Class 7 - Tenses

1. What is a Tense?

A tense tells us when an action happens.

There are 3 times:

Present – action happening now or regularly
Past – action that happened before
Future – action that will happen later

Each time has 4 forms:

Simple
Continuous
Perfect
Perfect Continuous

So, there are 12 tenses.

2. Forms of a Verb

We use four common verb forms while learning tenses.

Form Name Example: 
V1 Base form go
V2 Past form went
V3 Past participle gone
V4 -ing form going

Examples
eat → ate → eaten → eating
write → wrote → written → writing
play → played → played → playing
take → took → taken → taking

Remember:

V1 = basic verb
V2 = past
V3 = used with has/have/had
V4 = -ing form

3. PRESENT TENSE

A. Simple Present

Use: We use it for:

• habits
• routines
• facts
• general truths

Formula: Subject + V1 + Object

For he, she, it, we usually add s/es.

Examples:

• I play cricket.
• They go to school.
• She plays cricket.
• He goes to school.

Common words: always, usually, often, sometimes, every day, never

Teacher explanation: "Simple Present tells us about things that happen regularly or are generally true."

B. Present Continuous

Use: An action that is happening now.

Formula: Subject + am/is/are + V4 + Object

Examples:

• I am reading.
• She is playing.
• They are watching TV.

Remember:

• am → I
• is → he/she/it
• are → we/you/they

Common words: now, right now, at the moment

Teacher explanation: "If I am doing something at this moment, we use Present Continuous."

C. Present Perfect

Use: An action that has already been completed or has a connection with the present.

Formula: Subject + has/have + V3 + Object

Examples:

• I have finished my homework.
• She has eaten lunch.
• They have completed the work.

Remember:

• has → he/she/it
• have → I/we/you/they

Teacher explanation: "Look at the verb after has or have. We use V3."

D. Present Perfect Continuous

Use: An action that started in the past and is still continuing.

Formula: Subject + has/have been + V4 + since/for

Examples:

• I have been studying for two hours.
• She has been reading since morning.
• They have been playing for an hour.

Since and For:

Since = starting point

• since Monday
• since 5 p.m.
• since morning

For = period of time

• for two hours
• for three days
• for a year

4. PAST TENSE

A. Simple Past

Use: An action that happened and finished in the past.

Formula: Subject + V2 + Object

Examples:

• I played cricket yesterday.
• She went to school.
• They watched a movie.

Common words: yesterday, last week, last year, ago

Teacher explanation: "If the action is completely finished in the past, we generally use Simple Past."

B. Past Continuous

Use: An action that was happening at a particular time in the past.

Formula: Subject + was/were + V4 + Object

Examples:

• I was studying.
• She was cooking.
• They were playing.

Remember: was → I/he/she/it

were → we/you/they

Example with interruption: I was sleeping when the phone rang.
The longer action = Past Continuous

The shorter action = Simple Past

C. Past Perfect

Use: When one past action happened before another past action.

Formula: Subject + had + V3 + Object

Example: The train had left before we reached the station.

First action → had left
Second action → reached

Teacher explanation: "Past Perfect helps us show which of two past actions happened first."

D. Past Perfect Continuous

Use: An action that continued for some time before another past action.

Formula: Subject + had been + V4 + since/for

Examples:

• I had been studying for two hours before my friend arrived.
• She had been waiting since morning.

5. FUTURE TENSE

A. Simple Future
Use: An action that will happen in the future.

Formula: Subject + will + V1 + Object

Examples:

• I will play tomorrow.
• She will visit us.
• They will come soon.

Common words: tomorrow, soon, later, next week, next year

Important: After will, always use V1.

• I will went.
• I will go.

B. Future Continuous

Use: An action that will be happening at a particular time in the future.

Formula: Subject + will be + V4 + Object

Examples:

• I will be studying at 8 p.m.
• She will be travelling tomorrow.
• They will be playing in the evening.

C. Future Perfect

Use: An action that will be completed before a particular time in the future.

Formula: Subject + will have + V3 + Object

Examples:

• I will have finished my homework by 8 p.m.
• She will have reached home by then.
• They will have completed the project by Friday.

Common word: by

"By" tells us the deadline or finishing point.

D. Future Perfect Continuous

Use: An action that will continue for a period of time up to a particular point in the future.

Formula: Subject + will have been + V4 + since/for

Examples:

• By June, I will have been studying here for two years.
• By 5 p.m., she will have been working for six hours.

6. MASTER TABLE – ALL 12 TENSES

Tense Formula Example

1. Present Simple S + V1 She plays.
2. Present Continuous S + am/is/are + V4 She is playing.
3. Present Perfect S + has/have + V3 She has played.
4. Present Perfect Continuous S + has/have been + V4 She has been playing.
5. Past Simple S + V2 She played.
6. Past Continuous S + was/were + V4 She was playing.
7. Past Perfect S + had + V3 She had played.
8. Past Perfect Continuous S + had been + V4 She had been playing.
9. Future Simple S + will + V1 She will play.
10. Future Continuous S + will be + V4 She will be playing.
11. Future Perfect S + will have + V3 She will have played.
12. Future Perfect Continuous S + will have been + V4 She will have been playing.

7. THE EASIEST WAY TO TEACH THE 12 TENSES

Tell students to remember these 4 patterns:

SIMPLE -  What happens?

• Present → I play.
• Past → I played.
• Future → I will play.

CONTINUOUS - What is/was/will be happening?

• Present → I am playing.
• Past → I was playing.
• Future → I will be playing.

PERFECT - What has/had/will have been completed?

• Present → I have played.
• Past → I had played.
• Future → I will have played.

PERFECT CONTINUOUS - How long has/had/will it have been happening?

• Present → I have been playing.
• Past → I had been playing.
• Future → I will have been playing.

8. ONE VERB – ALL 12 TENSES

Use "study" to show students how one verb changes.

Tense Sentence

• Present Simple -  I study English.
• Present Continuous - I am studying English.
• Present Perfect - I have studied English.
• Present Perfect Continuous - I have been studying English.
• Past Simple - I studied English.
• Past Continuous - I was studying English.
• Past Perfect -  I had studied English.
• Past Perfect Continuous - I had been studying English.
• Future Simple - I will study English.
• Future Continuous - I will be studying English.
• Future Perfect - I will have studied English.
• Future Perfect Continuous - I will have been studying English.

9. QUICK CLASSROOM QUESTIONS

Question 1 - "I go to school every day."

Which tense? → Simple Present

Question 2 - "I am going to school now."

Which tense? → Present Continuous

Question 3 - "I went to school yesterday."

Which tense? → Simple Past

Question 4 - "I will go to school tomorrow."

Which tense? → Simple Future

Question 5 - "I have finished my homework."

Which tense? → Present Perfect

Question 6 - "I have been studying for two hours."

Which tense? → Present Perfect Continuous

10. GOLDEN RULES FOR STUDENTS

• Simple Present → V1
• Simple Past → V2
• Perfect → V3
• Continuous → V4
• After will → V1
• has/have/had → V3
• am/is/are/was/were → V4
• been + V4 is used in Perfect Continuous.
• Since tells us the starting point.
• For tells us the duration.

One-line memory trick:

• Simple = V1/V2
• Continuous = V4
• Perfect = V3
• Perfect Continuous = been + V4