Tense

Introduction: Tense is a fundamental aspect of grammar that conveys the timing of an action or state in relation to the present moment. It plays a crucial role in expressing ideas, narrating events, and conveying information about when something happens. Understanding tense is essential for effective communication in any language. In this article, we will delve into the definition, classification, structures, and examples of tense in grammar.

Definition of Tense: The word ‘Tense’ has been derived in English from the Latin word ‘Tempus’ which means time. It refers to the form of a verb that indicates the time at which an action occurs. It helps in placing events or actions in the past, present, or future. In English grammar, there are primarily three basic tenses: past, present, and future. Each tense can further be divided into simple, continuous (progressive), perfect, and perfect continuous forms.

Classification of Tenses:

Present Tense:

Simple Present: Used to describe actions that are habitual, factual, or general truths.

Example: She sings beautifully.

Present Continuous: Used to describe actions that are happening at the moment of speaking or ongoing actions.

Example: They are playing football.

Present Perfect: Used to describe actions that occurred at an unspecified time in the past or have relevance to the present.

Example: I have finished my homework.

Present Perfect Continuous: Used to describe actions that started in the past and are still continuing into the present.

Example: They have been waiting for hours.

Past Tense:

Simple Past: Used to describe actions that were completed at a specific time in the past.

Example: He visited Paris last summer.

Past Continuous: Used to describe actions that were ongoing at a particular time in the past.

Example: She was studying when I called her.

Past Perfect: Used to describe actions that occurred before another action in the past.

Example: By the time we arrived, they had already left.

Past Perfect Continuous: Used to describe actions that were ongoing for a period of time before another action in the past.

Example: He had been working for six hours before he took a break.

Future Tense

Simple Future: Used to describe actions that will happen at a specific time in the future.

Example: They will arrive tomorrow.

Future Continuous: Used to describe actions that will be ongoing at a specific time in the future.

Example: At this time tomorrow, they will be traveling to Paris.

Future Perfect: Used to describe actions that will be completed before a specific time in the future.

Example: By next year, I will have graduated.

Future Perfect Continuous: Used to describe actions that will be ongoing for a period of time before a specific time in the future.

Example: By the time you arrive, we will have been waiting for two hours.

Look at the following chart of verb that has many forms

Infinitive (to + v1)	Present (v1)	Past (v2)	Past Participle (v3)	v1+ ing
to be	be (am/is/are)	was/were	been	being
to have	have (have/has)	had	had	having
to do	do (do/does)	did	done	doing

Structures of Tenses: Each tense has its own structure, which involves the use of auxiliary verbs (also called helping verbs) and the main verb. The auxiliary verbs vary depending on the tense and whether it’s affirmative, negative, or interrogative.

Tense	Structures	Bengali symbol
Simple Present	S+v1+O	নাই
Simple Past	S+v2+ O	ল /ম
Simple Future	S+will+v1+ O	ব
Present Continuous	S+am/is/are+v1 +ing+ O	ত ছ
Past Continuous	S+was/were+v1 +ing+ O	ত ল /ম
Future Continuous	S+will be+v1+ ing+ O	ত ব
Present Perfect	S+have/has+ v3+ O	য়ছ
Past Perfect	S+had+v3+ O
Future Perfect	S+will have+ v3+ O
Present Perfect Continuous	S+have/has+been +v1+ing+O	ত ছ  (Time)
Past Perfect Continuous	S+had +been+ v1+ing + O	তল /ম  (Time)
Future Perfect Continuous	S+will have+been +v1+ing +O	ত ব  (Time)

Identify the following tenses

1. I go there. 2. I have parked at the wrong place. 3. You will cross the canal. 4. Sakib has repaired the watch. 5. You know the answer. 6. Mahin plays the violin. 7. They walked in the wood. 8. A cock has two legs. 9. I will be saying prayer. 10. We will meet them. 11. The earth goes round the sun. 12. Water is liquid. 13. I am watching a film. 14. It is coming. 15. The boys are sleeping.  16. I will have done this work. 17. I had lunch yesterday. 18. You have printed the letters. 19. We have done the job. 20. Himi went to work. 21. We will be flying to Dhaka. 22. You did the shopping. 23. Kanak travelled to Spain last year. 24. Tonmoy visited it last year. 25. I was working in the garden. 26. We were watching a film. 27. Himi has repaired it. 28. You will come to play. 29. Our friends have visited us. 30. You have been on holiday this year. 31. I will have walked 15 kms. 32. You have been writing. 33. They have been staying in this hotel. 34. I will reach home by 7p.m. 35. Imran has been sleeping all this morning. 36. You have been missing classes. 37. Nawazish had written three letters. 38. They had lived in Satkhira. 39. You will have locked the door. 40. You left the place. 41. Pianto had been working there. 42. They had been working hard. 43. I will be playing tennis. 44. I will be playing tennis. 45. They will have arrived. 46. Cars stop here. 47. Sajal teaches English. 48. The teacher said nothing. 49. Shuvo works hard. 50. Rowza will pass in the exam. 51. There goes the taxi. 52. He will stay with us for 3 days. 53. Moon does not go to the market. 54. Shyam is talking to Monir. 55. We are late. 56. He will be waiting for. 57. I am playing football. 58. She will do it. 59. They are sleeping here. 60. She is having her breakfast now. 61. Karia worked in that office. 62. He passed away in 1999. 63. We went for the movie. 64. I studied at the DU. 65. I have been doing it. 66. I will have been working for three years. 67. I wanted to ride. 68. I have been eating apples. 69. You have not been studying. 70. They will be winning the election. 71.We have been playing with Mary. 72. He was washing the dishes. 73. She was cooking dinner. 74. She will not come tomorrow. 75. I was working hard. 76. We were playing. 77. It started to rain. 78. She was reading a novel. 79. She will have taken three exams. 80. I am planning to meet you in the office. 81. The sun sets in the west. 82. I called her. 83. I was walking down the street. 84. The police van was patrolling the city. 85. I had never seen it. 86. He will have saved enough. 87. You will have left for London. 88. Mim will have gone there. 89. We were there together. 90. I will keep in touch with you. 91. I shall have been playing cricket. 92. She will be walking alone. 93. I will be watching the movie. 94. I wil be at home. 95. She is watching T.V. 96. She had read the book. 97. I will have been studying English. 98. We shall say the truth. 99. I have seen him. 100. We are flying kites.

Transform the following sentences as directed.

A. Change the Tense as Directed

1. I walk to school every day. (Past Continuous)
2. She is reading a book. (Simple Past)
3. They have already finished their homework. (Simple Future)
4. He had visited Paris. (Simple Present)
5. We will go shopping tomorrow. (Present Continuous)
6. She will be studying abroad. (Simple Present)
7. They will have completed the project. (Past Perfect)
8. I am going to the gym after work. (Simple Past)
9. She was baking cookies when I called. (Present Perfect)
10. We were watching a movie. (Simple Present)
11. I had been studying for hours. (Simple Past)
12. They will have been working at the company. (Present Continuous)
13. I eat sushi every Friday. (Past Continuous)
14. She sings beautifully. (Past Continuous)
15. They often travel to exotic places. (Simple Past)
16. I am meeting my friend for lunch tomorrow. (Simple Present)
17. He plays the piano very well. (Past Continuous)
18. We are going on vacation next week. (Simple Present)
19. She has already seen that movie twice. (Simple Past)
20. They have been waiting for the bus. (Simple Past)
21. I will call you. (Simple Past)
22. He has been working on this project. (Simple Past)
23. We had been friends for years. (Simple Present)
24. She will have finished her degree. (Simple Past)
25. I have never been to Australia. (Simple Past)
26. They will be arriving in an hour. (Simple Present)
27. He had already eaten dinner. (Simple Present)
28. I will have completed the assignment. (Simple Past)
29. She will buy a new car next month. (Simple Past)
30. We are moving to a new apartment next week. (Simple Past)
31. They were playing soccer. (Simple Present)
32. I was sleeping when you called. (Simple Present)
33. She was studying in the library all afternoon. (Simple Present)
34. They will have been working on this project. (Simple Present)
35. I have been waiting for this moment. (Simple Past)
36. She has already left for work. (Simple Past)
37. We will be traveling to Europe. (Simple Present)
38. He will have finished the race. (Simple Past)
39. I am cooking dinner tonight. (Simple Past)
40. She was dancing at the party last night. (Simple Present)
41. They were studying for the exam. (Simple Present)
42. I had been living in New York. (Simple Present)
43. She will have been waiting for us. (Simple Present)
44. I swim every morning before work. (Past Continuous)
45. He runs five miles every day. (Past Continuous)
46. She reads a book before bed every night. (Past Continuous)
47. They have just finished their lunch. (Simple Past)
48. We will go hiking next weekend. (Simple Past)
49. I want to buy a new car next month. (Simple Past)
50. She will be sleeping when you arrive. (Simple Present)
51. They will have completed the renovation. (Simple Past)
52. He has been living in this city for ten years. (Simple Past)
53. I have been waiting for this opportunity. (Simple Past)
54. We had been planning the trip. (Simple Present)
55. I drive to work every day. (Past Continuous)
56. She speaks three languages fluently. (Past Continuous)
57. They usually eat dinner at 7 p.m. (Past Continuous)
58. We will be attending the conference next month. (Simple Present)
59. I will study abroad next year. (Simple Past)
60. She will have finished her book. (Simple Past)
61. They play basketball. (Past Continuous)
62. I have read a book. (Simple Past)
63. She is sleeping. (Simple Past)
64. She has already left for the airport. (Simple Past)
65. We will be flying to Paris next week. (Simple Present)
66. He will have finished the race before we arrive. (Simple Past)
67. I am going to bake cookies this afternoon. (Simple Past)
68. She painted a picture yesterday. (Simple Present)
69. They walked in the park. (Simple Present)
70. I had been waiting for hours. (Simple Present)
71. I played tennis every Saturday. (Present Continuous)
72. He will drink coffee in the morning. (Simple Past)
73. She taught English at the university. (Simple Present)
74. They had already left for vacation. (Simple Present)
75. We will be visiting our grandparents. (Simple Present)
76. She was studying for her exam all night. (Simple Present)
77. I have been working out here. (Simple Past)
78. She has already left for the meeting. (Simple Past)
79. We will be celebrating her birthday next week. (Simple Present)
80. He will have finished the report. (Simple Past)
81. I entered the room. (Simple Present)
82. The fire alarm went off. (Simple Present)
83. He finally arrived. (Simple Present)
84. We arrive late. (Past Continuous)
85. I was going for a walk every evening. (Simple Present)
86. He writes in his journal every night. (Past Continuous)
87. She volunteers at the animal shelter. (Past Continuous)
88. They have already finished their dinner. (Simple Past)
89. We will be moving to a new city next month. (Simple Present)
90. She will have finished her project by tomorrow. (Simple Past)
91. They were playing chess when the power went out. (Simple Present)
92. I was studying for my exam when the phone rang. (Simple Present)
93. She was cooking dinner when I arrived home. (Simple Present)
94. She has already left for the conference. (Simple Past)
95. We will ski in the mountains next weekend. (Simple Past)
96. He will have finished his essay by the deadline. (Simple Past)
97. She was playing the guitar when I walked in. (Simple Present)
98. The power went out. (Simple Present)
99. I practiced meditation every morning. (Present Continuous)
100. He read the newspaper every morning. (Present Continuous)

Simple Present Tense

Detailed with number and person

Structure: Sub + verb1 + ext.

Example: I eat rice.

First person

Sentence	Singular Number	Plural Number
Affirmative	I eat rice.	We eat rice.
Negative	I don’t eat rice.	We don’t eat rice.
Interrogative	Do I eat rice?	Do we eat rice?
Neg. Int.	Don’t I eat rice?	Don’t we eat rice?

 Second person

Sentence	Singular Number	Plural Number
Affirmative	You eat rice.	You eat rice.
Negative	You don’t eat rice.	You don’t eat rice.
Interrogative	Do you eat rice?	Do you eat rice?
Neg. Int.	Don’t you eat rice?	Don’t you eat rice?

 Third person

Sentence	Singular Number	Plural Number
Affirmative	He eats rice.	They eat rice.
Negative	He doesn’t eat rice.	They don’t eat rice.
Interrogative	Does he eat rice?	Do they eat rice?
Neg. Int.	Doesn’t he eat rice?	Don’t they eat rice?

Now practise the other tenses using the following sentences with Bengali meaning like that.

1. I help the poor.

2. I recite the Quran.

3. I play football.

4. I cook food.

5. I watch movie.

6. I write a latter.

7. I catch fish.

8. I enjoy it.

9. I sleep at night.

10. I read a book.