Tense Details

Tense Details

1. Present  Tense
2. Past Tense 
3.  Future Tense 

a) Indefinite
b) Continuous 
c) Perfect
d) Perfect Continuous
1.  Present Tense = Verb’s  Present form
2.  Past Tense = Verb’s  Past form
3.  Future Tense =  Shall/will + bare infinitive.
4. Continuous  = Be + Present  Participle (V+ing)
5. Perfect = Have + Past  Participle

Present, Past, Future (Indifinite and Continuous)
Indefinite Tens
1.    Present Indefinite Tense:
Definition: 

•    Onni  and Sumi ____ in Narsingdi.
•    My aunt ____ in Sylhet.
•    I ___ near  Gazipur.      

    Use: 

Sentences in the present simple tense are true all the time.
•    I come from Dhaka.
•    I like music. 
•    I have three sisters.

Form: 

Positive : Subject + V1 + Extension.

I     like   

music
You       
He   
likes   
She       
It       
We   
like   
they       

Negative : Subject + don’t / doesn’t +V1 +Extension.

I    don’t   

like   

music
You           
He   
doesn’t       
She           
It           
We    don’t       
they           

Questions : Do / Does + Sub + V1 + Extension?

Do    I   

like   

music?
    you       

Does     he       
    she       
    it       
Do    we       
    they       

Short answers

Yes,    I   
do   

No,    I   
don’t
    you                you   
    he   

does            he   
doesn’t
    she                she   
    it                it   
    we   
do            we   
don’t
    they                they   

Rules for 3rd person (he / she / it)

•    If a verb ends in consonant + y, change y to i and add es.
I study English.  He studies English.

•    If a verb ends in ch, ss, x, sh or z, add es.
She watches television.
Susan misses her family.
He fixes the television.
My dad washes the car on Sundays.

•    Some verbs have irregular spellings:
I go         →           he / she / it goes
I do         →           he / she / it does
I have     →           he / she / it has

Common mistakes

1)            Some students forget to add s for he/she/it.
My mother like chocolate.            →            My mother likes chocolate.

2)            Some students make the negative form incorrectly.
Tom no work here.           →            Tom doesn’t work here.
Tom isn’t work here.
Tom don’t work here.

3)            Some students forget to use Do and Does to make questions.
You like this song?             →            Do you like this song?
Is your father work here?         →      Does your father work here?  

Simple present tense with ‘be’
The verb ‘be’ is different from the other verbs in this tense. Let’s look at ‘be’ first:
Here’s the positive form:
Positive     Positive Short Form
I am     I’m
you are     you’re
he is     he’s
she is     she’s
it is     it’s
we are     we’re
they are     they’re
Here’s the negative form:
Negative     Negative short form
I am not     I’m not
you are not     you aren’t
he is not     he isn’t
she is not     she isn’t
it is not     it isn’t
we are not     we aren’t
they are not     they aren’t
Here’s the ‘yes / no’ question form:
Yes / No Questions
am I ?
are you ?
is he ?
is she ?
is it ?
are we ?
are they ?
To make a ‘wh’ question, just put the question word at the front:
Wh Questions
where     am I ?
what     are you ?
why     is he ?
who     is she ?
when     are we ?
how     are they ?
Present simple tense with other verbs
The positive is really easy. It’s just the verb with an extra ‘s’ if the subject is ‘he’, ‘she’, or ‘it’. Let’s take the verb ‘play’ as an example:
Positive (of ‘play’)
I play
you play
he plays
she plays
it plays
we play
they play
•    Don’t forget the ‘s’! Even really advanced students do this!
•    For a few verbs, there is a spelling change before the ‘s’. For example, ‘study’ becomes ‘studies’..
•    There are also few verbs which are irregular in the present simple:
1.    ‘have’ becomes ‘has’
2.    ‘do’ becomes ‘does’
3.    ‘go’ becomes ‘goes’
To make the negative form, you need to use ‘do not’ (don’t) or ‘ does not’ (doesn’t).
Negative (of ‘play’)
I do not play.    I don’t play.
You do not play.    You don’t play.
He does not play.    He doesn’t play.
She does not play.    She doesn’t play.
It does not play.    It doesn’t play.
We do not play.    We don’t play.
They do not play.    They don’t play.
How about the question form of the present simple tense?
We use ‘do’ or ‘does’ before the subject to make the ‘yes / no’ question:
Yes / No questions
Do I play?
Do you play?
Does he play?
Does she play?
Does it play?
Do we play?
Do they play?
To make a ‘wh’ question, just put the question word at the front:
Wh Questions
where     do I play ?
what     do you play ?
why     does he play ?
who     does she play ?
when     do we play ?
how     do they play ?

Use The Present Simple Tense:
1:   We use the Present Simple when something is generally true. For example,
•    The sun rises in the east.
•    People need food.
•    It snows in winter.
•    The sky isn’t green.
•    Water boils at 100°C.
•    Plants die without water.
•    Two and two make four.
2:    We need to use this tense for a situation that we think is more or less permanent.
•    Where do you live?
•    She works in a bank.
•    They love coffee.
•    She has three children.
•    I am married.
•    I don’t like mushrooms.
3:   The next use is for habits or things that we do regularly.
•    Do you smoke?
•    I play tennis every Tuesday.
•    We often go to the cinema.
•    She gets up at seven o’clock every day.
•    At the weekend, we usually go to the market.
•    How often do you study English?
•    I don’t travel very often.
4:     We use the Simple Present to talk about what happens in books, plays, or films:
•    The hero dies at the end of the film.
•    A young woman travels through Europe, where she meets different people, and finally falls in love.
•    In this book, an army invades Britain.
•    The main character is very pretty and works in a bookshop.
5:   We use it in the first and the zero conditional.
•    If you come, I go.
6:   Strangely, we can use this tense to talk about the future. When you are discussing a timetable or a fixed plan, you can use this tense. Usually, the timetable is fixed by an organization, not by us.
•    School begins at nine tomorrow.
•    Our train leaves at eleven.
•    What time does the film start?
•    The plane doesn’t arrive at seven, it arrives at seven thirty.
•    When does the class finish?
7:   We also use it to talk about the future after words like ‘ when’, ‘ until’, ‘ after’, ‘ before’, ‘as  soon as’ in a future sentence.
•    I will call you when I have time. (Not ‘will have’)
•    I won’t go out until it stops raining.
•    She’ll come as soon as her babysitter arrives.
•    I’m going to make dinner after I watch the news.
•    I’ll give you the book before you go.
8:  We need to use this simple tense with some special verbs which we don’t use in continuous tenses (stative verbs).
•    This soup tastes great.
•    You look fabulous.
•    I think she is very pretty.
•    I am cold.
•    I promise I will help you.