Active tense (meaning, types and rules with example)

Active tense

Hello guys, in this blog we’ll learn active tenses. Tenses play a crucial role in a student’s life especially. With the help of good knowledge of tenses, you can score better whether you are a school student or someone preparing for competitive examinations or any other English proficiency test. Here, I’ll share with you all the meaning and types of tense, all tenses rules with diagram and tenses rules practice questions.

 

• What is tense?

Tense is a verb-based approach for indicating the duration of an action or state in relation to the time of speaking, as well as the continuation or completion of an action or state. The concept of tense is utilized to refer to time in three different ways: past, present, and future. In other words, the tense of a verb refers to the moment of its action or its state of being, such as present (something that is currently happening), past (something that happened previously), or future (something going to happen).

 

• Types of tense:

Tenses are divided into three parts: Past, present, and future. Each of these tenses has four distinct features in English: simple, perfect, continuous (also known as progressive), and perfect continuous.

Types of tense

1. Present Simple Tense:

This is used to express habits, general truths, repeated actions or unchanging situations, emotions and wishes.

Main verb: - 1^st form of the verb

Helping verb: - Do/Does

Do – I, You, We, They (Plural)

Does – He, She, It, Any name (Singular)

 Affirmative- subject+1^st form of the verb+s/es+object

E.g.- Ram eats food.

Negative- subject+do/does+not+1^st form of the verb +object

E.g.- Ram does not eat food.

Interrogative- do/does+subject+1^st form of the verb +object+?

E.g.- Does Ram eat food?

Negative interrogative- do/does+subject+not+1^st form of the verb +object+?

E.g.- Does Ram not eat food?

WH family- WH+ (interrogative/negative interrogative)

[WH– what, when, why, where, how, who etc.]

E.g.-

·         When does Ram eat food?

·         Why does Ram not eat food?

2. Past Simple Tense:

Past simple tense is used to refer to actions that were completed in a time period before the present time. 

Main verb: - 2^nd form of the verb

{Note: With did, use 1^st form of the verb, we don’t use 2^nd form of verb with did, because did is already second form of do. We only use 2^nd form of the verb in affirmative of past simple tense.}

Helping verb: - Did

Did – I, You, We, They, He, She, It, Any name (Singular &Plural)

 Affirmative- subject+2^nd form of the verb +object

E.g.- Ram ate food.

Negative- subject+ did+not+1^st form of the verb +object

E.g.- Ram did not eat food.

Interrogative- did +subject+1^st form of the verb +object+?

E.g.- Did Ram eat food?

Negative interrogative- did+subject+not+1^st form of the verb +object+?

E.g.- Did Ram not eat food?

WH family- WH+ (interrogative/negative interrogative)

[WH– what, when, why, where, how, who etc.]

E.g.-

·         When did Ram eat food?

·         Why did Ram not eat food?

 

3. Future Simple Tense:

Future simple tense is used to talk about things that haven't happened yet. Things that will be happened in future.

Main verb: - 1^st form of the verb

Helping verb: - Will / Shall

Shall – I, We

Will – He. She, It, You, They, Any name

{Note: We use “will” with I and We, when we do promise or something for sure.}

Affirmative- subject+will/shall+1^st form of the verb +object

E.g.- Ram will eat food.

Negative- subject+will/shall+not+1^st form of the verb +object

E.g.- Ram will not eat food.

Interrogative- will/shall +subject+1^st form of the verb +object+?

E.g.- Will Ram eat food?

Negative interrogative- will+subject+not+1^st form of the verb +object+?

E.g.- Will Ram not eat food?

WH family- WH+ (interrogative/negative interrogative)

[WH– what, when, why, where, how, who etc.]

E.g.-

·         When will Ram eat food?

Why will Ram not eat food?

4. Present Continuous Tense:

Present continuous tense is used for things / events that are happening at the moment / in the present.

Main verb: - 1st form of the verb + ing (4^th form of the verb)

Helping verb: - Is/Am/Are

Is – He, She, It, Any name (Singular)

Am – I

Are – You, We, They (Plural)

Affirmative- subject+is/am/are+1^st form of the verb +ing+object

E.g.- Ram is eating food.

Negative- subject+is/am/are+not+1^st form of the verb +ing+object

E.g.- Ram is not eating food.

Interrogative- is/am/are+subject+ 1^st form of the verb +ing+object+?

E.g.- Is Ram eating food?

Negative interrogative- is/am/are+subject+not+ 1^st form of the verb +ing+object+?

E.g.- Is Ram not eating food?

WH family- WH+ (interrogative/negative interrogative)

[WH– what, when, why, where, how, who etc.]

E.g.-

·         What is Ram eating?

·         Why is Ram not eating food?

 

5. Past Continuous Tense:

Past continuous tense is used for things / events that were happening in the Past.

Main verb: - 1st form of the verb + ing (4^th form of the verb)

Helping verb: - Was/Were

Was – I, He, She, It, Any name (Singular)

Were – You, We, They (Plural)

Affirmative- subject+was/were+1^st form of the verb +ing+object

E.g.- Ram was eating food.

Negative- subject+ was/were +not+1^st form of the verb +ing+object

E.g.- Ram was not eating food.

Interrogative- was/were +subject+ 1^st form of the verb +ing+object+?

E.g.- was Ram eating food?

Negative interrogative- was/were +subject+not+ 1^st form of the verb +ing+object+?

E.g.- was Ram not eating food?

WH family- WH+ (interrogative/negative interrogative)

[WH– what, when, why, where, how, who etc.]

E.g.-

·         What was Ram eating?

·         Why was Ram not eating food?

Future Continuous Tense:

Future continuous tense is used for something will occur in the future and continue for an expected length of time.

Main verb: - 1st form of the verb + ing (4^th form of the verb)

Helping verb: - Will be

Affirmative- subject+will be+1^st form of the verb +ing+object

E.g.- Ram will be going to Delhi, next week.

Negative- subject+will+not+be+1^st form of the verb +ing+object

E.g.- Ram will not be going to Delhi, next week.

Interrogative- will+subject+be+ 1^st form of the verb +ing+object+?

E.g.- Will Ram be going to Delhi, next week?

Negative interrogative- will +subject+not+be+ 1^st form of the verb +ing+object+?

E.g.- Will Ram not be going to Delhi, next week?

WH family- WH+ (interrogative/negative interrogative)

[WH– what, when, why, where, how, who etc.]

E.g.-

·         When will Ram be going to Delhi?

·         Why will Ram not be going to Delhi?

Present Perfect Tense:

Present perfect tense is used in present to indicate the action that has taken place at some specific time. 

Main verb: - 3^rd form of the verb

Helping verb: - has/have

Has- he, she, it, any name (singular)

Have- I, you, they, we (plural)

Affirmative- subject+ has/have+3^rd form of the verb +object

E.g.- Ram has completed his homework.

Negative- subject+ has/have+not+3^rd form of the verb +object

E.g.- Ram has not completed his homework.

Interrogative- has/have+subject + 1^st form of the verb+object+?

E.g.- Has Ram completed his homework?

Negative interrogative- has/have+subject+not + 1^st form of the verb+object+?

E.g.- Has Ram not completed his homework?

WH family- WH+ (interrogative/negative interrogative)

[WH– what, when, why, where, how, who etc.]

E.g.-

·         Where has Ram completed his homework?

·         Why has Ram not completed his homework?

 

Past Perfect Tense:

Present perfect tense is used to indicate a finished action before a second point in the past.

Main verb: - 3^rd form of the verb

Helping verb: - had

Affirmative- subject+ had+3^rd form of the verb +object

E.g.- Ram had completed his homework.

Negative- subject+ had+not+3^rd form of the verb +object

E.g.- Ram had not completed his homework.

Interrogative- had+subject + 3^rd form of the verb+object+?

E.g.- Had Ram completed his homework?

Negative interrogative- had+subject+not + 3^rd form of the verb+object+?

E.g.- Had Ram not completed his homework?

WH family- WH+ (interrogative/negative interrogative)

[WH– what, when, why, where, how, who etc.]

E.g.-

·         Where had Ram completed his homework?

·         Why had Ram not completed his homework?

 

Future Perfect Tense:

Future perfect tense is used for actions that will be completed before a specified point in the future.

Main verb: - 3^rd form of the verb

Helping verb: - will have

Affirmative- subject+ will have+3^rd form of the verb +object

E.g.- Ram will have completed his homework.

Negative- subject+ will+not+have+3^rd form of the verb +object

E.g.- Ram will not have completed his homework.

Interrogative- will+subject +have+ 3^rd form of the verb+object+?

E.g.- Will Ram have completed his homework?

Negative interrogative- will+subject+not+have + 3^rd form of the verb+object+?

E.g.- Will Ram not have completed his homework?

WH family- WH+ (interrogative/negative interrogative)

[WH– what, when, why, where, how, who etc.]

E.g.-

·         When will Ram have completed his homework?

·         Why will Ram not have completed his homework?

Present Perfect Continuous Tense:

Present perfect continuous tense is used to show something started in the past and is continuing at the present time. 

Main verb: - 1^st form of the verb + ing (4^th form of the verb)

Helping verb: - has/have + been

Has- he, she, it, any name (singular)

Have- I, you, they, we (plural)

Affirmative- subject+ has/have+been+1^st form of the verb + ing +object

E.g.- She has been cooking.

Negative- subject+ has/have+not+been+1^st form of the verb + ing +object

E.g.- She has not been cooking.

Interrogative- has/have+subject+been+ 1^st form of the verb+ing+object+?

E.g.- Has she been cooking?

Negative interrogative- has/have+subject+not+been+ 1^st form of the verb+ing+object+?

E.g.- Has she not been cooking?

WH family- WH+ (interrogative/negative interrogative)

[WH– what, when, why, where, how, who etc.]

E.g.-

·         Why has she been cooking?

·         Why has she not been cooking?

 

Past Perfect Continuous Tense:

Past perfect continuous tense is used to show an action that started in the past continued up until another time in the past.

Main verb: - 1^st form of the verb + ing (4^th form of the verb)

Helping verb: - had + been

Affirmative- subject+ had +been+1^st form of the verb + ing +object

E.g.- She had been waiting for two hours.

Negative- subject+ had +not+been+1^st form of the verb + ing +object

E.g.- She had not been waiting for two hours.

Interrogative- had +subject+been+ 1^st form of the verb+ing+object+?

E.g.- Had she been waiting for two hours?

Negative interrogative- had +subject+not+been+ 1^st form of the verb+ing+object+?

E.g.- Had she not been waiting for two hours?

WH family- WH+ (interrogative/negative interrogative)

[WH– what, when, why, where, how, who etc.]

E.g.-

·         Where had she been waiting for two hours?

·         Why had she not been waiting?

 

Future Perfect Continuous Tense:

Future perfect continuous tense is used to show an action that will continue up until a point in the future.

Main verb: - 1^st form of the verb + ing (4^th form of the verb)

Helping verb: - will + have + been

Affirmative- subject+ will+have +been+1^st form of the verb + ing +object

E.g.- She will have been cooking.

Negative- subject+ will +not+have+been+1^st form of the verb + ing +object

E.g.- She will not have been cooking.

Interrogative- will +subject+have+been+ 1^st form of the verb+ing+object+?

E.g.- Will she have been cooking?

Negative interrogative- will +subject+not+have+been+ 1^st form of the verb+ing+object+?

E.g.- Will she not have been cooking?

WH family- WH+ (interrogative/negative interrogative)

[WH– what, when, why, where, how, who etc.]

E.g.-

·         Where will she have been cooking?

·         Why will she not have been cooking?

• All Tenses Rules:

	Present	Past	Future
Simple	Helping verb – Do/Does     Main verb – 1st form of the verb	Helping verb – Did (Did + 1st form of the verb)   Main verb – 2nd form of the verb	Helping verb – Will/Shall     Main verb – 1st form of the verb
Continuous	Helping verb – Is/Am/Are   Main verb – 1st form of the verb + ing	Helping verb – Was/Were   Main verb – 1st form of the verb + ing	Helping verb – Will be   Main verb – 1st form of the verb + ing
Perfect	Helping verb – Has/Have   Main verb – 3rd form of the verb	Helping verb – Had   Main verb – 3rd form of the verb	Helping verb – Will have   Main verb – 3rd form of the verb
Perfect Continuous	Helping verb – Has been / Have been   Main verb – 1st form of the verb + ing	Helping verb – Had been   Main verb – 1st form of the verb + ing	Helping verb – Will have been   Main verb – 1st form of the verb + ing

 

• Tenses Rules Practice Questions:

1. Ram ___________ to be a doctor. (wants, wanting, is wanting)
2. The noodles ________ good. (taste, tastes, is tasting)  
3. He ______ TV most evening. (watches, is watch, is watching)
4. She _______ out five minutes ago. (has gone, had gone, went)
5. When he lived in Delhi, he _______ to the cinema once a week. (goes, went, was going)
6. The baby _______ all morning. (cries, has been crying)
7. I _______ Shyam at the zoo. (saw, have seen, had seen)
8. I ______ Ravi this week. (haven't seen, did't see, am not seeing)
9. This paper _____ twice weekly. (is appearing, appearing, appears)
10. Rahul fell off the ladder when he ________ the roof. (is mending, was mending, mended)
11. I _________ something burning. (smell, am smelling, have been smelling)
12. Look, the sun ______ over the hills. (rises, is rise, is rising)
13. He ______ unconscious since four o'clock. (is, was, has been)
14. She used to visit us every week, but he _______ now. (rarely comes, is rarely coming, has rarely come)
15. I ______ Sita since we met a year ago. (didn't see, haven't seen, hadn't seen)
16. We ______ our breakfast half an hour ago. (finished, have finished, had finished)
17. He jumped off the bus while it _______ . (already started, had already started, would already start)
18. I ______ for half an hour when it suddenly started to rain. (have walked, have been walking, had been walking)
19. Did you think you ______ me somewhere before?. (have seen, had seen, were seeing)
20. The town _________ its appearance completely since 1980. (is changing, changed, has changed)

ANSWERS:

1. Wants
2. Taste
3. Watches
4. Went
5. Went
6. Has been crying
7. Saw
8. Haven’t seen
9. Appears
10. Was mending
11. Smell
12. Is rising
13. Has been
14. Rarely comes
15. Haven’t seen
16. Finished
17. Had already started
18. Had been walking
19. Had seen
20. Has changed