Tense exercises in English-1

Verbs & Helping Verbs

A verb describes what a subject (noun) does or is doing. In short, it is an action word.

For example: 

·        Kavita is dancing (dance is a verb).

·        Ram is playing (play is a verb).

·        I bought a book. (buy is a verb).

·        She is going in a bus. (Go is a verb)

List of three form of verb↠↠↠

Verbs & Helping Verbs

A verb describes what a subject (noun) does or is doing. In short, it is an action word.

For example: 

·        Kavita is dancing (dance is a verb).

·        Ram is playing (play is a verb).

·        I bought a book. (buy is a verb).

·        She is going in a bus. (Go is a verb)

Verb Classification: Main verb or Principal verb: These verbs have a meaning of their own. For example eat, drink, sleep, go, give, sing etc.

Auxiliary verbs or helping verbs: These verbs do not have a meaning of their own but they are necessary to show the time of the action. For example is, am, are, was, were, has, have, had, do, does, did etc.

Look at the following sentences:

·        She is clever. (is - main verb) 

·        She is taking her dinner. (is - helping verb, taking - main verb) 

·        He has a car. (has - main verb) 

·        He is driving his car. (is - helping verb, driving - main verb)

·        I have a dog. (have - main verb)

All helping verbs are used with a main verb. There are 2 groups of helping verbs:

Primary helping verbs, used mainly to change the tense or voice of the main verb, and in making questions and negatives.

Modal helping verbs, used to change the "mood" of the main verb.

We will discuss the primary helping verbs (also called) primary auxiliary verbs in this chapter.

Be, Do and Have are primary auxiliary verbs; and can also be used as main verbs. The verbs to be and to have are the most commonly used auxiliary verbs and work alongside the main verbs in any statement.

TO DO:

The verb do is one of the most common verbs in English. It can be used as an auxiliary and a main verb. It is often used in questions.

·        Base form = do 

·        Present form = do/does 

·        Past form = did

·        Present Participle / Gerund = doing

·        Past Participle= done.

DO / DOES:

With I, We, you, they and other plural, we use-Do 

And With He, She, Radha, it and other singulars we use-Does 

We use 'do' or does' as an auxiliary verb to help us make questions and negative sentences.

To make a negative sentence, we use do/does + not + verb. Example: I do not like cheese. / She does like cheese.

To make a question, we use do/does + subject + verb. Example: Do you like cheese?/Does she like cheese?

DID:

It is always used with the first form of verb. Example:

·        Positive: Did I eat the food?

·        Negative: I did not eat the food.

·        Interrogative: did I eat the food?

TO HAVE:

Have is one of the most common verbs in the English language.

·        Base form = have 

·        Present form = have / has

·        Past form = had

·        Present Participle / Gerund= having

·        Past Participle = had

HAS/HAVE:

Has/Have is one of the most common verbs in the English language. It functions in various ways. It is used both as Helping Verbs as well as action Verb, mainly in Present tenses.

Used as Helping Verbs with [V3] to show action that has been done / completed (Present Perfect tense) 

Example: Aman has finished his work.

Used as Helping Verb with [been + V3] to show Passive action in Present.

Example: The pipes have been repaired by the plumber.

Used as Main/ Action Verb to show some Possession, ownership, number of something etc. in such cases, the sentence is treated as a Present Indefinite sentence and so, [Do/Does + have] is used to make Negative or interrogative sentences. Example:

·        Positive: Rajbir has 3 pens,

·        Negative: Rajbir does not have 3 pens.

·        Interrogative: Does Rajbir have 3 pens?

When used as Helping Verb with Not', HAS/HAVE are shortened as:

Has + Not= Hasn't

Have - Not Haven't

HAD:

Used both as Helping Verb as well as action Verb, mainly in Past tenses.

Used as Helping Verbs with [13] to show action that had been done completed a long time back (Past Perfect tense)

Example: Ritu had cleared her exams.

Used as Helping Verb with [been + V3] to show Passive action in Past.

Example: The thieves had been caught by the police.

Used as Main/ Action Verb to show some Possession, ownership, number of something in Past etc. In such cases, the sentence is treated as a Past Indefinite sentence and so, [Did + have) is used to make Negative or interrogative sentences.

·        Positive: Sohan had a son.

·        Negative: Sohan didn't have a son.

·        Interrogative: Did Rohan have a son?

TO BE:

Ref is the most common verb in the English language. It can be used as an auxiliary and a main verb

It is used a lot in its other forms.

·        Base form: Be

·        Present form: Is/am/are

·        Past form: Was/were

·        Present Participle/Gerund: being

·        Past Participle:Been

Let's Discuss To Be in detail;

IS, AM, ARE:

·        Is: He, She, It, Singular nouns

·        Am: I

·        Are: We, You, They, Plural nouns

They are used as helping verbs with [V1+ ing) to show some ongoing action (Present Continuous tense).

Example- Ram(sub) is(helping verb) driving(main verb) car(object).

Used as helping verb with [V3] to show Passive action in Present.

Example: 

Mangoes are eaten by everyone in summers.

When there is NO ACTION taking place, then they are used as main verb to show QUALITY, RELATION, STATE OF SOMETHING etc. in Simple Present tense. 

·        (+) Vikram is my friend.

·        (-) Vikram is not my friend.

·        (?) Is Vikram my friend?

When used with _ NOT, they are written in short form as follows:

·        Is Not = isn’t

·        Am + Not = Ain't

·        Are + Not = aren’t

WAS / WERE:

They are always used in Past Tense.

·        Was: 1, He, She, It, Singular nouns 

·        Were: We, You, They, Plural nouns

They are used as helping verbs with [V1+ ing] to show some past action that was going on at that time (Past Continuous tense).

Example: The dog[SUB] was[HV VERB] sleeping[main verb] in the car[OBJ].

Used as helping verb with [3] to show Passive action in past.

Example: Mangoes were eaten by everyone in summers.

When there is NO ACTION taking place, then they are used as main verb to show QUALITY, RELATION, STATE OF SOMETHING etc. in Simple Past tense. 

·        (+) India was a rich country in medieval times.

·        (-) India was not a rich country in medieval times.

·        (?) Was India a rich country in medieval times?

·        When used with NOT, they are written in short form as follows:

·        Was+not = wasn’t

·        Were+not = weren’t

Modals

A modal (like can, M, should, etc.) is a verb which is used with another verb in order to express an idea such as possibility, responsibility, compulsion, etc.

For Ex - 

·        You  come on Wednesday.

·        You should bring this book tomorrow.

Note: A modal is always followed by the first form of verb.

For Ex – 

·        One  obey one's elders.

USE OF MODALS:

Can:  

"Can' is used to denote 'ability'.

For Ex – 

·        I can run as fast as you.

"Can' is also used to denote request.

For Ex –

·        Can I use your pen?

"Can" is also used for giving 'Permission'.

For Ex- 

·        You can use my pen.

Could: 

"Could' is used as past participle of can.

For Ex - 

·        When she was younger, she could run 10 km and not get without tired.

             

Could' can also be used to show possibility.

For Ex- 

·        A lot of money could be saved.

May: 

'May' is used to denote possibility.

For Ex - 

·        I may come tomorrow.

May is used to denote 'permission'.

For Ex - 

·        You may come in.

"May can also be used for taking permission.

For Ex - 

·        May I come in?

Might: 

"Might' Can be used to denote possibility.

For Ex - 

·        He might have reached there by now.

                           

"Might' also denotes 'suggestion'.

For Ex - 

·        You might try a little more salt in The curry next time.

Must: 

"Must' denotes 'Necessity' 

For Ex - 

·        One must sleep for 8 - 10 hours.

“Must' is also used to denote strong possibility.

For Ex - 

·        He looks quite sad, he must have failed.

Would: 

“Would” is used to refer to future time.

For Ex - 

·        I would love to see you tomorrow.

“Would” is also used to denote choice.

For Ex - 

·        I would prefer tea to coffee.

“Would” is also used to make a 'request 

For Ex -

·        Would you please lend me 10 rupees.

“Would” is also used to express a 'Wish 

For Ex - 

·        I wish, I would succeed in my life.

“Would” is also used to express an 'Opinion' 

For Ex - 

·        I think he would pass the test.

Should: 

Should' is used to denote duty.

For Ex - 

·        You should respect your teachers.

"Should' is also used to express an advice 

For Ex - 

·        You should work hard to pass the exam.

Note: Conjunction 'Lest' is generally followed by Should'.

For Ex - 

·        Work hard lest you should fail.

Ought to: 

“Ought” to is used to denote 'moral duty

For Ex - 

·        You ought to help poors We ought not to disrespect our elders.

Used to: 

'Used to' is used to denote Something that is done or experienced in the past but is no longer done or experienced.

For Ex – 

·        I used to play cricket but now I don't like it.        

·        I did not use to eat egg.

Dare: 

“Dare” is used to denote challenge or courage :

For Ex - 

·        Nobody dares to oppose him.

·        they dare not ask for any further loan.

Need: 

“Need” denotes requirements.

For Ex -

·        I need to buy a new house.

·        You need not take off your blazer.

Will: 

“Will” is used to talk about the future.

For Ex - 

·        Ravi will call you tomorrow.

“Wil”l is used to make a request.

For Ex -

·        Will you give me your phone?

Shall: 

“Shall” is used instead of 'will' when the subject is first person ('T' and 'we').

For Ex - 

·        I Shall go to school tomorrow.

Note: In modern English, 'Will' can be used with both 'T' and 'Will' as well.

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