Easy Explanation of Tenses
“Tense tells us the time of action – past, present, or future. Let’s break it down simply.”
📘 What is Tense?
Tense is the form of a verb that shows the time of an action or event. There are three main tenses:
- Present Tense – action happening now
- Past Tense – action that already happened
- Future Tense – action that will happen later
📚 Types of Tenses
Each tense is further divided into four types:
| Tense | Simple | Continuous | Perfect | Perfect Continuous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | I eat | I am eating | I have eaten | I have been eating |
| Past | I ate | I was eating | I had eaten | I had been eating |
| Future | I will eat | I will be eating | I will have eaten | I will have been eating |
🧠 Use of Tenses
- Simple: General facts or regular actions.
- Continuous: Action happening at the moment.
- Perfect: Action completed at a certain time.
- Perfect Continuous: Action that was happening for some time.
📌 Examples
- Simple Present: *She goes to school every day.*
- Past Continuous: *I was reading a book.*
- Present Perfect: *They have finished their homework.*
- Future Perfect Continuous: *He will have been working here for 5 years.*
📋 Questions Asked in Exams
- Q: How many types of tenses are there?
A: 12 (4 types in each of Present, Past, and Future) - Q: What is the structure of Present Continuous?
A: Subject + is/am/are + verb+ing - Q: Give an example of Future Perfect Tense.
A: She will have completed the project.