Tenses- Past tense and Future Tense ~ Grammar

Tenses- Past tense & Future Tense

FORM

Examples:

· You called Debbie.

· Did you call Debbie?

· You did not call Debbie.

USE 1: Completed Action in the Past

Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.

Examples:

· I saw a movie yesterday.

· I didn't see a play yesterday.

· Last year, I traveled to Japan.

· Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.

· Did you have dinner last night?

· She washed her car.

· He didn't wash his car.

USE 2: A Series of Completed Actions

We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.

Examples:

· I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.

· He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.

· Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

USE 3: Duration in Past

The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.

Examples:

· I lived in Brazil for two years.

· Shauna studied Japanese for five years.

· They sat at the beach all day.

· They did not stay at the party the entire time.

· We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.

· A: How long did you wait for them?

· B: We waited for one hour.

USE 4: Habits in the Past

The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

Examples:

· I studied French when I was a child.

· He played the violin.

· He didn't play the piano.

· Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?

· She worked at the movie theater after school.

· They never went to school, they always skipped class.

USE 5: Past Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to."

Examples:

· She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.

· He didn't like tomatoes before.

· Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?

· People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.

IMPORTANT : When-Clauses Happen First

Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when I dropped my pen..." or "when class began..." These clauses are called when-clauses, and they are very important. The examples below contain when-clauses.

Examples:

· When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question.

· She answered my question when I paid her one dollar.

When-clauses are important because they always happen first when both clauses are in the Simple Past. Both of the examples above mean the same thing: first, I paid her one dollar, and then, she answered my question. It is not important whether "when I paid her one dollar" is at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence. However, the example below has a different meaning. First, she answered my question, and then, I paid her one dollar.

Example:

I paid her one dollar when she answered my question.

Present Tense I do

Present Continuous Tense I am doing

Present Perfect Tense I have done

Present Perfect Continuous Tense I have been doing

Past Tense I did

Past Continuous Tense I was doing

Past Perfect Tense I had done

Past Perfect Continuous Tense I had been doing

Future Tense I will do

Future Continuous Tense I will be doing

Future Perfect Tense I will have done

Future Perfect Continuous Tense I will have been doing

Simple Past tense

This Machine was invented in 1981. A thief Broke into the House Last night

She explained the problem last week

Past Continuous tense

They were arguing yesterday Some people were playing She was singing a song

Past Perfect tense

I had boarded the train before it left

The train had left before we reached the station

Sudha had answered all the questions before Ravi answered

Past Perfect continuous tense

We had been trying to get the order Some people had been collecting information

All the students had been working hard

It is important not to confuse the name of a verb tense with the way we use it to talk about time.

For example, a present tense does not always refer to present time:

· I hope it rains tomorrow. "rains" is present simple, but it refers here to future time (tomorrow)

Or a past tense does not always refer to past time:

· If I hadsome money now, I could buy it."had" is past simple but it refers here to present time (now)

The following examples show how different tenses can be used to talk about different times.

TENSE	TIME
	past		present	future
Present Simple			I want a coffee.	I leave tomorrow.
	She		likes		coffee.
Present Continuous			I am having dinner.	I am taking my exam next month.
	They	are	living	in	London.
Present Perfect Simple	I have seen ET.		I have finished.
Present Perfect Continuous	I have been playing tennis.
	We have been working for four hours.
Past Simple	I finished one hour ago.		If she loved you now, she would marry you.	If you came tomorrow, you would see her.
Past Continuous	I was working at 2am this morning.
Past Perfect	I had not eaten for 24 hours.
Past Perfect Continuous	We had been working for 3 hours.		If I had been working now, I would have missed you.	If I had been workingyesterday, I would not have agreed.
Future Simple			Hold on. I'll do it	I'll see you tomorrow.

		now.
Future Continuous			I will be working at 9pm tonight.
Future Perfect			I will have finished by 9pm tonight.
Future Perfect	We will have been married for ten years next month.
Future Perfect Continuous			They may be tired when you arrive because they will have been working.
Future Perfect Continuous	In 30 minutes, we will have been working for four hours

Simple Future tense

Mohan will go for work tomorrow Ravi will present a paper next week

They will inspect this building next year

Future Continuous tense

My friends will be waiting for me All the students will be writing a test

My Parents will be worrying about my results

Future Perfect tense

They would have constructed the building by next year Madhan would have informed everyone by now

All the students would have submitted their records by Friday.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Our team will have been playing final match Most of them will have been waiting for results

Some of the students will have been appearing for the interview

Fill in the blanks with suitable verbs forms

1. The flower show, which (opens/is open) until 5 p.m. every day, has been a complete success.

2. Do you know this city at all?

a. --- No, this is the first time I (am coming/have been) here.

3. After the interview, she realized that she had no useful skills that

(was interesting/is interesting)

4. We have (come to/been in) the city for a week. Now it's time for us (to leave/leaving).

5. I wonder if he (come/will come).If he (will arrive/arrives), please let me know as soon as possible

6. He asked the crowd if they ( have thought / thought ),that the politician ( was telling/told) a lie.

7. I (had read /read) the book on the reading list before I attended the lecture.

8. He is ill. He ( is lying/ has been lying) in bed for 3 weeks.

9. How many people does the doctor know ( has died/ are dying) of thedisease?

10. It (rains/has been raining) everyday so far this week.

Exercises:

I. Write Simple Past tense / Past perfect tense

1. Arvind (play ) with these toys yesterday.

2. Mohan (Board) the train before it (Start)

3. The Servants (Clean) the table before the guests (arrive)

4. Last year this city was (flood)

5. Sujan (book) the tickets before I (reach) the station

6. Kala (sleep) before her father (arrive)

7. A thief (Break) into that house last night.

8. The bell (ring) on time but before that the students (start)

9. Ravi (answer) all the questions before I (answer)

10. Ranjith (go) to Paris last year.

Exercises:

II. Write Simple Past tense / simple future Tense

1. Kishan (complete) the work tomorrow

2. Last night it (rain) heavily.

3. The Servants (Clean) the plates later.

4. Long ago there (live) a king

5. Next year Arun (get) an award for his contribution.

6. Arjun (teach) me this lesson yesterday.

7. Next week the students (write) a test.

8. She (draw) beautiful paintings last week.

9. Tomorrow all the guests (arrive)

10. In 1981 this bridge was (Construct)

Exercises:

III. Choose the appropriate Prepositional Phrases:

(At the corner, with the tattered cover, over the grass, after the school hours, beside the red one, under the bed, with white paws, Over the mountain, during movies, against all odds,

1. The Sun rose

2. I will meet Mohan

3. Arjunlooked to see if he could find his Phone.

4. People should avoid talking

5. I adopted a black cat

6. The store sells sandwiches.

7. The tiger crept

8. The car is the one I want to buy.

9. Our team won .

10. The book has been loved by all.

Grammar