Tense

TENCES: INTRODUCTION

 Read the following sentences:

I write this letter to please you.

I wrote the letter in his very presence.

I shall write another letter tomorrow.

In sentence 1, the Verb write refers to present time.

In sentence 2, the Verb wrote refers to past time.

In sentence 3, the Verb shall write refers to future time.

Thus a Verb may refer

to present time,

to past time, or

to future time.

A Verb that refers to present time is said to be in the Present Tense; as, I write.

I love.

[The word tense comes from the Latin tempus, time.]

A Verb that refers to past time is said to be in the Past Tense; as,

wrote,

loved,

A Verb that refers to future time is said to be in the Future Tense.

I shall write,

I shall love.

Thus there are three main Tenses - The Present,

The Past, The Future.

The Tense of a 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. (= I'm sorry I don't know the answer. Past tense - Present time)

Let's wait till he comes. (Present tense - future tense)

Below we give the chief Tenses (Active Voice, Indicative Mood) of the verb to love. Present Tense

Singular Number -- Plural Number 1st Person -- I love -- We love 2nd person -- You love -- You love 3rd Person -- He loves -- They 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

Read these sentences:

I love. (Simple Present)

I am loving. (Present Continuous)

I have loved. (Present Perfect)

I have been loving. (Present Perfect Continuous)

The Verbs in all of these sentences refer to the present time, and are therefore said to be in the present tense.

In sentence I, however, the Verb shows that the action is mentioned simply, without anything being said about the completeness or incompleteness of the action.

In sentence 2, the Verb shows that the action is mentioned as incomplete or continuous, that is, as still going on.

In sentence 3, the Verb shows that the action is mentioned as finished, complete, or perfect, at the time of speaking.

The tense of the Verb in sentence 4 is said to be Present Perfect Continuous, because the verb shows that the action is going on continuously, and not completed at this present moment.

Thus we see that the Tense of a verb shows not only the time of an action or event, but also the state of an action referred to.

Just as the Present Tense has four forms, the Past Tense also has the following four forms:

I loved. (Simple Past)

I was loving. (Past Continuous)

1 had loved. (Past Perfect)

I had been loving. (Past Perfect Continuous)

Similarly the Future Tense has the following four forms :

I shall/will love. (Simple Future)

I shall/will be loving. (Future Continuous)

I shall/will have loved. (Future Perfect)

I shall/will have been loving. (Future Perfect Continuous)

We may now define Tense as that form of a Verb which shows the time and the state of an action or event.

A verb agrees with its subject in number and person. Study the verb forms of various tenses:

Simple Present Tense

I speak

You speak He speaks We speak They speak

Present Continuous Tense

            I am speaking

            You are speaking

            He is speaking .

            We are speaking.

            They are speaking.

Present Perfect Tense

I have spoken

You have spoken

He has spoken

We have spoken

They have spoken

Simple Past Tense

spoke You spoke He spoke We spoke They spoke

      

Past Perfect Tense

            I had spoken

            You had spoken

            He had spoken

            We had spoken

            They had spoken

Simple Future Tense

I shall/will speak

You will speak

He will speak

We shall/will speak

They will speak

Future Perfect Tense

I shall/will have spoken

You will have spoken

He will have spoken

We shall/will have spoken

They will have spoken

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

  I have been speaking

 You have been speaking

  He has been speaking

  We have been speaking

   They have been speaking

Past Continuous Tense

I was speaking

You were speaking

He was speaking

We were speaking

They were speaking

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

I had been speaking

You had been speaking

He had been speaking

We had been speaking

They had been speaking

Future Continuous Tense

            I shall/will be speaking

            You will be speaking

            He will be speaking

            We shall/will be speaking

            They will be speaking

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

I shall/will have been speaking

You will have been speaking

He will have been speaking

He shall/will have been speaking

They will have been speaking

Exercise in Grammar

Point out the Verbs in the following sentences and name their Moods and Tenses:-

The river flows under the bridge.

I shall answer the letter to-night.

1 knew he was there, for I had seen him come.

It has been raining all night.

I hear he has passed all right.

I had finished when he came.

He takes but little pride in his work.

I have been living here for months.

Be good, sweet maid.

By this time to-morrow I shall have reached my home.

It is time we left.

He told me that he had finished

God forgive you !

He is waiting for you in the compound.

Piper, pipe that song again.

I am hoping to get a holiday soon.

Perhaps it were better to obey him.

Do noble deeds, not dream them all the day.

I shall have plenty of time tomorrow.

Though this be madness, yet there is method in it.

The king had never before led his troops in battle.

If he was guilty, his punishment was too light.

We have heard a strange story.

The travellers, all of whom had seen the chameleon, could not agree about its colour.

Beware lest something worse should happen to you.

The farmer is cutting the com which has ripened.

I wish my brother were here.

She would rather we stayed till tomorrow.