WAJ 3102 LECTURE : MDM INTHERA DAVI SUBBIAH GROUP 1 : JENNY TING NOORUL LLYANI BINTI BESAR RACHAEL AZMI RITA AK IMA TENSES
Dec 29, 2015
WAJ 3102
LECTURE : MDM INTHERA DAVI SUBBIAH
GROUP 1 : JENNY TINGNOORUL LLYANI BINTI BESAR
RACHAEL AZMIRITA AK IMA
TENSES
TENSES : SIMPLE TENSE
Read the following sentences :
1. I write this letter to please you.
2. I wrote the letter in his very presence.
3. I shall write another letter tomorrow.
In sentences 1, the verb write refers to present time.
In sentences 2, the verb wrote refers to past time.
In sentences 3, the verb shall write refers to future time.
Thus, there are three main tenses :
present tenses
past tenses
future tenses
-The tense of verb shows the time of an action or event.
- Note : sometimes a past tense may refer to present time, and a
present tense may express future time, as:
I wish I knew the answer. ( Past tense – Present time )
Let’s wait till he comes. ( Present tense – Future tense )
PRESENT TENSE
Singular Number
Plural Number
1st person I love We love
2nd person You love You love
3rd person He loves They loves
Below we give the chief Tenses ( Active voice, Indicate Mood )
of the verb to love.
PAST TENSE
Singular Number
Plural Number
1st person I loved We loved
2nd person You loved You loved
3rd person He loved They loved
FUTURE TENSE
Singular Number
Plural Number
1st person I shall/will love We shall/will love
2nd person You will love You will love
3rd person He will love They will love
THE USES OF THE PRESENT AND PAST
TENSES Present Tenses
1. Simple Present Tense
• To express a habitual action,
E.g : - He drinks tea every morning.
- I get up everyday at five o’clock.
- My watch keeps good time.
• To express general truths,
E.g : - The sun rises in the east.
- Honey is sweet.
- Fortune favours the brave.
• In exclamatory sentences beginning with here and
there to express what is actually talking place in the
present,
E.g : - Here comes the bus !
- There she goes !
• In vivid narrative, as substitute for the simple past,
E.g : - Mike now rushes forward and deals a heavy
blow to Brian.
- Immediately the Sultan hurries to his capital.
• To express a future event that is part of a fixed
timetable or fixed programme
E.g : - The next flight is at 7.00 tomorrow morning.
- The match starts at 9 o’clock.
- The train leaves at 5.20.
- When does the coffee house reopen?
2. Present ContinuousTense
For an anction going on at the time of speaking,
E.g : - She is singing ( now ).
- The boys are playing hockeys.
For a temporary action which may not be actually
happening at the times of speaking,
E.g : I am reading “ David Copperfield”(but I am not
reading at this moment ).
For an action that as already been arranged to take
place in the near future,
E.g : I am going to the cinema tonight.
My uncle is arriving tomorrow.
The following verbs, on account of their meaning, are not
normally used in the continuous form :-
a. Verbs of perception
E.g : see, hear, smell, notice, recognize.
b. Verbs of appearing
E.g : appear, look, seem
c. Verbs of emotion
E.g : want, wish, desire, feel, like, love, hate, hope,
refuse, prefer.
d. Verbs of thinking
E.g : think, suppose, believe, agree, consider, trust,
remember, forget, know, understand, imagine.
e. Have ( = possess ), own, posses, belong to,contain,
consist of, be ( except when used in the passive )
E.g :
Wrong Right
These grapes are tasting sour.
These grapes taste sour.
I am thinking you are wrong.
I think you are wrong.
She is seeming sad. She seems sad.
He is having a cellular phone.
He has a cellular phone.
Table 1
# However, the verbs listed above can be used in the
continuous tenses with a change of meaning:
E.g : She is tasting the soup to see if it needs more salt.
( taste = test the flavour of)
I am thinking of going to Malaysia.
( think of = consider the idea of)
They are having lunch.
( have = eat)
3. Present Perfect Tenses
oTo indicate completed activities in the immediate past
( with just ),
E.g : - He has just gone out.
- It has just struck ten.
oTo express past actions whose time is not given and
not definite,
E.g : - Have you read “ Gulliver’s Travels?”
- I have never known him to be angry.
- Mr. Hari has been to Japan.
oTo describe past events when we think more of their
effect in the present than of the action itself,
E.g : - Gopi has eaten all the biscuits ( i.e., there aren’t
any left for you ).
- I have cut my finger ( and it is bleeding now ).
- I have finished my work (= now I am free).
oTo denote an action beginning at some time in the past
and continuing up to the present moment ( often with
since- and for- phrases),
E.g : - I have known him for a long time.
- He has been ill since last week.
- We have lived here for ten years.
- We haven’t seen Padma for several months.
4. Present Perfect Continuous TenseoFor an action which began at some time in the past
and is still continuing,
E.g : - He has been sleeping for five hours ( and still
sleeping).
- They have been building the bridge for
several months.
- They have been playing since four o’clock.
oAlso sometimes used for an action already finished. In
such cases the continuity of the activity is emphasized as
an explanation of something.
E.g : Why are your clothes so wet? – “ I have been
watering the garden”. Past Tenses1. Simple Past Tense
To indicate an action completed in the past. It often
occurs with adverbs or adverb phrases of past time.
E.g : - The steamer sailed yesterday.
- I received his letter a week ago.
Sometimes this tense is used without an adverb of time.
In such cases the time may be either implied or
indicated by the context.
E.g : - I learnt Hindi in Nagpur.
- I didn’t sleep well (i.e., last night).
Also used for past habits,
E.g : - He studied many hours everyday.
- She always carried an umbrella.
2. Past Continuous Tense
To denote an action going on at some time the
past. The time of the action may or may not be
indicated.
E.g : - We were listening to the radio all evening.
- It was getting darker.
Also used with always, continually, etc. For persistent
habits in the past.
E.g : He was always grumbling.
3. Past Perfect Tense
Describes an action completed before a certain
moment in the past,
E.g : I met him in New Delhi in 1996. I had seen him
last five years before.
If two actions happened in the past, it may be
necessary to show which action happened earlier
than the other. The past perfect is mainly used in
such situations. The simple past is used in one clause
and the past perfect is the other,
E.g : - I had done my exercise when Hari came to see
me.
- I had written the letter before he arrived.
4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Is used for action that began before a certain point in
the past and continued up to that time,
E.g : - At the time he had been writing a novel for two
months.
- When Mr. Mukerji came to the school in 1995s,
Mr. Anand had already been teaching these
for five years.
The Future 1. Simple Future Tense
Used to talk about things which we cannot control. It
expresses the future as fact.
E.g : - I shall be twenty next Saturday.
- It will be Diwali in a week.
To talk about what we think or believe will happen in
the future.
E.g : - I think Pakistan will win the match.
- I’m sure Helen will get a first class.
To do something at the time of speaking.
E.g : - It is raining. I will take an umbrella.
- “Mr. Sinha is very busy at the moment.” – “ All
right. I’ll wait.”
2. Simple Present Tense
Used for official programmes and timetables.
E.g : - The college opens on 23rd June.
- The films starts at 6.30 and finishes at 9.00.
Often used for future time in clauses with If, unless,
when, while, as before, after, untill and
as soon as. The simple future tense is not used in
such cases.
E.g : - I won’t go out if it rains. ( not: will rain)
- Can I have some milk before I go to bed?
3. Present ContinuousTense
Is used when talk about something that we have
planned to do in the future.
E.g : - I am going to Shimla tomorrow.
- We are eating out tonight.4. Future Continuous Tense
To talk about actions which will be in progress at a
time in the future.
E.g : - I suppose it will be raining when we start.
- This time tomorrow I will be sitting on the
beach in Singapore.
To talk about actions in the future which are already
planned or which are expected to happen in the
normal course of things.
E.g : - I will be staying here till Sunday.
- He will be meeting us next week.
5. Future Perfect Tense
To talk about actions that will be completed by a
certain future time.
E.g : - I shall have written my exercise by then.
- He will have left before you go to see him.
6. Future Perfect Continuous Tense
Is used for actions which will be in progress over a
period of time that will end in the future.
E.g : - By next March we shall have been living
here for four years.
- I’ll have been teaching for twenty years next
July.