Tense

Tense

The tenses of verbs indicate two different things about the action concerned

• The time of the action- present, past, future.
• The kind of the action- single, repeated, continuous, completed, incomplete, etc.

The Present Continuous Tense

Structures:

• Affirmative:

Sub + is/am/are + v4 + obj

E.g. He is writing a letter.

• Negative:

Sub + id/am/are + not + v4 + obj

E.g. He is not writing a letter.

• Questions:

Is/am/are + sub + v4 + obj + ?

E.g. Is he writing a letter?

WH + is/am/are + sub + v4 + obj + ?

E.g. Why is he writing a letter?

• Active:

Sub + is/am/are + v4 + obj

E.g. He is writing a poem.

• Passive:

Obj + is/am/are + being + v4 + by + sub

A poem is being written by him.

Uses:

We use present continuous tense to show:

• Things that are happening now at the moment.

E.g. What are you doing?

She’s reading in the garden.

• Actions happening in a period around the present moment in time:

E.g. Whose account are you working on?

She’s studying hard for her final exam.

• Future plans and arrangements:

E.g. They are coming to stay with us in September.

I’m going to give an interview on May 20.

• Gradual change:

E.g. The children are growing fast.

The price of things is going up.

The Present Perfect Tense

Structures:

• Affirmative:

Sub + has/have + v3 + obj

E.g. He has written a letter.

• Negative:

Sub + has not/have not + v3 + obj

E.g. He has not written a letter.

• Questions:

Has/have + sub + v3 + obj + ?

E.g. Has he written a letter?

WH + has/have + sub + v3 + obj + ?

E.g. Why has he written a letter?

• Active:

Sub + has/have + v3 + obj

E.g. He is written a letter.

• Passive:

Obj + has/have + been + v3 + by + sub

A letter is been written by him.

Uses:

We use the present perfect tense to talk about:

• Happenings in the past that affect or explain the present situation.

E.g. Diya looks upset. Has she failed the exam?

I can’t pay the bus fare. I’ve lost my purse.

• Our experiences

E.g. I have been to Pokhara.

I’ve never been to Dharan.