University of Education Lahore

Department of English

Course Title: Academic Reading and Writing

Programme: BBA II

Course Code: ENGL1116

Instructor Name: Ms. Fatima Aslam

Ms. Madiha Khan

 SENTENCE
CONSTRUCTION IN
PERSPECTIVE OF TENSES

GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVENESS

 WHAT IS A SENTENCE?
A sentence is a group of words which starts with a capital
letter and ends with a full stop (.), question mark (?) or an
exclamation mark (!).
A sentence contains or implies a predicate and a subject.
For Example:
• The boy climbed a tree.
• They were watching movies.
• He had done his homework.
 TENSES INTRODUCTION
The word Tense is derived from Latin word “tempus”
which means time.
The verb tenses may be categorized according to the
time frame:
• Present Tense
• Past Tense
• Future Tense
 BASED ON ASPECT
Verb tenses may also be categorized according to aspect.
Aspect refers to the nature of the action described by
the verb. There are four aspects:
• Indefinite or Simple
• Continuous or Progressive
• Perfect or Complete
• Perfect Continuous
 TENSES

Verb Tenses

Present Past Future

Present Indefinite Past Indefinite Future Indefinite

Present Continuous Past Continuous Future Continuous
Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect
Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous Future Perfect Continuous
 RULES
Simple Continuous Perfect Perfect
Continuous
Present S+VI+s/es+ S+is/am/are+ S+has/have+VII S+has/have+bee
O VI+ing+O I+O n+VI+ing+O+sin
ce/for+day/date
/time
Past S+VII+O S+was/were+ S+had+VIII+O S+had+been+VI
VI+ing+O +
ing+O+since/for
+ day/date/time

Future S+will/shall S+will/shall+ S+will/shall+ha S+will/shall+hav

+VI+O be+VI+ing+O ve+VIII+O e+been+VI+ing
+O+
PRESENT
TENSE
 PRESENT INDEFINITE TENSE
For general truth: Structure
S+ VI+s/es+O
Example: The sun rises in the east. S+ do/does+not +VI +O
For first and the zero conditionals: Do/Does+S+ VI+O+?
Example: If it rains, I won't come.
For habits or things that we do regularly:
Example: She gets up at seven o’clock every day.
To talk about future:
Example: School begins at eight tomorrow.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE
 To talk about the present for something that is happening
at the moment of speaking.
Examples:
• She is speaking English language.
• I am not studying to become a doctor.
• Are you sleeping? Structure
S+is/am/are+VI+ing+O
S+is/am/are+not+VI+ing +O
Is/Am/Are+S+VI+ing+O+?
 PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
 Used with the situation that already happen but continue
to the present and may happen in the future.
Examples:
• We have visited London.
• I have played cricket. Structure
• She has done her work. S+has/have+VIII+O
S+has/have+not+VIII+O
Has/Have+S+VIII+O+?
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
 To show that something started in the past and has continued up
until now. (OR) can be used without a duration.
Examples:
• You have been playing the piano for many hours.
• She has been watching movies since morning.
• She has been watching too much television lately.
Structure
S+has/have+VI+ing+O+since/for+day/date/time.
S+has/have+not+VI+ing+O+since/for+day/date/time.
Has/Have+S+VI+ing+O+since/for+day/date/time?
 ACTIVITY
Write ten sentences using present indefinite,
continuous, perfect and perfect continuous tense and
also make their negative and interrogative sentences.
PAST
TENSE
 PAST INDEFINITE TENSE
 To express the idea that an action started and finished in the past.
Example: I saw a movie yesterday.
To describe a habit which stopped in the past or facts which are
no longer true.
Example: I studied Japanese when I was a child.
Structure
 can be used with a duration
S+ VII+O
Example: I lived in Brazil for two years. S+ did+not +VI +O
Did+S+ VI+O+?
 PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
 Used to described some action happened in the past that was
continued at that time.
Example:
• He was going to school.
• They were completing the home work.
• I was feeling down. Structure
S+was/were+VI+ing+O
S+was/were+not+VI+ing +O
Was/Were+S+VI+ing+O+?
 PAST PERFECT TENSE
Structure
S+had+VIII+O
To show a completed action S+had+not+VIII+O
Example: When we arrived, the film had started. Had+S+VIII+O+?
To explain or give a reason for something in the past.
Example: It had snowed in the night, so the bus didn't arrive.
Something that started in the past and continued up to another
action in the past.
Example: When he graduated, he had been in London for six years.
 PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
 For something we had done several times up to a point in the past
and continued to do after that point.
Examples:
• They had been talking for an hour before you arrived.
• She hadn't been studying very hard.
• How long had you been waiting for me?
Structure
S+had+VI+ing+O+since/for+day/date/time.
S+had+not+VI+ing+O+since/for+day/date/time.
Had+S+VI+ing+O+since/for+day/date/time?
 ACTIVITY
Write ten sentences using past indefinite, continuous,
perfect and perfect continuous tense and also make
their negative and interrogative sentences.
FUTURE
TENSE
 FUTURE INDEFINITE TENSE
 Used with the situation that will happen in the future and
have adverb of time to indicate time.
Example:
• Nouman will go to study at America in next two months.

Structure
S+will/shall+VI+O
S+ will/shall+not+VI+O
Will/Shall+S+VI+O+?
 FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE
 To indicate that we will be in the middle of doing something
in a specified time in the future.
Examples:
•She will be sleeping when I visit her.
•We will not be having dinner at home.
• Will you be coming to the party tonight?
Structure
S+will/shall+be+VI+ing+O
S+will/shall+not+be+VI+ing +O
Will/Shall+S+be+VI+ing+O+?
 FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
something will occur before another action in the future
can show that something will happen before a specific time
in the future.
Example: I will have eaten breakfast at 8 o’clock tomorrow.
If there have two events.
Example: I will have cleaned the floor when my mom gets
home. Structure
S+will/shall+have+VIII+O
S+will/shall+not+have+VIII+O
Will/Shall+S+have+VIII+O+?
FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
 refers to events or actions in a time between now and
some future time are unfinished.
Example:
• I will have been eating breakfast for 30 minutes at 8 o’clock
tomorrow.
Structure
S+will/shall+have+VI+ing+O+since/for+day/date/time.
S+will/shall+not+have+VI+ing+O+since/for+day/date/time.
Will/Shall+S+have+VI+ing+O+since/for+day/date/time?
 ACTIVITY
Write ten sentences using future indefinite, continuous,
perfect and perfect continuous tense and also make
their negative and interrogative sentences.
GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVENESS
• Prefer short sentences
• Break the sentence
• Be stringent with words
• Avoid cluttering phrases
• Avoid roundabout expressions
• Avoid needless repetition
• Prefer right ordering and proper emphasis
• Prefer active to passive voice
• Avoid ambiguous sentences
 ACTIVITY
Identify the tenses.
• Jane will have been staying in Rome by next year.
• Do you like watching TV?
• He played tennis last summer.
• We will be watching the volleyball match.
• She has been singing that song for 2 hours.
 ACTIVITY
Choose the correct option.
1. Ann ____ German very well.
A)Speak B)Speaks C)Spoken D)will speak
2. Saima ____ buy a new car last year.
A)don’t B)doesn’t C)didn’t D)isn’t
3. When my mom ___ in U.S. She ___ in a bank.
A)lives, works B)lives, worked C)lived, works D)lived, worked
4. Ali: Where were you yesterday afternoon? I ____ you but you weren’t at home.
Ahmad: I ____ at the hospital. My mom was sick.
A)called, was B)calls, was C)called, were D)calls, were
5. What time ____ the bank ____ in Thailand?
A)does, closes B)does, close C)do, close D)do, closes
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
• Decide whether the following statements about tenses in
English are true or false.
1. Each English tense has an auxiliary verb.
2. Positive, negative, and questions always include an
auxiliary verb.
3. Continuous tenses focus on completed events.
4. Perfect tenses focus on an action or a state that begins
at one point in time and continues to the next.
5. Perfect continuous tenses focus on how long an action or
continues from one point to the next.
 REFERENCES
• Verb tenses in academic writing
https://www.scribbr.com/language-rules/tenses/
• Present Tense: Definition, Structure & Examples
https://www.learngrammar.net/english-grammar/present-te
nse
THANK YOU!