CHENNAI PUBLIC SCHOOL

Anna Nagar  Chennai -600 101

ENGLISH- CLASS VIII

MCB LESSON 2
GRAMMAR- TENSES AND IT’S TYPES
Definition of Tenses:
 Tense is a form of the verb that denotes the time of action, event or state.
 Time of action is denoted by the change in the form of the main verb and/or use of the
helping verb or auxiliary verb.
 Tenses play a crucial role in English Language. It denotes whether the action has taken
place in the past, is in present or will take place sometime in the future.

Main Tenses:
PRESENT TENSE
 Present Tense is used to describe an action that is taking place or holds true at the moment
of speaking, with no connection to the past or future.

 EG: Rahul speaks English fluently.

I am going to the market.
PAST TENSE
 It’s a very important and most used form of the verb.
 Past Tense refers to actions that take place in the past. In addition, they are used to talk
about hypothesis(imaginary situations)

 EG: He went to the market.

He was working as a teacher.
If I owned a beach house, weekends would be fun.

FUTURE TENSE
 Future Tense depicts an action that happens in the future or is likely to happen in the
future. It may also express the speaker’s attitude to a future event.

Future Tense may be used in various situations such as:

 Prediction -- There will be rain tomorrow.
 Arrangements --I am visiting his house tomorrow.
 Plans-- I am going to do an internship in May.
 An action in progress --This time next month, I will be in London.
 Fixed Routine -- He shall attend the lecture tomorrow, right?

FORMS OF VERB

Class VIII English Notes Page 1 of 5

TYPE OF BASE SIMPLE PAST PRESENT SIMPLE
VERB FORM PAST(V2) PARTICIPLE PARTICIPLE PRESENT
(V1) (V3) (V4) (V5)

Regular ask asked asked asking asks

work worked worked working works

fix Fixed Fixed Fixing Fixes

Irregular Sing Sang Sung Singing Sings

Sink Sank Sunk Sinking Sinks

Think Thought Thought Thinking Thinks

Cut Cut Cut Cutting Cuts

FORMATION OF TENSES - 12 TYPES

 Each of the main types of tenses has 4 sub-types:

SUBTYPES SIMPLE CONTINUOUS PERFECT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
TYPES

PRESENT S+V1/V5+O S+ is/am/are S+ has/have S+ has/have

+V4+O +V3+O been+V4+O

PAST S+ V2 +O S+ was/were S+ had S+ had been

+V4+O +V3+O +V4+O

FUTURE S+ will S+ will/shall S+ will/would S+ will/would have

+V1+O +be+V4 +O have+V3+O been+V4+O

RULES TO USE TENSES WITH EXAMPLE

TENSES WHEN TO APPLY TENSES EXAMPLE

SIMPLE PRESENT a. Planned and Scheduled Events.
b. Description of Routines, habits.
c. Universal Truth. Fact
d. Mood , idea or opinion.
a. The park opens at 9a.m
tomorrow.
b. Ashok visits the orphanage
daily
c. Earth rotates around the Sun
d. I am excited to go out.

Class VIII English Notes Page 2 of 5

PRESENT a. Continuing activity. a.Radha is jogging in the park.
CONTINUOUS b. I am watching a lot of movies
b. An activity taking place but not on Netflix these days
at the particular moment. c. I am going to school
c. An activity will take place in the tomorrow.
near future for sure.(plan)

PRESENT The action is over but still has an I have finished all my chores for
PERFECT effect on the present the day.

TENSES WHEN TO APPLY EXAMPLE

TENSES

SIMPLE PAST a. Action started and ended a. She completed her graduation last
in the past. year
b. Reference to historical b. Mangal Pandey revolted in 1857.
events.

PAST a. An action that was going a. We were eating strawberries in the

CONTINUOUS on in the past and has now
ended.
b. An action that was in
progress, when something
else happened.
c. To indicate persistent
habits (with adverbs of time
like forever, always)
morning.
b. Sheela was sleeping when I
entered the room.
We were having lunch, when the
guests came.
c. He was always the complaining
type.

PAST PERFECT a. An action a.I had met Amitabh Bachchan few

completed years back.
before a certain
moment in the
past.
b. When two actions have
taken place in the past and b. The plane had landed before I
we want to refer to the reached to pick her from the airport
earlier event out of the two.

TENSES WHEN TO APPLY TENSES EXAMPLE

SIMPLE a. An action, condition or circumstance a. India will launch a satellite in 2020

FUTURE that is likely to take place in future.

FUTURE a. An activity that will certainly be a. I will be watching the Oscars tonight
CONTINUOUS happening in continuation in future. .
b. Planned events in the future. b. We will be hosting the seminar next
month.

Class VIII English Notes Page 3 of 5

 FUTURE a. When an action will be a. My sister will have been married by
PERFECT completed by a certain March next year.
time. b. My sister will have been married by
b. When an action 1 will be the time you come back from
completed by the time Australia.
action 2 happens in the
future.

 Note the usage of auxiliary verbs in the following negative (N) and interrogative
(Q)sentences:

 Simple Present:

Education makes us successful.

Education does not make us successful.(N)

Does education make us successful? (Q)

 Present Continuous:

We are fighting the pandemic.

We are not fighting the pandemic. (N)

Are we fighting the pandemic? (Q)

 Present Perfect:
The termites have eaten up the entire door.
The termites haven’t eaten up the entire door.(N)
Have the termites eaten up the entire door? (Q)
 Simple Past:
Sushma ordered a cappuccino at the café.
Sushma did not order a cappuccino at the café (N)
Did Sushma order a cappuccino at the cafe? (Q)
 Past Continuous:
Richard was playing for the King’s Eleven last season.
Richard wasn’t playing for the King’s Eleven last season.(N)
Was Richard playing for the King’s Eleven last season? (Q)

 Past Perfect:

The smugglers had cut the tree before the forest guards arrived.

The smugglers hadn’t cut the tree by the time the forest guards arrived (N)

Had the smugglers cut the tree by the time the forest guards arrived? (Q)

Class VIII English Notes Page 4 of 5

 Simple Future :

Anuj will not apply for the certificate course.

Anuj won’t apply for the certificate course (N)

Will Anuj apply for the certificate course? (Q)

 Future Continuous

The showmen will be resting after the performance.

The showmen will not be resting after the performance. (N)

Will the showmen be resting after the performance? (Q)

 Future Perfect

The parents will have to assemble in the hall before the principal arrives.

The parents won’t have to assemble in the hall before the principal arrives (N)

Will the parents have to assemble in the hall before the principal arrives? (Q)
HOMEWORK:

Dear Ellen,

You probably -------------------- (not imagine) where I ---------------- (write) you from. This is the
most wonderful experience of my life. Two months ago I ------------------ (read) on the paper
that a wood company ------------------ (want) to cut some very old trees in a forest and I -------
--------- (decide) I ----------------- (have) to do something about it. So I --------------- (make) a
tree house in one of the biggest trees. I --------------- (climb) up to it and here I am. I -----------
(climb) up here last September, so I ----------- (be) here for almost 4 months. All the media
--------------- (show) a lot of interest in me and I ----------------- (answer) thousands of
questions. Some journalists ------------ (even, take) pictures of me from a helicopter. I can
say I ----------------- (have) a wonderful time, although sometimes at night it ---------------(get)
very cold. I think I -------------------- (stay) up here for another 2 or 3 months and during this
time I ----------- (write) a diary. I ------------------(hope) some newspaper ---------------------
(publish) it when I -----------------(get down).

Love
Stacey

Class VIII English Notes Page 5 of 5