Unit -10: Time and Tense
Structure
10.0
Objective
10.1
Introduction
10.1 Definition
10. 1.1 Kinds of tenses
1.2 Compound tenses
10.3.1 Fature Tense
10.1.4
Time
10.1.5 Keeping time and tense apart
10.2
Present Tense
10.2.1 Simple present
10.2.2 Present progressive
10.2.3
Present perfect
10.2.4 Present perfect progressive
10.3
Past Tense
10.3.1 Simple past
10.3.2 Past progressive
10.3.3 Past perfect
10.3.4 Past perfect progressive
10.5
Future Time
10.5.1 Simple future
10.5.3 Future perfect
10.6 Conclusion
10.7
Unit End Questions
10.0
Objective
In this unit we shall study various tenses in English and methods of
expressing future.
10.1
Introduction
Understanding of the concept of Time and Tense in quite essential while
expressing yourself in any language.
10.1
Definition
Tense is a grammatical term. It serves as a marker/indicator of the form
of a verb .
10. 1.1 Kinds of tenses
English
verbs have two tenses:
-i)
Present
ii)
Past
10.2
Compound Tenses
Present tense has four forms:
i) Simple Present
ii) Present Progressive
iii)
Present Perfect
iv)
Present Perfect
Progressive Past tense too has four forms:
i) Simple Past
ii) Past Progressive
iii)
Past Perfect
i
) Past Perfect Progressive
All the progressive and perfective forms are compound tenses because they
are formed by combining be and/or have
with the main
verb:
a)
be + present
participle (progressive tense) I am doing my homework.
b)
have +
past participle (perfect tense) I have finished my breakfast.
10.3.1 Future Tense
There are noting
like a separate future tense corresponding to present tense
and Past Tense because
it does have
a unique marker
that can be isolated. Shall
and will are modal auxiliaries, not markers of future tense.
So instead of Future Tense
we may talk about forms
expressing future time-there are a number of such forms:
i) Simple present
ii) Present progressive
iii) Be going to
iv) Be about to
v)
Modal
auxiliaries Shall/will + bare infinitive
It
is obvious that shall and will are not the only forms
for expressing future
time.
Although there is no separate
Future Tense, the term is frequently used because the shall/will form is still the commonest way of expressing future time.
10.1.4
Time
Time, unlike tense,
is not a grammatical term because it has nothing
to do with the form of a verb. On a linear
scale time can be divided
into three:
i) present time ii) past time iii) future time
10.1.5
Keeping time and tense apart
Tense normally indicates the time of an
action/state-Present Tense usually refers to present time and Past Tense to past time. But very often there is no correspondence
between tense and time,
i.e. between the form of a verb
and the time
of an action:
i)
Simple Present-indicating no particular time The sun rises
in the east.
The earth moves round the sun. Honesty fetches no rewards.
ii)
Simple Present
- indicating future
time Vishnu
leaves for Patna
next week.
I wi II go out
when mother gets
back. We can't have a match if it rains.
iii)
Present
Progressive - indicating future time Vishnu is leaving for Patna tonight.
The
cabinet is going to take a decision on this.
iv) Present Perfect-indicating future
time
I will go home after I have finished my work.
v) Simple Present - indicating past time
He goes into hiding for five years and then robs the bank. World War" ends in 1945, and the UN comes into existence.
vi)
Simple
Past - indicating present time I
wish I knew her. (I don't know
her.)
If only he would listen
to reason. (He doesn't.)
It's
time we started. (It is time
to start.)
Might
I see you tonight?
Could
I use your phone please?
vii) Simple Past - indicating future
time
It
might rain tomorrow.
If a lion appeared all
would flee.
viii)
Present
Perfect - indicating past time (past possibility) You may have heard the news.
He cannot have forgotten the
appointment.
ix)
Simple
Future - indicating present time (present possibility) These will be the toys for your
baby. (probably are)
She
will be about twenty. (probably is)
x)
Future Simple-indicating present
time Will you have
a cold drink?
Won't
she have a I ittle more?
xi)
Simple
Future - indicating no particular time (general truths/characteristics) Wood will float in water.
Spring will come after
winter.
xii)
Future Perfect
- indicating past
time (past possibility) You will have heard the news.
10.2 Present Tense
i) Simple Present
ii) Present Progressive (continuous)
iii)
Present Perfect
iv) Present Perfect Progressive (continuous)
10.2.1 Simple present Form
a) The Simple Present
form of an ordinary verb is bare infinitive (with
or without an s)
b) The Simple Present
of have +noun
is has/have +noun.
c)
The Simple Present of 'be' is am/is/are + noun/adjectives.
Uses
Simple
Present is used to express things like the following:
i)
eternal/universal truths The sun rises
in the east.
The earth moves round the sun.
ii)
theories
and principles Light travels faster than sound.
Water freezes at zero degree
centigrade. A triangle
has three sides.
iii)
proverbs/sayings
A bad carpenter quarrels with his tools.
One swallow does not make a summer.
iv)
natural or inherent qualities/characteristics A
mother loves her children.
Sugar is sweet.
i)
professional activities A baker bakes bread.
A cobbler mends shoes.
ii)
normal activities/routine duties He goes for a walk
in the morning. They play football
in the afternoon. My
train gets in at 10 a.m.
iii) habitual activities
Mr Jones always comes in time.
I
usually wake up at 6 in the morning.
10.2.1
Present progressive Form
a. The Present Progressive form of a verb is:
am/is/are + present
participle (verb + ing)
b.
The Present Progressive form
of have is: am/is/are + having (have
+ ing)
c.
The Present
Progressive form of be + adjective is: being + adjective
You are being
too formal. (This
use is rare.)
Note:
a) -ing form of a verb necessarily occurs with a form of be:
The children are going to school.
The
soldier is singing a song.
b)
Present Progressive form of have + noun is having + noun.
In
this construction having + noun is used as a substitute for taking/ receiving/experiencing.
She
is having a bath. (She is taking a bath.)
We
are having a lot of hardships. (We are experiencing a lot of hardships.)
But have + noun indicating ownership/relationship characteristics is not put into
the progressive form:
He
has a brother. (not, is having)
This elephant has a long trunk. (not, is having)
10.2.2
Present perfect Form
The
present perfect form of a main verb is has/have + past participle.
The present perfect
form of have
as a main verb is has/have + had of be is has
been/have been
of
can is has been/have been + able to
i) When have +noun
means 'to experience/to receive/to take' its present perfect form is has/have + had + noun.
I have had
a lot of calls today.
(have received) He has had a lot of opposition. (has experienced) I have had rice and fish for lunch. (have
taken)
ii)
The Present
Perfect form of verb be + noun/adjective is: has/have + been + noun/adjective.
Raji has been a teacher
for ten years. They have
always been kind
to me.
Uses
i) Present Perfect expresses the completion of an action
by the time of speaking or writing:
The hol idays
are over. Schools
have reopened. I have written
a book on English grammar.
ii) Present Perfect is used to refer to an activity
or experience which
has occurred in the past:
Mr Banerji has been to England.
Have you ever seen a rainbow?
Have
you been to this restaurant?
iii)
The Present
Perfect in English
does not (generally) take an adverb
of past time, viz. last week, yesterday, last month.
We
don't say:
Ioyati has finished her work last
week. They have got back from
Nepal yesterday.
Note:
Simple Past is chosen when an adverb
of past time is mentioned: I saw Kulkarni yesterday. (not,
have seen)
We found a treasure last week. (not,
have found)
iv)
However, Present
Perfect is used with adverbs/prepositional phrases
of time like these: so far, up till no~ for, since,
just, yet already
I haven't received any reply so far.
(not, I didn't receive)
10.2.3
Present perfect progressive Form
The
Present Perfect Progressive form of a verb is:
has been/have been + present participle
Uses
i) The Present Perfect Progressive indicates that an action
began in the past and is still going on, i.e. continuing upto the ti"me of speaking or writing:
The baby has been crying. What have you been doing?
ii) It can be used with time phrases
like these:
for, since, long, how long, all the time, all day, all week Lata has been talking all the time.
We have been playing chess
all evening. People have been waiting
for a long time.
Note: In questions in Present Perfect
Progressive since when is used instead of when:
Since
when has the child been missing?
Since when have you noticed the symptoms of this
disease? We don't say:
When have you been writing this
novel?
10.3 
Past Tense
a)
Simple Past
b)
Past Progressive (continuous)
c)
Past Perfect
d)
Past Perfect Progressive (continuous)
10.3.1
Simple past Form
The
Simple Past form of regular verbs is verb + died:
love
- loved, work - worked, pull - pulled.
The Simple Past of irregular verbs is formed
in irregular ways. go - went, draw - drew, give
- gave
The Simple Past of have is had; of be
is was/were; and of can is could or was/were
+ able to.
Note:
Except for th arms was/were,
all t e Simple Past Tense forms remain
invariant, no ma r what
the number rson
of the subj
ct is. Was is the past tense form of B when the subject is e first
or third p rson singular. In all other
cases the rm is were.
Uses
i)
Simple Past
is used for a past
action when the time of an action
is mentioned. In such a sentence an adverb of time is often used:
Mrs
Rao left this place a month ago.
The screening of the film started at 7 p.m.
Note: Simple Past indicates completion of an action in the immediate or remote
past:
Ramani returned yesterday. Newton saw an apple fall.
Past Perfect is not used to indicate completion of a single action
even in the remote past.
So, we don't say:
Columbus had discovered America. Newton had seen an apple fall.
ii) Simple Past is also used when the time of a past action is
implied, not expressed:
Ahmed got a job in Yemen.
He bought this car in Canada.
In sentences like these, past time is indicated by the context.
The presence of a
prepositional phrase in/at + place or time also
helps infer the past time:
I bought this camera in Japan. (not, have bought) Vijay got back at 9 p.m. (not, has got back)
10.3.2 Past progressive
Form
The Past Progressive form of a (non-auxi
I iary) verb is was/were
+ present participle
The Past Progressive form of have is was/were + having
Uses
i) Past Progressive is used to indicate that an action
was in progress for some time in the past:
James was polishing furniture.
The
girls were singing and laughing.
ii) Past Progressive can be used in combination with Simple Past. In such sentences
as/when/while is usually used in the subordinate clause: While I was walking in the fields,
I found a purse.
When we were having lunch, some
guests arrived.
10.3.3
Past perfect Form
The Past Perfect
form of a verb is had + past participle The Past Perfect
form of had is had + had
The
Past Perfect form of be is had been
When have + noun means
'to experience/to take/to
receive' its past
perfect form is: had + had + noun:
I had had a lot of visitors
last weeek. (had
received) She had had bread and butter for breakfast. (had taken)
10.3.4Past
perfect progressive
Form
The Past Perfect Progressive form of a verb is had been + present
participle
Uses
i) Past Perfect Progressive is used to report an action or event that happened before a point in the
past and whose
effects are still
visible at that point (in
the past):
Prakash had been
playing tennis for an hour
when the news
of his selection came in.
The sky was clear when
the league match
started though it had been
raining throughout the night.
ii) It is 0 used for a repeated
action in the past:
The com y had been trying to sell out its shares
and wind up when the court
interven
10.5 Future Time
When modal auxiliaries (shall/will) are used to express
future time, there are the following four forms:
i) Simple Future
ii) Future Progressive
iii)
Future Perfect
iv) Future Perfect Progressive
10.5.1
Simple future Form
The Simple Future
form of a verb is shall/will + bare infinitive The Simple Future
form of be is shall/will + be
The Simple Future form of have is
shall/will + have
Uses
i) first person (I/we) + shall expresses pure
future, i.e., future without intention determination etc. In other words, it
indicates that something will happen as a matter of course:
I
shall be twenty on my next birthday.
We
shall have a holiday on Independence Day.
In informal style,
however, shall is often replaced by will:
I
will be twenty on my next birthday.
Note:
a) will is frequently used with first person to indicate pure future as well as intention, determination etc. The use of shall to express pure
future is going
out of style, particularly in American English.
b)
won't/wouldn't is always
preferred to shan't
to indicate refusal/
negative intention:
I won't give you any money. (not, shan't)
10.5.3 Future perfect Form
i) The Future Perfect
form of a verb is:
shall/will
+ perfect infinitive
Of the two shall have/will have, will have
is the more
usual, so it is used
wi all persons.
ii)
the Future
Perfect form of shall/will + have is: shall/will have + had
This construction is used when have means 'to experience/to receive/to take'. He will have had his exam by the end of this month. (will
have taken)
He will have had a lot of opposition.
(will have experienced)
She will have had a lot
of letters of congratulations. (will have received)
iii)
the Future
Perfect form of verb be is: will
have been She will
have been a teacher for ten years
by March next. He
will have been
dead for twenty
years by the year end.
Uses
i) Future Perfect expresses completion of an action by a given
time in future: He will have built
a house by the end of this year.
She
will have left this place by next January.
She will have been in hospital for 2 years in next July. He will have had his exam by the end of this month.
ii) Future Perfect is often used
to express a past possibility. In addition to the
modal will, can and may also can be used:
He mayican/will have won the lottery.
All the three sentences mean 'there was a possibility of his winning
the lottery, but we do not know whether
he actually won it or not'
Thus these constructions express an assumption/deduction about a past
action. not about a present or future
action.
10.6
Conclusion
This unit has given you a fairly
detailed idea of the concepts
of the Time and
Tense.
10.7
Unit End Questions
1
What is the difference between Time and Tense.
2
Show the difference
between progressive and perfect progressive tenses in English.
3 What are the various methods of expressing future in English.
