Tense and Details by Ashraful Alam Showrav
Master Tense
Hand Note
Complete guide with definitions, structures, signal words, examples & transformation rules — crafted for HSC students.
What is Tense?
A Tense is a grammatical form of a verb that expresses time — when an action takes place. It tells us whether something happened in the past, is happening in the present, or will happen in the future.
🇧🇩 Tense হলো Verb-এর এমন একটি রূপ যা বলে দেয় কাজটি কখন ঘটেছে — অতীতে, বর্তমানে নাকি ভবিষ্যতে।
- Simple Past
- Past Continuous
- Past Perfect
- Past Perfect Continuous
- Simple Present
- Present Continuous
- Present Perfect
- Present Perfect Continuous
- Simple Future
- Future Continuous
- Future Perfect
- Future Perfect Continuous
Present Tense — বর্তমান কাল
Simple Present Tense
- Habitual actions (অভ্যাসগত কাজ)
- Universal truths (সত্য তথ্য)
- Scheduled events (সূচি অনুযায়ী)
- Permanent states
always, usually, often, sometimes, every day/week, never, generally, regularly
Present Continuous Tense
- Action happening right now (এখন চলছে)
- Temporary situations
- Near future arrangements
now, at this moment, at present, currently, right now, look!, listen!
Present Perfect Tense
- Just completed actions (সবেমাত্র শেষ)
- Life experiences
- Recent actions affecting present
- With: ever, never, already, yet
just, already, yet, ever, never, recently, lately, since, for, so far, up to now
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
- Action started in past, still continuing (শুরু হয়েছে, এখনও চলছে)
- Duration emphasized
- Used with: since, for
since (নির্দিষ্ট সময়), for (সময়ের পরিমাণ), all day, how long, the whole time
Past Tense — অতীত কাল
Simple Past Tense
- Completed actions in past (অতীতে সম্পন্ন)
- Series of events in past
- Habitual past actions
yesterday, ago, last night/week/year, in 2010, once, long ago, when I was young
Past Continuous Tense
- Action was going on at a specific past time
- Two simultaneous past actions
- Background action (while/when)
while, when, at that time, at 6 pm yesterday, all morning, as, throughout
Past Perfect Tense
- Action completed before another past action
- দুটি অতীত কাজের মধ্যে আগেরটি
- Used with: before, after, when, as soon as
before, after, when, by the time, already, as soon as, no sooner…than, hardly…when
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
- Action that had been going on before another past action
- Emphasizes duration in past
for, since, before, until, all day, how long, the whole day
Future Tense — ভবিষ্যৎ কাল
Simple Future Tense
- Prediction / সম্ভাব্য ভবিষ্যৎ
- Spontaneous decisions
- Offers / Promises / Threats
tomorrow, next week/month/year, soon, in future, someday, one day, tonight
Future Continuous Tense
- Action going on at a future time
- ভবিষ্যতের নির্দিষ্ট সময়ে চলমান কাজ
at this time tomorrow, at 5 pm next Sunday, in 2 hours, while (future context)
Future Perfect Tense
- Action that will be completed before a future time/event
- ভবিষ্যতের একটি সময়ের আগে সম্পন্ন হবে
by, by the time, before (future), by tomorrow, by next week, by 2030
Future Perfect Continuous Tense
- Action continuing up to a point in future (duration emphasized)
for, since, by (then), by next year, by the time
Signal Words — চেনার উপায়
| Tense | Key Signal Words |
|---|---|
| Simple Present | always, usually, often, every day, generally, regularly, never |
| Present Continuous | now, at present, currently, at this moment, right now, look!, listen! |
| Present Perfect | just, already, yet, ever, never, recently, since, for, so far |
| Present Perf. Cont. | since (point), for (duration), all day, how long, the whole time |
| Simple Past | yesterday, ago, last night/week/year, in 2020, once, when I was |
| Past Continuous | while, when (with simple past), at that time, all morning, throughout |
| Past Perfect | before, after, when, by the time, as soon as, no sooner…than, hardly…when |
| Past Perf. Cont. | for, since, before, all day (in past context), how long (past) |
| Simple Future | tomorrow, next week, soon, in future, tonight, someday |
| Future Continuous | at this time tomorrow, at 5pm next Sunday, in 2 hours (future) |
| Future Perfect | by, before (future), by tomorrow, by next week, by 2030 |
| Future Perf. Cont. | for, since, by (then), by next year, by the time (future) |
Tips & Tricks — মনে রাখার কৌশল
since vs for
since = নির্দিষ্ট সময় থেকে (since 2020, since morning)
for = সময়ের পরিমাণ (for 3 hours, for 2 years)
Stative Verbs ব্যবহার
know, love, hate, want, need, believe, understand — এই verbs গুলো Continuous tense-এ সাধারণত ব্যবহার হয় না।
had/have/has চেনার trick
has/have = Present Perfect
had = Past Perfect
Subject অনুযায়ী: I/You/We/They → have; He/She/It → has
do/does/did Rule
do = I/You/We/They (present)
does = He/She/It (present)
did = সব Subject (past)
while vs when
while = দুটি চলমান কাজের একসাথে ব্যবহার (Past Continuous)
when = একটি চলমান, একটি হঠাৎ কাজ
by the time Rule
"By the time + Simple Present → Future Perfect" এবং "By the time + Simple Past → Past Perfect" — এটা মনে রাখো!
Verb Form Summary
V1 = base form (go, eat)
V2 = past form (went, ate)
V3 = past participle (gone, eaten)
V-ing = present participle (going)
HSC Common Mistake
Past Perfect তে দুটো কাজ থাকলে আগেরটা had + V3 এবং পরেরটা Simple Past হবে — উল্টো করলে ভুল!
Transformation of Tenses — রূপান্তর
Transformation মানে একটি Tense-কে অর্থ না বদলে অন্য Tense-এ রূপান্তরিত করা। এটা HSC-এর গুরুত্বপূর্ণ একটি topic।
Simple Present → Present Continuous
Simple Past → Past Perfect
Simple Present → Simple Past
Simple Present → Simple Future
Present Perfect → Simple Past
Assertive → Negative (Same meaning)
Important Irregular Verbs — অনিয়মিত Verb
| V1 (Base) | V2 (Past) | V3 (Past Participle) | V-ing |
|---|---|---|---|
| go | went | gone | going |
| come | came | come | coming |
| eat | ate | eaten | eating |
| write | wrote | written | writing |
| take | took | taken | taking |
| give | gave | given | giving |
| see | saw | seen | seeing |
| know | knew | known | knowing |
| read | read | read | reading |
| run | ran | run | running |
| speak | spoke | spoken | speaking |
| buy | bought | bought | buying |
| bring | brought | brought | bringing |
| do | did | done | doing |
| make | made | made | making |
| get | got | gotten/got | getting |
| begin | began | begun | beginning |
| break | broke | broken | breaking |
| choose | chose | chosen | choosing |
| fall | fell | fallen | falling |