tenses

tenses
 The three main types of tenses in English are: past, present and
future.

Past tense
The past tense is used to describe an activity or an event that has happened in the past or a past state of being and
needs to include a time marker for when the event or action took place.
Structural formula:
Subject + verb (2nd form) + object.
Examples:
•We met yesterday.
•He bought a new laptop last week.
Present tense
The simple present tense or present tense is one of the most basic tenses in English.
We use present tense to talk about something that is currently going on, something that is habitually performed, or a
state that generally or currently exists.
Structural formula:
Subject + verb (s/es) + object.
Examples:
•She lives in Spain.
•Bob drives a taxi.
 Future tense
The future tense is a verb tense used to describe an event or
action that has not yet happened and is expected to happen
in the future.
Structural formula:
Subject + shall/will+ verb (s/es) + object.
Example:
•He will be here soon.
•I shall come for the event.
 The subtypes of tenses?

Past continuous tense

The past continuous tense is used to describe events or
actions that have already occurred in the past. It's
employed to describe any action which has happened in
the past.
Structural formula:
Subject + helping verb (was/were) + verb (ing) + object.
Examples:
•I was watching TV.
•We were sleeping.
•She wasn’t eating her lunch.
 Past perfect tense
The past perfect tense is used to describe an event that occurred before a completed action in the past.
Structural formula:
Subject + had + verb (ed) + object.
Examples:
•He had gone when she became ill.
•She had not lived in New York.
•They had not been married long when I was born.
•
Past perfect continuous tense
The past perfect continuous tense represents any action or event that started in the past and sometimes continued into
another action or another time.
Structural formula:
Subject + had been + Verb (ing) + object (optional) + time of action.
Examples:
•We had been playing games for 6 hours when Dad came home.

•She had been reading magazines for 1 month before she decided to apply for the job .
 Present continuous tense
The present continuous tense is used to talk about the ongoing actions, events, or conditions that are still not
finished.
Structural formula:
Subject + helping verb (is / am/ are) + main verb (ing) + object.
Examples:
•She is playing basketball.
•Birds are flying in the sky.
•I’m learning English.
Present perfect tense
The present perfect tense is used to describe a situation or event that has already occurred but has immediate
ramifications. The present perfect tense can be used to describe experiences, and situations that occurred in the
past but still have an influence on the present. We don't use it with time markers.
Structural formula:
Subject + helping verb (have/has) + verb (ed) + object.
Examples:
•She has not finished her work yet.
•I have seen that movie twice.
 Present perfect continuous tense
The present perfect continuous tense shows a situation that has started in the
past and continues in the present.
Structural formula:
Subject + helping verb (have/has) + been + verb (ing) + object (optional) +
since / for + time duration + object.
Examples:
•I have been learning English for many years.
•He has been working here since 2010.
 Future continuous tense
The future continuous tense is used to describe an ongoing action that will occur or
occur in the future.
Structural formula:
Subject + shall/will be + verb (ing) + object.
Example:
•He will be coming to visit us next week.
•She will be watching TV.
•He will be writing a letter to Mary.
Future perfect tense
The future perfect is used to describe an action that will be completed between now
and a certain point in the future.
Structural formula:
Subject + shall/will + have + verb (3rd form) + object.
Examples:
•They will have finished the film before we get home.
 Future perfect continuous tense
We use the future perfect continuous to focus on the duration of an action before a specific time
in the future.
Structural formula:
Subject + shall/will + have been + verb (ing) + object (optional) + time instant.
Examples:
•He will have been studying hard for 2 weeks before the exam.
•By the time the alarm goes off, we will have been sleeping for 8 hours.
Tense Present Past Future

Simple He rides a bike He rode a bike He will ride a bike

Continuous He is riding a bike He was riding a bike He will be riding a bike

Perfect He has ridden a bike He had ridden a bike He will have ridden a
bike

Perfect continuous He has been riding a He had been riding a He will have been riding
bike since the morning bike since 8 am a bike at 8 am
tomorrow