These Twelve Tense Formulas to Make Your English Better

Tenses are that form of verb that tends to show the time at which the action happened. Example: Present Tense ‘I play football’, Past Tense ‘I played football’, Future Tense ‘I will play Football’.

The above three tenses are further divided into following types:

Simple Present Tense: It indicates the action which happens in the present and the general truths, scientific facts, habits, etc.

1. Let’s see an example

1.  Positive ‘I prefer black tea’.
2.  Negative ‘I do not prefer black tea’.
3.  Question ‘Do I prefer black tea’?

Present Continuous Tense: It indicates an action which is in progress at the time of speaking. It is formed using am/is/are + present.

1. Let’s see an example

1. Positive ‘She is watching the TV now’.
2. Negative ‘She is not watching the TV now’.
3. Question ‘Is she watching the TV now’?

Present Perfect Tense: It is used to express an event that happened in the past and its effect is still continuing. It acts as a link between the present and the past.

1. Let’s see an example

1. Positive ‘It has snowed a lot lately in Kashmir’.
2. Negative ‘It has not snowed a lot lately in Kashmir’.
3. Question ‘Has it snowed a lot lately in Kashmir’?

Present Perfect Continuous Tense: It explains an event which happened in the past and is still continuing.

1. Let’s see an example

1. Positive ‘She has been dancing’.
2. Negative ‘She has not been dancing’.
3. Question ‘Has she been dancing’?

Simple Past Tense: It is used to talk about an action that happened in a time before now.

1. Let’s see an example

1. Positive ‘We watched Indian Cricket World Cup last month’.
2. Negative ‘We did not watch Indian Cricket World Cup last month’.
3. Question ‘Did we watch Indian Cricket World Cup last month?’

Past Continuous Tense: It refers to a continuing action that was happening at some point in the past.

1. Let’s see an example

1. Positive ‘They were learning Literature’.
2. Negative ‘They were not learning Literature’.
3. Question ‘Were they learning Literature’?

Past Perfect Tense: It points a past action that is completed before another past action.

1. Let’s see an example

1. Positive ‘She had left when I went to the party’.
2. Negative ‘She had not left when I went to the party’.
3. Question ‘Had she left when I went to the party’?

Past Perfect Continuous Tense: It indicates ‘how long an action has continues.

1. Let’s see an example

1. Positive ‘They had been talking for the last hour’.
2. Negative ‘They had not been talking for the last hour’.
3. Question ‘Had they not been talking for the last hour’?

Simple Future Tense: It is used to make sentences about future time.

1. Let’s see an example

1. Positive ‘They will study Geography’.
2. Negative ‘They will not study Geography’.
3. Question ‘Will they study Geography’?

Future Continuous Tense: It points to an action which will be in progress at some definite time in the future.

1. Let’s see an example

1. Positive ‘He will be waiting for you at the park’.
2. Negative ‘He will not be waiting for you at the park’.
3. Question ‘Will he be waiting for you at the park’?

Future Perfect Tense: It is used to express an action that is expected to be completed before a certain time in the future.

1. Let’s see an example

1. Positive ‘You will have relaxed in the spa by the time they arrive’.
2. Negative ‘You will not have relaxed in the spa by the time they arrive’.
3. Question ‘Will you have relaxed in the spa by the time they arrive’?

Future Perfect Continuous Tense: It points to an action that will continue to a point in the future.

1. Let’s see an example

1. Positive ‘I will have been working on Tuesday’.
2. Negative ‘I will not have been working on Tuesday’.
3. Question ‘Will I have been working on Tuesday’?