What is tense? What are the kinds of tenses?

Things can happen now, in the future or in the past. The

tenses show the time of a verb's action or being. The verb
ending is changed (conjugated) to show roughly what time it
is referring to.
Time can be split into three periods The Present (what you are
doing), The Past (what you did) and The Future (what you are
going to do).
The tenses we use to show what time we are talking about are
split into the Simple, Continuous and Perfect tenses.
In English we use two tenses to talk about the present and six
tenses to talk about the past. There are several ways to talk
about the future some of which use the present tenses, these are:
Present:
Simple Present
Present Continuous
Past:
Simple Past
Past Continuous
Present Perfect Simple
Present Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect Simple
Past Perfect Continuous
Future:
Using the Simple Present
Using the Present Continuous
Using the Present Perfect Simple
Using the Present Perfect Continuous
Using going to
Using shall/will
Simple Tenses
The simple tenses are used to show permanent characteristics
of people and events or what happens regularly, habitually or in a
single completed action.
Continuous Tenses
The continuous tenses are used when talking about a particular
point in time.
Perfect Tenses.
The perfect tenses are used when an action or situation in the
present is linked to a moment in the past. It is often used to show
things that have happened up to now but aren't finished yet or to
emphasize that something happened but is not true anymore.
When they end determines which of them you use. Perfect tenses
are never used when we say when something happened i.e.
yesterday, last year etc. but can be used when discussing the
duration of something i.e. often, for, always, since etc
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Present Tense, Forms of Present Tense, Kinds of Tenses

Present Tense (Simple Present Tense)

PRESENT INDEFINITE (SIMPLE PRESENT INDEFINITE
TENSE)
Syntax: Sub+V1
I write a letter.
She makes a doll.
Note:Use s/es with the 1st form of the verb if the Subject is
He/She/It or singular Noun (boy, player, teacher, Khalid, Zara
etc).
Negative: Sub+do/does+not+V1
We do not write poems.
Qasim does not play football.
Interrogative: Do/Does+sub+V1
Do you go to market?
Does she go for a walk?
Int. & Neg: Do/Does+sub+not+V1
Do you not go to bazar?
Does she take tea?
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
Syntax: Sub+is/am/are+V1+ing
Mohan is reading.
Negative: Sub+is/am/are+not +V1+ing
They are not playing cricket.
Interrogative: Is/Am/Are+sub+V1+ing
Is he going?
Int. & Neg: Is/Am/Are+sub+not+V1+ing
Are you not playing cricket?
PRESENT PERFECT
Syntax: Sub+has/have+V3
She has made tea.
Negative: Sub+has/have+not+V3
They have not taken medicine.
He has not come since Monday.
Int: Has/Have+sub+V3
Have they slept?
Int. & Neg: Has/Have+sub+not+V3
Have you not done your home-work?
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Syntax: Sub+has/have+been+V1+ing+since/for
I have been reading since 5 O'clock.
Negative: Sub+has/have+not+been+V1+ ing+ Since/for
Khalid has not been playing since evening.
Int: Has/Have+sub+been+V1+ing+since/for
Have you been working for ten minutes?
Int. & Neg: Has/Have+sub+not+been+VI+ing+since/for
Has she not been praying for five minutes?
Use of Since: (For point of time) 10am, 6 O'clock, morning, 21st
May, January,2002, when, then, yesterday, last year/month etc.
Use of For: (For period of time) 2 days, 4 minutes, 2 hours, 7
months, 3 years, many days/months etc.

Past Tense, Forms of Past Tense, Kinds of Tenses

Past Tense (Simple Past Tense)

PAST INDEFINITE
Syntax: Sub+V2
He wrote a letter.
Negative: Sub+did+not+V1
They did not play match yesterday.
Interrogative: Did+sub+V1
Did they go for a walk?
Negative & Interrogative: Did+sub+not+V1
Did you not take your lunch?
PAST CONTINUOUS
Syntax: Sub+was/were+V1+ing
Gita was making tea.
Negative: Sub+was/were+not+V1+ing
You were not reading.
Interrogative: Was/Were+sub+V1+ing
Were they running?
Negative & Interrogative: Was/Were+sub+not+V1+ing
Were children not taking bath?
PAST PERFECT
Syntax: Sub+had+V3
We had watched TV.
The train had left by then.
Negative: Sub+had+not+V3
I had not played.
Rakesh had not come for three months.
Interrogative: Had+sub+V3
Had they won?
Negative & Interrogative: Had+sub+not+V3
Had they not washed the clothes?
Note: Mostly the sentences are made in this tense when an
action completed before a point of time in past:
i) The guests had not reached till Sunday.
ii) The movie had started before I reached home.
iii) She had completed her work before 3pm.
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Syntax: Sub+had+been+V1+ing+since/for
She had been helping me for three years.
Negative: Sub+had+not+been+V1+ing+since/for
He had not been watching TV since noon.
Interrogative: Had+sub+been+V1+ing+since/for
Had they been gossipping for 2 hours?
Negative & Interrogative:Had+sub+not+been+V1+ing+ since/for
Had you not been going to office for last two days?

FUTURE TENSE
FURURE INDEFINITE
Syntax: Sub+will/shall+V1
We shall play match.
They will meet you tomorrow.
Negative: Sub+will/shall+not+V1
They will not go to market.
Interrogative: Will/Shall+sub+V1?
Shall I take breakfast ?
Negative & Interrogative: Will/shall+sub+not+V1
Will washerman not iron the clothes?
Shall we not going for a walk?
Note: Use shall with I and we only.
FUTURE CONTINUOUS
Syntax: Sub+will/shall+be+V1+ing
He will be playing the match.
Negative: Sub+will/shall+not+be+V1+ing
We shall not be cooking food.
Interrogative: Will/Shall+sub+be+V1+ing
Will Gardener be watering the plants?
Negative & Interrogative: Will/Shall+sub+not+be+V1+ing
Will they not be going to see film?
FUTURE PERFECT
Syntax: Sub+will/shall+have+V3
Ravi will have killed the snake.
The farmer will have ploughed in the fields.
Negative: Sub+will/shall+not+have+V3
She will not have taken tea.
Interrogative: Will/shall+Sub+have+V3
Will she have won the match?
Negative & Interrogative: Will/shall+sub+not+have+V3
Will they have not gone to Rama's house?
FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Syntax::Sub+willshall+have+been+VI+ing +since/for
They will have been flying kites since 6 O'clock.
Negative: Sub+willshall+not+have+been+V1+ing +since/for
Sita will not have been waiting for 1 hour.
Interrogative: Will/shall+sub+have+been+V1+ing +since/for
Shall we have been writing since 10am?
Negative & Interrogative: Will/shall+sub+not+have+been
+V1+ing+since/for
Will students not have been learning the lesson since morning?