TENSES

Tense is a form of a verb which shows the time of an action and its degree of completeness.

TYPES OF TENSES

Present tense Past tense Future tense

Present

Tense

• It shows that the action is done in the present time. For example,

• I see an aeroplane in the sky.

Past Tense

• It shows that the action was done in the past time. For example,

• I saw an aeroplane in the sky.

Future

Tense

• It shows that the action will be done in the future time. For example,

• I will see an aeroplane in the sky.

Each of the three main tenses has four forms.

FO

RM

S

1. Simple / Indefinite tense

2. Continuous tense / progressive tense

3. Perfect tense

4. Perfect continuous tense / perfect

progressive tense

Simple

Tense

• It simply states an action.

Continuous Tense

• It indicates that the action is incomplete or in process.

Perfect

Tense• It indicates that the action is complete.

Perfect Continuous

Tense

• It indicates that the action has been continuous. It can be said that the action was started in the past time, it is still going on and will go on in the future time also. It usually emphasizes duration or the amount of time that an action has been taking.

PRESENT TENSE

(i) Simple present tense / present indefinite tense

For example,

I sing a song.

We sing a song.

You sing a song.

She sings a song.

They sing a song.

(ii) Present continuous / present progressive tense

For example,

I am singing a song.

We are singing a song.

You are singing a song.

She is singing a song

They are singing a song.

(iii) Present perfect tense

S + V1st form + O

S + is/am/are + V1st form + ing + O

S + has/have + V3rd form + O

For example,

I have sung a song.

We have sung a song.

You have sung a song.

She has sung a song.

They have sung a song.

(iv) Present perfect continuous / present perfect progressive tense

For example,

I have been singing a song.

We have been singing a song.

You have been singing a song.

She has been singing a song.

They have been singing a song.

PAST TENSE

(i) Simple past tense / past indefinite tense

For example,

I sang a song.

We sang a song.

You sang a song.

She sang a song.

They sang a song.

S + has/have + been + V1st form + ing + O

S + V2nd form + O

(ii) Past continuous / past progressive tense

For example,

I was singing a song.

We were singing a song.

You were singing a song.

She was singing a song

They were singing a song.

(iii) Past perfect tense

For example,

I had sung a song.

We had sung a song.

You had sung a song.

She had sung a song.

They had sung a song.

(iv) Past perfect continuous / past perfect progressive tense

For example,

I had been singing a song.

We had been singing a song.

You had been singing a song.

She had been singing a song.

They had been singing a song.

S + was/were + V1st form + ing + O

S + had + V3rd form + O

S + had + been + V1st form + ing + O

FUTURE TENSE

(i) Simple future tense / future indefinite tense

For example,

I shall sing a song.

We shall sing a song.

You will sing a song.

She will sing a song.

They will sing a song.

(ii) Future continuous / future progressive tense

For example,

I shall be singing a song.

We shall be singing a song.

You will be singing a song.

She will be singing a song

They will be singing a song.

(iii) Future perfect tense

For example,

I shall have sung a song.

We shall have sung a song.

S + shall/will + V1st form + O

S + shall/will + be + V1st form + ing + O

S + shall/will + have + V3rd form + O

You will have sung a song.

She will have sung a song.

They will have sung a song.

(iv) Future perfect continuous / future perfect progressive tense

For example,

I shall have been singing a song.

We shall have been singing a song.

You will have been singing a song.

She will have been singing a song.

They will have been singing a song.

VOICE – ACTIVE AND PASSIVE Voice is the term used to describe whether a verb is active or passive. The voice of a verb describes

the relationship between the action (and state) that the verb expresses and the participants identified

by its arguments (subject, object, etc.)

A transitive verb has two voices:

i. Active voice

ii. Passive voice

Active voice: The verb is active when the subject performs an action. For example,

I write a letter.

She reads a book.

Passive voice: The verb is passive when the subject receives an action. For example,

A letter is written by me.

A book is read by her.

S + shall/will + have + been + V1st form + ing + O

Change of pronouns from active to passive voice

Active voice Passive voice

I Me

We Us

You You

She Her

He Him

They Them

Who By whom

RULES

1. Subject becomes object and object

becomes subject in passive voice.

4. There is no future continuous tense in passive voice. (But according to some

scholars, there is future continuous tense also in

passive voice.)

PRESENT TENSE

(v) Simple present tense / present indefinite tense

For example,

S.No. Active voice Passive voice

1. I sing a song. A song is sung by me.

2. We eat mangoes. Mangoes are eaten by us.

3. You knit your cardigan. Your cardigan is knitted by you.

4. She feeds animals. Animals are fed by her.

5. He sells sugar. Sugar is sold by him.

6. They catch birds. Birds are caught by them.

7. My mother scolds me. I am scolded by my mother.

Active voice – S + V1st form + O

Passive voice – S + is/am/are + V3rd form + O

(vi) Present continuous / present progressive tense

For example,

S.No. Active voice Passive voice

1. I am singing a song. A song is being sung by me.

2. We are eating mangoes. Mangoes are being eaten by us.

3. You are knitting your cardigan. Your cardigan is being knitted by you.

4. She is feeding animals. Animals are being fed by her.

5. He is selling sugar. Sugar is being sold by him.

6. They are catching birds. Birds are being caught by them.

7. My mother is scolding me. I am being scolded by my mother.

(vii) Present perfect tense

Active voice – S + is/am/are + V1st form + ing + O

Passive voice – S + is/am/are + being + V3rd form + O

Active voice – S + has/have + V3rd form + O

Passive voice – S + has/have + been + V3rd form + O

For example,

S.No. Active voice Passive voice

1. I have sung a song. A song has been sung by me.

2. We have eaten mangoes. Mangoes have been eaten by us.

3. You have knitted your cardigan. Your cardigan has been knitted by you.

4. She has fed animals. Animals have been fed by her.

5. He has sold sugar. Sugar has been sold by him.

6. They have caught birds. Birds have been caught by them.

7. My mother has scolded me. I have been scolded by my mother.

PAST TENSE

(v) Simple past tense / past indefinite tense

For example,

S.No. Active voice Passive voice

1. I sang a song. A song was sung by me.

2. We ate mangoes. Mangoes were eaten by us.

3. You knitted your cardigan. Your cardigan was knitted by you.

Active voice – S + V2nd form + O

Passive voice – S + was/were + V3rd form + O

4. She fed animals. Animals were fed by her.

5. He sold sugar. Sugar was sold by him.

6. They caught birds. Birds were caught by them.

7. My mother scolded me. I was scolded by my mother.

(i) Past continuous / past progressive tense

For example,

S.No. Active voice Passive voice

1. I was singing a song. A song was being sung by me.

2. We were eating mangoes. Mangoes were being eaten by us.

3. You were knitting your cardigan. Your cardigan was being knitted by you.

4. She was feeding animals. Animals were being fed by her.

5. He was selling sugar. Sugar was being sold by him.

6. They were catching birds. Birds were being caught by them.

7. My mother was scolding me. I was being scolded by my mother.

Active voice – S + was/were + V1st form + ing + O

Passive voice – S + was/were + being + V3rd form + O

(i) Past perfect tense

S.No. Active voice Passive voice

1. I had sung a song. A song had been sung by me.

2. We had eaten mangoes. Mangoes had been eaten by us.

3. You had knitted your cardigan. Your cardigan had been knitted by you.

4. She had fed animals. Animals had been fed by her.

5. He had sold sugar. Sugar had been sold by him.

6. They had caught birds. Birds had been caught by them.

7. My mother had scolded me. I had been scolded by my mother.

Active voice – S + had + V3rd form + O

Passive voice – S + had + been + V3rd form + O

FUTURE TENSE

(v) Simple future tense / future indefinite tense

For example,

S.No. Active voice Passive voice

1. I shall sing a song. A song will be sung by me.

2. We shall eat mangoes. Mangoes will be eaten by us.

3. You will knit your cardigan. Your cardigan will be knitted by you.

4. She will feed animals. Animals will be fed by her.

5. He will sell sugar. Sugar will be sold by him.

6. They will catch birds. Birds will be caught by them.

7. My mother will scold me. I shall be scolded by my mother.

Active voice – S + shall/will + V1st form + O

Passive voice – S + shall/will + be + V3rd form + O

(i) Future continuous / future progressive tense (Only according to some scholars)

For example,

S.No. Active voice Passive voice

1. I shall be singing a song. A song will be being sung by me.

2. We shall be eating mangoes. Mangoes will be being eaten by us.

3. You will be knitting your cardigan. Your cardigan will be being knitted by you.

4. She will be feeding animals. Animals will be being fed by her.

5. He will be selling sugar. Sugar will be being sold by him.

6. They will be catching birds. Birds will be being caught by them.

7. My mother will be scolding me. I shall be being scolded by my mother.

(i) Future perfect tense

Active voice – S + shall/will + be + V1st form + ing + O

Passive voice – S + shall/will + be + being + V3rd form + O

Active voice – S + shall/will + have + V3rd form + O

Passive voice – S + shall/will + have + been + V3rd form + O

For example,

S.No. Active voice Passive voice

1. I shall have sung a song. A song will have been sung by me.

2. We shall have eaten mangoes. Mangoes will have been eaten by us.

3. You will have knitted your cardigan. Your cardigan will have been knitted by you.

4. She will have fed animals. Animals will have been fed by her.

5. He will have sold sugar. Sugar will have been sold by him.

6. They will have caught birds. Birds will have been caught by them.

7. My mother will have scolded me. I shall have been scolded by my mother.

Important Points

1. In imperative sentences (request/advice/order), the verb in active voice is changed into

passive voice by making the sentence with the word ‘let’ and adding ‘be’ with the past

participle or third form of the verb. ‘Should be’ can also be used. For example,

Help the poor. (A.V.)

Let the poor be helped. (P.V.)

The poor should be helped. (P.V.)

Do this work. (A.V.)

Let this work be done. (P.V.)

This work should be done. (P.V.)

Imperative sentences are also changed into passive voice like this –

Please sit down. (A.V.) (Request)

You are requested to sit down. (P.V.)

Stand up. (A.V.) (Order)

You are ordered to stand up. (P.V.)

Work hard. (A.V.) (Advice)

You are advised to work hard. (P.V.)

2. In interrogative sentences, the character of question sentences is retained in the passive

voice, that is, the auxiliaries and question words do not change their beginning position.

Are you doing your work? (A.V.)

Is your work being done by you? (A.V.)

May I take your pencil? (A.V.)

May your pencil be taken by me? (A.V.)

3. In sentences with the infinitive only, the infinitive ‘to’ is changed into passive voice as –

It is time to close the shop. (A.V.)

It is time for the shop to be closed. (P.V.)

It is time to stop writing. (A.V.)

It is time for the writing to be stopped. (P.V.)

4. Sometimes the subject in the active voice is vague or unknown, it remains unexpressed in

the passive voice if the agent with ‘by’ is not needed.

People speak English all over the world. (A.V.)

English is spoken all over the world. (P.V.) (Do not write by people)

Someone has broken my dinner plates. (A.V.)

My dinner plates have been broken. (P.V.) (Do not write by someone)

5. There are certain verbs which take two objects. They are called transitive verbs. In such

like sentences one of the objects is made the subject in the passive voice and the other is

retained as an object. For example,

He gave me a book. (A.V.)

I was given a book by him. (P.V.)

A book was given to me by him. (P.V.)

She teaches us English. (A.V.)

We are taught English by her. (P.V.)

English is taught to us by her. (P.V.)

6. While changing a prepositional verb from active to passive, the preposition should not be

dropped, as it is a part of the verb. For example,

Mothers bring up children. (A.V.)

Children are brought up by mothers. (P.V.)

They laughed at the old man. (A.V.)

The old man was laughed at by them. (P.V.)

7. While changing auxiliary verbs into the passive voice, add ‘be’ with the past participle. For

example,

Our team may win the match. (A.V.)

The match may be won by our team. (P.V.)

We should always speak the truth. (A.V.)

The truth should always be spoken by us. (P.V.)

8. Sometimes there are clauses in a sentence. In that case both the clauses are changed into

passive voice. For example,

You asked Ravi why he accepted the money. (A.V.)

Ravi was asked why the money was accepted by him. (P.V.)

AGREEMENT OF THE VERB WITH ITS SUBJECT

1. Two or more singular subjects joined by ‘and’ usually take a verb in the plural. For

example,

Iron and steel are found in India.

Raman and Harry work hard.

2. If two nouns suggest only one idea, or refer to the same person or thing, the verb must be

singular. For example,

My friend and master has come.

The horse and carriage is at the door.

3. Words joined to singular subject by ‘with’ or ‘as well as’ do not affect the number of the

verb. The verb therefore is in the singular. For example,

Ashok as well as Anil likes tea.

The captain with all his men was drowned.

The master as well as his servant is guilty.

4. When two or more subjects in the singular are joined by ‘or’, ‘nor’, ‘either…..or’,

‘neither…….nor’, the verb is put in the singular. For example,

Either Raman or Anil was absent.

Jack or Tom is to blame.

5. But, if one of the subjects is in the plural, the verb must be in the plural. The plural

subject is placed nearer the verb. For example,

The farmer or his servants were caught.

6. When the subjects joined by ‘or’ or ‘nor’ are of different persons, the verb agrees with

the subject nearest to it. For example,

Either he or I am to blame.

Neither I nor my friend is guilty.

7. ‘Either’, ‘neither’, ‘each’, ‘every’, ‘every one’, ‘many a’, must be followed by a verb in

the singular. For example,

Either of the two boys has done this.

Every man, woman and child was happy.

8. Some nouns which are plural in form but singular in meaning take a singular verb. For

example,

No news is good news.

9. When a plural noun is the name of one thing (say, a book or a country), it takes a singular

verb. For example,

The ‘Arabian Nights’ is an interesting book.

The ‘United States’ has a big army.

10. A collective noun (like committee, assembly, jury etc.) may take a singular or a plural

verb. If the collection is thought of as a whole, the verb is singular, if the individuals or

members of the group are thought of separately, the verb is plural. For example,

The committee has decided this.

(It means all the members of the committee have decided this.)

The jury has given its verdict. (It means judges are unanimous in their

judgement.)

The jury have given their verdict. (It means judges are divided in their

judgement.)

The jury were divided in their verdict.

PHRASES AND CLAUSES Phrase: A group of words that makes sense, but not complete sense is called a phrase. It has

neither a subject nor a predicate. For example,

He left in the morning.

Before eating, she washed her hands.

Note: There are more types of phrases but in this lesson we will discuss only the three mentioned

above as our main focus is clauses.

Clause: A group of words which has a subject and a verb (or predicate) of its own and forms part

of a sentence is called a clause. For example,

He left when the morning came.

The morning – subject

Came – verb

Before she ate, she washed her hands.

She – subject

Ate – verb

TYPES OF PHRASES

Noun

Phrase

Adjective

Phrase

Adverb

Phrase

TYPES OF CLAUSES

Principal/

Independent/

Main clause

Subordibate/

Dependent clause

Noun clause

Adjective Clause

Adverb Clause

Co-ordinate clause

Principal

clause

• The clause which makes good sense by itself and stands by itself as a

complete sentence is called the principal clause. For example,

• I do not know where he lives.

Subordinate

clause

• The clause which does not stand by itself and depends on the principal

clause for its full meaning is called a subordinate clause. For example,

• I do not know where he lives.

Co-ordinate

clause

• A co-ordinate clause is one of two or more clauses in a sentence that are

of equal importance and are joined by co-ordinating conjunctions . For

example,

• i know him and I like him.

DIFFERENCE

ADJECTIVE PHRASE

The phrase which does the work of an adjective.

He likes a story with a moral in it.

The boy playing the piano is Ben.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSE

The clause which does the work of an adjective.

He likes a story which has a moral in it.

The boy who is playing the piano is Ben.

ADVERB PHRASE

The phrase which does the work of an adverb.

He returned at sunset.

Peter went to bed after fininshing his homework.

ADVERB CLAUSE

The clause which does the work of an adverb.

He returned when the Sun set.

Peter went to bed after he had finished his homework.

NOUN PHRASE

The phrase which does the work of a noun.

They expected to win the match.

He seems to be a spy.

NOUN CLAUSE

The clause which does the work of a noun.

They expected that they would win the match.

It seems that he is a spy.

FUNCTIONS OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES

Nouns clause can be – Adjective clause answers the

question which –

Adverb clause shows –

1. Subject of the verb.

Why she left is a

mystery.

When she will return is not know.

1. Person

God helps those who

help themselves.

This is the boy who

won the first prize.

1. Time

Do not talk while you

are eating.

Wait here till I return.

2. Object of the verb.

I do not know where

he lives.

He spends whatever

he earns.

2. Thing

This is the house

which John built.

the time when the

train leaves is not

known.

2. Place

I make friends

wherever I go.

He fled where no one

could find him.

3. Object of the

participle.

Thinking that he

would fail he ran away

from home.

He went away saying

that he would revenge

himself on me.

3. Manner

You may do as you

please.

He screamed as if he

had seen a ghost.

4. Object of the

preposition.

I never believe in what

he says.

My success depends

on how you help me.

4. Purpose

We eat that we may

live.

We exercise so that we

may become strong.

5. Complement to an

incomplete verb.

It seems that we have

taken a wrong turn.

Life is what we make

of it.

5. Reason / cause

I could not come

yesterday because I

was ill.

Since you are my

friend, I shall help

you.

6. In apposition to the

noun or pronoun.

The report that he was

killed is untrue.

It is clear that he will

not come.

6. Result / effect

He worked so hard

that he fell ill.

They made such a

noise that I could not

work.

7. Condition

I shall attend the party

in case I get leave.

If it rains we shall not

play.

8. Comparison

She is younger than

she looks.

He is as tall as I am.

9. Contrast

Though he is poor, he

is honest.

Whatever you may

say, I do not believe a

word of it.

10. Extent / proportion

The higher you go, the

cooler it is.

As far as I know, he is

a fine gentleman.