Tense for Class 6

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What are Tenses?

What are Tenses?

Use of a verb to show the time of an action or event is called tense. There are three tenses: present, past and future tense. They help us understand the timing of an action. Each type has different forms to express different times and situations. It tells us whether something is happening in the past, present, or future.

Types of Tenses

1. Present Tense

The present tense is used to discuss things that are happening right now or on a regular basis.

Simple Present Tense

This is used to describe actions that happen regularly or facts.

Form	Positive (Affirmative)	Negative	Interrogative
I / You / We / They	I eat breakfast every morning.	I don't eat breakfast.	Do I eat breakfast?
He / She / It	She plays the piano.	She doesn't play the piano.	Does she play the piano?

Present Continuous Tense

This is used to describe actions happening right now.

Person/Tense	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
1st Person (I/We)	I am playing.	I am not playing.	Am I playing?
2nd Person (You)	You are playing.	You are not playing.	Are you playing?
3rd Person Singular (He/She/It)	He/She/It is playing.	He/She/It is not playing.	Is he/she/it playing?
3rd Person Plural (They)	They are playing.	They are not playing.	Are they playing?

Present Perfect Tense

This is used to talk about actions that happened at an unspecified time in the past or actions that have a connection to the present.

Person	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
1st	I have walked.	I have not walked. (I haven't)	Have I walked?
2nd	You have walked.	You have not walked. (You haven't)	Have you walked?
3rd	He/She/It has walked.	He/She/It has not walked. (Hasn't)	Has he/she/it walked?

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

This is used to talk about an action that began in the past and is still ongoing or has just concluded.

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I have been playing.	I have not been playing.	Have I been playing?
You have been studying.	You have not been studying.	Have you been studying?
He/She/It has been dancing.	He/She/It has not been dancing.	Has he/she/it been dancing?
We have been cooking.	We have not been cooking.	Have we been cooking?
They have been reading.	They have not been reading.	Have they been reading?

2. Past Tense

The past tense is used to talk about actions that have already happened.

Simple Past Tense

This describes actions that happened in the past and are over.

Positive (Affirmative)	Negative	Interrogative (Question)
I played	I did not play (I didn't play)	Did I play?
You danced	You did not dance (You didn't dance)	Did you dance?
He/She/It ran	He/She/It did not run (He/She/It didn't run)	Did he/she/it run?
We sang	We did not sing (We didn't sing)	Did we sing?
They studied	They did not study (They didn't study)	Did they study?

Past Continuous Tense

This is used to describe actions that were happening at a specific time in the past.

Form	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
Subject (I/You/He/She/It/We/They)	Subject + was/were + verb-ing	Subject + was/were + not + verb-ing	Was/Were + subject + verb-ing?
I	I was playing.	I was not playing.	Was I playing?
You	You were studying.	You were not studying.	Were you studying?
He/She/It	He was sleeping.	He was not sleeping.	Was he sleeping?
We	We were eating lunch.	We were not eating lunch.	Were we eating lunch?
They	They were dancing.	They were not dancing.	Were they dancing?

Past Perfect Tense

This is used to talk about actions that happened before another past action

Type	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
Regular Verbs	I had played.	I had not played.	Had I played?
Irregular Verbs	I had seen.	I had not seen it.	Had I seen it?
Negative Forms	I had not played.	I had played.	Had I not played?
Interrogative Forms	Had I played?	Had I not played?	I had played?

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

This is used to talk about an activity that occurred continuously in the past and had already occurred prior to another action or period in the past.

Form	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
Simple	I had been playing.	I had not been playing.	Had I been playing?
Negative	I had not been playing.	I had been playing.	Had I not been playing?
Interrogative	Had I been playing?	Had I not been playing?	I had been playing?

Click Here to Read About: Tenses for Class 7

3. Future Tense

Future tense is used to talk about actions that will happen in the future.

Simple Future Tense

This is used to describe actions that will happen at a later time.

Subject	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I	will play	will not play	will I play?
You	will play	will not play	will you play?
He/She/It	will play	will not play	will he/she/it play?
We	will play	will not play	will we play?
They	will play	will not play	will they play?

Future Continuous Tense

This is used to describe actions that will be in progress at a specific future time.

Form	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I / We	will be + verb-ing	will not be + verb-ing	Will + subject + be + verb-ing?
You	will be + verb-ing	will not be + verb-ing	Will + subject + be + verb-ing?
He / She / It	will be + verb-ing	will not be + verb-ing	Will + subject + be + verb-ing?

Future Perfect Tense

This is used to talk about actions that will be completed before a specific future time.

Form	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I/We	will have + [base verb]	will not have + [base verb]	Will + [base verb] +?
You	will have + [base verb]	will not have + [base verb]	Will + [base verb] +?
He/She/It	will have + [base verb]	will not have + [base verb]	Will + [base verb] +?
They	will have + [base verb]	will not have + [base verb]	Will + [base verb] +?

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

This is used to describe an action that will be ongoing (continuous) and will have occurred at some point in the future.

Type	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
Example	I will have been studying for 2 hours.	I will not have been studying for 2 hours.	Will I have been studying for 2 hours?
Use	To show actions that will continue for a specific duration in the future.	To show actions that will not continue for a specific duration in the future.	To ask questions about actions that will continue for a specific duration in the future.

FAQs

1. What are the perfect tenses in English?

Answer: The perfect tenses are present perfect, past perfect and future perfect, which help to indicate that an action was completed before a specific time. For example, I have finished my homework.

2. How one can remember all the specifications of tenses?

Answer: By using tenses in sentences and conversations, one can easily remember tenses and learn how to use and identify the usage of a particular tense in a sentence.

3. Do all English verbs have the same tenses?

Answer: No, verbs are classified as regular and irregular verbs. Irregular verbs have unique past tense forms. For example, "go" becomes "went" in the past tense.

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