Tenses Rules | Types of Tenses, Rules and Examples

Tenses Rules: Tenses rules are used to form English sentences. These tenses are present tense, past tense and future tense. The past refers to the things that happened before now, present tense refers to the things happening now and future tense refers to the things that are going to happen after now. Basically, they represent the aspects of time, based on the current time.

Tenses rules assist one with seeing how to accurately utilize the various tenses in a sentence, without committing a linguistic error and furthermore by effectively demonstrating when an occasion or activity has happened.  The idea of tense in English is a technique that we use to allude to time – past, present and future. Numerous dialects utilize tense to discuss time. Different dialects have no understanding of tense by any means, obviously, they can in any case discuss time, utilizing various techniques.

Types of Tenses and Their Subcategories

As we have already discussed in the introduction, 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

Simple Tense: It is utilized for ongoing or routine activities in the Present Tense, activity which is over in the Past Tense and activity to occur in the Future Tense.

Continuous Tense: The activity is fragmented or consistent or going on.

Perfect Tense: The activity is finished, completed or wonderful regarding a specific purpose of time.

Perfect Continuous Tense: The activity is going on persistently throughout an extensive stretch of time and is yet to be done.

Past Tense

An event that has happened before now, represented by past tense. For example, he played football last week. In this sentence, the event already happens here.

Past Tense Rules

TensesRulesExample
Past simple / indefiniteThe second form of the verb onlyHe ran away
Past continuous / ProgressiveWas/were + verb + ingShe was going shopping
Past perfectHad + third form of the verbSamar had left the room
Past perfect continuousHad been + verb + ingManish has been preparing for this dance for two weeks

Past Tense Examples

  • Jack attended the program
  • Reena was waiting for my friends
  • Ahana was happy to hear the news
  • Amitabh was sick
  • Nicky started reading after the teacher had entered the room
  • Rohan preferred coffee to tea
  • Rahul loved to travel around the world
  • Amita helped him to do the task
  • Mohan was shopping in that market.
  • The poet was writing a funny poem.
  • Mihir had studied in the library before he came to the class.
  • The players had played hockey in that field before it started to rain.
  • I had been singing various kinds of songs for an hour.
  • Richard had been singing the song since two hours.

Present Tense

Present tense refers to the time when the events are occurring now. It can be characterized as an articulation for an action that is right now in real life or is routinely performed. It is utilized for an express that by and large exists or is at present continuous.

TensesRulesExample
Present simple / indefiniteVerb / verb + s/esHeena sings a song
Present continuous / ProgressiveIs/am/are + verb + ingHeena is singing a song
Present perfectHas / have + third form of verbHeena has sung a song
Present perfect continuousHas/have + been + verb + ingHeena has been singing a song

Present Tense Examples

  • Bobby has given the book to Allen.
  • The sci-fi movie is fantastic.
  • Padma is going to the library.
  • Children love to play football.
  • The lyricist narrates realistic songs.
  • People are shopping in that market.
  • The write is writing romantic novels.
  • Are you coming to school tomorrow?
  • We have shopped in this market.

Future Tense

The events that are going to have happened is defined by future tenses. The moves that are to make place later on fall in the class of things to come tense.

TensesRulesExample
Future simple / indefiniteShall / will + verbRam will visit park tomorrow
Future continuous / ProgressiveShall / will + be + verb + ingRam shall be visiting park tomorrow
Future perfectShall/will + Have + past participleRam shall have visited park by tomorrow
Future perfect continuousShall/will + have been + verb + ingRam will have been visiting park tomorrow

Future Tense Examples

  • Ananya will assist you in this case
  • Bunty will do the assignment
  • Students will play football in that field
  • Rubina will join us in the meeting.
  • We will be shopping in that market this Sunday
  • Juli will be traveling around the world in May
  • Akshita will be helping him to do the task
  • Akshay will have shopped at that market before we come.
  • Rohini will have joined us at the meeting before you reach.
  • He will have been shopping in that market before we come.
  • Nina will have been helping him to do the task before the class starts.

FAQ’s on Tenses Rules

Question 1.
What are tenses in grammar?

Answer:
Tenses assume an urgent part of the English language. It indicates the time activity happens, regardless of whether at some point previously, in the present, or will take sooner or later. Tense can be appeared by changing the spelling of an action word.

Question 2.
What are the three primary tenses in English?

Answer:
The three primary tenses are:

  • Present Tense
  • Past Tense
  • Future Tense

Question 3.
What are the 12 different types of tenses?

Answer:
The 12 types of tenses are:

  • Present simple / indefinite tense
  • Present continuous / Progressive tense
  • Present Perfect tense
  • Present perfect continuous tense
  • Past simple/indefinite tense
  • Past continuous/Progressive tense
  • Past perfect tense
  • Past perfect continuous tense
  • Future simple / indefinite tense
  • Future continuous / Progressive tense
  • Future Perfect tense
  • Future perfect continuous tense

Question 4.
Give an example of simple present tense.

Answer:
“I play basketball every day”

Question 5.
What is the rule of past tense?

Answer:
Past simple/indefinite – Second form of the verb only,

Past continuous / Progressive – Was/were + verb + ing,

Past perfect – Had + third form of ver,

Past perfect continuous – Had been + verb + ing

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