IT IS NOW MY TIME TO GIVE YOU ALL A BETTER INSIGHT OF THE 16 TENSES IN ENGLISH... First let me start from defining what TENSE actually is. Tense is the relationship between the form of the verb and the time of the action or state it describes. In English VERBS may be in the PAST or PRESENT TENSE. However, the present tense form of the verb is also used in : a. Timeless expressions : The sun rises in the east. b. For future events : I leave/I am leaving next Monday. c. Past events for dramatic effect : Suddenly she collapsed on the floor. The Past Tense form of the verb may also occur in Conditional Clauses : If you worked harder. You would pass the exam. @ Are all the 16 Tenses in English worth learning? The answer is De finely not Why? Because not all Tenses are in common use. How many Tenses which are common to be used? The answer is 12 (twelve) . What are they? Here is the complete list of the twelve Tenses worth learning > PRESENT > I go to the city once a week. PAST> I went to the city last week. FUTURE > I will go to the city next week. Ad you can see. These are straightforward expressions indicating present action, past action and future intention. Sometimes. However. We need to express Continuing action in these three Tenses. We achieve this by using what are called ; Progressive Forms : PRESENT PROGRESSIVE > I am going to the city to see Simon. PAST PROGRESSIVE > I was going to the city but Simon canceled. FUTURE PROGRESSIVE > I will be going to the city again next week. The next set of Tenses allows us to qualify the basic Past and Future Tenses. If, for example. We use the Past Tense to say zi went to the city , we are referring to an action that took place sometime before the Present ; perhaps I went to the city last week, yesterday or an hour ago z but since then zi have returned. The action is over. But what if we need to convey the impression that I have gone to the city but havent returned? What we need here is a Tense that indicates not only Past action that continues or could continue right up to the Present moment : PRESENT PERFECT > I have gone to the city and will be back tonight. PAST PERFECT > I had gone to the city without my briefcase. FUTURE PERFECT > I will have gone to the city by the time you get to my flat. You will see that the Present Perfect Tense indicates that while I have gone to the city I am still there - in other words the action that began in the past is extended yo the present moment. The Past Perfect Tense indicates that a Past action had taken place )mu going to the city) at an earlier time than another action ( discovering that Id forgotten my briefcase) . The Future Perfect Tense indicates that a future action ( my going to the city) is likely to take place at an earlier time than another future action ( ur getting to my flat) . Just as the Simple Present. Past and Future Tenses require Auxiliary Tenses indicate action that is or may be continuing, so do the Perfect Tenses. PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE > I have been going to the city for years. PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE > I had been going to the city regularly until last month. FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE > If I make three more trips I will have been going to the city every week for the past fifteen years. NOTES : In modern grammar the term TENSE is sometimes used to refer only to the Present Simple > I eat and the Past Simple. I ate. The term more generally refers to the large variety of forms we use to different aspects of time. That is all my Dear Friends and zi certainly hope that the description zi have made give you a better insight on The Twelve Most Common English Tenses used. Keep on practising ur Tenses My Friends because only through lots of practice youll get used to using them. GOOD. LUCK....
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 16:14:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015