Discussion English Tenses

[GuDron]

Tense can be defined as a word form used to indicate the time of occurrence of an incident concerning the moment of speaking. It indicates the completion and continuity of an activity. Good knowledge of tenses helps you in your communication.
Let us explore the kinds of Tenses.

There are three basic types of tenses.

1. Present
2. Past
3. Future

These tenses can be further categorized into 4 types.

• Simple Tense
• Continuous Tense
• Perfect Tense
• Perfect Continuous Tense

 

[GuDron]

We will explore Present Tense with Rules and Examples in detail.
Present Tenses:
Present tense is used to indicate the current or present being situation. It is the tense that is used to describe the current state.
For Example:
I am going to school.
Here this sentence describes the state of your action.

Now we will explain 4 categories of Present tense.
1- Simple Present Tense Rules with Examples:
In case of Singular:
Subject + V1 + s/es + Object
Example:

• Salma goes to school.

In this sentence:
Salma → Subject
Go + es → 1st form of verb + es
School → Object

In case of Plural:
Subject + V1 + Object
Example:

• They go to school.

In this sentence:
They → Subject
Go → 1st form of verb
School → Object

2- Present Continuous Tense Rules with Examples:
Subject + is/am/are + V1 + ing + object
Examples:

• He is playing cricket.

In this sentence:
He → Subject
play + ing → 1st form of verb + ing
cricket→ Object

• I am watching a movie.

In this sentence:
I → Subject
watch + ing → 1st form of verb + ing
movie → Object

3- Present Perfect Tense Rules with Examples:
In case of Singular:
Subject + has + V3 + Object (Singular)
Example:

• He has played cricket.

In this sentence:
He → Subject
played → 3rd form of verb
cricket→ Object

In case of Plural:
Subject + have + V3 + Object
Example:

• I have finished my work.

In this sentence:
I → Subject
finished → 3rd form of verb
work → Object

4- Present Perfect Continuous Tense Rules with Examples:
In case of Singular:
Subject + has been + V1 + ing + Object
Example:

• She has been going to school.

In this sentence:
she → Subject
go + ing → 1st form of verb + ing
school → Object

In case of Plural:
Subject + have been + V1 + ing + Object
Example:

• I have been watching a movie.

In this sentence:
I → Subject
watch + ing 1st form of verb + ing
movie → Object

 

[GuDron]

Past Tense Rules with Examples:
Past Tense:
Past tense is used to indicate any past activity. It is a type of tense that is used to describe an event that has already happened.
Example: I washed the dishes.

Now we will explain 4 categories of past tense.
1- Simple Past Tense Rules with Examples:
Subject + 2nd form of verb + Object
Examples:

• I washed the dishes.

In this sentence:
I → Subject
washed → 2nd form of verb
dishes → Object

• She went to school.

In this sentence:
She → Subject
went → 2nd form of verb
school → Object

2- Past Continuous Tense Rules with Examples:
In case of Singular:
Subject + was + 1st form of verb + ing + Object
Example:

• She was watching a movie.

In this sentence:
She → Subject
watch + ing → 1st form of verb + ing
movie → Object

In case of Plural:
Subject + were + 1st form of verb + ing + Object
Example:

• They were playing football.

In this sentence:
They → Subject
play+ ing → 1st form of verb + ing
football → Object

3- Past Perfect Tense Rules with Examples:
Subject + had + 3rd form of verb + Object
Example:

• I had finished my work.

In this sentence:
I → Subject
finished → 3rd form of verb
work → Object

4- Past Perfect Continuous Tense rules with Examples:
Subject + had been + 1st form of verb + ing + Object
Example:

• I had been working there for a year.

In this sentence:
I → Subject
work + ing → 1st form of verb + ing

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[GuDron]

Future Tense Rules with Examples:
Future Tense:
Future tense is used to indicate future actions, events that haven't happened but it is possible for their occurrence in future.
Example: I shall go to school tomorrow.

Now we will explore 4 categories of future tense.
1- Simple Future Tense Rules with Example:
Subject + will/shall + 1st form of verb + Object
Example:

• I shall go to school tomorrow.

In this sentence:
I → Subject
go → 1st form of verb
school → Object

2- Future Continuous Tense Rules with Example:
Subject + will be/shall be + 1st form of verb + ing + Object
Example:

• I will be writing the letter tomorrow.

In this sentence:
I → Subject
write + ing → 1st form of verb + ing
letter → Object

3- Future Perfect Tense Rules with Example:
Subject + will have/shall have + 3rd form of verb + Object
Example:

• They will have arrived at the hotel by now.

In this sentence:
They → Subject
arrived → 3rd form of verb
hotel → Object

4- Future Perfect Continuous Tense Rules with Examples:
Subject + will have been + 1st form of verb + ing + Object
Example:

• He will have been doing this since 2025.

In this sentence:
He → Subject
do + ing→ 1st form of verb + ing

 

[GuDron]

Parts of Speech:
A part of speech is a category that describes the role a word plays in a sentence.
The parts of speech are classified differently in different grammars. But mostly there are 8 parts of speech in English.

• Nouns
• Pronouns
• Verbs
• Adjectives
• Adverbs
• Prepositions
• Conjunctions
• Interjections

Some Grammars add others such as Determiners and Articles.

 

[GuDron]

1- Noun:
A noun is a word that refers to a person, place, event or thing. It can be used as a subject of a sentence or as an object of a verb.
There are some types of nouns including:

• Common Nouns
• Proper Nouns
• Collective Nouns
• Abstract Nouns
• Countable and Uncountable Nouns.

Examples:
1- Ali lives in Lahore.
2- I am a doctor.
3- I love to eat pizza.

2- Pronouns:
A pronoun is a word used in a place of noun. Pronouns typically refer back to a previously mentioned noun.
There are some types of pronouns including:

• Personal Pronouns
• Interrogative Pronouns
• Demonstrative Pronouns
• Reflexive Pronouns
• Indefinite Pronouns.

Examples:
1- She is eating an apple.
2- Her mother is a doctor.
3- We have won the match.

 

[GuDron]

3- Verb:
A verb is a word that is used to describe an action, occurrence, etc. A complete sentence must contain at least one verb. According to the subject, tense, and voice verbs can change their form.
Some types of verbs are:

• Regular and Irregular Verbs
• Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
• Linking Verbs
• Infinitive
• Modal Verbs
• Phrasal Verbs

Examples:
1- She is writing a letter.
2- He is playing cricket.
3- She is going to school.

4- Adjectives:
An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives can be used to describe the qualities of someone or something independently or in comparison to something else.
Some types of adjectives are:

• Comparative Adjectives
• Superlative Adjectives
• Compound Adjectives
• Participial Adjectives

Examples:
1- I live in a beautiful house.
2- She wore a beautiful dress.
3- He is the laziest person I know.

 

[GuDron]

5- Adverb:
An adverb is a word that is used to modify a verb, an adjective and a sentence. Mostly adverbs are formed by adding “ly” at the end of a word. But not all words have this ending.
There are numerous types of adverbs.

• Adverb of place
• Adverb of degree
• Adverb of manner
• Adverb of time
• Adverb of frequency

Examples:
1- Sara acted rudely.
2- He ran quickly.
3- He swims well.

6- Prepositions:
A preposition is a word or phrase used to show the relationship between the different parts of a sentence. Prepositions can be used to describe the aspects such as place, time, and direction.
Examples:
1- She was waiting at the corner.
2- Ali is coming for dinner at 4. a.m.

 

[GuDron]

7- Conjunctions:
Conjunctions are parts of speech that connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.
The types of conjunctions are:

• Coordinating conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions
• Correlative conjunctions

Examples:
1- She likes reading and writing.
2- I drank a glass of water because I was thirsty.

8- Interjections:
An interjection is a word or phrase used to describe a feeling, give a command, or greet someone. Interjections are independent parts of speech, so they can be excluded from the sentence.
The types of Interjections are:

• Volitive Interjections
• Emotive Interjections
• Cognitive Interjections

Examples:
1- Hey! What are you doing?
2- Hurray! We won the match.
3- Wow! This is a beautiful dress.

 

[GuDron]

What are articles? What are its types and usage with Examples?

Articles:
An article is a kind of determiner. It is used to define whether a noun is specific or not. It is used before nouns. They can also function like adjectives.

Types:
There are three articles in English. These three articles are categorized into two types of articles.
1- Definite Article
2- Indefinite Article

Explanation:
1- Definite Article:
"the" is a definite article. Definite article is used before noun and it refers to something specific. It can also be used before collective nouns and plural nouns.
Examples:
1- The Sun sets in the West.
In this example the nouns Sun, and West are proper nouns and also specific. Therefore definite article has to be used.
Similarly, there is another example:
2- The man who wrote this book is famous.

2- Indefinite Article:
The Articles 'a' and 'an' are indefinite articles. Indefinite article is used to indicate something that is not definite or specific. The indefinite article, ‘an’ is used before singular nouns that start with vowel sounds and ‘a’ is used before singular nouns that start with consonant sounds.
Examples:
I am a teacher.
This is an Elephant.
I saw an aeroplane.