Tense — 12 Tenses Master Guide — Full Lecture

12 Tenses at a Glance:

Tense	Structure	Example
Present Indefinite	S + V1/V1s	He goes to school.
Present Continuous	S + am/is/are + V-ing	He is going to school.
Present Perfect	S + have/has + V3	He has gone to school.
Present Perfect Continuous	S + have/has been + V-ing	He has been going for 2 hours.
Past Indefinite	S + V2	He went to school.
Past Continuous	S + was/were + V-ing	He was going to school.
Past Perfect	S + had + V3	He had gone before I came.
Past Perfect Continuous	S + had been + V-ing	He had been going for 2 hours.
Future Indefinite	S + shall/will + V1	He will go to school.
Future Continuous	S + shall/will be + V-ing	He will be going tomorrow.
Future Perfect	S + shall/will have + V3	He will have gone by then.
Future Perfect Continuous	S + shall/will have been + V-ing	He will have been going for 2 hours.

পরীক্ষায় বারবার আসা Rules:

Rule 1: Present Indefinite for habitual action / universal truth

• The sun rises in the east. (always present indefinite — even in narration)

Rule 2: Past Perfect + Past Indefinite (sequence of past events)

• "After he had finished (past perfect) his work, he went (past indefinite) home."
• "Before/After/When" দিয়ে দুটি past action → আগের কাজটি Past Perfect

Rule 3: Since vs For

• Since + point of time (since 2020, since morning)
• For + period of time (for 5 years, for 2 hours)
• Both need Perfect Continuous (or Perfect): "I have been living here since 2020 / for 6 years."

Rule 4: While vs When

• While + continuous tense: "While I was walking, it started to rain."
• When + simple tense: "When I reached home, it was raining."

Rule 5: Time/Condition clause → Present tense (not future)

• "If it rains (not 'will rain'), I will stay home."
• "When he comes (not 'will come'), tell him to wait."

---

Common Exam Traps:

• "It is high time we changed" (past tense after 'it is high time')
• "I wish I were rich" (subjunctive — were for all subjects)
• "Would that I were a bird"
• "As if/as though + past tense": "He talks as if he knew everything."