Tense

The structure of the sentence or specifically the form of verb or verb phrase which indicate the time of the action
is called tense.

Basic Structure of English Sentence

Subject Verb Complement Modifier
Karim ate rice Yesterday.

Subject: Subject is the Noun, Noun Phrase or Pronoun that does the action in an active voice. It normally
precedes the verb (normally stands before the verb). Subject is essential for sentence.

 Noun Phrase: A Noun Phrase is a group of words ending with a noun.

Example: This black pen is very good.

Verb: It is the action of the sentence. A verb may be a single word or a verb phrase.

 Verb Phrase: Verb Phrase consists of one or more auxiliaries and one main verb.
Example: He is going to Sylhet.

Complement (object): A complement is a noun, pronoun or a noun phrase which follows the verb when the
sentence is in the active voice. A complement answers the question what? Or whom?
Modifier: A Modifier tells the time, place or moment of the action.

Verb
Verb is the action word.
Principal verb: The verb which has meaning in the sentence is called Principal verb. Principal verbs have 4
forms:
Present Past Past participle Present participle
go went gone going

Auxiliary Verb: The verb which does not have any meaning in the sentence is called Auxiliary Verb.
Example: He has eaten rice.

Be verb Am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being

Have verb Have, has, had
Do verb Do, does, did
Voice

1
Active Voice: When the subject of the sentence does the action then active structure is used.

Example: He is driving the car.

Passive Vice: When the subject of the sentence does not do the action then passive structure is used.

Example: The thief was caught.

Classification of Tense
There are 12 tenses in English. The 12 tenses are classified in 3 tenses.
Present Indefinite / Simple
Present Present Continuous
Present Perfect
Present Perfect Continuous
Past Indefinite / Simple
Tense Past Past Continuous
Past Perfect
Past Perfect Continuous
Future Indefinite / Simple
Future Future Continuous
Future Perfect
Future Perfect Continuous