This is used to express the idea of action taking place at the present moment. You are watching T.V.

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1 Tenses/ VERB FORMS Tenses are tools that allow us to show the passage of time. There are three basic tenses: present, past and future. 1. PRESENT TENSE Simple Present Tense We use the simple present tense when: The action is general The action happens all the time, or habitually. The statement is always true e.g. I like coffee. The moon goes round the earth. Present Perfect Tense The present perfect tense refers to an action or state that either occurred at an indefinite time in the past (e.g., we have talked before) or began in the past and continued to the present time (e.g., he has grown impatient over the last hour). This tense is formed by have/has + the past participle. Present Continuous Tense This is used to express the idea of action taking place at the present moment. You are watching T.V. Isn t she coming with us tonight? This tense is formed by is/ am/ are + main verb + ing. ( e.g. I am eating an apple.) Present Perfect Continuous Tense This tense is formed with has/ have + been + main verb+ ing e.g. I have been thinking of cleaning my attic for the past two months but have not been able to do so. 2. PAST TENSE Simple Past Tense

2 This shows an action that has already occurred an action that started and finished at a specific time in the past. I ate lunch. We saw a movie yesterday. Past Perfect Tense This is used to show an action that got completed before some specified time in the past. The wind blew away the leaves that we had collected. This tense is formed with had + past participle form of the verb. ( e.g. He had studied well for the exam.) e.g. You had studied English before you moved to New Delhi. Past Continuous Tense We use the past continuous tense to show a past action over a period of time. This verb is formed with was/ were + main verb + ing e.g. I was watching television. He called when we were laying the table. Past Perfect Continuous Tense This tense is formed with had + been + main verb + ing e.g. We had been thinking of visiting our friend but could not do so due to some reason or the other. 3. FUTURE TENSE Simple Future Tense This is used to show an action that will occur at some point in time. She will go the dentist on Tuesday. It will rain tomorrow. Future Perfect Tense This tense indicates that something will occur before another action in the future. By next week I will have finished my exams. By next November, I will have received my promotion.

3 SOLVED EXERCISE Complete this paragraph using the correct forms of the verbs given in the brackets: There are several blank spaces in the passage given below. You have to fill in those blanks using one of the alternatives given in the brackets. In some cases, you will need to use the correct form of the verb given in the brackets. Hints Use the simple present tense to talk about general habits, routines and things that happen all the time. Use the present continuous tense to talk about situations that are going on at the moment of speaking. I 1 (think / thought / am thinking) the railway station is a very interesting place. I.. (go / am going / went) there very often. I 2. (like / liked / am liking) to 3.. (observe / observing) people. A railway station 4. (be) the best place for this. You 5. (will find / are finding / would find) all kinds of people in a railway station. There 6 (be) passengers, their friends, relatives, porters and even hawkers. Babies and children 7.. (who / which / whom) travel with their parents 8 (be) often the ones who enjoy the experience the most because they aren t 9.. (worry / worried / worrying) about the tickets, seats or luggage. Some travelers 10..(have) a lot of luggage. Others simply 11.. (carry / carries / are carrying) a backpack or a bag. The hawkers are a common sight in many of our railway stations. You can see them 12.. (push / pushing / will push) their handcarts all over the platform. Solution 1. Think (When think means have an opinion it is only used in the simple tenses.) 2. Go (We use the simple present tense to talk about things that happen all the time or very frequently) 3. Like 4. Is 5. Will find 6. Are 7. Who 8. Are 9. Worried 10. Have 11. Carry 12. Pushing

4 UNSOLVED EXERCISE 1. Fill in the blanks using simple past, past continuous, present perfect, simple future and present continuous: One day a husband and wife to the countryside to visit their friends, when they realized they needed to stop for gas. The man was filling the car when he a penguin standing by a pump. He it was very strange and when he went to the cashier to pay, he asked, Why is there a penguin standing next to the pump? The cashier replied, I don t know. It there all morning. The man replied, Well, we can t leave it there, it s too dangerous. He might have an accident. What should I do? the cashier suggested, You should take it to the zoo. That s a good idea, the man said. I (e) him now. So the man and his wife put the penguin in the car and (f) away. One week later, the man and his wife (g) to the same garage to fill up the car and the penguin was still in the car. When the man went to pay, the cashier said to him, I thought you (h) the penguin to the zoo. The man replied, We did. It had a really good time so tonight, we (i) him to a fish restaurant. (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) driving, drove, are driving, were driving saw, sees, seeing, was seeing thinks, is thinking, was thinking, thought has been, was, is, be take, took, will take, takes drives, drove, driven, has driven have returned, has returned, returned, return will take, took, had taken, have taken took, have taking, will take, take 2. Fill in the blanks using simple past or past continuous: Last night, while I was doing my homework, Angela (call). She said she (call) me on her cell from her biology classroom at UCLA. I asked her if she (wait) for class, but she said that the professor was at the front of the hall lecturing while she (talk) to me. I couldn t believe she(e) (make) a phone call during the lecture. I asked what was going on. She said her biology professor was so boring that several of the students (f) (sleep, actually) in class. Some of the students (g) (talk) about their plans for the weekend and the

5 student next to her (h) (draw) a picture of a horse. When Angela (i) (tell) me she was not satisfied with the class, I (j) (mention) that my biology professor was quite good and (k) (suggest) that she switch to my class.