Tense & Sequence of Tense

8. Tense & Sequence of Tense

Description is not applied here.

1. Present Tenses

Tense

Tense denotes the time of a verb.  Example: Sumi eats an egg. - Present tense / Sumi ate an apple. - Past tense / Sumi will eat a carrot. - Future tense

Present   indefinite tense-: S + V1(s/es)+ Ext

 Rule 1.

Always

Regularly

Sometimes

Often

Seldom

Usually

Generally 

Normally

Daily

Every time

Frequently

Twice  a year

Occasionally

Every(day/week/morning)

on  Mondays

In  summer

 

 

  āωāĻĒāϰ⧋āĻ•ā§āϤ Adverb āϗ⧁āϞ⧋ āϕ⧋āύ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ⧇ āĻĨāĻžāĻ•āϞ⧇ āϏāĻžāϧāĻžāϰāĻŖāϤ  present  indefinite  tense āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤ Example : 

  Shaheen usually plays tennis once or twice a week. / Rabindranath's  stories  often  surprise  endings.

Rule 2. āϏāĻžāϧāĻžāϰāĻŖ āϕ⧋āύ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ āĻĻā§āĻŦāĻžāϰāĻž  Habitual  fact ,  universal  truth,  historical  truth , near future  , scientific  fact ,  quotations āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ exclamatory  sentence āĻŦ⧁āĻāĻžāϞ⧇  present  indefinite tense āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤ Example : He  takes  tea  every day. - Habitual fact / The earth moves round the sun. - Universal truth / India wins freedom in 1947. - Historical truth / Ice floats on water. - Scientific fact / Keats   says, beauty is truth, truth beauty. - Quotations / Here comes the bus! - Exclamatory sentence

Present continues tense- S + am/is/ are + V ing + Ext

Rule 3. 

Now

At this  moment

At present  

Day by day

Now and now

Today

Right now /  tonight

 This year

gradually

increasingly

           

āωāĻĒāϰ⧋āĻ•ā§āϤ Word āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ phrase āϗ⧁āϞ⧋ āϕ⧋āύ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ⧇ āĻĨāĻžāĻ•āϞ⧇ āϤāĻž present continuous  tense āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤Example :   The baby  is crying  at present because  it is hungry  now. / The sun  is shining  in the  eastern  sky  now.

Rule 4. āύāĻŋāĻšā§‡āϰ Verb āϗ⧁āϞ⧋ [(1. Verbs of perception (āωāĻĒāϞāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŋāϏ⧂āϚāĻ• āĻ•ā§āϰāĻŋ⧟āĻž) 2. Verb of appearing (āĻŽāύ⧇ āĻšāĻ“ā§ŸāĻž āϏ⧂āϚāĻ• āĻ•ā§āϰāĻŋ⧟āĻž) 3. Verb of emotion (āφāĻŦ⧇āĻ—āϏ⧂āϚāĻ• āĻ•ā§āϰāĻŋ⧟āĻž) 4. Verbs of thinking (āϚāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āϤāĻžāϏ⧂āϚāĻ• āĻ•ā§āϰāĻŋ⧟āĻž) ] āϏāĻžāϧāĻžāϰāĻŖāϤ present continuous tense āĻšā§Ÿ āύāĻžāĨ¤ āĻŦāϰāĻ‚ present indefinite tense āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤

Agree

Appear

Adore

Belong

Believe

Care

Contain

Consider

Desire

Dislike

Detest

Depend

Expect

Feel

Fear

Forget

Hate

Hear

Hope

Love

Like

Mind

Mean

notice

Need

know

Owe

Observe

Prefer

Possess

Prescribe

Remember

Refuse

Recall

see

Seem

Smell

Trust

Think

Value

Understand

Want

Wish

Be

Pity

Envy

Remember

Intend

Deserve

Lack

Matter

own

 

 

Example : 

Incorrect: Anwar is knowing me. Correct:   Anwar knows me.

Incorrect: he is believing  me now. Correct: He believes me now.

 

Present perfect tense- S + have /has +V3 +Ext

Example : We  have  not had  a holiday  since  the beginning  of  the year

 Rule 5. āύāĻŋāĻŽā§āύ⧋āĻ•ā§āϤ   Adverb āĻŦāĻž adverbial  phrase āϕ⧋āύ sentence āĻ āĻŦā§āϝāĻŦāĻšā§ƒāϤ āĻšāϞ⧇ āϤāĻž present  perfect  tense āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤

Already

Just

Just now

Lately

 

Ever

Recently

So far

Till

 For a long  time

For

Since

Still / yet

In the last  few  days

 

Example :  He has  been  ill  since  Friday  last. / He has   just gone out.

 

Present perfect continuous   tense- S + have been /has been + V ing + Ext

Present perfect continuous   tense āĻāϰ structure: {  since(āύāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻˇā§āϟ āϏāĻŽā§Ÿ)  for(āĻ…āύāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻˇā§āϟ āϏāĻŽā§Ÿ)  }  + time. Example:

He has been suffering   from fever for four days. / He has been playing since 4.00 pm.

Rule 6. āύāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻˇā§āϟ āϏāĻŽā§Ÿ āĻŦāĻž āĻ…āύāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻˇā§āϟ āϏāĻŽā§Ÿ āύāĻŋā§Ÿā§‡ āϕ⧋āύ āĻ•āĻžāϜ āϚāϞāϛ⧇ āĻŦā§‹āĻāĻžāϤ⧇ Present perfect continuus tense āĻŦā§āϝāĻŦāĻšā§ƒāϤ āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤ āϝ⧇āĻŽāύāσ We have  been  learning  English  since  our childhood. 


2. Past Tenses

Tense

Tense denotes the time of a verb.  Example: Sumi eats an egg. - Present tense / Sumi ate an apple. - Past tense / Sumi will eat a carrot. - Future tense

Past Indefinite Tense- S + V2 +Ext

Rule 1. āύāĻŋāĻŽā§āύ⧋āĻ•ā§āϤ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āϗ⧁āϞ⧋ āϕ⧋āύ sentence āĻ āĻĨāĻžāĻ•āϞ⧇ āϤāĻž Past  indefinite tense āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤

Ago

Yesterday

Long time

Long since

Wish

  •  
  •  

Once

It is time

It ishightime

Example: He came home yesterday. / The steamer sailed a week ago. / I had to go to hospital last Friday.

 

Rule 2. āĻ…āϤ⧀āϤ⧇āϰ āĻ…āύāĻŋ⧟āĻŽāĻŋāϤ āĻ…āĻ­ā§āϝāĻžāϏ āĻŦ⧁āĻāĻžāϤ⧇ used  to āĻ…āĻĨāĻŦāĻž would āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤  Subject  +  would / used  to +   verb āĻāϰ present form + ….. āϝ⧇āĻŽāύāσ Apurba  would  / used  to play cricket  every  afternoon.

Rule 3. āĻ…āϤ⧀āϤ āĻ•āĻžāϞ⧇āϰ āĻ…āĻ­ā§āϝāĻžāϏ āĻŦ⧁āĻāĻžāϤ⧇ Often  , always , usually  , regularly āχāĻ¤ā§āϝāĻžāĻĻāĻŋ āϝ⧋āĻ— āĻ•āϰ⧇ simple  past tense āĻŦā§āϝāĻŦāĻšā§ƒāϤ āĻ•āϰāĻž āϝāĻžā§ŸāĨ¤Example : He watered  the plants  regularly.  (Water āĻāĻ–āĻžāύ⧇ verb āĻšāĻŋāϏ⧇āĻŦ⧇ āĻŦā§āϝāĻŦāĻšā§ƒāϤ āĻšā§Ÿā§‡āϛ⧇, āϝāĻžāϰ āĻ…āĻ°ā§āĻĨ āĻĒāĻžāύāĻŋ āĻĻ⧇āĻ“ā§ŸāĻž)

 

Past continuous tense- S + was / were + V ing + Ext

Rule 4. āĻ…āϤ⧀āϤ āĻ•āĻžāϞ⧇āϰ āĻĻ⧁āϟāĻŋ āĻ•āĻžāĻœā§‡āϰ āĻŽāĻ§ā§āϝ⧇ āϚāϞāĻŽāĻžāύ āĻ•āĻžāϜāϟāĻŋ  Past continuous  tense āĻšā§Ÿ āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ āĻ…āĻ¨ā§āϝ āĻ•āĻžāϜāϟāĻŋ  past indefinite  tense āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤ āĻ āϧāϰāύ⧇āϰ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ⧇āϰ  structure āĻšāϞ⧋-

When + subject (1) simple past + subject (2)  + past continuous.  Example:  

When Henry arrived home after a hard day at work, his wife was sleeping.

Or : Subject (1) + past continuous  +  when + subject (2) + simple past. Example:    

We were doing a test when the lights went out.

-āĻ…āϤ⧀āϤāĻ•āĻžāϞ⧇āϰ āĻĻ⧁āϟāĻŋ āĻ•āĻžāϜ āĻāĻ•āχ āϏāĻŽā§Ÿā§‡ āϚāϞāĻ›āĻŋāϞ āĻŦ⧁āĻāĻžāϞ⧇ āωāϭ⧟āϟāĻŋ Past āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤ āĻ āϧāϰāύ⧇āϰ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ⧇āϰ structure āĻšāϞ⧇āĻž-

 Subject (1)+ past continuous  + while + subject (2)+  past continuous. Example:  

Robin was playing football while Abu Talha was watching TV.

Or:  While + subject (1)+ past continuous + subject (2) + past continuous

While  Byezid    was  travelling , Imtiaz&nbnbsp; was  flying by  plane.

Past perfect tense- S + had +V3 +Ext

Rule-5.

āĻ…āϤ⧀āϤāĻ•āĻžāϞ⧇āϰ āĻĻ⧁āϟāĻŋ āϘāϟāύāĻžāϰ āĻŽāĻ§ā§āϝ⧇ āϝ⧇āϟāĻŋ āφāϗ⧇ āϘāĻŸā§‡ āϏ⧇āϟāĻŋ Past  perfect  tense āĻšā§Ÿ āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ āĻĒāϰ⧇āϰāϟāĻŋ  past  indefinite  tense āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤ Before āĻāϰ āφāϗ⧇āϰ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ after āĻāϰ āĻĒāϰ⧇āϰ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ past perfect  āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤ āωāĻ˛ā§āϞ⧇āĻ–ā§āϝ āωāϭ⧟ āĻ•ā§āώ⧇āĻ¤ā§āϰ⧇āχ āĻ…āĻ¨ā§āϝ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝāϟāĻŋ Past indefinite  āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤āϝ⧇āĻŽāύāσ My  friend  had left before  I came. / She told  me his  name  after  he had  left.

-No sooner ……than, scarcely….. when, hardly …… when / before āĻĻā§āĻŦāĻžāϰāĻž āϝ⧁āĻ•ā§āϤ āĻĻ⧁āϟāĻŋ sentence āĻāϰ āĻĒā§āϰāĻĨāĻŽāϟāĻŋ past perfect  tense āĻšā§Ÿ āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ āĻĒāϰ⧇āϰ āϟāĻŋ past indefinite tense āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤ Structure: { No sooner / scarcely / hardly } +  had  + subject + verb past  perfect + { than / when / before } + past  indefinite tense. āϝ⧇āĻŽāύāσ No  sooner  had  we left  the house  than it began to rain.

 

Past perfect continuous   tense- S + had been + V ing + Ext

Past perfect continuous   tense āĻāϰ structure: {  since(āύāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻˇā§āϟ āϏāĻŽā§Ÿ)  for(āĻ…āύāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻˇā§āϟ āϏāĻŽā§Ÿ)  }  + time. Example: He had been suffering   from fever for four days. / He had been playing since 4.00 pm.

Rule- 6. āĻ…āϤ⧀āϤ⧇ āĻĻā§€āĻ°ā§āϘ  āϏāĻŽā§Ÿ āĻŦāĻž āύāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻˇā§āϟ āϏāĻŽā§Ÿ āĻŦāĻž āĻ…āύāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻˇā§āϟ āϏāĻŽā§Ÿ āύāĻŋā§Ÿā§‡ āϕ⧋āύ āĻ•āĻžāϜ āϚāϞāĻ›āĻŋāϞ āĻŦā§‹āĻāĻžāϤ⧇ Past perfect continuus tense āĻŦā§āϝāĻŦāĻšā§ƒāϤ āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤ āϝ⧇āĻŽāύāσ We had  been  learning  English  since  our childhood. 


3. Future Tenses

Tense

Tense denotes the time of a verb.  Example: Sumi eats an egg. - Present tense / Sumi ate an apple. - Past tense / Sumi will eat a carrot. - Future tense

Future indefinite tense- S + shall /will +V1 +Ext

Rule- 1: āύāĻŋāĻŽā§āύ⧇āϰ  verb āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ adverb āϗ⧁āϞ⧋ āĻŦāĻ•ā§āϤāĻžāϰ āĻ­āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇā§āϝāϤ āϏāĻŽā§āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ•āĻŋāϤ āϧāĻžāϰāĻŖāĻž, āĻ…āύ⧁āĻŽāĻžāύ āĻ“ āĻŽāϤāĻžāĻŽāϤ āĻŦ⧁āĻāĻžāϤ⧇  future  indefinite tense  āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤

assume

  •  

be afraid

doubt

daresay

expect

hope

feel

know

suppose

think

wonder

possible

  •  

perhaps

Example : I believe  Ashraful  will  help  me. / I know  Rajib  will play  football.

Rule-2: āĻ­āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇā§āϝāϤ⧇ āϕ⧋āύ āĻ•āĻžāϜ āϏāĻ‚āϘāĻ āĻŋāϤ āĻšāĻŦ⧇ āĻŦ⧁āĻāĻžāϞ⧇ āĻ•āĻŋāĻ‚āĻŦāĻž āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ⧇āϰ āĻŽāĻ§ā§āϝ⧇ tomorrow (āφāĻ—āĻžāĻŽā§€āĻ•āĻžāϞ), next āĻŦāĻžāϚāĻ• āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ ( next week āφāĻ—āĻžāĻŽā§€ āϏāĻĒā§āϤāĻžāĻšā§‡, next night āφāĻ—āĻžāĻŽā§€ āϰāĻžāĻ¤ā§āϰ⧇) coming āĻŦāĻžāϚāĻ• āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ (coming month āφāĻ—āϤ /āφāĻ—āĻžāĻŽā§€ āĻŽāĻžāϏ) āχāĻ¤ā§āϝāĻžāĻĻāĻŋ āĻĨāĻžāĻ•āϞ⧇ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝāϟāĻŋ future indefinite tense āĻāϰ āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤ āϝāĻĨāĻžāσ I shall go there next Friday. (āĻĒāϰāĻŦāĻ°ā§āϤ⧀ āĻļ⧁āĻ•ā§āϰāĻŦāĻžāϰ⧇ āφāĻŽāĻŋ āϏ⧇āĻ–āĻžāύ⧇ āϝāĻžāĻŦāĨ¤)

Future  perfect tense - S + shall have / will have +V3 +Ext

Rule-3:

āϕ⧋āύ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ⧇ By time  , by  then , by  that  time , by  the 5th , by the end āĻĻā§āĻŦāĻžāϰāĻž āϏāĻŽā§Ÿ āύāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻĻ⧇āĻļ āĻ•āϰāϞ⧇ āϏ⧇āχ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝāϟāĻŋ  future  perfect tense āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤Example:  By  the end of  the  lesson  , you   will  have  written  an essay.


9. Tag Question

Description is not applied here.

Tag Question Rules

āϏāĻžāϧāĻžāϰāύ āĻŦāĻ°ā§āύāύāĻž āĻŽā§‚āϞāĻ• āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ⧇āϰ āĻļ⧇āώ⧇ āϝ⧇ āϏāĻ•āϞ āĻĒā§āϰāĻļā§āύ āĻœā§ā§œā§‡ āĻĻā§‡ā§ŸāĻž āĻšā§Ÿ āϤāĻžāϕ⧇ Tag Question āĻŦāϞ⧇āĨ¤ āϝāĻĨāĻžāσ He is taking tea, isn’t he?

āĻ—āĻ āύ āĻĒā§āϰāύāĻžāϞ⧀:

āĻŽā§‚āϞāĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ

Tag āĻ…āĻ‚āĻļ

āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ

āĻšā§āϝāĻžāρ āĻŦā§‹āϧāĻ•

āϏāĻžāĻšāĻžāĻ¯ā§āϝāĻ•āĻžāϰ⧀ Verb + n’t + Sub āĻāϰ Pronoun ?

You have done the work, haven’t you?

āύāĻž āĻŦā§‹āϧāĻ•         

āϏāĻžāĻšāĻžāĻ¯ā§āϝāĻ•āĻžāϰ⧀ Verb + Sub āĻāϰ Pronoun ?

You have not done the work, have you?

Note: āϏāĻžāĻšāĻžāĻ¯ā§āϝāĻ•āĻžāϰ⧀ Verb āύāĻž āĻĨāĻžāĻ•āϞ⧇ do / does / did

āĻŦā§āϝāϤāĻŋāĻ•ā§āϰāĻŽā§€ Tag Forms

Regular Forms

Short forms

āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ

am not

aren’t

I am always punctual, aren’t I?

shall not

shan’t

We shall be successful, shan’t we?

will not

won’t

They will help you, won’t you?

can not

can’t

I can make tea, can’t I?

NB: āύāĻž āĻŦā§‹āϧāĻ• āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ- no, not, never, neither,  nor, scarcely, barely, hardly, hardly ever, seldom, little, few etc

 Subject āĻĒā§āϰāϏāĻ™ā§āĻ—:

āĻŽā§‚āϞāĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ-subject

Tag āĻ…āĻ‚āĻļ-sub

āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ

 Anybody, anyone, nobody, no one, none, neither, everybody, everyone, somebody, someone, every + noun

They

Anybody is absent, aren’t they?

Everybody likes him, don’t they?

- they āĻ•āĻ–āύ⧋ is / does āĻ—ā§āϰāĻšāύ āĻ•āϰ⧇ āύāĻžāĨ¤

One

One

One came here, didn’t one?

Anything / Nothing

It

Nothing is certain, is it?

There

There

There is a book on the table, isn’t there?

This / That / It

It

This is a nice book, isn’t it?

The + adj

They

The wise are happy, aren’t they?

as well as

āĻāϰ āφāϗ⧇āϰ NP

He as well as his sons is present, isn’t he?

Like (āĻŽāϤ)

āĻāϰ āĻĒāϰ⧇āϰ NP

A student like you should not do this, should you?

All of / Many of / Some of / None of

āĻāϰ āĻĒāϰ⧇āϰ NP

All of you are happy, aren’t you?

Baby/ child/ āχāϤāϰ āĻĒā§āϰāĻžāύ⧀/āĻŦāĻ¸ā§āϤ⧁

It

The baby is crying, isn’t it?

Moon / earth / river/ motherland/country /ship/ nature/spring/ autumn/ferry/train etc

She

Japan is a nice country, isn’t she?

Sun/Sumer/winter/fire/death/storm/cyclone/lion/tiger/earthquake

He

The sun rises in the East, doesn’t he?

 

 āĻ•āĻŋāϛ⧁ āϗ⧁āϰ⧁āĻ¤ā§āĻŦāĻĒā§‚āĻ°ā§āĻŖ Points:

āĻŽā§‚āϞāĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ

Tag āĻ…āĻ‚āĻļ-verb

āωāĻĻāĻžāĻšāϰāĻŖ

Verb āĻĻā§āĻŦāĻžāϰāĻž āĻļ⧁āϰ⧁ (Imperative āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ)

will you

Let me go home, will you?

Let us

shall we

Let us read, shall we?

āĻĻā§āĻŦ⧈āϤ āϰ⧁āĻĒ⧇āϰ āϏāĻžāĻšāĻžāĻ¯ā§āϝāĻ•āĻžāϰ⧀ verb

āϏāĻžāĻšāĻžāĻ¯ā§āϝāĻ•āĻžāϰ⧀ verb āĻ­āĻžāϞāĻ­āĻžāĻŦ⧇ āĻ–ā§‡ā§ŸāĻžāϞ

He’d go there, wouldn’t he?

āĻāĻ•āĻžāϧāĻŋāĻ• āĻ–āĻ¨ā§āĻĄāĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ āĻāĻ•āĻ¤ā§āϰ⧇

āĻŽā§‚āϞāĻ–āĻ¨ā§āĻĄāĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ āĻ…āύ⧁āϏāĻžāϰ⧇ (Principal Clause)

If he comes, I shall go, shan’t I?

Note: 1. Imperative sentence āĻ āĻ•āĻžāωāϕ⧇ āĻ•āĻŋāϛ⧁ āĻ•āϰāĻžāϰ āφāĻŽāĻ¨ā§āĻ¤ā§āϰāĻŖ āϜāĻžāύāĻžāϞ⧇ won’t you āĻĻā§āĻŦāĻžāϰāĻž tag question āĻ•āϰāϤ⧇ āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤ āϝ⧇āĻŽāύāσ Please put on the fan, won’t you?

2.  āĻŽā§‚āϞāĻ–āĻ¨ā§āĻĄāĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝ⧇ think / know / say / admit / believe / suppose etc āĻĨāĻžāĻ•āϞ⧇ āĻ…āĻ¨ā§āϝāϟāĻŋ āĻ…āύ⧁āϏāĻžāϰ⧇āĨ¤ āϝāĻĨāĻž:  I think that Mrittika walked at the age of two, didn’t she?