What is Tense ? Types, Definitions & Examples – “भाषा प्रवीणता परीक्षा विशेष”

Tense is the form of a verb that shows the time something happened, or is going to happen. अङ्ग्रेजी भाषामा, ‘Tense’ शब्द वाक्यमा क्रियाको विशेषतालाई जनाउन प्रयोग गरिन्छ। There are three main tenses:

1. Present tense: things that are true when the words are spoken or written.

• Example: She goes to school. In this sentence, goes shows that it is a present tense. It suggests that she regularly goes to school.
• Example: She is going to school. This says she is now going to school.

2. Past tense: things that were true before the words were spoken or written.

• Example: She went to school. In this sentence, went shows that it is a past tense.

3. Future tense: things that will be true after the words are spoken or written.

• Example: She will go to school. This sentence will show that it is a future tense.

Tense can be shown by changing the spelling of a verb. For example, be can become am, is, and are in the present tense, and was and were in past tense. In English, future tense is shown by adding will before the verb. For example, be becomes will be in future tense.

Types of Tenses in English Grammar:

There are three tenses in English grammar:
• Present tense
• Past tense
• Future tense

Further, all three tenses have four kinds:
• Simple or indefinite
• Continuous
• Perfect
• Perfect Continuous

In English grammar, the three major types of tenses are:

Present Tense:

• Simple Present: Used to express general truths, habits, or actions that are true in the present. For example: “I work in an office.”
• Present Continuous (Progressive): Used to describe actions that are happening right now or around the current time. For example: “She is studying for her exams.”
• Present Perfect: Used to indicate actions that occurred at an indefinite time in the past but have relevance to the present. For example: “I have visited that museum before.”

Past Tense:

• Simple Past: Used to describe completed actions or states in the past. For example: “They went to the beach yesterday.”
• Past Continuous (Progressive): Used to describe actions that were ongoing in the past. For example: “While I was cooking, the phone rang.”
• Past Perfect: Used to indicate actions that were completed before another past action. For example: “She had already left when I arrived.”

Future Tense:

• Simple Future: Used to express actions or states that will occur in the future. For example: “I will call you tomorrow.”
• Future Continuous (Progressive): Used to describe actions that will be ongoing in the future. For example: “This time next week, we will be celebrating.”
• Future Perfect: Used to indicate actions that will be completed before a specific future time. For example: “By the time you arrive, we will have finished dinner.”

All Tenses Rules Chart

We will now talk about each section with different types of Tenses, rules for tenses, and their examples.

Past Tense Rules

The Past Tense describes a Past activity or task. It is a type of verb that describes the tasks that have already taken place.

For Example-

• Rohan attended the music class.
• She departed before I reached home.
• Priya wrote a letter to her friends.

Simple Past Tense Rules

Subject + V2 + Object 

For Example-

• Sheetal ate dinner.
• I prepared for the exam.

Past Continuous Tense Rules

Subject + was + V1 + ing + Object (Singular) Subject + were + V1 + ing + Object (Plural)

For Example-

• I was eating dinner.
• Sia was writing a letter to the principal.

Past Perfect Tense Rules

Subject + had + V3 + Object

For Example-

• He had taken the receipt.
• I had washed my clothes.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense Rules

Subject + had been + V1 + ing + Object

For Example-

• He had been standing at your gate the whole night.
• I had been drinking plenty of water for the whole summer.

Present Tense Rules

The Present Tense describes the present events or tasks. It is a type of verb that signifies the tasks that are recently taking place.
Simple Present Tense Rules

Subject + is/am/are + V1 + Object (Singular Verb s/es)

Subject + were + V1 + ing + Object (Plural Verb (V1)

For Example-

• I go to school daily.
• She enjoys eating fast food.
• Rohan studies well.

Present Continuous Tense Rules

Subject + was + V1 + ing + Object (Singular) Subject + were + V1 + ing + Object (Plural)

For Example-

• I am eating Chinese food.
• Sia is writing a letter to her friend.

Present Perfect Tense Rules

Subject + had + V3 + Object

For Example-

• He has taken the ticket.
• I have brushed my teeth.

Present Perfect Continuous Tense Rules

Subject + had been + V1 + ing + Object

For Example-

• He has been waiting for your call the whole night.
• I have been studying for UPSC for the whole year.

Future Tense Rules

The Future Tense denotes the events and occurrences that haven’t taken place yet but will occur in the future. It is a type of verb that will take place in the future.

For Example-

• She will attend the piano classes from tomorrow
• The train will depart in 20 minutes.
• Rohit will shift to Delhi next month.

Simple Future Tense Rules

Subject + will/shall + V1 + Object

For Example-

• I shall go to the music class tomorrow.
• My mother will pick me up from school.

Future Continuous Tense Rules

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

For Example-

• He shall be preparing for the exam.
• We will be going to Mumbai.

Future Perfect Tense Rules

Subject + will have/shall have + V3 + Object

For Example-

• I shall have started exercising by that time.
• We will have reached Kerala by then.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense Rules

Subject + will have been + V1 + ing + Object

For Example-

• By next year we will be shifting to London.
• They shall be providing food in the slum area tomorrow.

Tenses Rules and Application 

Sometimes learning and understanding the Rules and types of Tenses can be confusing. To make it easy for you, we have compiled the tense rules and their application with the help of examples in the table below.