Definitions of Tenses Kinds and Uses of Tenses

1. Definitions of Tenses

According to Longman Dictionary of American English, tense is “one of the forms of a verb that shows activities or states in the past, now or in the future. 39 Michael Swan wrote that tense “the verb-forms which show differences in time are called tenses. Tenses are formed either by changing the verb e.g. know, knew; work, worked or by adding auxiliary verb will know; had worked.” 40

2. Kinds and Uses of Tenses

According to Betty Schrampfer Azar in her book “Understanding and Using English Grammar” tenses divided into: past, present and future. Each of tenses has four forms as shown at the table below: 41 Present Tense Past Tense Future Tense • Simple Present Tense • Present Progressive Tense • Present Perfect Tense • Present Perfect Progressive Tense • Simple Past Tense • Past Progressive Tense • Past Perfect Tense • Past perfect Progressive Tense • Simple Future Tense • Future Progressive Tense • Future Perfect Tense • Future Perfect Progressive Tense a Present Tense 39 Longman Dictionary of American English, second edition New York: Pearson Education, 2002p. 830 40 Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, oxford: ELBSoxford University Press, 1980 p. 500: 41 Betty Schrampfer Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1989 p. 6-7 1. Simple Present Tense The simple present is used with a non-action verb to indicate something that is happening right now. For example: She seems happy. This tastes good. It is expresses: 42 a An action that is repeated habitually for example: often, sometimes, everyday, once a week; - He reads the business news every morning. b A general truth that is repeated periodically; - The sun sets in the west. c A condition that is not repeated but is always true; - Ellen loves chocolate. 2. Present Progressive Tense The present progressive expresses an activity that is in progress at the moment of speaking. It began in the recent past, is continuing at present, and will probably end at some point in the future. 43 For example: - John and Mary are talking on the phone. Often the activity is of a general nature: something generally in progress this week, this month, this year. For example: - She is writing another book this year. 3. Present Perfect Tense One use of the present perfect is to express an activity happening now. Something in the sentence or context tells us when the action began. The action may be continuous or periodic. For example: - Elmer and Iona have been happily married since their wedding day 80 years ago. continuously - He has milked the cows all his life without missing a day. periodic 42 Pamela Hartmann, et al, Tense Situations, California: IPS Publishers, Inc., 1984 p. 6 43 Betty Schrampfer Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, p.11 Often the Present Perfect uses the words for or since. For tells the length of the action, and since indicates the point in time when the action began. For example: - Elmer has been married to the same woman for 80 years. - He has lived on the same farm since he was born. 44 4. Present Perfect Progressive Tense This tense is used to indicate the duration of an activity that began in the past and continues to the present. For example: - I have been sitting here since seven o’clock. - I have been thinking about changing my major. When the tense is used without any specific mention of time, it expresses a general activity in progress recently, lately. 45 b Past Tense 1. Simple Past Tense The past tense uses to talk about event or action that happened in the past. A chronological series of event that occurred in the past is commonly expressed in the past tense. Many times the past tense is accompanied by a specific time reference, such as six months ago, last December, in 1960, etc. 46 examples: - The tree fell to the ground. - We run inside and took off our wet boots. Then we stood by the fire to get warm. - The kids dressed up as ghosts last Halloween. 2. Past Progressive Tense 44 Pamela Hartmann, et al, Tense Situations, p. 15 45 Betty Schrampfer Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, p.36 46 Susan M. Reinhart, Testing Your English Grammar, Michigan: The University of Michigan Press, 1985 p. 18 The past progressive tense uses to talk about activities in progress at a specific past time in the past. The past progressive focuses on the activity at a specific time in the middle of the activity. 47 For example: - Edward was watching TV at ten o’clock last night. 3. Past Perfect Tense Past perfect tense expresses an action completed in the past prior to some other past event or time. 48 For example: - He had already left before I could offer him a ride. - She had left before we got there. 4. Past Perfect Progressive Tense The past perfect progressive is used for the duration of a single action before another action in the past. It was stopped or interrupted by the second action. For example: - He had been doing a good job for us until he went over to “the other side.” He stopped doing a good job for us It can also indicate the repetition of an action before another time in the past. For example: - He took their offer because we hadn’t been paying him so well. each week 49 c Future Tense 1. Simple Future Tense The simple future tense is used when the event is conceptualized as a whole. One difference in its core meaning is that events in the future time cannot be factually knowable in the same way as those in the past or present can. Simple future applies an action to take place at some definite future time, example: Joel will take the bar exam next month. It also applies a 47 Barbara Robinson, Focus, New York: St. Martin Press, 1995 p. 119-120 48 Marianne celce-Murcia and Diane Larsen_Freeman, The Grammar Book, Heinle Heinle Publishers, 1999 p. 116 49 Pamela Hartmann, et al, Tense Situations, p.81 future habitual action or state: - After October, Judy will take the train to Chicago everyday. 50 2. Future Progressive Tense The future progressive expresses an activity that will be in progress at a time in the future. For example; - Right now I am sitting in class. At this same time tomorrow, I will be sitting in class. At this same time tomorrow, I will be sitting in class. 51 3. Future Perfect Tense The future perfect is used to indicate an event that will occur in the future before another future time or event. For example: - I will have left the office before the boss arrives. - We will have cleaned the house by the time the guests arrive. The second example means that we plan to finish the house cleaning before a certain time the arrival of the guests. Notice that by the time, by, before, and when are commonly used in sentences containing the future and the past. 52 4. Future Perfect Progressive Tense The future perfect progressive emphasizes the long duration of an action or a habitual action before another time in the future. The length of time is usually given in the sentence. It often use for or since with the future perfect progressive. For example: - By the time you receive this, we will have been living here for three years. The future perfect progressive may begin at any time before the other future action; it may even begin in the past. For example: - I will have been dreaming about hot fudge sundaes for three years. 53 50 Marianne celce-Murcia and Diane Larsen_Freeman, The Grammar Book, p. 114-115 51 Betty Schrampfer Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, p. 51 52 52 Susan M. Reinhart, Testing Your English Grammar, p. 20

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