The Tenses (Unit 2)

A Read the following passage and underline the verbs in it.
Azam is one of my close friends. He lives in Canada now. He often emails me. I received one email this morning. I will answer the mail soon.

What time does each verb refer to--present, past or future?

Note: Tense refers to the time of action or state indicated by a verb. According to time references, there are three main tenses:

• The Present Tense (refers to present state or different modes of present action)
• The Past Tense (refers to past state or different modes of past action)
• The Future Tense (refers to future state or different modes of future action).

Each of these tenses has four different aspects. They are: simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous. In this unit you will learn some of these aspects.

Read the following sentences and say which sentence refers to what time:

• It often rains here.
• It is raining now.
• It has been raining for two hours.
• It rained here yesterday.
• It was raining then.
• It had rained here before you arrived.
• It will rain tonight.
• It will be raining then.
• Rajib was sick yesterday.
• Suman is absent from class today for his illness. (Present state)

C Read the following passage and underline all the verbs in it. Say which verb refers to what time (present, past or future).
Mr. Hasan was once a poor man. But now he is quite rich. He works very hard.
He hopes that he will become richer in future.

A Read the following passage and notice the forms of verbs:
I am a student. Alam is my classmate. We two are good friends. We go to school together. We attend classes regularly. We often play together after school. We return home together. Alam lives in a house close to ours.
In this text the verbs 'am', 'is' and 'are' describe a present state, while go, attend, play, return, and lives indicate present actions. The sentences are all in the present simple tense.

B Read the following sentences and underline the verbs. Also notice their structures:

• English is an international language.
• These mangoes are very sweet.
• This book is not very big.
• Are you a student?
• Is the class small or big?
• Why are you late?
• Where is your father?
• Are they not your friends?

These sentences have 'be' verbs in present form and they indicate present states.

Verb Form: Base form of the verbs is used in case of the action verbs, and in case of the state verbs, present form of be verb 'am', 'is', and 'are' are used..

C. Read the following sentences and notice the verbs and their forms:
Jamil of class VI plays cricket for our school team.
The workers in the garments factories work very hard.
He lives very close to the school.
The earth moves round the sun.

These sentences contain action verbs. The verbs in the first three sentences indicate present action and the verb in the fourth sentence indicates universal truth.

D. Read the following sentences and see how interrogatives and negatives are formed in this tense.

I do not need your help.
He does not like music.
Do you read novels?

Does he come here regularly?
Where does he live?
When do you go to bed?
What auxiliary verbs are used to frame interrogatives?
How are negatives formed in the examples?

Verb form: be form
Note: In the present simple tense 'do' is used as an auxiliary verb before the subject in case of first and second person and also in case of plural numbers

of 3^rd person subjects, and auxiliary 'does' is used in case of third person singular number subjects for framing interrogative sentences.
To make negative sentences 'do not' is used after first and second person (both singular and plural) and also after third person plural number subjects and 'does not' is used after third person singular number subjects for framing negative sentences.

When 'does' is used as an auxiliary verb after a third person singular subject, the main verb loses its 's/es'.
E. Write five sentences about 'Your Family using 'be' verbs and five more sentences using action verbs in the present simple tense.

a _____ b ______ C ______ d ______ e ______

F. Complete the following dialogue using negative and interrogative sentences:

Ruma: Do you watch television every day?

Suma: _________

Ruma: Neither do I. ________?

Suma: I spend my spare time reading books.

Ruma: _________

Suma: I often read adventure stories.

G. We can use 'have/has' as a main verb in the present simple tense. Look at the following examples.

They have a lot of money.
He has a nice car.
They have a big house.
How many children do you have?
Does she have a pet cat?

Now, write some other sentences like these using have/has as a main verb.

A Read the following passage and notice the verbs in the sentences:
I am going to Dhaka by bus. It is raining very hard. So the bus is not running very fast. Some passengers are sleeping. Some are gossiping. Some young boys are singing. A baby is crying and her mother is trying to appease her. What am I doing? I am watching all these things.

Notice that all the sentences in the passage express an incomplete action which is still going on.
Also notice the structure of the verbs in these sentences? Each sentence has an auxiliary verb (am/is/are) after the subject and then there is the main verb in the present participle form (verb+ing).
Verb Form: 'am/is/are +main verb+ing'.

B. Read the following conversation and say what time the verbs in it refer to.
Mim: What are you doing this evening?
Shanta: I am going shopping.
Mim: Are you playing badminton tomorrow?
Shanta: Yes, I am. Mukta is coming today to join us.
Mim: What time is she arriving? I am going to receive her at the station.

In these sentences it is seen that the present continuous tense is also used to indicate a definite future action.

C. Look at the following pictures and say who is doing what in it:

D. Read the following dialogue and say which sentences refer to present actions and which ones refer to future actions:

Sharmin : What are you doing there?
Sharif : I am getting ready to go to market.
Sharmin : What are you going to buy?
Sharif : My son is home tomorrow. So I am going to buy some sweets.

E. Write sentences of your own using the following verbs in the present continuous tense:
Walk, work, eat, drink, drive and wait
Now change your sentences into negatives and interrogatives.

A. Read the following conversation and notice the time reference of the action verbs and the verb structures in the sentences:

Teacher : Have you done your homework?
Student : Yes sir, I have done it.
Teacher : How many paragraphs have you written?
Student : I have written three paragraphs.
Teacher : Have you brought your work?
Student : Yes, I have.

Notice that each verb in the dialogue mentions a completed action; the action is over but there is still some effect of the action now. These are examples of present perfect tense.

Verb Form: The verb 'have/has' is used as an auxiliary verb after the subject and then the past participle form of the main verb is given. The verb form, then, is: have/has+ past participle form of the verb
These sentences are examples of the present perfect tense.

B. Now read the following negative and interrogative sentences in the present perfect tense and look at their structures:

I have not done my homework.
He has not come to class.
He has never told a lie.
Have you eaten lunch?
Where has he gone?

In the negative sentences, the negative word (not/never) comes after the auxiliary verb and in interrogatives the auxiliary verb comes before the subject.

C. Make correct sentences in the present perfect tence using given words:

1. We/start/our journey
2. Reba/wash/her clothes
3. They/buy/a new car
4. She/learn/the lesson
5. He/not/come back/from school
6. You/take/a bath?

D. Write five sentences in the present perfect tense describing what you have done in the afternoon today.

A. Read the following telephonic conversation between two friends and notice the sentences in bold.

Azad: Hello, Azad speaking.
Asif : This is Asif here. What are you doing?
Azad: Watching television.
Asif : How long have you been watching it?
Azad : I have been watching it for about an hour.
Asif : Can you see me within an hour?
Azad: It is raining hard.
Asif : Since when has it been raining?
Azad : It has been raining since 7 o'clock.
Asif : Then come when the rain stops.
Azad: Ok, bye.

The sentences in bold refer to an incomplete action which started in the past but is still going on. They are examples of the present perfect continuous tense.
Look at the sentences again and see the verb forms in each sentence.

B. Now complete the following dialogue.

Reza: How long have you been waiting here?
Anwar: _________?
Reza: __________ ?

Anwar: I have been looking for you since morning.

Verb Form: In the present perfect continuous tense you need to use 'have/has+been' as auxiliary verbs after the subject and then the present participle form of the main verb (verb + ing)
So, the verb form is: have been/has been +main verb+ing

In the sentences above see how 'since' and 'for'are used

N.B. Remember that 'For' indicates the total duration of the action and 'since' indicates the starting time of the action.

C. Ask questions using the following verbs in the present perfect continuous tense and then answer them in the same tense.

walk, read, drive, dance and speak

D. Write five more sentences using the present perfect continuous tense. Include negative and interrogative sentences.

a _______ b ______ c ________ d _______ e _________

A. Read the following text and notice the underlined verbs:
I was a student then. I had quite a few good friends. They were all very close to me. We did a lot of things together. We went to school regularly. We discussed our problems between classes. We played together in the afternoon. It was a happy time.

Think:
What verb form is used in the sentences?
How are questions framed?
How are the negative sentences framed?
In the text, 'was' and 'were' are used to refer to a past state, 'had' indicates a past possession/relation and 'did', 'went', 'discussed', and 'played' describe past actions. The sentences are all in the past simple tense. This is how states and actions are expressed in the past simple tense.
Verb Form: Past form of the verb is used after subject. No auxiliary verb is required except in interrogative and negative sentences.

Now write five sentences using 'be' verbs in the past simple tense.
Also write five sentences about the things you did yesterday.

B. Read the following dialogue:

A : Were you ill yesterday?
B: No, I wasn't.
A: Then why didn't you come to school?
B: We had a family picnic.
A: Where did you go for the picnic?
B: We went to the City Park.

There are negative and interrogative sentences in the past simple tense in this dialogue. Find them and see how they are written.

Note:

• Interrogatives are framed by using 'did' as auxiliary verb before the subject.
• Negatives are formed by using 'did not' between the subject and the verb.
• Remember that when did is used in the interrogative and negative sentences in this tense, the main verb becomes the present or base form of the verb, not the past form.
• Wasn't is the short form of 'was not' and didn't is the short form of 'did not'.

Now read the following sentences and see how past states are expressed in the past simple tense :

I was sick last week.
He was my best friend then.
We were very happy.
They were unhappy.

Here we notice that 'was/were', the past form of 'be' is used to refer to past state. In these sentences 'was/were' is used as main verb. It is followed by a noun or adjective.

Now read the following negative and interrogative sentences and notice the positions of 'not' and 'was/were':

The food was not good.
They were not present there.
Were you absent from the class?
Why was he angry?
Were they not poor then?

Say how interrogatives and negatives have been formed in these sentences?

C. Write sentences in the past simple tense with the following verbs:
phoned, met, invited, bought, attended and happened

D. Read the following sentences, notice the use of 'had' and answer the question below the sentences.

We had a nice garden.
We never had a car.
They did not have much money.
How many pens did you have?

See how 'had' is used in these sentences-- as an auxiliary verb or a main verb?
Note: 'had' is used as a main verb to mean possession in the past simple tense.

E Complete the following sentences in the past simple tense. Use the right form of verbs given in brackets:

1. It _____ all day yesterday. (rain)
2. Did you ______ the party? (enjoy)
3. His father _______ ten years ago. (die)
4. Why ______ you angry? (be)
5. I did not ______ any such idea. (have)
6. He ______ me how to swim. (teach)
7. How long did you ______ there? (stay)
8. My mother _____ a teacher. (be)
9. How ______ the weather yesterday? (be)
10. Last week I _______ cold. (catch)

F Write five to seven sentences describing what happened in your English class yesterday

A. Read the passage below and notice the time reference of the action verbs in the sentences in bold:

It was 5 o'clock in the evening. It was raining lightly. I was sitting at a tea-stall by the side of the road. I was taking tea and watching the people on the road. The people were walking hurriedly for shelter. An old woman was crossing the road. A bus was running at a high speed. Suddenly the bus ran over the old woman.

Say:
What is the verb form of the sentences in bold?
Is the action complete or over or it was still going on at a point of time in the past?

Note: Notice that the bold sentences in this passage refer to some actions which were going on at a certain time in the past.

Form: 'was/were' is used as auxiliary verb and base/present form of the main verb+ ing is used. So the verb form is: was/were+verb+ing.
Write five sentences in the past continuous tense on 'what were you doing at about 10:00 pm last night' using the following verbs:
write, play, sleep, laugh and drink.

B. Read the following dialogue:
A: What were you doing in the evening yesterday?
B: I wasn't doing anything in particular.
A: Were you studying?
B: Not at all.
A: I was calling you but you were not responding.
B: Then I was possibly talking with my father.

There are some interrogative and negative sentences in the dialogue. See how the interrogative and negative sentences are framed in this tense.

Note: In framing negative sentences in this tense 'not' is used after the auxiliary verb and in the interrogative sentences the auxiliary verb 'was'/'were' comes before the subject.

C Complete the following sentences using the past continuous tense. Use the appropriate auxiliary verb in the first gap and the right form of the main verb (given in the brackets) in the second gap:

1. At 8 o'clock mother ______ ______ dinner. (cook)
2. I _____ then _____ a bath. (take)
3. Zinnia ______ ______ ready to go out. (get)
4. You ____ ______ a phone call. (make)
5. What ____ they ____ then? (do)

D. Write a few sentences describing what you were doing this time last week. (Note Past perfect and Past Perfect Continuous tenses will be dealt with in the grammar book of class VII)

A Read the following conversation and notice the time reference of the verbs and the verb forms in the underlined sentences:
Raghib: I have no money in my pocket. What shall I do now?
Zeenat: Don't worry. I shall lend you some.
Raghib: Will you please give it right now?
Zeenat: Here you are.
Raghib: Thank you. I will repay you the loan tomorrow.
Zeenat: That will be fine.

The underlined sentences refer to a future action. The modals 'shall' and 'will' are used to indicate simple futurity. You have seen that the modal is followed by the base form of the main verb. These are examples of the future simple tense.

B. Complete the following dialogue using the future simple tense:
A: Will you sleep now?
B: __________
A: When will you sleep then?
B: ________
A: _______
B: I will write an email.

C Write a few sentences on 'what you will do on new year's eve' using the following verbs in the future simple tense:

phone, call, stay, sleep, eat and drink

Now change each of your sentences into negatives and interrogatives.
In negatives, 'not' will come after the modal and in interrogatives.
the modal will come before the subject.

D Write a few sentences in the future simple tense describing 'your plan for the coming winter vacation'.