describe all parts of tenses with their usage and one example on each usage.
Answers
Explanation:
Tense communicates an event’s location in time. The different tenses are identified by their associated verb forms.
There are three main tenses: past, present, and future. In English, each of these tenses can take four main aspects: simple, perfect, continuous (also known as progressive), and perfect continuous. The perfect aspect is formed using the verb to have, while the continuous aspect is formed using the verb to be.
In academic writing, the most commonly used tenses are the present simple, the past simple, and the present perfect.
Table of contents
Tenses and their functions
The table below gives an overview of some of the basic functions of tenses and aspects. Tenses locate an event in time, while aspects communicate durations and relationships between events that happen at different times.
Present simple
used for facts, generalizations, and truths that are not affected by the passage of time
“She writes a lot of papers for her classes.”
Past simple
used for events completed in the past
“She wrote the papers for all of her classes last month.”
Future simple
used for events to be completed in the future
“She will write papers for her classes next semester.”
Present perfect
used to describe events that began in the past and are expected to continue, or to emphasize the relevance of past events to the present moment
“She has written papers for most of her classes, but she still has some papers left to write.”
Past perfect
used to describe events that happened prior to other events in the past
“She had written several papers for her classes before she switched universities.”
Future perfect
used to describe events that will be completed between now and a specific point in the future
“She will have written many papers for her classes by the end of the semester.”
Present continuous
used to describe currently ongoing (usually temporary) actions
“She is writing a paper for her class.”
Past continuous
used to describe ongoing past events, often in relation to the occurrence of another event
“She was writing a paper for her class when her pencil broke.”
Future continuous
used to describe future events that are expected to continue over a period of time
“She will be writing a lot of papers for her classes next year.”
Present perfect continuous
used to describe events that started in the past and continue into the present or were recently completed, emphasizing their relevance to the present moment
“She has been writing a paper all night, and now she needs to get some sleep.”
Past perfect continuous
used to describe events that began, continued, and ended in the past, emphasizing their relevance to a past moment
“She had been writing a paper all night, and she needed to get some sleep.”
Future perfect continuous
used to describe events that will continue up until a point in the future, emphasizing their expected duration
“She will have been writing this paper for three months when she hands it in.”
When to use the present simple
The present simple is the most commonly used tense in academic writing, so if in doubt, this should be your default choice of tense. There are two main situations where you always need to use the present tense.
Describing facts, generalizations, and explanations
Facts that are always true do not need to be located in a specific time, so they are stated in the present simple. You might state these types of facts when giving background information in your introduction.
The Eiffel tower is in Paris.
Light travels faster than sound.
Similarly, theories and generalizations based on facts are expressed in the present simple.
Average income differs by race and gender.
Older people express less concern about the environment than younger people.
Explanations of terms, theories, and ideas should also be written in the present simple.
Photosynthesis refers to the process by which plants convert sunlight into chemical energy.
According to Piketty (2013), inequality grows over time in capitalist economies.
Describing the content of a text
Things that happen within the space of a text should be treated similarly to facts and generalizations.
This applies to fictional narratives in books, films, plays, etc. Use the present simple to describe the events or actions that are your main focus; other tenses can be used to mark different times within the text itself.
In the first novel, Harry learns he is a wizard and travels to Hogwarts for the first time, finally escaping the constraints of the family that raised him.
The events in the first part of the sentence are the writer’s main focus, so they are described in the present tense. The second part uses the past tense to add extra information about something that happened prior to those events within the book.
When discussing and analyzing nonfiction, similarly, use the present simple to describe what the author does within the pages of the text (argues, explains, demonstrates, etc).