Tenses: English Language Notes for Arunachal Pradesh TET (Teacher Eligibility)

Arunachal Pradesh TET – English Language

Topic: Tenses

“Tenses are the grammatical ways of expressing time in a sentence.”
They let us know when an action happened, is happening, or will happen.

1. Simple Explanation

Tense	When	Form	Example
Simple Present	General facts, habits	`subject + base verb (add -s/-es for he/she/it)`	She writes* every day.*
Present Continuous	Action happening now	`subject + am/is/are + verb‑ing`	They are studying* now.*
Present Perfect	Completed action with present relevance	`subject + has/have + past participle`	I have finished* my homework.*
Present Perfect Continuous	Action started earlier, still continuing	`subject + has/have been + verb‑ing`	She has been reading* for two hours.*
Simple Past	Completed action in past	`subject + past form of verb`	He taught* yesterday.*
Past Continuous	Ongoing action at a particular past time	`subject + was/were + verb‑ing`	They were playing* when it rained.*
Past Perfect	Past action completed before another past action	`subject + had + past participle`	She had left* before the storm.*
Past Perfect Continuous	Past action started earlier, lasted until another past event	`subject + had been + verb‑ing`	They had been waiting* for an hour.*
Simple Future	Action that will happen	`subject + will + base verb`	I will travel* tomorrow.*
Future Continuous	Ongoing action at a future time	`subject + will be + verb‑ing`	She will be studying* at 8 pm.*
Future Perfect	Action completed before a specific future time	`subject + will have + past participle`	They will have finished* by Friday.*
Future Perfect Continuous	Ongoing action that will continue until a future point	`subject + will have been + verb‑ing`	He will have been working* for 5 years.*

2. Key Points (Quick Reference)

Tense	When to Use	Common Mistakes
Simple Present	Habits, general truths, scheduled events	Forgetting ‑s/‑es for third‑person singular.
Present Continuous	Action now, temporary situations	Using it for permanent states (e.g., I am living* in New Delhi* is wrong).
Present Perfect	Past action affecting present	Mixing with simple past; using have + past participle correctly.
Past Continuous	Two simultaneous past actions	Overusing for single actions.
Past Perfect	Order of past events	Forgetting had + past participle.
Future Tenses	Plans, predictions, promises	Mixing will and going to without clear reason.

Tips for Students

Timeline Method: Visualise time (past → present → future) to decide tense.
Verb–Time Pair: verb + time marker (e.g., will + tomorrow → future).
Consistency: Keep one tense throughout a paragraph unless a time change occurs.

3. Worked Example

Scenario: Write a short paragraph (≈4–5 sentences) that covers a typical school day using at least five different tenses.

1. **Simple Present**: *A student **attends** school every day.*
2. **Present Continuous**: *She **is listening** to the teacher’s explanation now.*
3. **Past Continuous**: *Yesterday, she **was reading** a book in the library when the phone rang.*
4. **Past Perfect**: *By the time she **had finished** her homework, her friend had already left.*
5. **Future Perfect**: *By next week, she **will have completed** all her assignments.*

Full paragraph

A student attends school every day.
She is listening to the teacher’s explanation now.
Yesterday, she was reading a book in the library when the phone rang.
By the time she had finished her homework, her friend had already left.
By next week, she will have completed all her assignments.

Explanation

Sentence 1 shows a regular routine – simple present.
Sentence 2 describes an action in progress – present continuous.
Sentence 3 shows an ongoing past action interrupted by another event – past continuous.
Sentence 4 demonstrates a past event that happened before another past event – past perfect.
Sentence 5 projects a future state that will be finished before a scheduled time – future perfect.

4. Quick Revision Summary

Tense	Form	When to Use
Simple Present	`verb` / `verb‑s/-es`	Habits, general truths
Present Continuous	`am/is/are + verb‑ing`	Current actions
Present Perfect	`has/have + past participle`	Past action affecting present
Present Perfect Continuous	`has/have been + verb‑ing`	Duration from past to present
Simple Past	`past form`	Completed past action
Past Continuous	`was/were + verb‑ing`