Tenses
Simple Present Tense
Habitual actions
Facts that are believed to be true
Scheduled events in the near future
Subject (base form) verb + do/does
A) I,We, You,They,Plural noun (bf)verb + do (write + do - write)
B) He,She,It, Singular noun (bf)verb + does (write + does - writes)
I write a letter She writes a letter
I do not write a letter She does not write a letter
Do you write a letter? Does she write a letter?
Don’t you write a letter? Doesn’t she write a letter
Words used in this form of sentences
always, often, frequently, usually, repeatedly, occasionally, rarely, seldom,
hardly ever, never, every day, every moment, every night, annually, daily,
once a day, twice a week, three times a year, still, in the morning,
in the day time, at night, at mid night, at noon, at 10 0’ clock, on Sunday
hardly ever, never, every day, every moment, every night, annually, daily,
once a day, twice a week, three times a year, still, in the morning,
in the day time, at night, at mid night, at noon, at 10 0’ clock, on Sunday
Ex- I usually get up early, we play foot ball every Sunday, she usually sleeps at midnight
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Present Continuous Tense
Activities happening now
Activities happening around now, and not necessarily this
very moment
Planned future activities
very moment
Planned future activities
Subject is/are/am (base form) verb + ing
A) I am (bf) verb + ing
B) I,We, You,They,Plural noun are (bf) verb + ing
C) He,She,It, Singular noun is (bf) verb + ing
I am writing a letter We are writing a letter She is writing a letter
I am not writing a letter. We are not writing a letter. She is not writing a letter
Are you writing a letter? Are we writing a letter? Is she writing a letter?
Aren't you writing a letter? Aren’t we writing a letter? Isn’t she writing a letter?
Words used in this form of sentences
Now, at the moment, These days, right now
Ex- I am working now, She is learning English these days. They are playing right now
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Simple Past Tense
Events or situations that are finished
Subject (base form)verb + did
I, We,You, They, He,She, It (Write + did – wrote)
I wrote a letter She wrote a letter.
I did not write a letter She didn’t write a letter
Did you write a letter? Did she write a letter?
Didn’t you write a letter? Didn’t she write a letter?
Words used in this form of sentences
yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday, a little while ago
Ex- I went to school yesterday. We met each other last Friday. She called me a little while ago
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Past Continuous Tense
Actions which were going on at a particular time in the past
Subject was/were (base form)verb + ing
A) I,We, You,They,Plural noun was (bf) verb + ing
B) He,She,It, Singular noun were (bf) verb + ing
I was writing a letter
I was not writing a letter
Were you writing a letter?
Weren't you writing a letter?
Words used in this form of sentences
when, while
Ex- when I was coming home, I saw an accident. While she was cooking, the baby was crying
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Simple Future Tense
To Say that something will happen in the future
Express spontaneous decision
Subject will / shall + (base form) verb
A) I, we will/shall +( bf) verb
B) You,They,He,She,It,any singular or plural noun will +(bf) verb
I will write a letter She will write a letter
I will not write a letter She will not write a letter
Will you write a letter? Will she write a letter?
Won’t you write a letter? Won’t she write a letter?
Words used in this form of sentences
in a year, tomorrow, later today, in five minutes, in a few minutes, in two hours, on Monday, on Saturday afternoon, next week/month, this year
Ex- I will get married in a year. He will meet me on Monday
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Future Continuous Tense
To talk about something that will be happening, going on, at a certain time in the future
Subject will be + (bf) verb + ing
I, We,You, They, He,She, It will be (bf) verb+ ing
I will be writing a letter She will be writing a letter
I will not be writing a letter She will not be writing a letter
Will you be writing a letter? Will she be writing a letter?
Won’t you be writing a letter? Won’t she be writing a letter?
Words used in this form of sentences
next week, tomorrow, this time tomorrow
Ex- I will be watching TV this time tomorrow, I will be going to Kandy
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Present Perfect Tense
To talk about an action happened in the past by looking at a present evidence
Subject have / has past participle form
A) I, We, You, They have written
B) He, She ,It has written
I have written a letter She has written a letter
I haven't written a letter She hasn't written a letter
Have you written a letter? Has she written a letter?
Haven't you written a letter? Hasn't she written a letter?
Words used in this form of sentences
never, yet, already, so far
Ex- I have never seen him before, She has already cooked
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Past Perfect Tense
Future Perfect Tense
To talk about an action which will be completed in the future
Subject will have past participle form
I will have written a letter She will have written a letter
I won't have written a letter She won't have written a letter
Will you have written a letter? Will she have written a letter?
Won't you have written a letter? Won't you have written a letter?
Ex- By the time you go home, your wife will have finished cooking
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Present Perfect Continuous Tense
To talk about an action started in the past and continued up until now
Subject have been / has been bf + ing
I have been writing a letter She has been writing a letter
I haven't been writing a letter She hasn't been writing a letter
Have you been writing a letter? Has she been writing a letter?
Haven't you been writing a letter? Hasn't she been writing a letter?
Words used in this form of sentences
since, for
Ex- I have been waiting for you for two hours
It has been raining since yesterday
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Past Perfect Continuous Tense
To talk about an action started in the past and continued up until another time in the past
Subject had been bf + ing
I had been writing a letter
I hadn't been writing a letter
Had you been writing a letter?
Hadn't you been writing a letter?
Ex- I had been working in that company from 2002 to 2005
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Future Perfect Continuous Tense
To talk about an action that continue up until a particular time in the future
Subject will have been bf + ing
I will have been writing a letter
I won't have been writing a letter
Will you have been writing a letter?
Won't you have been writing a letter?
Ex- I will have been working for my exam from tomorrow until next week
B) He, She ,It has written
I have written a letter She has written a letter
I haven't written a letter She hasn't written a letter
Have you written a letter? Has she written a letter?
Haven't you written a letter? Hasn't she written a letter?
Words used in this form of sentences
never, yet, already, so far
Ex- I have never seen him before, She has already cooked
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Past Perfect Tense
To talk about actions completed in the past
Subject had past participle form
I had written a letter She had written a letter
I hadn't written a letter She hadn't written a letter
Had you written a letter? Had she written a letter?
Hadn't you written a letter? Hadn't she written a letter?
Ex- When I went to the party, they had already left
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Future Perfect Tense
To talk about an action which will be completed in the future
Subject will have past participle form
I will have written a letter She will have written a letter
I won't have written a letter She won't have written a letter
Will you have written a letter? Will she have written a letter?
Won't you have written a letter? Won't you have written a letter?
Ex- By the time you go home, your wife will have finished cooking
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Present Perfect Continuous Tense
To talk about an action started in the past and continued up until now
Subject have been / has been bf + ing
I have been writing a letter She has been writing a letter
I haven't been writing a letter She hasn't been writing a letter
Have you been writing a letter? Has she been writing a letter?
Haven't you been writing a letter? Hasn't she been writing a letter?
Words used in this form of sentences
since, for
Ex- I have been waiting for you for two hours
It has been raining since yesterday
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Past Perfect Continuous Tense
To talk about an action started in the past and continued up until another time in the past
Subject had been bf + ing
I had been writing a letter
I hadn't been writing a letter
Had you been writing a letter?
Hadn't you been writing a letter?
Ex- I had been working in that company from 2002 to 2005
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Future Perfect Continuous Tense
To talk about an action that continue up until a particular time in the future
Subject will have been bf + ing
I will have been writing a letter
I won't have been writing a letter
Will you have been writing a letter?
Won't you have been writing a letter?
Ex- I will have been working for my exam from tomorrow until next week
