night (Time).
5) Gandhiji started / has started the Non-Cooperation movement. (Time)
6) I visited / have visited him. (Action)
7) I visited / have visited him ago (Time)
3. Present Perfect is used with certain adverbial phrases which express time.
E.g. YET, JUST, ALREADY, SO FAR, UPTIL NOW, RECENTLY (Past / Present
Perfect), LATELY, OF LATE
E.g.
He has not / did not come uptil now.
Of late, there has been / is no news of recovery.
He has already completed / already completed the work on time.
The train has just left / just left the station.
I worked / have worked hard this week.
I saw / have seen her today.
He has worked since Monday. (Work started in the past and completed in the present)

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

USES:
It denotes the activities started in the past and still are in progress.
E.g.
1) He has been working for two hours.
2) I have been watching television since 2pm.
3) The boy has been studying for a day.
4) He has been working since Monday.
5) He is / has been living in this town for the last two years.
6) I am knowing the students since January. 
I have known the students since January. 
7) The player has been scoring centuries since 2016. 
The player has scored centuries since 2016. 
8) The player has scored / has been scoring ten centuries since 2016. 

SIMPLE PAST TENSE / PAST INDEFINITE

USES:
1. With time expressing adverbs, simple past is used.
E.g. YESTERDAY (Simple Past / Past Perfect / Past Continuous), AGO, LAST WEEK, LAST
NIGHT, PREVIOUS NIGHT, LAST MONTH, LAST YEAR, FORMERLY, THE OTHER
DAY.
E.g.
1) She had left / left for London last night.
2) She saw / had seen the movie yesterday.
3) Two years ago, the earthquake destroyed / had destroyed the city.
4) I heard / was hearing the dog barking last evening.
5) Newton has discovered / had discovered / discovered that the force of gravitation makes
apples fall.
6) I have taken my lunch. (Action)
7) I took / have taken my lunch an hour ago.

2. With expressions such as “IT’S TIME”, “IT’S HIGH TIME”, “IT’S ABOUT TIME”,
SIMPLE PAST is used.
E.g.
1) It’s time to do (Infinitive) the work.
2) It’s time he does / did / had done the work.
3) It’s time he goes / went / had gone the school.
4) It’s high time he does / did the work.

3. Suppositional / imaginary / hypothesis sentences having phrases like “I WISH”,

“HE/SHE WISHES”, “AS IF”, “AS THOUGH” and indicating some unfulfilled wish /
desire take SIMPLE PAST.
E.g.
1) If he comes, I will go. (Conditional Sentences)
2) I was a student.
3) They were students.
4) If I/she/he were a bird. I/she/he would fly.
5) He behaves as if he knows / knew everything.

4. The modals “USED TO” and “WOULD” are used in SIMPLE PAST TENSE to denote
the habits of the past.
E.g.
1) He used to study late hours.
2) My friend would follow my advice.

PAST CONTINUOUS / PAST IMPERFECT

USES:
It denotes activities going at some in the Past.
E.g.
1) We were listening to the music.
2) I sprained my ankle while I was playing.
3) I was playing yesterday.
4) I played yesterday.
5) She dashed against the truck while she crossed / was crossing the road.
6) When the film began, we were standing in the queue.
7) Five years ago, I sat / was sitting in a Japanese car, driving towards Berlin.
8) He was having / had two books.
9) He was understanding (Static Verb) / understood the problem.

PAST PERFECT TENSE

USES:
If two activities of the past are mentioned, the activity which takes place first takes Past Perfect
and the second activity will take Simple Past.
E.g.
1) He had left (Past Perfect) before I came (Simple Past).
2) He had left.
3) I had left (Past Perfect) before they arrived (Simple Past)
4) On reaching the campus, he was disappointed (Simple Past) as the bus had left (Past
Perfect).
5) Although we reached (Simple Past) his house on time he left / had left (Past Perfect) for
the airport.
6) The thief explained (Simple Past) how he escaped / had escaped (Past Perfect) from the
jail.
7) The patient died (Simple Past) after the doctor came / had come (Past Perfect).
8) The train left / had left (Past Perfect) before I reached (Simple Past) the station.
9) The stage collapsed (Simple Past) as soon as he stepped (Simple Past) / had stepped.
10) When he had finished (Past Perfect) his study, his mother entered (Simple Past) the
room.
11) That was the worst (Simple Past) film that I saw / had seen (Past Perfect)
 If + had + Verb 3rd form, + Would have + Verb 3rd form / should have + Verb 3rd
form / could have + Verb 3rd form / might have + Verb 3rd form
12) I he comes / will come (Simple Present), I will go (Simple Future)
I he came / would come (Simple Past), I would go (Simple Past)
I he had come / would have come (Past Perfect), I would have gone (Past Perfect)
 13) If he worked hard, he would succeed.
If he worked hard, he would have succeeded.
Had he worked hard, he would have succeeded.
14) He said that he would come.
He said that he would have come.

Had had 
Has / Have had 
Have have 
Has has 
Has / Have / Had act as Main Verb as well as Auxiliary Verb
1) He has (Auxiliary Verb) a pen.
2) He has (Auxiliary Verb) written (Main Verb).  Present Perfect Tense
3) He had (Main Verb) lunch.  Simple Past Tense
4) He had (Auxiliary Verb) had (Main Verb) lunch.  Past Perfect Tense
5) If he had come, I would have left for office.
6) Had he come, I would have left for office.

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

USES:
It denotes the activities that began before a certain point in the past and continued up to the time.
E.g.
1) He was / had been living here since 2016.
2) He is living in this town for 2 years.
a) Has been living 
b) Had been living
3) He is working in this office for 2 years before I joined.
a) Has been living
b) Had been living 

SIMPLE FUTURE / FUTURE INDEFINITE TENSE

USES:
To talk about the activities that we think or believe will happen in future.
 1) I will do the work on time.
2) I shall return by Monday.
3) I hope to finish the work soon.  Sometimes we use Simple Present for Future Tense.
4) I am sure she will get a first class.
5) He said that he will / would come.

 Sometimes Present Continuous is used for Immediate / Near Future.

E.g.
1) His father is about to retire.
2) He is going to sing a song.
3) The train is going to leave the station.
FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE
USES:
It denotes the activities that will be going on at some time in Future.
E.g.
1) He will be watching the movie.
2) He will be working there till Monday.
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
USES:
It denotes the activities that will be complete by a certain time in future.
E.g.
1) By next year, the student will qualify / will have qualified the exam.
2) He will read / will have read the books by the end of the vacation.
3) Too little is known about the incident ___________
a) By this time
b) Presently 
4) By this time next year, he has had / will have settled in London with his parents.
5) The train will be arriving / will have arrived before we reach the station.
FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
USES:
It denotes activities that will be in progress over a period of time in future.
1) He will have been teaching here for two years.
2) I shall have been living here in this town for a year.