Tenses in English – Present Tense, Past Tense and Future Tense and Four Patterns of the Tenses - Part 1

Tenses   :  Introduction

Read   the following   sentences:

            1.   I write this letter to give pleasure to you. 

            2.  I wrote the letter in his very presence.

            3.  I shall write another letter   tomorrow.

In sentence 1 above,   the   Verb write refers to Present time.

In sentence 2, the   Verb wrote refers to Past time.

In sentence 3, the   Verb shall write refers to future time.

Thus a Verb may refer.

(1)    To present time (2) Past time, or (3) to future time.

A Verb  that  refers to  present  time  is said  to  be  in the Present  Tense;  as ,

            I play,                                                  I write 

A  Verb  that  refers  to  past  time  is  said  to be  in  the Past  Tense;  as 

            I played,                                                            I wrote 

A  Verb  that  refers  to  past  time  is  said  to be  in  the Future   Tense;  as 

            I shall play,                                                      I shall write

 There   are three main Tenses. 

The Present, the Past and the Future.

The Tense of a Verb shows the time   of an action   or event.

Note:

Sometimes a  past   tense may  refer  to  present  time,  and a  present  tense   may  express  future  time, as  :

v  I wish I  knew  the answer (= I’m  sorry  I don’t  know  the  answer,  past   tense  -Present   time.)

v  Let’s wait   till he comes.   (Present tense - future tense.)

Below   we give   the chief Tenses (Active Voice, Indicative Mood) of the verb to write.

                                                Present Tense 

                                                Singular Number                               Plural   Number

1^st Person                                I write                                                  We write

2^nd person                                You write                                             You write

3^rd Person                                He writes                                             they write

                                                Past Tense 

                                                Singular Number                               Plural   Number

1^st Person                                I wrote                                                 We wrote

2^nd person                                You wrote                                            You wrote

3^rd Person                                He wrote                                             They wrote

Future Tense

                                                Singular Number                               Plural   Number

1^st Person                                I shall / will write                                 We shall / Will write 

2^nd person                                You will write                                      You will write 

3^rd Person                                He will write                                       They will write

Read these sentences 

            1. I write                                  (Simple Present)

            2. I am writing                        (Present Continuous)

            3. I have written                      (Present Perfect)

            4.  I have been writing            (Present Perfect Continuous.)

The  Verbs  in all  of  these  sentences  refer   to the  Present  time,  and are  therefore  said  to be  in the  Present  tense.

            In  sentence 1,  However,  the  Verb  shows  that  the  action is  mentioned  simply , without anything being   said about  the  completeness  or   incompleteness  of the action.

           

that   from  of  a  Verb  which  shows  the  time   and  the state   of an  action  or   event.

In  sentence 2,  the  Verb   shows that the action  is  mentioned   as  incomplete  or  continuous ,  that   is,  as still  going  on. 

In sentence 3,   the Verb shows that the action   is mentioned as   finished, complete, or prefect, at the   time   of Speaking.

            The  tense   of the Verb   in sentence  04 is  said   to  be   Present  Perfect Continuous,   because  the  verb  shows   that  the  action is  going   on  continuously, and  not  completed   at this  present  moment.

            Thus we  see  that  the  Tense   of a  Verb  shows not   only   the  time  of  an  action   or  event,  but   also  the   state   of  an action referred  to.