1. TENSES
ENGLISH GRAMMAR

2. TENSE MEANS TIME____
PRESENT TIME
PAST TIME
FUTURE TIME

3. Simple Present Present Continuous Present Perfect Present Perfect
I am playing. I have played. Continuous
I play. I have been
playing
for two hours .
Simple Past Past Continuous Past Perfect
Past Perfect
I played. I had played.
Continuous
I was playing.
I had been playing
when you came.
Simple Future Future Continuous Future Perfect Future Perfect
I will have Continuous
I will play. I will be playing.
played.I will have been
playing
for two hours at
2 o’clock.

4. There are The Present
three The Past
Main tenses The Future
EACH TENSE HAS FOUR FORMS
SIMPLE: Present, Past, Future
CONTINUOUS: Present, Past, Future
PERFECT: Present, Past, Future
PERFECT CONTINUOUS: Present, Past,
Future

5. USES
SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE Repeated Actions
Present Form Of verb Habitual Actions
OR
Present Form Of Verb
+ Universal Truth
‘s’ or ‘es’
A Future Action
Examples: 5. Honesty is the best policy.
6. Our school re-opens in
1.I drink tea daily. July.
2. She drinks tea daily. 7. Ram doesn’t go to school .
3. I sing well. 8. I don’t like to read sad
4. She sings well. stories.
9. Does he know the way?

6. Simple Past Tense Simple Future Tense
Past Form Of Verb Will + Present form of the
Verb
Uses:
Uses:
PAST ACTION
NARRATION OF STORIES oFUTURE ACTIONS
DESCRIPTION OF SERIES OF
AST EVENTS Examples:
xamples:
1.She will receive
. I / She received your your letter tomorrow.
etter yesterday.
2.It looks like it
. It rained last week. will rain tomorrow.
. She watched her brother3.She will watch her
eing awarded. brother being
awarded.

7. FUTURE CONTINUOUS
PRESENT CONTINUOUS PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE TENSE
TENSE Was, were + Present Will be +Present
Is, am, are + Present Participle Participle
Participle
Uses: Uses:
Uses: To describe an action that To describe an action:
To describe an action that :
Was going on at a point of That will be in progress
Is happening at the moment time, When another action at a given point of time in
of speaking. took place. the future.
Going on over a period of Examples: Examples:
time. 1. It was raining at this time
yesterday. 1.This time tomorrow, I
shall be flying over
Examples: 2. She was watching her London.
1. It is raining. brother play when the thieves
entered the house. 2. I won’t be going for the
2. She is watching her brother party tomorrow.
play. 3. He was typing in his office
when the fire broke out. 3. The school team will
3. My sister is singing on the be
stage. going to Agra next week.

8. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE PAST PERFECT TENSE FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
has/ have +Past Participle Had + Past Participle Will/ shall have + Past
Participle
Uses: Uses:
To describe an action: To describe an action that Uses:
Which has been completed had already taken place in To describe an action that
or done just now, near the the past before another will be completed by
present time. action took place In the some point of time in the
An action that has taken place past. future.
In the past, but the action has
Its effect In the present. Examples:
An action that began in the Examples:
past, 1.When I reached the
and is continuing in the present. station, the train had left. 1.He will have left before
you reach.
Examples: 2. They had already pulled
1.He has eaten all the biscuits. down the old building 2. They will have cleaned
before the order the streets in an hour.
2.He has lived here for ten years. was given.

9. PRESENT PERFECT PAST PERFECT FUTURE PERFECT
CONTINUOUS CONTINUOUS CONTINUOUS
Has been/ have been Had been Will have been
+ + +
Present Participle Present Participle Present Participle
Use: Use: Use:
To describe an action
which began in the past but To describe an action To describe an action
Is still continuing in the that That will be in
present. began in the past and progress even after a
continued in the past for given point of time.
sometime.
Examples: Examples:
Examples:
1.He has been sleeping for 1.By next December,
five hours. 1.When I visited him, he We will have been living
had been teaching there here for five years.
2.They have been working for five years.
since 9a.m.

10. PRESENT
SIMPLE TENSE
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
PRESENT
I AM READING.
I/WE/THEY/YOU READ. YOU/WE/THEY ARE READING.
SHE/HE/IT READS. SHE/HE/IT IS READING.
PRESENT PERFECT PRESENT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
I/ WE/ THEY/YOU HAVE BEEN
I/WE/THEY/YOU HAVE
READING +TIME.
READ.
SHE/HE/IT HAS BEEN READING
SHE/HE /IT HAS READ.
+TIME.

11. PAST
PAST
SIMPLE TENSE
PAST CONTINUOUS
I/WE/THEY/YOU/SHE/HE/
I/SHE/HE/IT WAS READING.
IT
YOU/WE/THEY WERE READING.
READ.
PAST PAST PERFECT
PERFECT CONTINUOUS
I/HE/SHE/YOU/WE/THEY
I/WE/SHE/HE/THEY/YOU HAD BEEN
HAD READ THE BOOK LAST
READING THE BOOK WHEN
WEEK. THE TEACHER WENT INTO THE CLASSROOM.

12. FUTURE TENSE
SIMPLE FUTURE FUTURE
CONTINUOUS
I/WE/YOU/SHE/HE/THEY
WILL READ THE BOOK I/WE/YOU/THEY/HE/SHE
TOMORROW. WILL BE READING THE BOOK SOON.
FUTURE
FUTURE PERFECT
PERFECT CONTINUOUS
I/WE/YOU/SHE/HE/THEY I/WE/YOU/SHE/HE/THEY WILL
WILL HAVE READ THE BOOK HAVE BEEN READING THE BOOK
BY NEXT WEEK. FOR FIVE DAYS ON MONDAY.

13. COMMON MISTAKES IN TENSES
1.It is raining since yesterday. X
It has been raining since yesterday.
2. I reached the station before the train had arrived. X
I had reached the station before the train arrived.
3. Yesterday we had seen the panther. X
Yesterday we saw the panther.
4. I had been playing a match.
I had been playing a match yesterday, so
couldn’t go out with my friends.