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CBSE Class 10 English Grammar - Tenses
CBSE Class 10 English Grammar - Tenses
Tenses
I. How would you define the term ‘Tense’?
The term ‘Tense’ denotes the form of a verb which shows the time at which an
action happened. So, the tense shows two things : (i) the time of the action
(iii) state expressed by the verb.
Look at these sentences:
Thus we have seen that the Simple Present Tense is formed by using the plain
infinitive. But -s or -es are added to the bare infinitive (i.e. infinitive without
‘to’) for the third person singular (He, She) and singular noun (Nitu)
We form the negative sentences by using doesn’t or don’t before the main
verb.
The interrogative sentences are formed by using do or does before the
subject.
The negative interrogative sentences are formed by using do or does before
the subject and not after the subject.
But the short forms don’t and doesn’t come before the Subject.
We use Present Simple time to talk about things in general. We are not thinking
only about now. We use it to say that something happens all the time or repeatedly
or that something is true in general. Here it is not important whether the action is
happening at the time of speaking
Examples:
John looks sunburnt. He has been working under the sun since morning.
Your clothes are very dirty. What have you been doing?
Past Tense
for a past action which started and finished in the past before another past
action, putting emphasis on the duration.
for an action which lasted for some time in the past and the result was still
visible in the past..
Time expressions used: for, since, until, etc.
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs given in the brackets.
1. Water………………… on heating. (evaporate)
2. Shantanu……………………… all the chocolates. (eat)
3. Farmers………………….. the field. (plough)
4. If I…………………… you I would not repeat that mistake. (be)
5. I………………. this book for the last four years. (write)
6. I……………. you in writing the essay. (help)
7. Two aeroplanes……………………. flying in the sky. (be)
8. He……………. back yet. (not come)
9. While I………….. to the music, my younger son was dancing. (listen)
10. Some of my friends…………………………. the Taj Mahal last week. (visit)