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Tenses in Grammar
Tenses are the heart of grammar. They help us express time and make communication clear and meaningful. Whether we’re talking about something happening now, reminiscing about the past, or imagining the future, tenses guide us to frame our thoughts properly.
What Are Tenses?
Tenses are grammatical tools that indicate the time of an action or state. Broadly, they are divided into three categories:
- Past Tense: Actions or events that have already happened.
(e.g., I walked to school.) - Present Tense: Actions or events happening right now
or statements that are always true.
(e.g., I walk to school.) - Future Tense: Actions or events that will happen later.
(e.g., I will walk to school.)
Each category is further divided into four aspects: simple, continuous (progressive), perfect, and perfect continuous.
The Four Aspects of Tenses
1. Simple Tense
- Past: I played soccer.
- Present: I play soccer.
- Future: I will play soccer.
(Used for general or habitual actions.)
2. Continuous Tense
- Past: I was playing soccer.
- Present: I am playing soccer.
- Future: I will be playing soccer.
(Used for ongoing actions at a specific time.)
3. Perfect Tense
- Past: I had played soccer.
- Present: I have played soccer.
- Future: I will have played soccer.
(Used for actions completed before a certain point.)
Perfect Continuous Tense
- Past: I had been playing soccer.
- Present: I have been playing soccer.
- Future: I will have been playing soccer.
(Used for actions that were ongoing over a period and are linked to a certain point in time.)
Problematic Factors for young learners!
1. Future Continuous Tense
The future continuous tense describes an action that will be happening at a specific time in the future.
Formula:
Subject + will be + present participle (-ing form)
Key Idea:
Focuses on an action in progress at a specific future time.
Examples:
- At 8 PM tonight, I will be watching my favorite show.
(Action in progress at 8 PM.) - Tomorrow afternoon, they will be playing football in the park.
(Playing will be happening in the afternoon.)
When to Use?
- To describe a future action in progress.
- To show plans or expectations about ongoing activities.
It focuses on what will happen at a specific point in the future.
- Example: At 5 PM tomorrow, I will be cooking dinner.
(The action of cooking will be in progress at that specific time.)
- Example: At 5 PM tomorrow, I will be cooking dinner.
2. Future Perfect Tense
The future perfect tense describes an action that will have been completed before a specific point in the future.
Formula:
Subject + will have + past participle
Key Idea:
Focuses on the completion of an action before a future time.
Examples:
- By 9 PM, I will have finished my homework.
(The homework will be completed by 9 PM.) - She will have left by the time you arrive.
(Her leaving will be finished before your arrival.)
When to Use?
- To talk about actions that will be completed by a certain time in the future.
Future Perfect emphasizes that an action will be completed within a specific time frame.
- Example: By next week, I will have finished my assignment.
(The assignment will be done before next week.)
3. Future Perfect Continuous Tense
The future perfect continuous tense describes an action that will have been ongoing for a period of time up to a specific point in the future.
Formula:
Subject + will have been + present participle (-ing form)
Key Idea:
Focuses on the duration of an action up to a future time.
Examples:
- By next month, I will have been working at this company for five years.
(The action of working will have lasted for five years by next month.) - When you reach home, she will have been studying for three hours.
(The studying will have lasted three hours up to the point you reach home.)
When to Use?
- To emphasize the duration of an ongoing action that leads up to a specific time in the future.
Future Perfect Continuous Highlights the duration of an action that will have been ongoing up to a certain future point.
- Example: By next year, I will have been studying for three years.
(The studying will have lasted three years by that time.)
Why Does the Time Frame Matter?
By now you should have noticed that I used colours to mark or highlight some of the critical information that is required for you to understand the chapter ” Tenses”. If you have not observed them then you are just reading them but not understanding them by heart. Please go through them again and this help you to get the full information about this particular chapter.
- It helps define the context of the action.
- Without the time frame, these tenses might lose their purpose or clarity.
For instance:
- I will have finished is incomplete without saying when.
- Adding “by tomorrow” makes it clear: I will have finished by tomorrow.
Key Differences Simplified
| Tense | Focus | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Future Continuous | Action in progress at a future time. | “I will be sleeping at 10 PM tonight.” |
| Future Perfect | Completed action before a future time. | “I will have completed my project by next week.” |
| Future Perfect Continuous | Duration of an action leading up to a future time. | “I will have been teaching for 10 years by the end of this year.” |
A Quick Story to Tie Them Together
Imagine you have a party planned for 8 PM tomorrow:
- At 7:30 PM, you will be decorating the house. (Future Continuous: action in progress.)
- By 8 PM, you will have finished preparing the food. (Future Perfect: action completed before the party.)
- By the time the party ends at 11 PM, you will have been hosting the party for three hours. (Future Perfect Continuous: action ongoing for a duration up to that time.)
Common mistakes
1. Mixing Tenses
- Incorrect: Yesterday, I am going to the mall and buy a shirt.
- Correct: Yesterday, I went to the mall and bought a shirt.
Mistake: Using present tense (“am going”) for a past action (“yesterday”).
2. Overcomplicating Sentences
- Incorrect: She has been being upset all day.
- Correct: She has been upset all day.
Mistake: The use of “has been being” is awkward and unnecessary.
3. Confusion with Future Tense
- Incorrect: By tomorrow, I finish the assignment.
- Correct: By tomorrow, I will finish the assignment.
Mistake: Missing the future auxiliary verb “will.”
4. Incorrect Time Marker Usage
- Incorrect: I will go to school yesterday.
- Correct: I went to school yesterday.
Mistake: Using “will go” (future) with a past time marker (“yesterday”).
5. Subject-Verb Agreement
- Incorrect: He have completed the task.
- Correct: He has completed the task.
Mistake: “He” requires “has,” not “have.”
6. Using Present for Past Actions
- Incorrect: Last year, we are visiting Paris.
- Correct: Last year, we visited Paris.
Mistake: “Are visiting” is present, but the event happened in the past.
7. Forgetting Progressive Aspect
- Incorrect: At 8 PM tonight, I will sleep.
- Correct: At 8 PM tonight, I will be sleeping.
Mistake: “Will sleep” doesn’t show ongoing action at a specific future time.
8. Misusing Perfect Tense
- Incorrect: I will have finish my homework by 5 PM.
- Correct: I will have finished my homework by 5 PM.
Mistake: The verb should be in past participle (“finished”).
9. Misplacing Continuous Aspect
- Incorrect: I was cook dinner when she arrived.
- Correct: I was cooking dinner when she arrived.
Mistake: Use of “cook” instead of “cooking” in past continuous.
10. Incorrect Sequence of Tenses
- Incorrect: He said he is tired after the workout.
- Correct: He said he was tired after the workout.
Mistake: Past reporting (“said”) requires past tense (“was tired”).
11. Future Time with Simple Present
- Incorrect: When she will come, I will give her the book.
- Correct: When she comes, I will give her the book.
Mistake: Use simple present (“comes”) after “when” for future actions.
12. Omitting “Will” for Future Predictions
- Incorrect: She arrive tomorrow.
- Correct: She will arrive tomorrow.
Mistake: Missing “will” for a future action.
13. Unnecessary Tense Change
- Incorrect: She told me that she will meet me.
- Correct: She told me that she would meet me.
Mistake: Indirect speech requires “would” after a past verb (“told”).
14. Forgetting Perfect Tense in Past Reporting
- Incorrect: He said he completed the work before 6 PM.
- Correct: He said he had completed the work before 6 PM.
Mistake: Use past perfect (“had completed”) for an earlier past action.
15. Wrong Use of Future Perfect
- Incorrect: By next week, I complete this project.
- Correct: By next week, I will have completed this project.
Mistake: Missing “will have” for future perfect tense.
16. Misplacing Present Perfect
- Incorrect: I am living here since 2010.
- Correct: I have been living here since 2010.
Mistake: Use present perfect continuous (“have been living”) for duration.
17. Misusing Past Simple Instead of Continuous
- Incorrect: I read a book when the lights went out.
- Correct: I was reading a book when the lights went out.
Mistake: Use past continuous for ongoing actions interrupted by another.
18. Confusion Between Simple Future and Future Perfect
- Incorrect: I will complete the task by 5 PM.
- Correct: I will have completed the task by 5 PM.
Mistake: Use “will have completed” for actions done before a specific time.
19. Using Future Instead of Conditional
- Incorrect: If I study hard, I will pass the test.
- Correct: If I study hard, I will pass the test.
*(The example is correct but useful to showcase patterns in mixed tenses.)
20. Incorrect Use of Present Perfect Instead of Past Simple
- Incorrect: I have seen her yesterday.
- Correct: I saw her yesterday.
Mistake: Present perfect (“have seen”) cannot be used with a specific past time marker like “yesterday.”
21. Misusing Past Continuous for Simple Past
- Incorrect: I was go to the park yesterday.
- Correct: I went to the park yesterday.
Mistake: The verb should be in simple past (“went”) for a completed action.
22. Confusion Between Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous
- Incorrect: She has read for two hours.
- Correct: She has been reading for two hours.
Mistake: Present perfect continuous (“has been reading”) is better for ongoing actions with duration.
23. Misplacing Modal with Perfect Tense
- Incorrect: He might has left already.
- Correct: He might have left already.
Mistake: Use “might have” for modal perfect construction.
24. Overusing Continuous Tense
- Incorrect: I am knowing the answer.
- Correct: I know the answer.
Mistake: “Know” is a stative verb and not typically used in continuous tenses.
25. Future Perfect with Incorrect Time Frame
- Incorrect: By now, I will have finished my homework.
- Correct: By now, I should have finished my homework.
Mistake: Use “should have” for present reflection about past actions.
26. Overuse of Perfect Continuous Tense
- Incorrect: By next week, I will have been finishing the task.
- Correct: By next week, I will have finished the task.
Mistake: Use future perfect (“will have finished”) for completed actions, not future perfect continuous.
27. Confusion Between Future Continuous and Simple Future
- Incorrect: At 9 PM, I will attend the meeting.
- Correct: At 9 PM, I will be attending the meeting.
Mistake: Use future continuous (“will be attending”) for actions in progress at a specific time.
28. Misplacing Tense in Hypothetical Statements
- Incorrect: If I will have time, I will help you.
- Correct: If I have time, I will help you.
Mistake: Use simple present (“have”) in the “if” clause for future hypothetical situations.
29. Forgetting “Will” in Future Predictions
- Incorrect: She start her new job next month.
- Correct: She will start her new job next month.
Mistake: Missing “will” for a future action.
30. Incorrect Sequence in Reported Speech
- Incorrect: He said he is going to the store yesterday.
- Correct: He said he was going to the store yesterday.
Mistake: The tense in reported speech should shift from present (“is”) to past (“was”).
How do we use them?
Everyday Applications
I know you are anxious about this, lets dive in then:
Talking about habits or routines:
- Present Simple: I drive to work every day.
- Past Simple: I drove to work yesterday.
- Future Simple: I will drive to work tomorrow.
Describing ongoing actions:
- Present Continuous: I am watching TV right now.
- Past Continuous: I was watching TV when the power went out.
- Future Continuous: I will be watching TV at 8 PM tonight.
Highlighting completed actions:
- Present Perfect: I have already finished my homework.
- Past Perfect: I had finished my homework before dinner.
- Future Perfect: I will have finished my homework by 8 PM.
Focusing on duration:
- Present Perfect Continuous: I have been studying for two hours.
- Past Perfect Continuous: I had been studying for two hours when she arrived.
- Future Perfect Continuous: I will have been studying for two hours by the time you call.
Tense MCQ Worksheet
1. By the time we arrive, she ______ dinner.
2. She ______ for two hours when you call her.
3. While he ______ the report, his phone rang.
