CBSE Class 10 English Tenses Assignment

 TENSES

The tense in a sentence tells the time of the action mentioned in the sentence. Broadly speaking,the tense in a sentence can be present tense, future tense or past tense. The sentence can be affirmative/positive, negative and/or interrogative.

Present Tense

Look at the following sentences.
1. I am playing. (Affirmative)
2. We aren’t playing. (Negative)
3. Are they playing? (Interrogative)
4. How are they playing? (Interrogative)

All these sentences are in the present tense.
The present tense comprises simple present tense, present continuous tense, present perfect tense, and present perfect continuous tense.
We use the Simple Present Tense to talk about things in general. We do not use it only to refer actions happening now but also actions that happen all the time or repeatedly or things that are universally true.
For example:
1. I have breakfast every day.
2. We go to school.

We use the Present Continuous Tense to talk about an action that is happening at or around the time of speaking. The action has not finished.
In such sentences, is/am/are + -ing form of the verb are used to show the continuation.
For example:
1. Girls are playing.
2. I am watching TV.

We use the Present Perfect Tense to talk about an action that has recently been completed. It is also used to talk about a past action that has a result now.
In such sentences, have/has + 3rd form of the verb are used.
For example:
1. Tom has lost his key.
2. I have forgotten your name.

We use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense to indicate an activity that continues from the past, until now, repeatedly, or an activity that has recently stopped.
In such sentences, have/has + been + -ing form of the verb are used.
For example:
1. John looks sunburnt. He has been working in the sun since morning.
2. Your clothes are very dirty. What have you been doing?

Past Tense

Look at the following sentences.
1. I/You/He/She/It/We/They played. (Affirmative)
2. I/You/He/She/It/We/They didn’t play. (Negative)
3. Did I/you/he/she/it/we/they play? (Interrogative)
4. What did I/you/he/she/we/they play? (Interrogative)

All these sentences are in the past tense.
The past tense comprises simple past tense, past continuous tense, past perfect tense, and past perfect continuous tense.

Now, look at the following sentences.
1. She visited the temple regularly.
2. Last year, we attended a summer camp together.
3. He learnt speed skating at the sports academy every weekend when he was in class eight.

We use the Simple Past Tense for actions completed in the past, actions which happened at a specific point of time, and past habits and actions.

Next, look at the following sentences.
1. The children went on a long drive last Saturday.
2. The coach was always helping the weaker student till they caught up with the others.
3. Sara was neatening the house when Zack was washing the dishes.

These sentences are in the past continuous tense.
We use the Past Continuous Tense for an action that was in progress at a stated time in the past,a past action which was a habit in the past, and two or more actions which were happening at the same time.
In such sentences was/were + -ing form of the verb are used.

Look at the following sentences.
1. Rohit had already left when we arrived at the party.
2. He had broken his leg and was being taken to the medical clinic.
3. Everything had seemed normal at first.

These sentences are in the past perfect tense.
We use the Past Perfect Tense to talk about an action which finished before another action in the past.
In such sentences, had + past form of the verb are used.We use certain time expressions with the past perfect tense, like before, already, after, just,when, and never.
Now, look at the following sentences.
1. I had been watching TV for an hour when I remembered I had forgotten to call my friend.
2. She had been painting her room and has just washed up.

These sentences are in the past perfect continuous tense.
We use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense to talk about a past action which started and finished in the past before another past action, putting emphasis on the duration, and an action which lasted for some time in the past and was recently completed.
In such sentences, had been + -ing form of the verb are used.
We use certain time expressions with the past perfect continuous tense, like for, since, and until.

Future Tense

Look at the following sentences.
1. We will play. (Affirmative)
2. She won’t play. (Negative)
3. Why won’t we play? (Interrogative)

All these sentences are in the future tense.
The future tense comprises simple future tense, future continuous tense, future perfect tense, and future perfect continuous tense. These can be affirmative/positive, negative and/or interrogative.

Now, look at the following sentences.
1. It will rain soon.
2. I will carry an umbrella to school.
3. The road will become slippery.
4. I must cancel the visit to the coffee shop.
5. There might be a traffic jam.
6. I will make corn soup for all of us.
7. Will you give some of the soup to grandfather for his breakfast?

These are in the simple future tense.
We use the Simple Future Tense to refer an action that will happen in the future or an action we intend to do in the future, a general statement about the future, an action we decide to do right at the time of speaking. It is also used to express a view, an offer to do something or a request that is made to someone to do.
In such sentences, will/shall + base form of the verb are used.

Next, look at the following sentences.
1. The boys will be attending college from next session.
2. The flight will be landing at the international airport at New Delhi.
3. The maid will be cooking when we reach home.

These sentences are in the future continuous tense.
We use the Future Continuous Tense to refer an action that will be going on in the future, a pre-scheduled future plan, and a longer on-going action interrupted by another shorter future action.
In such sentences, will be + -ing form of the verb are used.

Look at the following sentences.
1. I shall have gone shopping before you return from coaching.
2. He will have perfected his bowling before you join cricket coaching.
These sentences are in the future perfect tense.

We use the future perfect tense to refer to an action which would have completed before another action in the future.
In such sentences will/shall have + past participle form of the verb are used.

Now, look at the following sentences.
1. The children will be ready for their performance an hour before the chief guest’s arrival.
2. Soon after the programme ends, the parents will be collecting their wards from their classrooms.

These sentences are in the future perfect continuous tense.
We use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense to refer to a long action before a particular time in the future or an action that will begin at a point of time in the future and continue after that.
In such sentences will have been + -ing form of the verb are used.

Future Time Reference
For referring to the future, the modal auxiliaries shall and will are used with the base infinitive.

Let us read the following sentences.
1. We will go to the zoo tomorrow.
2. He will be on leave next week.

All these sentences indicate that we use will to talk about an event in progress at some point in future.
However, there are different modes in English that can be used to refer incidents that occur at some time in future. This mode of reference is called as future time reference.

Future time is expressed in the following ways:
I. Present Future Tense
(1) Simple Future: Will/Shall + v¹ (To denote future action).
For example:
1. We shall go for a picnic tomorrow.
2. He will reach by 5:30 p.m.

(2) Future Progressive/Continuous: Will/Shall + be + v¹ + ing
For example:
1. We shall be playing football this evening.
2. They will be visiting us next week.

(3) Future Perfect: Shall/Will + have + v³
For example:
1. We will have completed the book.
2. I shall have arranged the books in the shelf by evening.

(4) Future Perfect Progressive/Continuous: Shall/Will + have + been + v¹ + ing
For example:
1. They will have been eating for some time.
2. We shall have been sleeping before your departure.

II. Past Future Tense
(1) Simple Future: Would + v¹
For example:
1. He would go to play.
2. They would sing the school song.

(2) Future Progressive/Continuous: Would + be + v¹ + ing
For example:
1. He would be going to play a match at 8 p.m.
2. I would be training for the marathon this evening.

(3) Future Perfect: Would + have + v³
For example:
1. He would have eaten by the time you come.
2. She would have taken a power nap by the time the tuition began.

(4) Future Perfect Progressive/Continuous: Would + have + been + v¹ + ing
For example:
1. The children would have been watching the match for two hours.
2. Mother would have been waiting for the boys for a few hours.

 

Solved Examples (Multiple Choice Questions)

Fill in the blanks by choosing the most appropriate option from the ones given below.

Question. My brother usually ..................... in the evening.
(a) is playing
(b) plays
(c) was playing
(d) play
Answer.(b) plays

Question. I certainly ..................... my colleague if I had been there.
(a) helped
(b) would have helped
(c) can help
(d) may help
Answer.(b) would have helped

Question. If you ..................... hard, you would have passed.
(a) work
(b) had worked
(c) working
(d) had been working
Answer.(b) had worked

Question. It ..................... since 9 o’clock.
(a) rains
(b) was raining
(c) has been raining
(d) will rain
Answer.(c) has been raining

Question. He is a very rude person. I ..................... him.
(a) will not help
(b) will not helped
(c) helping
(d) to help
Answer.(a) will not help

Question. The police ..................... four thieves last night.
(a) catch
(b) caught
(c) catching
(d) will catch
Answer.(b) caught

Question. Mother is ..................... some dishes for us now.
(a) prepare
(b) prepares
(c) preparing
(d) prepared
Answer.(c) preparing

Question. I was ..................... food when he came in.
(a) cooking
(b) cook
(c) cooked
(d) do cook
Answer.(a) cooking

Question. By yesterday evening, we ..................... 20 kilometers.
(a) walking
(b) has walked
(c) had walked
(d) walks
Answer.(c) had walked

Question. Stars .....................in the sky at night.
(a) will twinkle
(b) twinkle
(c) twinkles
(d) have been twinkling
Answer.(b) twinkle

Question. Water ..................... on heating.

(a) evaporate
(b) evaporates
(c) evaporated
(d) is evaporating
Answer.(b) evaporates

Question. Shantanu ..................... all the chocolates.
(a) ate
(b) eating
(c) eaten
(d) have eaten
Answer.(a) ate

Question. Farmers ..................... the field.
(a) has ploughed
(b) ploughing
(c) ploughs
(d) plough
Answer.(d) plough

Question. If I ..................... you, I would not repeat that mistake.
(a) were
(b) is
(c) had been
(d) are
Answer.(a) were

Question. I ..................... this book for last four years.
(a) write
(b) writing
(c) have been writing
(d) has writing
Answer.(c) have been writing

 

Choose the correct option to fill the blank with verbs of appropriate tenses.

Question. This time tomorrow my friends ......... to their home towns.
(a) will travel
(b) will travelling
(c) will be travelling
(d) will have travelling
Answer. (c)

Question. Amin could not open the door because one of the other students ......... it from inside.
(a) locked
(b) was locking
(c) has locked
(d) had locked
Answer. (d)

Question. At thismoment, ....... an exercise to reviewthe tenses.
(a) I do
(b) I doing
(c) I have done
(d) I’m doing
Answer. (d)

Question. I ......... working all afternoon and have just finished the assignment.
(a) have been
(b) had been
(c) shall be
(d) am
Answer. (b)

Question. Rohan ......... the movie before he read the review.
(a) watches
(b) have watched
(c) had watched
(d) was watching
Answer. (c)

Question. Every boy and girl ......... in the class today.
(a) are present
(b) is present
(c) have present
(d) had present
Answer. (b)

Question. When I ......... at the headmaster’s door, he was speaking to someone.
(a) am knocking
(b) has knocked
(c) knocked
(d) knocks
Answer. (c)

Question. The boat ......... before the rescue team arrived.
(a) will sink
(b) has sunk
(c) is sinking
(d) had sunk
Answer. (d)

Question. Joseph ............ by everyone after he won the competition.
(a) congratulate
(b) congratulated
(c) was congratulated
(d) shall be congratulated
Answer. (c)

Question. She has decided to distribute the duties after everyone ......... their work.
(a) completed
(b) complete
(c) completes
(d) will complete
Answer. (c)

Question. By the time I ......... , the registrations had been closed.
(a) was informed
(b) informed
(c) inform
(d) was informing
Answer. (a)

Question. The crowd that ......... due to the quarrel has dispersed now.
(a) have gathered
(b) had gathered
(c) has been gathered
(d) has been gathering
Answer. (b)

Question. The children ......... in the park throughout the evening.
(a) played
(b) playing
(c) plays
(d) has played
Answer. (a)

Question. The Rajdhani Express ......... food, cold drinks,water and blankets at night.
(a) provide
(b) provides
(c) provided
(d) Both (b) and (c)
Answer. (b)

Question. It was Krishna who ......... Arjun by giving him Upadesas of Gita.
(a) had inspired
(b) inspired
(c) inspires
(d) inspiring
Answer. (b)

 

A. Fill in the blanks with verbs of suitable tenses.

Question. Hardly had the minister finished the speech when the earthquake ........ (shake) the stadium.
Answer. shook

Question. Everybody will be at office at about 08:30 tomorrow as the meeting .......... (start) at nine o’clock.
Answer. starts

Question. While climbing onto the mountain top, I..........(encounter) a strange animal which I had never seen before.
Answer. encountered

Question. She ........ (know) about their problem for years.
Answer. has known

Question. Mother ……… (work) in the garden for the whole day.
Answer. has been working

Question. Most shops ......... (close) at 6 p.m on Saturday.
Answer. close

Question. When I .......... (come) home this evening, my parents had gone out for a walk.
Answer. came

Question. By the time the troops .......... (arrive), the war will have ended.
Answer. arrive

Question. By the year 2020, linguists .......... (study) the Indo-European language family for more than 200 years.
Answer. will have been studying

Question. By the time he was 14, Mozart ......... (compose) an enviable number of musical pieces.
Answer. had composed

 

B. Fill in the blanks with verbs of suitable tenses.

Question. We .......... (visit) the seashore many times before but last summer we enjoyed ourselves more than ever.
Answer. had visited

Question. By Saturday next week, I .......... (work) on this painting for exactly one month.
Answer. will have been working

Question. By the year 2030, the population of Delhi .......... (grow) substantially.
Answer. will have grown

Question. They were very tired in the evening because they.......... (help) on the farm all day.
Answer. had been helping

Question. Whey they .......... (walk) through the park yesterday, they met their neighbours.
Answer. were walking

Question. When Iwas a young boy, I .......... (meet) SantaClaus.
Answer. met

Question. I .......... (see) thismovie about adozentimes already.
Answer. have seen

Question. We .......... (sleep) all day yesterday.
Answer. slept

Question. Rahul .......... (study) for his maths test right now.
Answer. is studying

Question. He finally .......... (decide) to call her yesterday to know how she was.
Answer. decided

 

II. Fill in the blanks using correct verb tenses.

Question. He lost his watch while he .......... (see) the sights of the city.
Answer. was seeing

Question. I was coming down the stairs when my friend .......... (ring) the doorbell.
Answer. rang

Question. A few years ago he .......... (live) in Germany where he worked as a journalist.
Answer. lived

Question. Jaya got a degree in 2006 after she .......... (study) at the University for over 5 years.
Answer. had studied

Question. The plane that you .......... (look) at just now has taken off for Paris.
Answer. were looking

Question. When we went to see them last night they were playing cards. They said they .......... (play) cards since 6 o’clock.
Answer. had been playing

Question. I am so sorry that I .......... (have) to leave the party so early yesterday.
Answer. had

Question. He usually .......... (work) at the restaurant after school. After work he goes to the fitness centre twice a week.
Answer. works

 

Tenses (Verb Forms)

There are three main tenses:
1. Present Tense
2. Past Tense
3. Future Tense

PRESENT TENSE

(a) Simple Present
Usage. It is used:
To talk about a present action
To talk about a habitual action
To talk about a universal truth.
To talk about a permanent condition
To talk about a scientific fact.
To express proverbs

Form

 

(b) Present Continuous Tense
Usage. It is used;
To talk about an action that is going on at the time of speaking.
For future time reference if we are sure of the action.

Form

(B) Present Perfect Tense
Usage. It issued; to talk about an action that has just been completed.

Form

Subject Verb
I, You, We, They, He, She, It
Have+past participle
Has+ past participle
(a) Present Perfect Continuous Tense
Usage. It is used;
(i) To express an action that began in the past and has been in progress till the time of peaking.
(ii)To express an action that finished just a short while

Form
Subject Verb
I, You, We, They, He, she, It
Have been + present participle
Has been+ present participle
Use of „since‟ and „for‟
(i) ‗since‘ is used to denote ‗point of time‘
(ii) ‗for‘ is used to denote ‗period of time‘
For example,
- I have been living in Delhi for five years.
- She has been living in Agra since birth.

PAST TENSE

(a) Simple e Past
Usage. It is used:
- To talk about a past action.
- To talk about some past habit

Form
Subject Verb
I, You, We, They, He, she, It
Second form of verb

(b)Past Continuous Tense
Usage: It is used
To talk about an action, which was in progress at some point of time before the time of speaking.
Form
Subject Verb
I, You, We, They, He, she, It
Was +present participle
Were + present participle

(c) Past Perfect
Usage: It is used
To talk about an action that was completed before a given moment in the past
Form
Subject Verb
I, You, We, They, He, she, It
Had +past participle

(d) Past Perfect Continuous
Usage:
It is used:
To talk about an action that began before a definite moment in the past, had continued up to that moment and
was still in progress at that moment, or had recently finished.
Form
Subject Verb
I, You, We, They, He, she, It
Had been + present participle

FUTURE TENSE

(a) Simple Future
Usage. It is used;
To talk about an action that will take place in future

Form

Subject Verb

I, You, We, They, He, She, It
Shall + root form of ‗Verb‘
Will + root form of verb
Note: In modern English ‗will‘ is used with ‗I‘ and ‗we‘, too.

(b) Future Continuous
Usage: It is used:
To express an action that is almost certain to take place in the future.
Form
Subject Verb
I, You, We, They, He, She, It
Shall be + present participle
Will be +present participle

(c) Future Perfect
Usage: It is used:
To talk about an action completed before a given moment in the future.
Form
Subject Verb
I, You, We, They, He, She, It
Shall have+ past participle
Will have + past participle

(d) Future Perfect Continuous Tense
Usage: it is used.
To talk about an action that will begin before a definite moment in the future, will continue up to that
moment and will be in progress even at that moment.
Form
Subject Verb
I, You, We, They, He, She, It