Tense for Class 5

Define Tense

A verb is a word or phrase that expresses an action, state or event. Verbs represent "doing" or "being". These events can take place in the present, past or future. Tenses represent the time at which the event is taking place. In short, tense is the form that the verb takes to convey the time of the event.

Tenses are classified as:

What are Verbs?

Before learning various rules of different tenses, we must understand what verbs are and their forms. Verbs in English have different forms that change based on the tense of the action. Verbs I, II and III correspond to the base form, past tense and past participle of a verb respectively.

Verb 1 (Base Form): This is the simplest form of a verb. It's the form of the verb that is used in the present tense when you talk about actions that are happening now or habitual actions.

Example: I play soccer. (Here, "play" is the base form of the verb)

Verb 2 (Past Tense): The past tense of a verb is used to talk about actions that happened in the past, whether it's yesterday, last year or a long time ago. To create the past tense of most regular verbs, you add "-ed" to the base form of the verb.
Example: I played soccer yesterday. (Here, "played" is the past tense form of the verb "play")

Verb 3 (Past Participle): The past participle is used in various tenses, including the past perfect, present perfect and the passive voice. To form the past participle of regular verbs, you also add "-ed" to the base form.
Example: I have played soccer many times. (Here, "played" is the past participle form of the verb "play")

List of 5 Forms of Verb

Rules of Tenses

Here's a simple chart explaining the rules of different tenses:

1. Present Tense

Simple Present

The simple present tense talks about things that happen regularly or are generally true.

Examples:

→ Jack plays football every evening.
→ The Sun rises in the east.
→ Shelly likes to read novels.

Note: In the simple present tense, we use the base form of the verb (like play, rise, love) for most subjects.

Present Continuous

The present continuous tense talks about actions that are happening right now or are in progress.

Examples:

→ I am playing with my friends in the park.
→ She is singing a song in the school choir.
→ They are eating lunch in the cafeteria.

Present Perfect

The present perfect tense talks about something that happened in the past but is still connected to the present.

Examples:

→ The children have eaten lunch.
→ She has visited the zoo.
→ They have finished their homework.

Present Perfect Continuous

The present perfect continuous tense takes about an action that started in the past and is still happening now or has just finished.

Examples:

→ I have been playing in the garden the entire evening.
→ Susan has been dancing for three hours.
→ They have been studying English since morning.

2. Past Tense

Simple Past Tense

The simple past tense talks about things that happened in the past. It shows that an action is over and is not happening anymore.

Examples:

→ I played football yesterday.
→ She visited her grandparents last summer.
→ They watched a movie last night.

Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense talks about actions or events that were happening in the past and were not completed at a specific moment in time. 

Examples:

→ I was playing with my friends yesterday.
→ She was singing a song when the phone rang.
→ They were watching a movie at 8 p.m. last night.

Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense shows that something happened before another action in the past.

Examples:

→ Before I went to bed, I had finished my homework.
→ She had already eaten breakfast when her friends arrived.
→ They had watched the movie before they went to the park.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

The past perfect continuous tense shows that an action was happening continuously in the past and had already been going on before another action or time in the past.

Examples:

→ She had been dancing for two hours before her friends arrived at the party.
→ They had been playingfootball all afternoon when it started to rain.
→ I had been studying for my test when the phone rang.

3. Future Tense

Simple Future Tense

The simple future tense talks about things that will happen in the future.

Examples:

→ I will go to the park tomorrow.
→ She will eat ice cream after dinner.
→ They will visit  her grandparents next weekend.

Future Continuous Tense

The future continuous tense talks about actions that will be happening in the future and will continue for some time.

Examples:

→ I will be playing football with my friends tomorrow afternoon.
→ She will be studying for her exam all evening.
→ They will be watchinga movie at the cinema this Saturday.

Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense talks about an action that will be completed in the future before another action or a specific time.

Examples:

→ By the time I arrive at the party, they will have already eaten all the cake.
→ She will have finished her homework before dinner.
→ I will have read the book by next week.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

The future perfect continuous tense describes an action that will be ongoing (continuous) and will have been happening for a specific period of time in the future.

Examples:

→ By the time I finish my homework, I will have been studying for two hours.
→ They will have been playing soccer all afternoon when we join them.
→ She will have been practising the piano for a month by the next Friday.

Difference Between Simple Present, Past and Future Tense

Difference Between Present, Past and Future Continuous Tense

Difference Between Present, Past and Future Perfect Tense

Difference Between Present Perfect and Past Tense

Explanation:

Present Perfect Tense: We use the present perfect tense when actions happened at some point in the past but have a connection to the present.

Past Tense: We use the past tense when actions happened and were completed in the past. We simply use the past tense form of the verb.