Simple Future Tense (Tense 10)
Hello friends, in our previous chapters, we extensively learnt all forms of present tense and past tense. Today, we will move into future – I mean into the future tense. We will know and learn Future Tense in this chapter. So, here we go.
Simple Future Tense
Future is uncertain and so is the future tense. However, if you feel there is a possibility of an action in the future (according to the subject of the sentence) – either probable or certain – we should use Simple Future Tense. See an example below.
I shall go to school.
The above sentence has an action – ‘go to school‘. However, the action has not occurred as yet. There is a probability of this action to happen. Hence, this is in future tense.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense (Tense 9)
Hello all, – in our previous chapter, we learnt Past Perfect Tense along with other kinds of tenses in our earlier chapters. Today, we will try to understand another type of tense – Past Perfect Continuous Tense. So, let’s check this out too.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
We’ve already understood what Present perfect continuous tense is and how it works and when we need to use this. In past perfect continuous tense, there must be more than one action (say two actions) and one must start before the another. However, the action that started first must be going on until the second action started. Well, a bit confusing, isn’t it? Let me make it elaborate with an example.
I had been watching a movie before you called me.
See the sentence above. It has two actions in it.
[1. watching a movie] and [2. you called me.]
Past Perfect Tense (Tense 8)
In our previous chapter, we learnt Past Continuous Tense. Today we will see another form in the past tense – Past Perfect Tense. Let’s see an example below.
It had started raining before we reached home.
The above sentence is a complex sentences with two different clauses. Each sentence (clause) is in a tense. Check it again. The two sentences which we can find there are -
It had started raining
We reached home.
The second sentence (we reached home) is in simple past tense. The first one is in another type of past tense. It’s Past Perfect Tense. We already know what Present Past Tense is and how it is used. Past Perfect Tense is the past form of it. Let’s go deep into this and talk more in details.
Past Continuous Tense (Tense 7)
In one of our earlier chapters we covered Present Continuous Tense, today we’ll talk about its past form i.e. Past Continuous Tense. Let’s see an example and then we will discuss it in details.
I was having my dinner when you called me.
As you know tense is an action and in the above example, there was an action (to have dinner) and the action already happened in the past. It’s no longer effective or relevant in the present time. We already know how past tense works and how we can form them.
With the above sentence, the action (to have dinner) was a continuous action and it did not end when ‘you called me‘. This means, the action of ‘having dinner‘ was on. This action started in the past and it was continuing until another action occurred (another action: you called me).
This type of tense, where an action starts in the past and it remains in a continual process for some time or until another action, is known as Past Continuous Tense. It’s a complete action of the past but it just remains active for some time or till another action begins.
Simple Past Tense (Tense 6)
Continuing with our chapters on Tense, today we will start with another tense – Simple Past Tense of the Verb. See an example below and then we will dig into it.
Simple Past Tense
John won the badminton match yesterday.
The sentence has a strong verb ‘WIN’. If you notice, the action of the verb is in a past time (ref: yesterday) which means that the action (winning the match) started and finished in the past time and it’s no longer effective in the present.
Unlike Present Perfect Tense, which indicates an action starting in the recent past but the action or its impact is still prevalent in the present time, Simple Past Tense completes an action in the past and it does not bring its impact to the present time.
“John won the match yesterday” – here everything was over yesterday – John won the match and the impact of the match is no longer felt or needed in the present time. Hence, this is an action of the past time. We mark such actions in Simple Past Tense.