16 Tenses In English Grammar

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In English grammar, the term sequence of tenses (SOT) refers to an agreement in tense between the verb phrase in a subordinate clause and the verb phrase in the main clause that accompanies it.

Jun 10, 2019 What are the main tenses in English? There are 12 basic tenses in English language grammar, but in total there are 16 tenses. Present tense, past tense, future tense and past future tense are splitted into simple tense, continuous tense, perfect tense and perfect continuous tense. English has three tenses - the past, the present and the future. The sections in this articles give an overview of all tenses in English. English tenses in a table - English Grammar Joerg Poehland - englisch-hilfen.de download Z-Library. Download books for free. A wonderful powerpoint presentation on the Future tenses. It explains the grammar and then provides some exercises. For more information go to http://www.webenglishonline.com. Tenses in english grammar with examples - English Grammar. 5 ways to talk about the future without using the future tense: BBC English Masterclass.

The sequence-of-tense rule (also known as backshifting) is less rigid in English than in some other languagesю However, it is also true that the sequence-of-tense rule doesn't occur in all languages.
Most commonly [sequence of tenses] is a case of a past tense in a main clause being followed by a past tense in a subordinate clause. Compare:

(a) I assume [you are going to be late].
(present followed by present)
(b) I assumed [you were going to be late].
(past followed by past)

The interesting thing is that the past tense of the subordinate clause can easily refer to the present time, as in Hello! I didn't know you were here. In such cases, sequence of tenses overrules the normal meanings of past and present tenses.
While we can say Susie says that she is coming, if we put the first verb into the past tense, we normally put the second verb into the past tense as well, producing Susie said that she was coming. Here Susie said that she is coming is somewhat unnatural, though not strictly ungrammatical
Sequence-of-Tense Rule (Backshifting)
By the 'sequence of tense' rule, present tense forms change to past tense after a past tense verb of reporting. This applies to the modals as well as to full verbs:

'I am coming'
He said that he was coming
'He may be there'
She said that he might be there
'You may come in'
He said that I might come in
'I'll do it for you'
She said that she'd do it for me

Sequence of Tenses With Modals in Indirect Discourse
Although it is true that modals do not inflect for number, there is some evidence that they do inflect for tense. The evidence that I have in mind has to do with sequence-of-tense phenomena in indirect discourse. As is well known, it is generally possible to replace a present-tense verb by its past-tense counterpart in an indirect quotation after a past-tense verb. For example, the present-tense form of the main verb have that occurs in the direct quotation of (3a) may be replaced by the past-tense form had in an indirect quotation, as in (3b):

(3a) John said, 'Little pitchers have big ears.'
(3b) John said that little pitchers had big ears.

Note in particular that the quoted material in (3a) is a proverb learned as a fixed formula so that the change in this (otherwise) fixed formula attested in (3b) provides especially clear evidence for the application of a sequence-of-tense rule. Now consider in this connection the following examples:

Tenses

(4a) John said, 'Time will tell.'
(4b) John said that time would tell.
(5a) John said, 'Beggars can't be choosers.'
(5b) John said that beggars couldn't be choosers.
(6a) John asked, 'May I be excused?'
(6b) John asked if he might be excused.

As these examples show, it is possible to replace will by would, can by could, and may by might in an indirect quotation after a past-tense verb. Moreover, these examples, like those of (3), involve changes in fixed formulas (proverbs in (4) and (5), a social formula in (6)), and thus provide similarly clear evidence that the sequence-of-tense rule is involved. It, therefore, seems that the present-past distinction that is relevant to verbs, in general, is relevant to modals as well, with will, can, and may, for example, being classified as distinctively present forms and would, could, and might as distinctively past.

Verb Tenses are different forms of verbs describing something happened in the past, happening at present or will happen in the future. By expanding these three forms, you will learn 16 tenses in all.

There are three main types of verb tenses past, present and future.

See also: 58 Tenses Exampes, Tenses Exercises, Tenses Worksheet

PRESENT TENSE

Present tense shows the current action that is going to be performed. It has four types which are briefly described here.

1. Simple Present Tense

Structure:

Subject + Verb (vI) + es/es

Examples:

  1. I take exercise daily.
  2. She reads a book in the library.

2. Present Continuous Tense

Structure:

Subject + is/am/are + Verb(+ing)

Example:

  1. He is playing football.
  2. I am studying in a high school.

3. Present Perfect Tense

Structure:

Subject + Has/have + Verb (v3)

Example:

  1. He has made this colorful chart.
  2. I have completed my assignment.

View: Present Perfect Tense Exercise, Formula and Usage

4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Structure:

Subject + Has/have + been + Verb(+ing)

Example:

  1. I have been completing my assignment for the last three days.
  2. She has been working in this department since 2017.

View: Present Perfect Continuous Tense Formula and Usage

PAST TENSE

English Tenses

Past tense expresses the actions that happened in the past. It has also four types.

5. Simple Past Tense

Structure:

Subject + Verb (v2) or irregular verb:

Example:

  1. He completed the assignment.
  2. I read the newspaper.

View: Simple Past Tense Formula, Usage & Examples

6. Past Continuous Tense

16 tenses in english grammar chart

Structure:

Subject + was/were + Verb(+ing)

Tenses

Example:

  1. He was reading the book.
  2. I was going to the park for a morning walk.

View: Past Continuous Tense Formula, Usage & Examples

7. Past Perfect Tense

Structure:

Subject + had + Verb (v3)

Example:

  1. I had finished my homework.
  2. He had completed his task.

View: Past Perfect Tense Formula, Exercise & Examples

8. Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Structure:

Subject + had + been + Verb(+ing)

Example:

  1. He had been completing his assignment for the last two hours.
  2. I had been playing football since morning.

View: Past Perfect Continuous Tense Formula, Exercise & Examples

16 Tenses In English Grammar Worksheet

FUTURE TENSE

Future tense expresses the actions that have not happened yet OR “the actions that will likely to happen in future”. Its four types are described here.

9. Simple Future Tense

Structure:

Subject+ will/shall+ verb(v1)

Example:

  1. I shall go to the park for a walk.
  2. She willperform his duty.

View: Simple Future Tense Formula, Usage & Examples

10. Future Continuous Tense

Structure:

Subject + will be/shall be + verb(+ing)

Example:

16 Tenses In English Grammar Exercises

  1. He will be playing football.
  2. We shall be eating the meal.

View: Future Continuous Tense Formula, Usage & Examples

11. Future Perfect Tense

Structure:

Subject + will have + verb(v3)

Example:

  1. He will have played football.
  2. I will have completed my assignment.

View: Future Perfect Tense Formula, Usage & Examples

12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Structure:

Subject + will have been + verb(+ing)

Example:

He will have been watching the football match for over fifty minutes.

View: Future Perfect Continuous Tense Usage, Formula & Examples

PAST FUTURE TENSE

13. Past Future Tense

16 Tenses In English Grammar Examples

Structure:

Subject + would + verb (v1)

Example:

I told that I would leave in one hour.

14. Past Future Continuous Tense

Structure:

Subject + should be/would be + Verb(+ing)

What Are The 12 Types Of Tenses In English

Example:

I told that I would be doing my homework all day long.

15. Past Future Perfect Tense

Structure:

Subject + should have/ would have + Verb(v3)

Example:

She said that she would have completed her assignment.

16. Past Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Structure:

Subject + would have been + Verb(+ing)

Example:

He said that I should have been working here for two hours by that time.

Read also: 12 Tenses Chart with examples

16 Tenses In English Grammar

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