Introduction:
In grammar, tense is a category that expresses time reference in a verb. It is used to indicate the time at which the action or state described by the verb takes place.
In English, there are several tenses, including the simple present, simple past, present continuous, past continuous, present perfect, past perfect, and future tense.
Definition:
What is Tense?
Tense in English grammar refers to the form of the verb that indicates the time of an action or event described in a sentence. In other words, tense is a grammatical category that allows speakers and writers to indicate when something happened, is happening, or will happen.
टेंस (Tenses) क्या होता है?
टेंस (Tenses) वह विधि होती है जिससे हम बताते हैं कि किस समय कोई काम हुआ था या हो रहा है। इससे वाक्यों को उनके समय के अनुसार सही तरीके से बनाना संभव होता है।
Types of tenses:
There are three main tenses in English - past, present, and future. Each of these tenses can be further divided into four types of tenses, making a total of twelve tenses.
- Present Tense
- Past Tense
- Future Tense
Each of these tenses has further sub-categories, which are as follows:
1. Present Tense:
- Simple Present Tense
- Present Continuous Tense
- Present Perfect Tense
- Present Perfect Continuous Tense
2. Past Tense:
- Simple Past Tense
- Past Continuous Tense
- Past Perfect Tense
- Past Perfect Continuous Tense
3. Future Tense:
- Simple Future Tense
- Future Continuous Tense
- Future Perfect Tense
- Future Perfect Continuous Tense
1. Simple Tenses:
Simple tenses are used to describe actions or states that are complete or ongoing in the present, past, or future. There are three types of simple tenses:
- Simple Present Tense: describes actions or states that are always true or are happening now.
Example: She drinks coffee in the morning. (वह सुबह कॉफी पीती है।)
Rule: Subject + base form of verb + object
- Simple Past Tense: describes actions or states that happened in the past.
Example: He ate breakfast at 7 am. (उसने सात बजे नाश्ता किया था।)
Rule: Subject + past form of verb + object
- Simple Future Tense: describes actions or states that will happen in the future.
Example: I will go to the concert tonight. (मैं आज रात कॉन्सर्ट पर जाऊंगा।)
Rule: Subject + will + base form of verb + object
2. Progressive Tenses:
Progressive tenses are used to describe ongoing actions or states that are happening in the present, past, or future. There are three types of progressive tenses:
- Present Progressive Tense: describes actions that are happening now or around now.
Example: They are playing football in the park. (वे पार्क में फुटबॉल खेल रहे हैं।)
Rule: Subject + am/is/are + present participle (-ing form of verb) + object
- Past Progressive Tense: describes actions that were ongoing in the past.
Example: They were watching a movie when I arrived. (मैं आया तब वे फिल्म देख रहे थे।)
Rule: Subject + was/were + present participle (-ing form of verb) + object
- Future Progressive Tense: describes actions that will be ongoing in the future.
Example: She will be studying at 8 pm tomorrow. (कल शाम 8 बजे वह पढ़ाई कर रही होगी।)
Rule: Subject + will + be + present participle (-ing form of verb) + object
3. Perfect Tenses:
Perfect tenses are used to describe completed actions or states that occurred in the past, present, or future. There are three types of perfect tenses:
- Present Perfect Tense: describes actions that were completed at an unspecified time in the past and have a connection to the present.
Example: I have finished my homework. (मैंने अपना होमवर्क पूरा कर लिया है।)
Rule: Subject + have/has + past participle (-ed form of verb) + object
- Past Perfect Tense: describes actions that were completed before another action or event in the past.
Example: She had completed her project before the deadline. (उसने अपना प्रोजेक्ट डेडलाइन से पहले पूरा कर लिया था।)
Rule: Subject + had + past participle (-ed form of verb) + object
- Future Perfect Tense: describes actions that will be completed at a specific time in the future.
Example: They will have finished their workby 5 pm tomorrow. (कल वे 5 बजे तक अपना काम पूरा कर लेंगे।)
Rule: Subject + will + have + past participle (-ed form of verb) + object
Note: In all perfect tenses, the past participle form of the verb is used. The helping verbs 'have', 'has', and 'had' are used to form the perfect tenses.
4. Perfect Continuous Tenses:
The Perfect Continuous tense is formed using the present participle (-ing form) of the main verb, the auxiliary verb "have" or "has", and the auxiliary verb "been". The structure of the Perfect Continuous tense varies depending on the tense being used.
Here are the three types of Perfect Continuous tenses:
- Present Perfect Continuous: describes actions or events that started in the past and continue up until the present time.
Example: She has been studying for three hours. (वह तीन घंटे से पढ़ाई कर रही है।)
Rule: Subject + has/have + been + present participle (-ing form of verb) + object
- Past Perfect Continuous: describes actions or events that started in the past and continued up until a point in the past.
Example: He had been playing football for two hours when it started raining. (जब बारिश शुरू हुई थी तब तक उसने दो घंटे तक फुटबॉल खेला था।)
Rule: Subject + had + been + present participle (-ing form of verb) + object
- Future Perfect Continuous: describes actions or events that will start in the future and will continue up until a specific point in the future.
Example: By next year, he will have been working at the company for ten years. (अगले साल तक वह कंपनी में दस साल से ज्यादा काम कर रहा होगा।)
Rule: Subject + will + have + been + present participle (-ing form of verb) + object
Note: In all Perfect Continuous tenses, the present participle (-ing form) of the verb is used with the auxiliary verbs "have", "has", or "had" and "been".
Universal Exception:
There are some irregular verbs that do not follow the regular pattern of forming past participle forms. For example, the past participle of 'go' is 'gone' and the past participle of 'eat' is 'eaten'.
Sure, here are some exceptions and universals to keep in mind when using tenses in English grammar:
1. Universal: The simple present tense is used to express general truths, habits, and routines.
Example: The sun rises in the east. (सूरज पूर्व में उगता है।)
2. Universal: The simple past tense is used to describe completed actions in the past.
Example: She visited her grandmother last week. (उसने पिछले हफ्ते अपनी दादी को देखा था।)
3. Universal: The present perfect tense is used to describe actions or events that started in the past and have a connection to the present.
Example: I have lived in this city for five years. (मैं पांच साल से इस शहर में रह रहा हूँ।)
4. Exception: The verb "to be" is irregular in the present tense for the third person singular.
Example: He is a doctor. (वह एक डॉक्टर है।) (Note: In the third person singular, "is" is used instead of "are".)
5. Exception: Irregular verbs have their own unique past tense and past participle forms that do not follow the standard rule of adding "-ed".
Example: The past tense of "go" is "went" and the past participle is "gone". (गया जाता है, गया हुआ)
6. Exception: Verbs that end in "-y" after a consonant change the "y" to "i" before adding "-ed" in the past tense.
Example: He hurried to catch the train. (उसने ट्रेन को पकड़ने के लिए जल्दी की।)
7. Universal: The present participle (-ing form) is used to form the progressive tenses.
Example: She is studying for her exams. (वह अपनी परीक्षाओं के लिए पढ़ रही है।)
8. Universal: The auxiliary verb "have" or "has" is used with the past participle (-ed form) of the main verb to form the present perfect tense.
Example: They have watched that movie before. (वे उस फिल्म को पहले देख चुके हैं।)
9. Exception: The verb "to be" is irregular in the past participle form.
Example: The past participle of "be" is "been". (होना, हो गया)
10. Universal: Verbs in the base form (infinitive) are used after modal auxiliary verbs.
Example: She can speak French fluently. (वह फ्रेंच बोलना बहुत अच्छी तरह से जानती है।)
By keeping these universal rules and exceptions in mind, you can use tenses more accurately and effectively in your English communication.
Person and Verbs:
In English grammar, the choice of verb form depends on the person (first, second, or third) and number (singular or plural) of the subject of the sentence. Here's how the different tenses correspond to the different persons:
1. Simple Present Tense:
- For first person singular (I), we use the base form of the verb (e.g. I play)
- For second person singular (you), we use the base form of the verb (e.g. you play)
- For third person singular (he/she/it), we add "s" or "es" to the base form of the verb (e.g. he plays, she watches)
- For first person plural (we) and second person plural (you), we use the base form of the verb (e.g. we play, you play)
- For third person plural (they), we use the base form of the verb (e.g. they play)
2. Simple Past Tense:
- For first person singular (I), we use the past tense of the verb (e.g. I played)
- For second person singular (you), we use the past tense of the verb (e.g. you played)
- For third person singular (he/she/it), we add "ed" to the base form of the verb (e.g. he played, she watched)
- For first person plural (we) and second person plural (you), we use the past tense of the verb (e.g. we played, you played)
- For third person plural (they), we use the past tense of the verb (e.g. they played)
3. Present Continuous Tense:
- For first person singular (I), we use "am" + present participle (-ing form) of the verb (e.g. I am playing)
- For second person singular (you), we use "are" + present participle (-ing form) of the verb (e.g. you are playing)
- For third person singular (he/she/it), we use "is" + present participle (-ing form) of the verb (e.g. he is playing, she is watching)
- For first person plural (we) and second person plural (you), we use "are" + present participle (-ing form) of the verb (e.g. we are playing, you are playing)
- For third person plural (they), we use "are" + present participle (-ing form) of the verb (e.g. they are playing)
4. Present Perfect Tense:
- For first person singular (I), we use "have/has" + past participle of the verb (e.g. I have played)
- For second person singular (you), we use "have/has" + past participle of the verb (e.g. you have played)
- For third person singular (he/she/it), we use "has" + past participle of the verb (e.g. he has played, she has watched)
- For first person plural (we) and second person plural (you), we use "have" + past participle of the verb (e.g. we have played, you have played)
- For third person plural (they), we use "have" + past participle of the verb (e.g. they have played)
5. Past Continuous Tense:
- For first person singular (I), we use "was" + present participle (-ing form) of the verb (e.g. I was playing)
- For second person singular (you), we use "were" + present participle (-ing form) of the verb (e.g. you were playing)
- For third person singular (he/she/it), we use "was" + present participle (-ing form) of the verb (e.g. he was playing, she was watching)
- For first person plural (we) and second person plural (you), we use "were" + present participle (-ing form) of the verb (e.g. we were playing, you were playing)
- For third person plural (they), we use "were" + present participle (-ing form) of the verb (e.g. they were playing)
6. Future Simple Tense:
- For first person singular (I), we use "will" + base form of the verb (e.g. I will play)
- For second person singular (you), we use "will" + base form of the verb (e.g. you will play)
- For third person singular (he/she/it), we use "will" + base form of the verb (e.g. he will play, she will watch)
- For first person plural (we) and second person plural (you), we use "will" + base form of the verb (e.g. we will play, you will play)
- For third person plural (they), we use "will" + base formof the verb (e.g. they will play)