This document discusses the uses of different verb tenses in English including: - Simple Present, Past, and Future Tenses - Present, Past, and Future Continuous Tenses - Present Perfect, Past Perfect, and Future Perfect Tenses - Present Perfect Continuous and Past Perfect Continuous Tenses - Future Perfect Continuous Tense It provides examples and explanations of when each tense is used to describe actions, situations, or states in the present, past and future.

1. ASSIGNMENT: USES OF SENTENCES
SUBMITTED TO: SIR SOHAIB
SUBMITTED BY: SALAHUDIN KHURSHEED
PROGRAM: BS GEOLOGY
SEMESTER: 1ST

2. SIMPLE PRESENT
TENSE
•To express habits, general
truths, repeated actions or
unchanging situations, emotions
and wishes:
I smoke (habit); I work in
London (unchanging
situation); London is a large
city (general truth)
•To give instructions or
directions:
You walk for two hundred meters,
then you turn left.
•To express fixed arrangements,
present or future:
Your exam starts at 09.00
•To express future time, after
some conjunctions: after, when,
before, as soon as, until:
He'll give it to you when you
come next Saturday.

3. SIMPLE PAST TENSE
The simple past tense, sometimes called the
preterit, is used to talk about a completed
action in a time before now. The simple past
is the basic form of past tense in English. The
time of the action can be in the recent past or
the distant past and action duration is not
important.
EXAMPLES
•John Cabot sailed to America in 1498.
•My father died last year.
•He lived in Fiji in 1976.
•We crossed the Channel yesterday

4. You always use the simple past when you
say when something happened, so it is
associated with certain past time
expressions
•frequency: often, sometimes, always
I sometimes walked home at lunchtime.
I often brought my lunch to school.
•a definite point in time: last week, when
I was a child, yesterday, six weeks ago
We saw a good film last week.
Yesterday, I arrived in Geneva.
She finished her work at seven o'clock
I went to the theatre last night
•an indefinite point in time: the other
day, ages ago, a long time
ago People lived in caves a long time
ago.
•She played the piano when she was a
child.

5. SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE
The simple future refers to a time later than now,
and expresses facts or certainty. In this case
there is no 'attitude'.
The simple future is used:
•To predict a future event:
It will rain tomorrow.
•With I or We, to express a spontaneous decision:
I'll pay for the tickets by credit card.
•To express willingness: I'll do the washing-up.
He'll carry your bag for you.
•In the negative form, to express unwillingness:
The baby won't eat his soup.
I won't leave until I've seen the manager!
•With I in the interrogative form using "shall", to make an
offer:
Shall I open the window?
•With we in the interrogative form using "shall", to make a
suggestion:
Shall we go to the cinema tonight?
•With I in the interrogative form using "shall", to ask for
advice or instructions:
What shall I tell the boss about this money?
•With you, to give orders:
You will do exactly as I say.
•With you in the interrogative form, to give an invitation:
Will you come to the dance with me?
Will you marry me?

6. Present Continuous Tense
The present continuous tense is
most often used for the following
For actions happening now
- For future arrangements
- To express annoyance at repeated
actions
For actions happening now
When we want to talk about an action
that is happening now or at this time
(and is unfinished), we use the present
continuous tense. We also use this tense
when we want to make clear that the
action is temporary.
•Sorry, she can't come to the phone right
now; she is having a bath.
•Look! Someone is trying to break into
your car.
•This work is good! Your handwriting is
getting better and better.

7. For future arrangements
We usually use the present continuous
tense for future events that have already
been arranged:
•I'm meeting my mother at the airport
tomorrow.
•Our grandmother is visiting us at
Christmas.
•Sorry, I can't stay after school today;
I'm playing tennis with Jun
To express annoyance at repeated
actions
Usually the present simple is used for
repeated actions. For example, He always
gets up before 7 o'clock, but .. the
present continuous is the correct choice
when the speaker wants to express
annoyance at a repeated action. (Note
how often the word "always" is used in
such statements):
•You are always interrupting me when
I'm talking and I don't like it!
•She's always tapping her pencil on the
desk and it's getting on my nerves!

8. PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
FUNCTIONS OF THE PAST CONTINUOUS
The past continuous describes actions or events
in a time before now, which began in the past
and is still going on at the time of speaking. In
other words, it expresses an unfinished or
incomplete action in the past.
It is used:
•Often, to describe the background in a story
written in the past tense, e.g. "The sun was
shining and the birds were singing as the
elephant came out of the jungle. The other
animals were relaxing in the shade of the
trees, but the elephant moved very quickly.
She was looking for her baby, and she didn't
notice the hunter who was watching her
through his binoculars. When the shot rang out,
she was running towards the river..."
•to describe an unfinished action that was
interrupted by another event or action, e.g.
"I was having a beautiful dream when the
alarm clock rang."
•..

9. •to express a change of mind: e.g. "I was
going to spend the day at the beach but I've
decided to get my homework done instead."
•with 'wonder', to make a very polite request: e.g.
"I was wondering if you could baby-sit for me
tonight."
EXAMPLES
•They were waiting for the bus when the accident
happened.
•Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
•When we arrived he was having a bath

10. The simple future tense is a verb tense that is
used when an action is expected to occur in the
future and be completed. For example, let’s
suppose you have a meeting tomorrow at five
o’clock.
I will arrive at five o’clock.
Michael will be running a marathon this
Saturday.
Eric will be competing against Michael in the
race.
I will be watching Michael and Eric race.
Future Continuous Tense

11. present perfect Tense
The present perfect is formed from the present
tense of the verb have and the past participle of
a verb:
Use
We use the present perfect tense:
•for something that started in the past and continues in
the present:
They’ve been married for nearly fifty years.
She has lived in Liverpool all her life.
Note: We normally use the present perfect continuous for
this:
She has been living in Liverpool all her life.
It’s been raining for hours.
• for something we have done several times in
the past and continue to do:
I’ve played the guitar ever since I was a teenager.
He has written three books and he is working on another
one.
I’ve been watching that programme every week.
We often use a clause with since to
show when something started in the past:
They’ve been staying with us since last week.
I have worked here since I left school.
I’ve been watching that programme every week since it
started.

12. •for something that happened in the past but is
important at the time of speaking:
I can’t get in the house. I’ve lost my keys.
Teresa isn’t at home. I think she has
gone shopping.
I’m tired out. I’ve been working all day.
We use the present perfect of be when someone
has gone to a place and returned:
A: Where have you been?
B: I’ve just been out to the supermarket.
A: Have you ever been to San Francisco?
B: No, but I’ve been to Los Angeles.

13. We use the verb had and the past participle for
the past perfect:
I had finished the work.
She had gone .
The past perfect is used in the same way as the present
perfect, but it refers to a time in the past, not the present.
We use the past perfect tense:
•for something that started in the past and continued up to
a given time in the past:
When George died he and Anne had been married for
nearly fifty years.
She didn’t want to move. She had lived in Liverpool all her
life.
We normally use the past perfect continuous for this:
She didn’t want to move. She had been living in Liverpool
all her life.
Everything was wet. It had been raining for hours.
•for something we had done several times up to a point in
the past and continued to do after that point:
He was a wonderful guitarist. He had been playing ever
since he was a teenager.
He had written three books and he was working on
another one.
I had been watching the programe every week, but I
missed the last episode.
past perfect Tense

14. We often use a clause with since to show when
something started in the past:
They had been staying with us since the
previous week.
I was sorry when the factory closed. I had
worked there since I left school.
I had been watching that program every
week since it started, but I missed the last
episode.
•when we are reporting our experience and
including up to the (then) present:
My eighteenth birthday was the worst day I had
ever had.
I was pleased to meet George. I hadn’t met him
before, even though I had met his wife several
times.
•for something that happened in the past but is
important at the time of reporting:
I couldn’t get into the house. I had lost my keys.
Teresa wasn’t at home. She had
gone shopping.
We use the past perfect to talk about the past
in conditions, hypotheses and wishes:
I would have helped him if he had asked.
It was very dangerous. What if you had
got lost?

15. We use the Future Perfect tense to talk
about actions that will be finished before
some point in the future. We also use this
tense to express situations that will last for
a specified period of time at a definite
moment in the future. The last use is to
express certainty that an action was
completed.
Use
1.Completion before a specified point in
the future
2.Actions or situations that will last in the
future (for a specified time)
3.Certainty that an action was completed
Use 1: Completion before a specified point in
the future
The first use of this tense is to talk about
future actions that will be finished before
some specified point in the future.
•Before they come, we will have cleaned
up the house.
•John will have eaten the whole cake, by
the time the birthday party starts!
Future Perfect Tense

16. Use 2: Duration in the Future
Another use of this tense is to talk about
actions will last after a given point in the
future.
•By the next year, I will have
known Monica for 30 years.
•Patrick will have lived in Hong Kong for 20
years by 2012.
Use 3: Certainty About the Near Past
The last use is to express conviction that
something happened in the near past.
•The train will have left by now. We have
to look for another way to get there. (I'm
sure the train has left)
•The guests will have arrived at the hotel
by now. (I'm sure the guests have arrived
at the hotel)
examples
•I will have graduated from university by
May.
•Patrick will have lived in Hong Kong for 20
years by the next month.
•The train will have left by now.

17. The present perfect continuous is used to refer to
an unspecified time between 'before now' and
'now'. The speaker is thinking about something
that started but perhaps did not finish in that
period of time. He/she is interested in
the process as well as the result, and this
process may still be going on, or may have just
finished.
ACTIONS THAT STARTED IN THE PAST AND
CONTINUE IN THE PRESENT
She has been waiting for you all day (= and
she's still waiting now).
I've been working on this report since eight
o'clock this morning (= and I still haven't finished
it).
They have been travelling since last October (=
and they're not home yet).
)
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
)

18. ACTIONS THAT HAVE JUST FINISHED, BUT
WE ARE INTERESTED IN THE RESULTS
She has been cooking since last night (= and
the food on the table looks delicious).
It's been raining (= and the streets are still wet).
Someone's been eating my chips (= half of
them have gone
FORMING THE PRESENT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
The present perfect continuous is made up of
two elements: the present perfect of the verb 'to
be' (have/has been), and the present participle of
the main verb (base+ing

19. Past Perfect Continuous
This tense is also called Past Perfect
Progressive.
It is simple to form; easy to confuse!
: The Past Perfect Continuous is had
been + present continuous
When to use
It is used for past actions that were
unfinished when another action
happened: "I had been studying at
university for 6 months before I met
her." - studying at university = past
unfinished action; I met her (second action
happened / interrupted the first action).
The Past Perfect Continuous shows us that
something started in the past and
continued up until another time in the
past. You can use time expressions like
'for' and 'since' with this tense: "They had
been sleeping for an hour before I went to
bed."
If you do not want to show a length of
time, use the past
continuous instead: "They were sleeping
before I went to sleep."
."

20. "She had been working here for over
2 years before you started working
here."
"I was exhausted because I had been
staying awake too late."
"They had not been waiting for more
than 30 minutes when the bus picked
them up."
Use it when you want to show cause
and effect: "I put on weight because
I had been eating too much

21. Future Perfect Continuous
Basic form
Subject + WILL HAVE BEEN + Verb (past
participle form)
We use the Future Perfect
Continuous tense to express situations
that will last for a specified period of time
at a definite moment in the future. We also
use this tense to express certainty about
the cause of some future situation.
Use
1.Duration at a definite moment in the
future
2.Cause of a future situation
USE 1: Duration
We use this tense to express situations
that will last for a specified period of time
at a definite moment in the future. It is
important that we expect these situations
to last longer.
•Before they come, we will have been
cleaning the house for 5 hours.
•By the next year, Ben and his wife will
have been living together for 50 years

22. Common Time Expressions Time
expressions that are commonly used with
the Future Perfect Continuous:
•By tomorrow / 8 o'clock
•This year / month / week
•Next year / month / wee
USE 2: Cause
English speakers also use this tense when
they want to express certainty about the
cause of some future situation.
•By this time, he will have been working
for 12 hours, so he will be very tired.
•We will be making a rest stop in half an
hour, because you will have been
driving the car for 6 hours by then.