Understanding English Tenses: Present, Past, and Future, Essays (university) of International Law

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       Read the following sentences : 1. I write this letter to please you. 2. I wrote the letter in his very presence. 3. I shall write another letter tomorrow. In sentence 1, The Verb write refers to present time In sentence 2, The Verb wrote refers to past time. In sentence 3, The Verb shall write refers to future time. Thus a Verb may refer (1) to present time, (2) to past time, or (3) to future time. A Verb that refers to present time is said to be in the Present Tense; as I write, I love. [The word tense comes from the Latin tempus, time]. A Verb that refers to past time is said to be in the Past Tense as. I wrote, I loved. A Verb that refers to future time is said to be in the Future Tense I shall write I wrote       
   
     
  Simple Present tense The Simple Present is used :- 1. To express a habitual action ; as, He drinks tea every morning, I get up every day at five o’clock My watch keeps good time. (2) To express general truth; as, The sun rises in the east. Honey is sweet. Forture favours the brave. (3) In exclamatory sentences beginning with here and there to express what is actually taking place in the present; as, Here comes the bus ! There she goes ! 159 (4) In vivid narrative, as substitute for the Simple Past; as, Soharb now rushes forward and deals a heavy blow to Rustam. Immediately the Sultan hurries to his capital. (5) To express a future event that is part of a fixed timetable or fixed programme The next flight is at 7.00 tomorrow morning. The match starts at 9 o’clock. The train leaves at 5.20. When does the coffee house reopen ? Note also the other uses of the Simple Present Tense. (1) It is used to introduce quotations; as, Keats says, ‘A thing of beauty is a joy for ever’ (2) It is used, instead of the Simple Futuer Tense, in clauses of time and of condition; as, I shall wait till you finish your lunch. If it rains we shall get wet. (3) As in broadcast commentaries on sporting events, the Simple present is used, instead of the Present Continuous, to describe activities in progress where there is stress on the succession of happenings rather than on the duration. (4) The Simple Present is used, instead of the Present Continuous, with the type of verbs referred in 221 below.
       The Present Continuous is used (1) For an action going on at the time of speaking; as, She is singing (now). The boys are playing hockey. (2) For a temporary action which may not be actually happening at the time of speaking, as, I am reading ‘David Copperfield’ (but I am not reading at this moment). (3) For an action that has already been arranged to take place in the near future; as, I am going to the cinema tonight. My uncle is arriving tomorrow. It has bee pointed out before that the Simple Present is used for a habitual action. However, when the reference is to a particularly obstinate habit- something which persists, for example, in spite of advice or warning - we use the Present Continuous with an adverb like always, continually, constantly. My dog is very silly, he is always running out into the road. The following verbs, on account of their meaning, are not normally used in the continuous form. 162 This tense is also used with always, continually, etc. for persistent habits in the past. He was always grumbling. Past Perfect Tense The Past Perfect describes an action completed before a certain moment in the past; as, I met him in New Delhi in 1996. I had seen him last five years before. If two actions happened in the past, it may be necessary to show which action happened earlier than the other. The Past Perfect is mainly used in such situations. The Simple Past is used in one clause and the Past Perfect in the other ; as, When I reached the station the train had started (so I couldn’t get into the train). I had done my exercise when Hari came to see me. I had written letter before he arrived. Past Perfect continuous Tense The Past Perfect Continuous is used for an action that began before a certain point in the past and continued up to that time; as, At that time he had been writting a novel for two months. When Mr. Mukerji came to the school in 1995. Mr. Anand had alread been teaching there for five years. Conjunctions join together sentences and often make them more compact; thus, ‘Balu and Vithal are good bowlers’ is a short way of saying ‘Balu is a good bowler and Vithal is a good bowler’ So, ‘The man is poor, but honest’ is a contracted way of saying ‘The man is poor, but he is honest. Sometimes, however, the Conjunction and joins words only as, Two and two make four. Hari and Rama are brothers. Hari and Rama came home together. Such sentences cannot be resolved in two sentences. Conjunctions must be carefully dstinguished from Relative Pronouns, Relative Adverbs, 163 and Prepositions, which are also connectiong words. 1. This is the house that Jack built, (Relative Pronoun) 2. This is the place where he was murdered (Relative Adverb) 3. Take this and give that (Conjunction) In sentence 1, the Relative Pronoun that refers to the noun house, and also joins the two parts of sentence. In sentence 2, the Relative Adverb where modifies the verb was murdered and also joins the two parts of the sentence. In sentence 3, the Conjunction and simply joins the two parts of the sentence; it does no other work. Relative Pronouns and Relative Adverbs also join; but they do note. Conjunctions merely join : they do no other work. Observe that a Preposition also joins two words, but it does more; it governs a noun or pronoun; as, He sat beside Rama, He stood behind me. Some Conjunctions are used in pairs ; as, Either - or Either take it or leave it. Neither - nor It is neither useful nor ornamental Both - and We both love and honour him. Though - Yet. (rare in curren Though he is suffering much pain, yet he English) does not complain. Whether - or I do not care whether you go or stay. Not only - but also. Not only is he foolish, but also obstinate. Conjunctions which are thus used in paris are called Correlative Conjunctions or merely Correlatives. The Future Let’s get into the train. It’s going to leave. Look ! The cracker is going to explode. Be about to Be about to + base form can also be used for the immediate future. Let’s get into the train. It’s about to leave Don’t go out now We are about to have lunch. 164 Simple Present Tense The Simple Present Tense is used for official programmes and timetables. The college opens on 23rd June The film starts at 6.30 and finishes at 9.00. When does the next train leave for Chennai ? The Simple Present is often used for future time in clauses with if, unless, when, while, as (= while) before, after, until, by the time and as soon as. The Simple future tense is not used in such cases. I won’t go out if it rains (not will rain) Can I have some milk before I go to bed ? Let’s wait till he finishes his work. Please ring me up as soon as he comes. Present continuous Tense We use the Present continuous tense when we talk about something that we have planned to do in the future. I am going to Shimla tomorrow We are eating out tonight. Mr.Abdul Rehman is arriving this evening. You are advised to use the Present continuous (not the simple present) for personal arrangements. Future Continuous Tense We use the future continuous tense to talk about actions which will be in progress at a time in the future. I suppose it will be raining when we start. This time tomorrow, I will be sitting on the beach in Singapore. “Can I see you at 5 o’clock?” - Please don’t come then I will be watching the tennis match on TV.” We also use this tense to talk about actions in the future which are already planned or which are expected to happen in the normal course of things. I will be staying here till Sunday. He will be meeting us next week. The postman will be coming soon. 167 Note - Sometimes both constructions are allowable; e.g. He was afraid of telling the truth. He was afraid to tell the truth. He at last got the opportunity of meeting him. He at last got the opportunity to meet him. On the other hand, certain words always take the infinitive after them; as, He advised us to desist from that attempt. I decline to say anything further. I expect to meet opposition. It is hard to get access to him. He hopes to with the first prize. We are all inclined to judge of others as we find them He intends to compile a Marathi dictionary. Prepositions are sometimes inserted wheter they are not required; as, Where have you been to? [Here to is not required] My eldest son is a boy of about eighteen years old. [Here of is not required]. After having finished my work I went home ‘Here after is not required.] Note that the verbs discuss, order and stress are transitive and therefore they are not followed by prepositions. We discuss a topic (not discuss about a topic), order tea (not order for tea), stress a point (not stress on a point). The conjunction Read the following sentences :- 1. God made the country and man made the town. 2. Our hoard is little, but our hearts are great. 3. She must weep, or she will die. 4. Two and two make four. In 1, 2 and 3, the Conjunctions join together two sentences. In 4, the Conjunction joins together two words only. [See 393.] Def. - A Conjunction is a word which merely joins together sentences, and sometimes words. When Conjunctions are used as correlatives, each of the correlated words should be placed immediately before the words to be connected; as, 168 He visited not only Agra, but also Delhi. (not) He not only visited Agram but also Delhi. We use many compound expressions as Conjunctions; these are called Compound Conjunctions. In order that. The notice was published, in order that all might know the facts. On condition that, I will forgive you on condition that you do not repeat the offence. Even if. Such an act would not be kind even if it were just. So that. He saved some bread so that he should not go hungry on the morrow. Provided that. You can borrow the book provided that you return it soon. As though. He walks as though he is slightly lame. Inasmuch as. I must refuse your request, in as much as I believe it unreasonable. As well as. Rama as well as Govind was present there. As soon as He took off his coat as soon as he entered the house. As if. He looks as if he were weary.