How to Improve English Grammar Tenses?

Tense and It's Categories

Tense is grammatical expression of location in time. It is the relationship between the form of the verb and the time of the action or state it describes. Tense belongs to grammatical marking on verbs that usually indicates time reference relative to the either the time of speaking or the time at which some other situation was in force. On the other hand, grammatical form of verbs is usually discussed in connection with tense. The description of verb forms differs according to the way the term tense is interpreted. In the interpretation of tense can be based on the form of the verb. 
According to this interpretation, there are only two tenses, that is, a present and a past-each of which is marked by different forms in the lexical verb itself or in the auxiliary used with it. The semantic component of time is only secondary to the structural form. Many modern grammarians favor this two-tense system based on form alone.

 Tenses are discussed in connection with the grammatical form of verbs to interpret the time of the action or situation.
I am sure that there are many English grammar lesson printed in a book, but in here you may learn or exercise the English grammar test online. 

Furthermore, categories of various English tenses are divided as below and I also provide the tense of English grammar rules in each tenses. 

a.    Simple present tense

In general, the simple present tense expresses events or situations that exist always, usually, habitually; they exist now, have existed in the past, and probably will exist in the future.

1)         Simple present is used to express habitual or everyday activity.

a)      I study for two hours every night.

b)      My classes begin at nine.

c)      He always eats a sandwich for lunch.

2)         Simple present tense tells something was true in the past, is true in the present, and will be true in the future. It is used for general statements of fact. For example:

a)            Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.

b)           Most animals kill only for food.

c)            The world is round.

3)         Certain verbs are not used in the progressive tenses. With these verbs, the simple present may indicate a situation that exists right now, at the moment of speaking. For example:

a)            I have only a dollar right now.

b)           I don’t recognize that man.

c)            He needs a pen right now.

Then, from the writing above, we conclude that the rule of present tense in English grammar is as following:
* The subject pronouns "I, You, We, They" are followed by the verb 1.
I/ You/ We/ They + Verb 1

* The subject pronouns "He, She, It" are followed by verb 1+s/es 

b.   Simple past tense

It implies that at one particular time in the past, this happened. It began and ended in the past.

1)         Simple past indicates that an activity or situation began and ended at a particular time in the past. For example:

a)            I walked to school yesterday.

b)           He lived in Paris for ten years, but now he is living in Rome.

c)            I bought a new car three days ago.

2)         If a sentence contains “when” and has the simple past in both clauses, the action in the “when clause” happens first.

a)   I stood under a tree when it began to rain.

First: the rain began. Second: I stood under a tree.

b)  When she heard a strange noise, she got up to investigate.

     First: She heard a strange noise. Second: She got up to investigate.

c)   When I dropped my cup, the coffee spilled on my lap.

     First: I dropped my cup. Second: the coffee spilled on my lap.

Hence, the conclusion of the rule of past tense in English grammar is: 
* Subject pronouns "I, You, We, They, He, She, It" precede the verb 2. 
Remember that there are two kinds of verb in English, that is, regular and irregular verb. 
Examples of regular verb: 
study (verb 1) - studied (verb 2) - studied (verb 3) 
walk (verb 1)- walked (verb 2) - walked (verb 3)
cook (verb 1) - cooked (verb 2) - cooked (verb 3)

Examples of Irregular Verb:
buy (verb 1) - bought (verb 2) - bought (verb 3)
read (verb 1) - read (verb 2) - read (verb 3)
swim (verb 1) - swam (verb 2) - swum (verb 3)
think (verb 1) - thought (verb 2) - thought (verb 3)  

c.    Simple future

It implies that at one particular time in the future, this will happen. For example:

1)      It will snow tomorrow.

2)      I will watch television tonight.

3)      I am going to watch television tonight.

“Will” or “be going to” is used to express future time. In speech, “going to” is often pronounced “gonna”. 

The rule of simple future tense in English grammar: 
* Subject pronoun + will + verb 1 
* Subject pronoun + be going to + verb 1

d.   Present progressive tense

In general, the progressive tense give the idea that an action is in progress during a particular time. The tenses say that an action begins before, is in progress during, and continues after another time or action.

1)         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. For example:

a)       John is sleeping right now.

b)       I need an umbrella because it is raining.

c)       John and Marry are talking on the phone.

2)         Often the activity is of a general nature: something generally in progress this week, this month, this year. For example, in the sentence of She is writing another book this year.  The sentence means that writing a book is a general activity she is engaged in at present, but it does not mean that at the moment of speaking she is sitting at her desk with pen in hand.  The progressive tenses are also called the continuous tenses: present continuous, past continuous, and future continuous. 
So, the rule of present continuous/ progressive tense is: 
* Subject pronoun (He/she/it) + is + Verb ing 
* Subject pronoun (You, We, They) + are + verb ing 
* Subject pronoun "I" + am + verb ing 

e.    Past progressive tense

1)         At eight o’clock last night, I was studying.

It indicates that my studying began before eight, was in progress at that time, and probably continued.

2)         While I was studying in one room of our apartment, my roommate was having a party in the other room.

This sentence indicates that sometimes the past progressive is used in both parts of a sentence when two actions are in progress simultaneously.

3)         It rained this morning.

4)         It was raining this morning.

In some cases, the simple past and the past progressive give almost the same meaning, as in 3 and 4. 

The rule of past continuous / progressive tense is: 
*Subject pronoun (He, She, It, I) + was + verb ing 
* Subject pronoun (You, We, They) + were + verb ing 

f.    Present perfect

1)         The present perfect expresses the idea that something happened (or never happened) before now, at an unspecified time in the past. The exact time it happened is not important. For example:

a)      They have moved into a new apartment.

b)      I have already seen that movie.

c)      I have never seen snow.

2)         The present perfect also expresses the repetition of an activity before now. The exact time of each repetition is not important. For example:

a)   We have had four tests so far this semester.

b)   I have written my wife a letter every other day for the last two weeks.

3)         The present perfect also, when used with “for” or “since”, expresses a situation that began in the past and continues to the present. For example:

a)   I have been here since seven o’clock.

b)   We have been here for two weeks.

In these examples above, notice the difference between “since” and “for”: “since” is followed by a particular time, whereas, “for” is followed by duration of time.

The rule of present tense is: 
*Subject pronoun (I, You, We, They) + have + Verb 3 
* Subject pronoun (She, He, IT) + has + verb 3

g.   Past perfect

1)      The past perfect expresses an activity that was completed before another activity or time in the past. For example:

a)   My parents had already eaten by the time I got home.

b)   Until yesterday, I had never heard about it.

c)   The thief simply walked in. Someone had forgotten to lock the door.

d)  Sam had already left when we got there.  This sentence means that first: Sam left, and then second: we got there.

2)      If either “before” or “after” is used in the sentence, the past perfect is often not necessary because the time relationship is already clear. The simple past may be used, as in the example below:

a)   Sam had left before we got there.

b)  Sam left before we got there.

c)   After the guests had left, I went to bed.

d)  After the guests left, I went to bed.

From these sentences above, it can be concluded that the sentence of “a” and “b” have same meaning, meanwhile the sentence of “c” has the same meaning with “d”.

The rule of past perfect tense is: 
*Subject Pronoun (I, You, We, They, He, She, It) + had + verb 3

h.       Past perfect progressive

1)         The past perfect progressive emphasizes the duration of an activity that was in progress before another activity or time in the past. For example:

a)   The police had been looking for the criminal for two years before they caught him.

b)   The patient had been waiting in the emergency room for almost an hour before a doctor finally treated her.

c)   He finally came at six o’clock. I had been waiting for him since four-thirty.

2)         This tense also may express an activity in progress recent to another time or activity in the past. For example:

a)   When Judy got home, her hair was still wet because she had been swimming.

b)   Her eyes were red because she had been crying.

The rule of past perfect continuous/ progressive tense is: 
Subject Pronoun (I, You, We, They, She, He, It) + been + verb 3

Modal

Sometimes when writing in a sentence of paragraph, we use a modal that precedes a basic verb. So, you must know and can use the application of modal in a sentence. What is modal ? Just check this one out below!

English uses modals to show a speaker’s attitude toward what he or she is saying. They show attitudes such as doubt (That can’t be true), necessity (We must buy our tickets today), and possibility (He may be sick). Modal is auxiliary verb which indicate attitudes of the speaker/ writer towards the state or event expressed by another verb, i.e. which indicate different types of modality. The following are modals verb in English: may, might, can, could, must, have (got) to, will, would, shall, should. Modal meanings are shown in the following examples:

a.    I may be wrong. (may = possibility)

b.   That will be Tom at the door. (Will=prediction)

c.    You can smoke here. (can = permission)

d.   I can play the piano. (can = ability) 
The rule of the use modal in English grammar is:
Subject pronoun (He, She, It, I, You, We, They) + Modal + Verb 1

Then, you what you have to know again is about the use of "to be" in English grammar tenses. All tenses in English have "to be". The form of "to be" is different in each tenses. 

To Be In Tenses 

Please, read the sentences below, then try to memorize!
*I am a teacher.
Analysis:
I = subject pronoun
am = to be
teacher = noun

*You are a student.
Analysis:
You = subject pronoun
are = to be
student = noun

*He is handsome.
Analysis:
He= subject pronoun
is= to be
handsome = adjective

*She is in Tokyo.
Analysis:
She = subject pronoun
is = to be
Tokyo = adverb of place

Now, compare with these sentences!
* She was an actress. (now she is not an actress)
* They were naughty. (now they are not naughty anymore)

Conclusion:
The use of "to be" is urgent when in a sentence has no verb.
no verb means a sentence may include an adjective, adverb, or noun. You have to remember the use of "to be" in each tense is also different.
In simple present tense, the use of "to be: is" is used for the subject: he, she, it
then, the "to be: are" is for the subject: you, we, they
the last one, is "to be: am" is only for subject "I".

Then, in simple past tense, the use of "was" is preceded by subject: I, she, he, and it.
"were" is for subject: they, you, we.


From the above writing, we can conclude that, technically, the basic tenses in English are present and past. Nevertheless, those tenses are divided into sub tenses again. So, do not be confused anymore!
When a sentence has no verb, so you should insert "to be" after subject, but if there is verb, so you may not put "to be" after subject.

Well, I had already written the English grammar tense, so I hope that my writing may improve your English grammar tenses. You may do the English grammar tenses in my blog to improve your grammar. Happy learning, guys :)

How to Improve English Grammar Tenses? 2015-04-11T22:47:00-07:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: Eko Wahyudi