ALL TENSES

SIMPLE CONTINUOUS PERFECT PERFECT

CONTINUOUS

PRESENT Present Present Present Present Perfect

Simple Continuous Perfect Continuous

PAST Past Past Past Past Perfect

Simple Continuous Perfect Continuous

FUTURE Future Future Future Future Perfect

Simple Continuous Perfect Continuous
 SUBJECT
I
WE
YOU
SHE
HE SUBJECT
KAMALA
JOHN
IT
THEY
 1. PRESENT SIMPLE
Form: subject + verb (present)
E.g. I drink coffee every morning.
Kamala works as a teacher.

We always use an ‘s’ at the end of the verb when the

subject is singular.
However, if the subject is plural or if the subject is I, we,
you or they, an ‘s’ is not used at the end of the verb.

E.g. The cat eats twice a day. (The word ‘cat’ is singular,
hence, cat ‘eats’)
The cats eat twice a day. (The word ‘cats’ is plural,
 PRESENT SIMPLE (contd.)
PAST PRESENT / NOW FUTURE

I / WE / YOU / THEY & PLURAL HE / SHE / IT / KAMALA & SINGULAR

SUBJECTS SUBJECTS
I WORK. HE WORKS.
WE LIVE. SHE LIVES.
YOU PLAY. IT PLAYS.
THEY GO. JOHN GOES.
PEOPELE PUSH. KAMALA PUSHES.
JOHN OR YOU CRY. JOHN OR KAMALA CRIES.
JOHN AND KAMALA LIE. THE GOVERNMENT LIES.
BIRDS TAKE. TAKES
HE NOR THEY DRIVE. HE NOR SHE DRIVES.
I EAT. MY GRANDMOTHER EATS.
WE STUDY. HE STUDIES.
 PRESENT SIMPLE (contd.)
This tense is used when the action is a habit
or a routine.
E.g. I drink coffee every morning.
I study everyday.
John goes to the beach every Saturday.
This tense is used to give facts.
E.g. Kamala works as a teacher.
You sing very well.
Water boils at 100* C.
The Sun gives warmth to the Earth.
 2. PRESENT CONTINUOUS
Form: subject + am/ is / are + verb (ing)
PRESENT CONT.

PAST PRESENT / NOW FUTURE

This tense is used for actions happening now

(at the time of speaking).
E.g. I am speaking now.
He is writing now.
They are playing now.
 PRESENT CONTINUOUS (contd.)
This tense is used for changes taking place
now .
E.g. The economy of Sri Lanka is going down
these days.
English courses are becoming popular
these few months.
The Earth is getting warmer these years.
The daily expenses are increasing these
days.
 3. PAST SIMPLE
Form: subject + verb (past)

PAST PRESENT / NOW FUTURE

This tense is used for completed actions in

the past.
E.g. I studied for the exam two months ago.
She ate dinner at 9 a.m. yesterday.
It rained yesterday.
You helped me two days ago.
They all got their jobs last month.
 PAST SIMPLE (contd.)
Usually we add an ‘ed’ at the end of the verb
to make the past tense.
E.g. Present tense Past tense
Play Played
Jump Jumped
Clean Cleaned
Comb Combed
Love Loved
Dance Danced
Manage Managed
Place Placed
Knit knitted
Pat Patted
Cry Cried
Fry Fried
 PAST SIMPLE (contd.)
However, there are many irregular verbs too.
E.g. Present tense Past tense
Eat Ate
Sit Sat
Go Went
Put Put
Cut cut
Bring Brought
Catch Caught
Run Ran
Sing Sang
Write Wrote
Bite Bit
Shine Shone
Sweep Swept
Build built
 4. PAST CONTINUOUS
Form: subject + was / were + verb (ing)
PAST CONT.

PAST PRESENT / NOW FUTURE

I / He / She / It / Kamala / John was

We / You / They were

This tense is used for continuous unfinished actions

in the past + a completed action.
E.g. I was having dinner yesterday when the bell rang.
He disturbed her while she was reading a book.
They were having lunch when they heard a loud noise.
The power went out yesterday when we were studying.
 5. PRESENT PERFECT
Form: subject + have/ has + verb (participle)
Present Perfect

PAST PRESENT / NOW FUTURE

I / We / You / They have

He / She / It / Kamala / John has

1. It is used to talk about experiences.

E.g. I have taught English to many students.
He has gone to Sigiriya four times.
She has watched two movies this week.
 PRESENT PERFECT (contd.)
2. It is used to talk about recent actions or events.
E.g. I have finished my homework.
John has lost his glasses.
The Police have arrested a drug dealer.

However, if you mention a specific time, use the past

tense.
E.g. I finished my homework at 6.30 p.m.
John lost his glasses at the party last week.
The Police arrested a drug dealer yesterday.
 6. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Form: subject + have/ has been + verb (ing)
Present Perfect continuous

PAST PRESENT / NOW FUTURE

I / We / You / They have been

He / She / It / Kamala / John has been

It is usually used with the prepositions ‘for’ or ‘since’.

E.g. I have been teaching English for five years.
He has been going to Sigiriya since 2018.
She has been watching movies for several weeks now.
They have been playing since 4 p.m.
 7. PAST PERFECT
Form: subject + had + verb (participle)
It is used when there are two past actions and we
want to show what occurred first.
The movie had started when we got to the cinema.
Past Perfect

PAST PRESENT / NOW FUTURE

I / We / You / They Had
He / She / It / Kamala / John had
E.g.
I was sick yesterday because I had eaten too much last night..
We were good singers because we had given all our time to it.
The car looked familiar. We had seen it somewhere before.
John was looking for her. But she had gone home already.
 8. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Form: subject + had been + verb (ing)
It is used when there are two past actions and we want
to show what occurred first and one action continued..
I felt really tired because I had been driving all night.
Past Perfect continuous

PAST PRESENT / NOW FUTURE

I / We / You / They had been
He / She / It / Kamala / John had been
E.g.
We had been waiting for the teacher for one hour when
another teacher came to the class.
It had been raining heavily when the roof fell down.
The ground was wet because it had been raining all morning.
 9. FUTURE SIMPLE
PAST PRESENT / NOW FUTURE

Form 1: subject + will/shall + verb (present)

I / We / You / They will/shall
He / She / It / Kamala / John will /shall

1. ‘Will’ is used for instant decisions, offers & promises

l
E.g. It is too late. I will go home now. (instant decision)
The phone is ringing. I will take it. (instant decision)
This is too heavy. I will help you to carry it. (offer)
I will give you a ride home. (offer)
Please lend him 100/-. I will pay you back tomorrow. (promise)
We will respond to your emails soon. (promise)
 FUTURE SIMPLE (contd.)
2. ‘Will’ is used to make future predictions too.
E.g.
The economy will collapse if it continues like this.
The Earth will become hotter in the future.
I am sure that the students will pass the next exam.
She will surely come tomorrow.
l
The Sun will shine brighter next m0nth.
I will become the owner of a car next year.
My parents will get a chance to go abroad next week.
Technology will help us become more efficient.
Sri Lanka will hold the elections next month.
My health will get better from next year.
 FUTURE SIMPLE (contd.)
Form 2: subject + am / is / are + going to +
verb (present)
I am going to
We / You / They are going to
He / She / It / Kamala / John is going to

‘Going to’ is used to make predictions that will

l
happen soon.
E.g. It is going to rain in a few minutes.
They are going to play now.
The entire class is going to get homework.
We are going to eat now.
She is going to give a speech.
 FUTURE SIMPLE (contd.)
Form 3: subject + am / is / are + verb(ing)
(using the present continuous form)
I am
We / You / They are
He / She / It / Kamala / John is

‘The present continuous form’ is used to show fixed

l
arrangements.
E.g. I am going to see the doctor tomorrow.
I am seeing the doctor tomorrow at 5 p.m.
They are going to recite the poem tomorrow.
They are reciting the poem tomorrow evening.
She is going to buy a car.
She is buying a car tomorrow from the car sale.
 10. FUTURE CONTINUOUS
PAST PRESENT / NOW FUTURE

Form 1: subject + will be/shall be + verb (ing)

I / We / You / They will be/shall be
He / She / It / Kamala / John will be/shall be

E.g.
At 11 a.m. tomorrow, I will be travelling to Colombo.
He will be studying while others will have dinner this evening.
Will you come to play with us this afternoon? Sorry, I can’t. I
will be washing my clothes this afternoon.
I am going to Colombo tomorrow. I will be staying at my aunt’s
house for the night.
 11. FUTURE PERFECT
Form: subject + will have + verb (participle)
It is used when there is a future action that will be
completed at a certain point of time.
By December John will have saved Rs. 1 million.
Future perfect

December
PAST PRESENT / NOW FUTURE
I / We / You / They will have

E.g. He / She / It / Kamala / John will have

We will have finished our homework by 5 p.m.

Kamala will have completed her book before she will see her
publisher.
They will have waited 6 hours before the chief guest will
arrive.
 12. FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Form: subject + will have been + verb (ing)
It is used when there is a future action that will be
continuing up to a certain point of time.
By December John will have been saving money for 6
months.
I / We / You / They will have been
He / She / It / Kamala / John will have been
E.g.
By 5 p.m. we will have been completing our homework since 3
pm.
By next month Kamala will have been writing her book for
one year.
They will have been waiting for 6 hours before the chief guest
will arrive.
 ALL TENSES
SIMPLE CONTINUOUS PERFECT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS

PRESENT I eat. I am eating. I have eaten. I have been

He eats We are eating. He has eaten. eating.
He is eating. He has been
eating.
PAST I ate. I was eating. I had eaten. I had been
He ate. We were eating. He had eaten. eating.
He was eating. He had been
eating.
FUTURE I will eat. I will be eating. I will have I will have been
I am going to I am going to be eaten. eating.
eat. eating.
I am eating.