Tenses Basic Rules of Tenses English Grammar Tenses Rules

2. Made by : Samreen Shabbir
TGT
FG Public School No. 1 (Girls), Bahawalpur.

3. Tenses are the form taken by a verb to show the
time of an action or the state of an event.
 There are three tenses :
1. The Present Tense
2. The Past Tense
3. The Future Tense.

4.  Each of the three tenses has four forms or sub-
divisions to show continuity or completeness of
the action and time. These are :
1. Indefinite
2. Continuous or Imperfect
3. Perfect
4. Perfect Continuous

5. o The Indefinite Tense does not indicate whether the
action is complete or not.
o The Continuous (Imperfect) Tense that the action
is still going on.
o The Perfect Tense indicates that the action is
complete , finished or perfect.
o The Perfect Continuous Tense indicates that the
action began in the past and is still continuing.

6. Subject + Verb1 + Object
Expresses a general truth or an action that is
occurring now
Eg : The sun rises from the east.
Expresses an action that occurs regularly or
habitually
Eg : She goes to the school regularly.

7.  Affirmative Sentences : They play.
 Negative Sentences : They do not play.
 Interrogative Sentences : Do they play ?
 Negative Interrogative Sentences : Do they not
play ?

8. Subject + H.V.(Is/Am/Are) + V1
+ ing + Object.
E.g. I am teaching the class
The present continuous tense is used to
express an action which is happening at
a particular time in the present or
extending over a period of present time.

9.  Affirmative Sentences : You are playing.
 Negative Sentences : You are not playing.
 Interrogative Sentences : Are you playing ?
 Negative Interrogative Sentences : Are you not
playing ?

10.  Subject + has/have + V3 + Object.
 Has Singular , Have Plural.
e.g. She has done her homework
 The present perfect tense denotes an action
that was started in the past and has just been
completed.

11.  Affirmative Sentences : I have played.
 Negative Sentences : I have not played.
 Interrogative Sentences : Have I played ?
 Negative Interrogative Sentences : Have I not
played ?

12.  Subject + has/have + been + V1 + ing + Object
e.g. They have been studying since morning
 The present perfect tense is used when an
action that started in the past is still
continuing.

13.  Affirmative Sentences : We have been playing.
 Negative Sentences : We have not been playing.
 Interrogative Sentences : Have we been playing ?
 Negative Interrogative Sentences : Have we not
been playing ?

14.  Subject + V2 + Object.
e.g. Rabia called her friend
 The simple past tense is used for an action
which happened at a particular time in the past.

15.  Affirmative Sentences : I played.
 Negative Sentences : I did not play.
 Interrogative Sentences : Did I play ?
 Negative Interrogative Sentences : Did I not
play ?

16.  Subject + was/were + V1 + ing + Object.
e.g. children were playing in the park
 The past continuous tense is used for an action
which was happening at a particular time in the
past.

17.  Affirmative Sentences : Boys were playing.
 Negative Sentences : Boys were not playing.
 Interrogative Sentences : Were boys playing ?
 Negative Interrogative Sentences : Were boys
not playing ?

18.  Subject + had + V3 + Object.
e.g. She had done her task.
 The past perfect tense is used to express an
action that was completed before another
action started in the past. It is used with the
earlier of the two actions. The simple past tense
is used with the other action.

19.  Affirmative Sentences : Shumila had played.
 Negative Sentences : Shumila had not played.
 Interrogative Sentences : Had Shumila played?
 Negative Interrogative Sentences : Had Shumila
not played ?

20.  Subject + had + been + V1 + Object.
e.g. Girls had been talking for many hours.
 The past perfect continuous tense is used for an
action that began before a certain point in the
past and continued up to that point.

21.  Affirmative Sentences : Ria had been playing.
 Negative Sentences : Ria had not been playing.
 Interrogative Sentences : Had Ria been playing?
 Negative Interrogative Sentences : Had Ria not been
playing ?

22.  Subject + will/shall + V1 + Object.
e.g. Ayesha will go to the market
 The simple future tense is used for an action
that will take place at particular time in the
future.

23.  Affirmative Sentences : Raza will play.
 Negative Sentences : Raza will not play.
 Interrogative Sentences : Will Raza play ?
 Negative Interrogative Sentences : Will Raza
not play ?

24.  Subject + will/shall + be +V1 + ing + Object
e.g. She will be washing the clothes
 The future continuous tense is used to express
an action which will be in progress at a
particular time in the future.

25.  Affirmative sentences : I will be playing.
 Negative sentences : I will not be playing.
 Interrogative sentences : Shall I be playing?
 Negative Interrogative Sentences : Shall I not
be playing?

26.  Subject + shall/will + have + V3 + Object.
e.g. Students will have learnt their lesson
 Future perfect tense is used to indicate the
completion of an action by a certain period of
time in the future.

27.  Affirmative Sentences : She will have played.
 Negative Sentences : She will not have played.
 Interrogative Sentences : Will she have played?
 Negative Interrogative Sentences : Will she not
have played?

28.  Subject + shall/will +have been + V1 + ing +
Object.
e.g. She will have been singing the song since 2;o
clock
 The future perfect tense is used when an action
is to continue up to a certain point of time in
the future.

29.  Affirmative Sentences : Rizwan will have been
playing.
 Negative Sentences : Rizwan will not have been
playing.
 Interrogative Sentences : Will Rizwan have
been playing ?
 Negative Interrogative Sentences : Will Rizwan
not have been playing ?

30. Tense Indefinite
H.V. + verb
Continuous
H.V. + verb
Perfect
H.V. +
verb
Perfect
Continuous
H.V. + verb
Present Play (s) Is / Am / Are
Playing
Has /
Have
Played
Has / Have
been Playing
Past Played Was / Were
Playing
Had
Played
Had been
Playing
Future Will / Shall
Play
Will / Shall be
Playing
Will /
Shall
Have
Played
Will / Shall
have been
Playing
Table Of Tenses

31. Present
Present
Indefinite
tense
Present
Continuous
tense
Present
Perfect
tense
Present Perfect
Continuous
tense
Affirmative
Sentences
I play I am playing
I have
played
I have been
playing for two
hours
Negative
Sentences
I do not play
I am not
playing
I have not
played
I have not been
playing for two
hours
Interrogative
Sentences
Do I play?
Am I
playing?
Have I
played?
Have I been
playing for two
hours?
Negative
Interrogative
Sentences
Do I not
play?
Am I not
playing?
Have I not
played?
Have I not been
playing for two
hours?

32. Make Affirmative,
Negative,
Interrogative and
Negative Interrogative
sentences of 2nd persons (singular and
plural) and 3rd persons (singular and
plural) in present tense by your own.

33. Past
Past
Indefinite
tense
Past
Continuous
tense
Past
Perfect
tense
Past Perfect
Continuous
tense
Affirmative
Sentences
I played
I was
playing
I had
played
I had been
playing for two
hours
Negative
Sentences
I did not
play
I was not
playing
I had not
played
I had not been
playing for two
hours
Interrogative
Sentences
Did I play?
Was I
playing?
Had I
played?
Had I been
playing for two
hours?
Negative
Interrogative
Sentences
Did I not
play?
was I not
playing?
Had I not
played?
Had I not been
playing for two
hours?

34. Make Affirmative,
Negative,
Interrogative and
Negative Interrogative
sentences of 2nd persons (singular and
plural) and 3rd persons (singular and
plural) in past tense by your own.

35. Future
Future
Indefinite
tense
Future
Continuous
tense
Future
Perfect
tense
Future Perfect
Continuous
tense
Affirmative
Sentences
I shall play
I shall be
playing
I shall
have
played
I shall have been
playing for two
hours
Negative
Sentences
I shall not
play
I shall not
be playing
I shall not
have
played
I shall not have
been playing for
two hours
Interrogative
Sentences
Shall I play?
Shall I be
playing?
Shall I
have
played?
Shall I have been
playing for two
hours?
Negative
Interrogative
Sentences
Shall I not
play?
Shall I not
be playing?
Shall I not
have
played?
Shall I not have
been playing for
two hours?

36. Make Affirmative,
Negative,
Interrogative and
Negative Interrogative
sentences of 2nd persons (singular and
plural) and 3rd persons (singular and
plural) in future tense by your own.