Tense: Definition and Types of Tense

TENSE:

It is any form of the verb which may be used to show (i) the time of an action and (ii) the state of action or an event. The Tense of a verb shows the time when an action takes place.

There are Three Main Tense in English:

The present Tense                             (i) Mr. Sharma teachers us English.

The past Tense                                  (ii) Mr. Sharma taught us English.

The Future Tense                              (iii) Mr. Sharma will teach us English.

The three main tenses are subdivided into four heads. They are-

(a) Indefinite Or simple

(b) Continuous   

(c) Perfect   

(d) Perfect Continuous.

Tense at a Glance:

			Tense at a glance
Tense		Indefinite/simple	continuous		Perfect		Perfect continuous
Present	Writes		Am writing  Is writing Are writing	Has written Have written		Has been writing
Past	Wrote		Was writing Were writing	Had written		Had been writing
Future	Shall write Will write		Shall be writing Will be writing	Shallhave written Will have written		Shall have been writing Will have been writing

Examine the following Sentences:

(i)      I write a letter

(ii)    I am writing a letter

(iii)   I have written a letter

(iv)   I have been writing a letter.

The verbs in all these four sentences refer to the present time and are therefore said to be in the present Tense.  

In sentence (i): the verb ‘write’ simply expresses the action done in the present time, without indicating the state of action. It does not tell us anything about the completeness or incompleteness of the action. Hence the verb is said to be in the Simple Present Tense or Present Indefinite Tense.

In sentence (ii): the verb ‘am writing’ is still going on or continuing. Hence the verb is said to be in the Present Continuous Tense.

In sentence (iii): the verb ‘have written’ shows that the action is completed, finished or perfect. Hence the verb is said to be in the Present Perfect Tense.

In sentence (iv): the verb ‘have been writing’ shows that the action is going on continuously up to the present time. Hence the verb is said to be in the Present Perfect Tense.

Similarly the past Tense and the Future Tense have four forms:

Simple past Tense or past indefinite Tense	(i) I wrote a letter.
Past continuous Tense	(ii) I was writing a letter.
Past perfect Tense	(iii) I had written a letter.
Past perfect continuous Tense                                                        And	(iv) I had been writing a letter.
Simple Future or Future indefinite Tense	(i) I shall write a letter.
Future continuous Tense	(ii) I shall be write a letter.
Future perfect Tense	(iii) I shall have writing a letter.
Future perfect continuous Tense	(iv) I shall have been writing a letter.