Tense And Tense Consistency
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Don’t get Tense about Tenses !
Types of tenses. • • • • •
Past ,Present, and Future. Simple Continuous Perfect Perfect Continuous.
COMMON ERRORS • Look at these sentences:– I am having a car. – I am seeing the bus. – He is knowing it.
• What is wrong with these sentences?
COMMON ERRORS • They should be written as :– I have a car. – I see a bus. – He knows it. • Some verbs are generally not used in the continuous tense. • They denote a state, perception or cognition.
COMMON ERRORS • They are also known as Stative Verbs. • Some common stative verbs are :– appear, seem, hear, sound, taste, love, like, hate, dislike, prefer, agree, believe, imagine, know, cost, involve, satisfy, weigh.
COMMON ERRORS • Some verbs , however , can have two forms: a state and an action. – I have a brother. (state) – I am having my dinner.(action) – I think you are right. (state) – I am thinking about it. ( meaning— pondering)
INDICATING FUTURE • The train leaves at 5 pm.(present tense) – talks of a habitual action. • The train will leave at 5 pm.( simple future) – indicates a future event. • The train is leaving at 5 pm(present continuous) – conveys a sense of urgency.
SIMPLE PAST & PRESENT PERFECT • A specific time expression that denotes the past is used with sentences in the simple past. • With the present perfect no specific past time expression can be used. – I saw her last evening.(correct) – I have seen her last evening ( wrong) – I have seen her. (correct)
COMMON ERRORS • Look at these sentences. – It is true that I had met her last year. – I had written a book in 1970.
• They should be written as It is true that I met her last year. I wrote a book in 1970.
The Past perfect can be used to denote the earlier event only when two events occur in the past. For a mere occurrence in the past , the simple past tense is used.
PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE - It was raining when I reached home. - The bird was flying when he shot it. • The past continuous tense is used to denote an action in progress in the past, very often with reference to another action.
COMMON ERRORS - He thought he will do some voluntary work. - The principal was pleased that the students do not violate college rules. • The tense is not consistent in these sentences. They should be written as : - He thought he would do some voluntary work. - The principal was pleased that the students did not violate college rules.
TENSE CONSISTENCY • Check the following sentences for the confusing shift in the tense: - While she puts on her contact lenses the phone rang. - By the time the negotiations began, many people have expressed doubts about them. - I was terribly disappointed with my marks because I studied very hard. - Everyone hopes that the plan would work.
TENSE CONSISTENCY • While she put on /was putting on her contact lenses , the telephone rang. • By the time the negotiations began , many people had expressed doubts about them. • I was terribly disappointed with my marks because I had studied very hard. • Everyone hoped that the plan would work.
Types of tenses. • • • • •
Past ,Present, and Future. Simple Continuous Perfect Perfect Continuous.
COMMON ERRORS • Look at these sentences:– I am having a car. – I am seeing the bus. – He is knowing it.
• What is wrong with these sentences?
COMMON ERRORS • They should be written as :– I have a car. – I see a bus. – He knows it. • Some verbs are generally not used in the continuous tense. • They denote a state, perception or cognition.
COMMON ERRORS • They are also known as Stative Verbs. • Some common stative verbs are :– appear, seem, hear, sound, taste, love, like, hate, dislike, prefer, agree, believe, imagine, know, cost, involve, satisfy, weigh.
COMMON ERRORS • Some verbs , however , can have two forms: a state and an action. – I have a brother. (state) – I am having my dinner.(action) – I think you are right. (state) – I am thinking about it. ( meaning— pondering)
INDICATING FUTURE • The train leaves at 5 pm.(present tense) – talks of a habitual action. • The train will leave at 5 pm.( simple future) – indicates a future event. • The train is leaving at 5 pm(present continuous) – conveys a sense of urgency.
SIMPLE PAST & PRESENT PERFECT • A specific time expression that denotes the past is used with sentences in the simple past. • With the present perfect no specific past time expression can be used. – I saw her last evening.(correct) – I have seen her last evening ( wrong) – I have seen her. (correct)
COMMON ERRORS • Look at these sentences. – It is true that I had met her last year. – I had written a book in 1970.
• They should be written as It is true that I met her last year. I wrote a book in 1970.
The Past perfect can be used to denote the earlier event only when two events occur in the past. For a mere occurrence in the past , the simple past tense is used.
PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE - It was raining when I reached home. - The bird was flying when he shot it. • The past continuous tense is used to denote an action in progress in the past, very often with reference to another action.
COMMON ERRORS - He thought he will do some voluntary work. - The principal was pleased that the students do not violate college rules. • The tense is not consistent in these sentences. They should be written as : - He thought he would do some voluntary work. - The principal was pleased that the students did not violate college rules.
TENSE CONSISTENCY • Check the following sentences for the confusing shift in the tense: - While she puts on her contact lenses the phone rang. - By the time the negotiations began, many people have expressed doubts about them. - I was terribly disappointed with my marks because I studied very hard. - Everyone hopes that the plan would work.
TENSE CONSISTENCY • While she put on /was putting on her contact lenses , the telephone rang. • By the time the negotiations began , many people had expressed doubts about them. • I was terribly disappointed with my marks because I had studied very hard. • Everyone hoped that the plan would work.
