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]

Active Voice and Passive Voice:
There is a tip for you to remember the difference between active and passive voice:
Formula for Active voice is: Subject + Verb + Object
Formula for Passive voice is: Object + Verb + Subject

Differences between Active Voice and Passive Voice:
Active voice:

• Denotes that the subject is performing the action.
• The active voice focuses on the doer of the action.
• The active voice does not require a linking verb to make sense.
• Has a direct, clear and strong tone.

Passive Voice:

• Denotes that the subject is acted upon by the verb or action in the sentence.
• The passive voice uses a linking verb followed by the past participle of the main verb.
• Has an indirect, weak and subtle tone.

 

[GuDron]

Active and Passive Voice:

There are a few points that you have to know so that you can use the two voices effectively. These are:
1- To convert a sentence from the active to the passive voice, first interchange the subject and the object.
2- The next part of speech you have to focus on is the verb. To convert the active voice into the passive voice, you have to convert the main verb into its past participle or its third form.
3- When you are changing the tense of the main verb, use an auxiliary verb that maintains the tense the sentence represents.
4- Always use the preposition ‘by’ before the subject in a passive sentence.
5- If there are any adverbs used in the active sentence, be sure to include them in the passive voice as well.

Changing of Pronouns:

Active Voice​	Passive Voice ​
I	Me
We	Us
He	Him
She	Her
They	Them
It	It

 

[GuDron]

Tense​	Voice​	Simple Tense​	Continuous Tense​	Perfect Tense​	Perfect Continuous Tense​
Present	1- Active Voice 2- Passive Voice	1- I write a letter. 2- A letter is written by me.	1- I am writing a letter 2- A letter is being written by me.	1- People have collected the goods. 2- The goods have been collected.	1- He has been baking the cake for the last two hours. 2- The cake has been being baked for the last two hours.
Past	1- Active Voice 2- Passive Voice	1- Ali played cricket. 2- Cricket was played by Ali.	1- Ali was playing cricket. 2- Cricket was being played by Ali.	1- Ali had played cricket. 2- Cricket had been played by Ali.	1-He had been joining that party. 2- That party had been being joined by him.
Future	1- Active Voice 2- Passive Voice	1- Ali will play cricket. 2- Cricket will be played by Ali.	1- Ali will be playing cricket. 2- No Passive	1- Ali will have played cricket. 2- Cricket will have been played by Ali.	1- The team will have been discussing the project before the deadline. 2- The project will have been being discussed by the team before the deadline.

 

[GuDron]

Examples of Active and Passive Voice in Present Tenses:
Simple Present tense:
Formula:
Active: Subject + Infinitive + Object
Passive: Object+ to be+ past participle+ by + subject

Examples:
1- Active: She reads the letter.
Passive: The letter is read by her.
2- Active: They plant flowers.
Passive: Flowers are planted by them.
3- Active: Does she buy pencils?
Passive: Are pencils bought by her?
4- Active: She does not bake chicken.
Passive: Chicken is not baked by her.

Present Continuous Tense:
Formula:
Active: Subject+ to be(is, am, are)+ present participle + Object
Passive: Object + to be (is, am, are) + being+ past participle+ by + subject

Examples:
1- Active: Hira is humming a tune.
Passive: A tune is being hummed by Hira.
2- Active: They are helping needy kids.
Passive: Needy kids are being helped by them.
3- Active: Ali is not slicing the potatoes.
Passive: Potatoes are not being sliced by Ali.
4- Active: Is Alia purchasing a car?
Passive: Is a car being purchased by Alia?

Present Perfect Tense:
Formula:
Active: Subject+ have/has+ past participle+ object
Passive: Object + have/has been+ past participle+ by + subject

Examples:
1- Active: I have studied the newspaper.
Passive: The newspaper has been studied by me.
2- Active: Radha has not composed a song.
Passive: A song has not been composed by Radha.
3- Active: Have they abandoned the institution?
Passive: Has the institution been abandoned by them

 

[GuDron]

Examples of Active and Passive Voice in Past Tenses:
Simple Past tense:
Formula:
Active: Subject+ past participle+ object
Passive: Object + was/were+ past participle+ by subject

Examples:
1- Active: She wiped the floor.
Passive: The floor was wiped by her.
2- Active: Sara snatched his purse.
Passive: His purse was snatched by Sara.

Past Continuous Tense:
Formula:
Active: Subject + was/were+ present participle+ object
Passive: Object + was/were+ being+ pas participle+ by Subject.

Examples:
1- Active: She was toasting the bread.
Passive: The bread was being toasted by her.
2- Active: I was looking for Ali.
Passive: Ali was being looked by me.
4- Active: Were you playing the piano?
Passive: Was the piano being played?

Past Perfect Tense:
Formula:
Active: Subject+ Had+ past participle+ Object
Passive: Object+ had been+ past participle + by subject.

Examples:
1- Active: I had accomplished my goal.
Passive: My goal has been accomplished by me
2- Active: I had submitted the task.
Passive: The task had been submitted by me.

 

[GuDron]

Examples of Active and Passive Voice in Future Tenses:
Simple Future tense:
Formula:
Active: Subject+ will+ infinitive+ object
Passive: Object + will+ be+ past participle+ by subject

Examples:
1- Active: I shall study the book.
Passive: The book will be studied by me.
2- Active: She will make a delicious meal.
Passive: A delicious meal will be made by her.
3- Active: Will you scrub the pan?
Passive: Will the pan be scrubbed by you?

Future Perfect Tense:
Formula:
Active: Subject+ will/shall have+ infinitive + object
Passive: Object+ will have been + past participle+ by subject

Examples:
1- Active: They will have purchased the blanket.
Passive: The blanket will have been purchased by them.
2- Active: HIna will have cleaned the room.
Passive: A room will have been cleaned by HIna.
3- Active: Will she have noted the details?
Passive: Will the details have been noted by her?

 

[GuDron]

Direct and Indirect speech:

Direct Speech:
Direct speech reports the speaker's message in the exact words as spoken by him.
Example:

• Ali said 'I am busy now'.
• Alina said, "I'll come back in ten minutes."
• Ayesha said to me, "What are you watching? "

Indirect speech:
Indirect speech reports the speaker's message in our own words.
Example:

• Ali said that he was busy then.
• Alina said that she would return back in ten minutes.
• Ayesha asked me What I had been watching.

 

[GuDron]

Rules for Direct and Indirect Speech:

Rule - 01: Direct to Indirect Speech Conversion - Reporting verb:

1. When the reporting verb of direct speech is in the past tense, all the present tenses are changed to the corresponding past tense in indirect speech.
Example:
Direct: She said, 'I am happy'.
Indirect: She said that she was happy.

2. In indirect speech, tenses do not change if the words used within the quotes (‘’) talk of a habitual action or universal truth.
Example:
Direct: He said, ‘We cannot live without air’.
Indirect: He said that we cannot live without air.

3. The tenses of direct speech do not change if the reporting verb is in the future or present tense.
Example:
Direct: She says/will say, ‘I am going’.
Indirect: She says/will say she is going.