- Tenses are referred to as the expression of time an action takes place in a sentence
- This means that it refers to the time an action happens, be it in the past, present, and future
- English has two main basic tenses, present and past, both of which happen in simple forms. For example:
- Simple Present: I work. He works
- Simple Past: I worked. He worked
- But, when combined with auxiliaries,
- they form progressive tense. E.g. I am working. I was working.,
- and perfective tense. E.g. I have worked. I have been working, etc.
- I am working
- The Simple Present Tense is mostly used to express:
- habitual action. For example:
- Nkechi eats rice every morning
- The office opens at 8 am every work day
- a general truth. For example:
- The sun rises in the east and sets in the west
- The earth revolves around the sun
- action performed in the present. E.g. I forgive you
- Simple Past Tense expresses:
- an activity that existed in the past but no longer occurs in the present. For example:
- I enjoyed soccer during my school days
- We watched the kids play
- a wish/supposition. For example:
- I wish I were still a child
- If John were here, things would have been different
- Present Progressive/Continuous Tense: These tenses indicate activities that are in progress or not yet completed. It mostly expresses:
- an activity that is always in progress. For example:
- Janet is always complaining about something
- We are forever breathing while we live
- an activity occurring in the present. For example:
- Mama is praying
- Peter is studying
- Past Progressive tense: is used to express continuous action in the past. These actions took place in the past and have been concluded at the time of speaking. For example:
- I was eating when you came
- Father was preparing dinner when TOm departed
- I saw Stormzy at the cinema last week
- Present Perfect Tense is used to express:
- an action/state of being, starting in the past, extending to the present, and yet not completed. For example:
- We have lived in Lagos since 1980
- The family has lived in Chicago for twenty years
- an activity just completed. For example:
- We have completed the work
- Joan just received the message
- Present Perfect Continuous/Progressive Tense is used to express activity happening in the present time which is still in progress with recent time. For example:
- The baby has been crying since morning
- There has been no light since morning
- The lecturer has told his students of the possible effects of not taking their studies seriously
- Past Perfect Tense expresses past activity completed before some other past event took place. For example:
- I discovered that John had disappointed by not coming
- We noticed that the lecture room had been converted into an office
- Future Perfect Tense expresses an action that will be completed in the future before the occurrence of other future events. For example:
- I shall have arrived home from school by this time tomorrow
- By this time next week, the mason shall have completed the building
- Future Progressive Tense describes or expresses actions that will continue to occur or happen at a later time in future. At the time of speaking, the action has not yet taken place. For example:
- They will be punishing the thief by the time he arrives tomorrow
- We shall be proceeding from where they found us
