What is Tense? Explain with the help of solved examples

Tense

Tenses is a form of verb that reflects the time of action happened, happening or will happen.

There are primarily three types of tenses:

• Past Tense
• Present Tense
• Future Tense

These three tenses are again subcategorized based on continuance and completeness of action:

• Simple/Indefinite Tense
• Continuous tense
• Perfect tense
• Perfect continuous tense

Rules

Simple Present Tense

• Singular:

Rule – Subject + V1 + s/es + Object

Example – The child plays a guitar.

• Plural:

Rule: Subject + V1 + object

Example – The children play guitar.

Present continuous Tense

Rule: Subject + is/am/are + V1 + ing + object

Example: Mary is dancing / They are dancing.

Present perfect Tense

• Singular

Rule: Subject + has + V3 + Object

Example: Mary has washed the clothes

• Plural:

Rule – Subject + have + V3 + Object

Example – They have washed the clothes.

Present perfect continuous Tense

• Singular:

Rule – Subject + has been + V1 + ing + Object

Example – Mary has been studying since morning

• Plural:

Rule: Subject + have been + V1 + ing + Object

Example – The students have been studying since morning

Simple Past Tense

Rule – Subject + V2 + Object

Example – He / They swam across the river.

Past continuous Tense

• Singular

Rule – Subject + was + V1 + ing + Object

Example – Mary was cleaning the house

• Plural

Rule: Subject + were + V1 + ing + Object

Example: They were cleaning the house.

Past perfect Tense

Rule – Subject + had + V3 + Object

Example – Mary had pulled the rope.

Past perfect continuous Tense

Rule – Subject + had been + V1 + ing + Object

Example – Mary had been taking care of her mother for the last two weeks.

Simple Future Tense

Rule: Subject + will/shall + V1 + Object

Example – I shall go to the market tomorrow.

Future continuous Tense

Rule: Subject + will be/shall be + V1 + ing + Object

Example – Mary / They will be coming to my house tomorrow.

Future perfect Tense

Rule: Subject + will have/shall have + V3 + Object

Example – Mary shall have covered all the notebooks in brown paper by tomorrow.

Future perfect continuous Tense

Rule – Subject + will have been + V1 + ing + Object

Example – He shall have been living here since 2001