TENSE AND ITS USES
(Part-1)
Prepared by::
KULESH CH DEKA
 |
| TENSE AND ITS USES - Part 1 |
Here you will find
i) An introductory discussion on Tense.
ii) Detail discussion on 'the Uses of the Present Indefinite Tense'.
Tense is the change of form in a verb to express the time of an action. The tense of a verb shows the time of an action or event. It also indicates the state of an action.
According to ,T R Bhanot and H Martin, the word tense means full of tension i.e. stretched. So in Grammar, the tense means the degree to which a verb can be stretched in terms of
a) time of its action
ii) continuance of its action
iii)degree of completeness of its action.
Thus they say
The tense of a verb is its form that indicates the time, continuance and degree of completeness of its action.
There are three main divisions of times.
a) Present b) Past and c) Future.
i) My father takes exercise regularly.
ii) My father took exercise regularly.
iii) My father will take exercise regularly.
Sentence (i) indicates that the act of taking exercise occurs in the time which is going on now . It means the present time.
Sentence (ii) shows that the action of taking exercise occurred in the time gone by i.e. in the past time.
Sentence (iii) indicates that the act of taking exercise will occur in the time to come i.e. in future time.
From these examples we can say that an action can take place in any of the three above mentioned main divisions of time
So there are three main tenses in English. These are
(1)The Present Tense.
(2)The Past Tense.
(3)The Future Tense.
The present Tense describes an action in the present time. e.g.
I read newspaper regularly.
He is sleeping.
I have received a message just now.
Past Tense describes an action in the past time e.g.
He wrote a letter to me.
She went to Guwahati yesterday.
She was reading a novel.
The Future Tense describes an action in the future time e.g.
He will come.
I shall not do it again.
They will be playing a friendly match at this time tomorrow.
Now each of the principal tense are divided into four sub divisions. They are
(a) Present/Past/Future Indefinite Tense.
(b) Present/Past/Future Continuous Tense
(c) Present/Past/Future Perfect Tense and
(d) Present/Past/Future Perfect continuous Tense.
Now let's discuss how we use these parts of the three tenses.
THE PRESENT TENSE
This tense shows the forms of a verb which tells that the action is done in the present time. But when we consider the continuance and completeness of the action, we see four forms of the Present Tense.
Present Indefinite Tense or Simple Present Tense
Present Continuous Tense or Present Progressive Tense
Present Perfect Tense
Present Perfect Continuous Tense.
Let's observe the following four sentences.
a)The teacher teaches us English.
b) The teacher is teaching us English.
c) The teacher has taught us English.
d) The teacher has been teaching us English.
Now let's see what these four sentences tell us regarding contiuance and completeness of the action.
a) This sentence shows an action done in the present time. But we can't know definitely the exact time of the action. Thus the time of action is indefinite. So this form of the Present Tense is called the Present Indefinite Tense. It is also called Simple Present Tense.
b) This sentence shows that an action is going on at this time now; it continues to be done. So this form of tense is called Present Continuous Tense.
c) This sentence shows that an action was going on for some time in the past, but has been perfected just in the present time, this form tense is called the Present Perfect Tense.
d) This sentence indicates that an action was going on in the past and after a partial completeness, is going on in the present time too. So, this form of tense is called the Present Perfect Continuous Tense.
Thus we have four foms of the Present Tense.
i) Present Indefinite Tense or Simple Present Tense.
ii) Present Continuous Tense or Present Progressive Tense.
iii) Present Perfect Tense.
iv) Present Perfect Continuous Tense.
In this article we will discuss in detail how and in what situations the Present Indefinite Tense is used.
PRESENT INDEFINITE TENSE
*CONJUGATION OF THE VERB 'To Play'
i) AFFIRMATIVE SENTNCE
{Sub+ base form of the finite verb(V1)
1st Person (Singular):- I play.
1st Person (Plural) :- We play.
2nd Person( Singular):- You play
2nd Person (Plural):- You play.
3rd Person (Singular):- He plays/She plays/ Rajiv plays/ Reena plays
3rd Person (Plural) :- They Play/ Rajiv and Reena Play.
(Spelling Note-: -es is added to the base form of the verbs ending in 'ss','sh' 'ch' 'x' and 'o' to form 3rd person singular.
I miss , he misses
I push, she pushes
I catch , John catches
I box, Jemi boxes
I go, he goes
Again when the verbs end in 'y' and that 'y' follows a consonant, we change the 'y' into 'i' and add es:
I carry, he carries
I try, she tries.
But 's' is added to verbs ending in 'y' following a vowel -
We say, he says
I pray, she prays
We obey, Tajin obeys.
ii) NEGATIVE SENTENCE
(Sub+ do + not+ base form or present form of the verb, V1)
1st Person (Singular):- I do not play
1st Person (Plural):- We do not play.
2nd Person (Singular):- You do not play
2nd Person( Plural):- You do not play.
3rd Person( Singular):-- He does not play./ She does not play/ Rajesh does not play/Himesh does not play
3rd Person(Plural):-They do not play.
Rajesh and Himesh do not play.
iii) INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE
(Do/Does+ Sub+ base form or present form of the finite verb, V1?)
1st Person (Singular):- Do I play?
1st Person (Plural):- Do you play?
2nd Person (Singular):- Do you play?
2nd Parson (Plural):- Do you play?
3rd Person (Singular) :- Does he play?/ Does she play? Does Nayan play? Does Nishita play?
3rd Person (Plural):- Do they play?/ Do Nayan and Nishita play?
Conjugation of the verb 'to carry'
1st Person (Singular):- I carry.
1st Person(Plural):- We carry.
2nd Person (Singular):- You carry.
2nd Person (Plural):- You carry.
3rd Person (Singular) :- He carries/She carries/ Sneha carries.
3rd Person (Plural):- They carry/ Rajiv and Sneha carry.
CONJUGATION OF THE VERB 'to teach'
1st Person (Singular):-- I teach.
1st Person (Plural)*:- We teach.
2nd Person (Singular) :- You teach.
2nd Person (Plural) :- You teach.
3rd Person( Singular) :- He teaches./She teaches/ Rehena teaches
3rd Person (Plural):- They teach./ Rehena and Pranjol teach
Conjugation of the verb 'to write'
1st Person (Singular):- I write
1st Person (Plural):- We write
2nd Person(Singular):- You write
2nd Person (Plural):- You write
3rd Person (Singular):- He writes / She writes/ Tridip write
3rd Person( Plural):- They write/ Tridip and Trinayan write.
Uses of Present Indefinite Tense or Simple Present Tense
The Present Simple or the Present Indefinite Tense includes a sense of past, present and future. It could be called time neutral.(Hester Lott)
The Present Indefinite Tense does not tell us whether or not the action being performed at the moment of speaking.
We can use this tense in the following cases.
(I)To express general truths or universal truths Present Indefinite Tense is used.
Examples
The earth moves round the sun.
The sun rises in the east.
The sun sets down in the west.
The sun gives us light and heat.
Two and two make four.
Water flows downward.
Fortune favours the brave.
Heat expands bodies.
Gases expand when heated.
Death comes to all living things.
Water turns into vapour when it is boiled.
The moon shines at night.
Honey is sweet.
Grass is green.
(II) To express habitual actions the Present Indefinite Tense is used.
(The main use of the simple present tense is to express habitual actions -A J THOMSON AND A V MARTINET)
Examples
I get up early in the morning.
His father goes for a walk every evening.
His father smokes a lot.
Our school sits at 9 O' clock .
The bus always reaches/arrives here at six o' clock.
This old man always speaks the truth.
Birds fly in the air.
Cows eat grass.
Lions live on flesh .
Dogs bark.
His mother goes to office by bus.
III) Present Indefinite Tense is used to refer such events or situations which are true at present and continue to be so indefinitely. In this case the speaker just indicates the situations as it occurs at the present period of time.
Examples
People speak English all over the world.
Mr Sarma lives in this town.
Your sister sings very well.
The Assamese speak Assamese.
(IV) To express a future action/ event which is a part of a plan or arrangement, Present Indefinite Tense is used. (We use present simple to talk about the future, when the event is a part of a fixed plan or schedule)
We leave for Delhi next morning.
Our examination begins from Monday.
The match starts at 8:00am.
Next show begins at 2:00 pm.
Our school reopens from tomorrow.
The team spends an hour in Guwahati and then proceeds to Kolkata.
The ceremony comes off day after tomorrow.
(Thompson and Martinet write :- "It can be used for planned future action or series of actions, particularly when they refer to journey.
We leave London at 10:00 next Tuesday and arrive in Paris at 13:00. We spend two hours in Paris and leave again at 15:00. We arrive in Rome at 19:30, spend four hours in Rome etc.
*A Practical English Grammar*.)
(V)To express condition of a future action Present Indefinite Tense is used. In such a complex sentence the main clause or the principal clause expresses a future action and the subordinate clause expresses the condtion for it. Future Tense is used in the main / principal clause and Present Indefinite Tense is used in the Subordinate Clause.
(Conditional Type-1)
Examples
I shall not go out if it rains.
(Or we may place the conditional clause first- If it rains, I shall not go out.)
You will not succeed if you don't work hard.
or You will not succeed unless you work hard.
Here we can see the
verb in the if-clause is in the present tense; the verb in the main clause is in the future simple. It does not matter which comes first. So we can also write as
If you don't work hard, you will not succeed.
This type of sentnce says that the action in the if-clause is quite probable.
It should be noted that the the meaning here is is present or future, but the verb in the if-clause is in a present, not in future tense.
(If +will/would is only possible with certain special meaning which will be discussed in detail in the chapter of *Conditional Sentences*.)
Some other examples
She will not fail if she does not neglect her studies.
(If she does not neglect her studies, she will not fail.)
He will not pass unless he works hard.
(Unless he works hard, he will not pass.)
VI) We use the Present Simple in a Zero Conditional Sentence (when the consequence is predictable or inevitable)
Examples
If you boil water, it turns into vapour.
(Also we can say-
If you boil water, it will turn into vapour.)
If you do not read regularly, you can't make good result in the examination.
(VII) This tense is used in the time clause that describes the time of a future action. In this kind of complex sentence Future Tense is used in the Principal or Main Clause and Present Indefinite Tense is used in the Subordinate Clause which describes the time of the future action.
Examples
I shall meet the chairman when he comes to the office.
He will wait until you return.
They will send a message as soon as they reach home.
VIII) Present Indefinite Tense is used to express a situation or fact that is permanent
Examples:-
This road leads to Delhi.
Guwahati stands on the Brahmaputra.
The post office faces our college.
(IX) In an Exclamatory that begins with 'here' or 'there' we use Present Indefinite Tense to express what is actually taking place in the present.
Here comes his sister!
There goes the bus!
There goes the train!
(X)To give a vivid description of a past event, Present Indefinite Tense is used in place of (as substitute for) Simple Past Tense. (This is called Historic Present).
The Light Brigade rushes upon the Russian gunners.
Sohrab now rushes forward and deals a heavy blow to Rustom.
Nadir Shah marches to Delhi with a fury.
Alexander then invades the country with a large army.
Hemu's army now advances and the bloody battle commences.
Gandhiji utters the words 'Hey Ram' and dies.
xii) Present Indefinite or Simple Present Wih Narrative Use:-
Hester Lott, in his 'Senior School Grammar & Composition' writes-
"We often use Present Indefinite Tense in narrative, especially in story or joke telling and sports commentary. It has more immediacy and is more colloquial.
...... So he says to her ' I forgot it was our wedding anniversary,' and then she smacks him round the head!
..... and Barnes runs in from midfield and passes to Ahmed........
We use the Present Continuous Tense to talk about the background situations while the main events of the story are usually in the Present Simple.
...... and he is sitting here, grinning all over his face, and she comes over and...
(XII) Present Indefinite Tense is used to introduce a quotation.
Examples
Shakespeare says, "All that glitters is not gold."
Milton says,"It is better to reign in hell than to serve heaven"
Keats says,"A thing of beauty is joy for ever."
Pope says," A little learning is a dangerous thing."
(XIII)In broadcast/ telecast commentaries a commentator uses Present Indefinite Tense instead of Present Continuous Tense to give stress on the succession of happenings rather than on duration of it
Examples
The bowler delivers the ball at the speed of 90 miles per hour. The batsman comes forward and pushes the ball gently. A fielder begins to chase it. But the ball crosses the boundary and it's a four.
XIV) We use the Present Simple for news paper headlines when we refer to an event which has been already happened.
Examples:-
Niraj Chopra Bags Gold in Olympic Games.
100 Grams of Weight Robs Vinesh Phogat of a Certain Olympic Medal.
The Prime Minister Arrives in Guwahati.
PEACE TALK FAILS.
XVI) The Present Indefinite Tense is often used with some Adverb of Frequency as always, never, usually, occasionally, generally, often, daily, everyday, every week, every month, once a week, twice a month, on Sundays etc.
Examples
They play cricket here daily in the afternoon.
How often do you come here?
The journal appears once a month.
The teacher usually comes here in the evening.
He goes to church on Sundays.
He often comes to office late.
We visit our grandfather every month.
Mr Baruah goes to Kashmir once a year.
It rains much in summer here.
XVII) We use the Present Indefinite Tense to describe the nature of a thing or a person.
Cows live on grass.
Lions live on flesh.
Water flows downward.
XVIII) The Present Indefinite Tense is used in Imperative Sentences.
Come here.(=>You come here.)
Stop writing.(You stop writing.)
Never waste time.
Do as you like.
Stop where you are.
