Table of Contents
What are Errors in Tenses?
English is often considered as a tricky language. Despite having well versed in the language, some students tend to commit some common, yet silly errors in verbal or written English Communication. The most common area of errors in the English language in Tenses. Here we bring to you the common Errors in Tenses and how one can rectify those by understanding the root cause and gaining conceptual clarity on it.
There are three types of tenses, Past, Present and Future. While framing a sentence, there is often confusion in verbs and clauses. Also, students often commit errors in tenses such as confusing between past and present or future tense in a single sentence, or within the tense, such as confusion between present perfect tense and present continuous tense.
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Types of Errors in Tenses
Let us discuss some of the common Tense errors and how to identify and rectify those.
Confusion in Present Tense
We use Present tense to signify an action which is taking place at the moment or in the current time. To denote whether the action is a single instance or a recurring event, Present Tense is further divided into four types. The types of Present Tenses along with examples are given below.
Simple Present Tense: Ram goes to school.
Present Perfect Tense: Ram has gone to school.
Present Continuous Tense: Ram is going to school.
Present Perfect Continuous Tense: Ram has been going to school.
While Simple Present Tense refers to continuous action, Present Perfect Tense refers to an action that has taken place a while ago but is yet to be completed. Present Continuous Tense refers to an action which is taking place in real-time. Present Perfect Continuous Tense signifies that action which is taking place over a period of time. While writing sentences in Present Tense, students often misuse the tenses or confuse between two or more sub-tenses.
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Confusion in Past Tense
Past Tense is used to refer to an event or action that has taken place earlier. The degree of occurrence may vary, and to classify that, the Past Tense is divided into Simple Past Tense, Past Perfect Tense, Past Continuous Tense and Past Perfect Continuous Tense. The types of Pas Tense and their examples are given below.
Simple Past Tense: Ram went to school.
Past Perfect Tense: Ram had gone to school.
Past Continuous Tense: Ram was going to school.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense: Ram had been going to school.
To avoid confusion in the Past Tense, students should refer to these examples and understand whether the action was a single instance event or was a recurring event.
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Confusion in Future Tense
Future Tense is used to for events which are yet to take place or a planned for the future. Like the Present and Past tenses, the Future Tense is also categorised as per the degree of occurrence. The types of Future Tense along with examples are as follows:
Simple Future Tense: Ram will go to school tomorrow.
Future Continuous Tense: Ram will be visiting his grandparents next week.
Future Perfect Tense: Ram will have reached his grandparents’ house by this time next week.
Future Perfect Continuous Tense: By next week Ram will have been to his grandparent's house.
The Simple Future Tense refers to an event which will certainly take place at a time later on. Future Continuous Tense refers to an incomplete or ongoing action at a time later on. On the other hand, Future Perfect Tense is used to refer to an action, which would be completed at a time later on. Future Perfect Continuous Tense is used to explain an action which is ongoing or incomplete at present but will be completed at a later time.
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Verb Confusion in Past and Present Test
A sentence remains incomplete without a verb. The usage of the verb is often mistaken and is one of the most common Error in Tenses. Take a look at some of the examples of Error in Tenses with respect to Verbs.
Incorrect: Ram did not went to school yesterday.
Correct: Ram did not go to school yesterday.
Incorrect: Rajesh used to wrote poems in his college days.
Correct: Rajesh used to write poems during his college days.
Incorrect: I have met Rita yesterday.
Correct: I met Rita yesterday.
Incorrect: It is snowing for two days.
Correct: It has been snowing for two days.
Incorrect: David has gone to London last week.
Correct: David went to Mumbai last week.
Tense Error Correction Exercises with Answers
Q1. The glass windowpane _ while the kids were playing cricket.
a. Broke
b. Was broken
c. Had broke
d. Was broke
Q2. I will _ you in the evening.
a. Call
b. Calling
c. Be calling
d. Called
Q3. The last date to submit the project _ end of the day today.
a. Is
b. Was
c. Will
d. Has been
Q4. Priya _ music class every Thursday.
a. Attends
b. Attended
c. Is attending
d. Will attending
Q5. Raju _ when his mother entered the room.
a. Played
b. Was playing
c. Plays
d. Is playing
Q6. John always _ to help the needy,
a. Tried
b. Tries
c. Was trying
d. Is trying
Q7. It had stopped raining when I _ the office.
a. Leave
b. Was leaving
c. Left
d. Leaves
Q8. Had you reached the station on time, you _ board the train.
a. Would
b. Will
c. Would have
d. Will have
Q9. Raj is learning how _ guitar
a. To play
b. To playing
c. Playing
d. Play
Q10. Rahul _ suffering from migraine since last week.
a. Is
b. Was
c. Has been
d. Has
Answers:
Q1. a Q2. a. Q3. a. Q4. a. Q5. b. Q6. b. Q7. c. Q8. c. Q9. a. Q10. c
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FAQs
What are errors of tense? ›
1. Verb Tense Errors. Verb tense errors occur when you use the wrong verb tense. They are one of the most common grammar mistakes.
How do you calculate tense errors? ›...
Common errors in the use of tenses
- Incorrect: It is raining for two days.
- Correct: It has been raining for two days.
- Incorrect: The baby is sleeping for three hours now.
- Correct: The baby has been sleeping for three hours now.
| TENSES | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|
| Present Simple | He plays a game every Sunday. |
| Past Simple | He played a game every Sunday. |
| Future Simple | He will / is going to play the game every Sunday. |
Unless there is a shift in time frame, maintain the same verb tense. To proofread, lightly underline every verb in the passage and check that it is in the correct tense, especially when narrating past events, as past tense is typically more difficult to maintain.
What is a grammar error? ›Grammatical error is a term used in prescriptive grammar to describe an instance of faulty, unconventional, or controversial usage, such as a misplaced modifier or an inappropriate verb tense.
What are the three most common types of sentences errors? ›These errors are: run-on sentences; sentence fragments; and overloaded sentences.
What is the past tense of error? ›Errored definition
Simple past tense and past participle of error.
Incorrect: He told her that he will come. Correct: He told her that he would come. When the principal verb is in the past tense the verb in the subordinate clause should also be in the past tense.
What is the verb of error? ›verb. \ ˈer , ˈər \ erred; erring; errs.
What are the 12 types of tenses with definition? ›| Past | Present | |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | Played (verb+ed) | Plays (verb+s) |
| Perfect | had played (had+past participle) | has/have played (has/have+past participle) |
| Continuous | was/were playing(was/were+verb+ing) | is/am/are playing(is/am/are+verb+ing) |
| Perfect Continuous | had been playing (had been+verb+ing) | has/have been playing(has/have been+verb+ing) |
What are the 12 types of tenses with examples PDF? ›
| Tenses | Positive |
|---|---|
| Present Continuous | She is listening the music now. |
| Present Perfect | It has rained a lot lately. |
| Present Perfect Continuous | She has been singing a song. |
| Past Simple | We watched the news last night. |
There are three times – present, past and future and four aspects – simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous. The times and the aspects combine to make all of the twelve tenses in English.
How can I improve my tense in writing? ›- Decide which writing tenses would work best for your story. ...
- Avoid losing clarity when mixing tenses. ...
- Practice showing shadowy past or present actions using verb forms. ...
- Practice rewriting paragraphs in different tenses.
Verbs come in three tenses: past, present, and future. The past is used to describe things that have already happened (e.g., earlier in the day, yesterday, last week, three years ago). The present tense is used to describe things that are happening right now, or things that are continuous.
What are the 10 common errors in English? ›- 1) Present and Past Tense. ...
- 2) How To Avoid the Overuse of Adverbs. ...
- 3) Your/You're. ...
- 4) Misplacing Apostrophes. ...
- 5) There / Their /They're. ...
- 6) Confusing similar spellings and words. ...
- 7) Using incomplete comparisons. ...
- 8) Getting adjectives and adverbs confused.
- Subject-Verb Agreement Errors. ...
- Sentence Fragments. ...
- Misuse of Contractions and Apostrophes. ...
- Passive Voice. ...
- Dangling Modifiers. ...
- Comma Splice. ...
- Run-on Sentences. ...
- Ending a Sentence in a Preposition.
Example: We always eat at In 'N' Out although they prefer Burger King. Run-on sentences are like comma splices, except they combine two independent sentences without any punctuation at all. Run-on sentences are an example of overcrowding – forcing two or more sentences into a slot for one.
How many sentence errors are there? ›Students commonly make three kinds of sentence structure errors: fragments, run-ons, and comma splices. 1) Fragments: Fragments are incomplete sentences. Very often, they consist of a subject without the predicate.
What is a major error? ›Major Error means a substantial deviation from accuracy or correctness.
Can I use error as a verb? ›error used as a verb:
To function improperly due to an error, especially accompanied by error message. "The web-page took a long time to load and errored out." To show or contain an error or fault. "The block transmission errored near the start and could not be received."
What does error out mean? ›
(intransitive, computing) To fail with an error.
Can I say error? ›How to Pronounce Error - YouTube
How do you check for error in a sentence? ›- Always read the entire sentence.
- When looking for the error, examine each choice individually.
- Check verbs and pronouns first, since they're the most likely to include errors.
- When an answer choice contains more than one type of word, check both.
There are three types of errors related to parts of speech: verb tense, subject-verb agreement, and pronoun usage.
Why is it called error? ›An error (from the Latin error, meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between the value which has been computed and the correct value.
What type of noun is error? ›...
error Definitions and Synonyms
| singular | error |
|---|---|
| plural | errors |
errors - Simple English Wiktionary.
What are tenses with definition and examples? ›In grammar, tense is the time of a verb's action or its state of being, such as present (something happening now), past (something happened earlier), or future (something going to happen). These are called the verb's time frame. For example, examine I walk (present), I walked (past), and I will walk (future).
How many types of tense definition? ›We know about the three types of tenses that are used in English Grammar namely Past Tense, Present Tense and Future Tense. Each of these tenses is actually verbs (regular verbs and irregular verbs) that are used to indicate the occurrence of an event or action at a particular time.
Are there 12 or 16 tenses in English? ›The simple tenses (past, present, and future) are the most basic forms, but there are 12 major verb tenses in English in all.
What is the rules of tense? ›
| Tenses | Tenses Rule |
|---|---|
| Present Simple tense | Subject + V1 + s/es + Object (Singular) Subject + V1 + Object (Plural) |
| Present Perfect tense | Subject + has + V3 + Object (Singular) Subject + have + V3 + Object (Plural) |
| Present Continuous tense | Subject + is/am/are + V1 + ing + object |
Tense structure is basically the order which the components go in a sentence. We're talking subject, object, verbs, auxiliary verbs etc. The structure tells the reader/listener which tense the sentence is in (past, present or future). The verb/verbs help tell us this information.
What is past tense formula? ›The formula for asking a question in the simple past tense is did + [subject] + [root form of verb]. Did Wolfgang win the gold medal or the silver medal? Where did Wolfgang go to celebrate? Did the judges decide fairly, in your opinion?
What is the tense chart? ›Tenses are an important component in the English language that refers and implies to the time reference. Tenses are often expressed by the employment of various verb forms, notably in their conjugated patterns. The past, present, and future tense are common in several language.
What are the common errors in the use of verbs? ›Incorrect: He told her that he will come. Correct: He told her that he would come. When the principal verb is in the past tense the verb in the subordinate clause should also be in the past tense.
What is the past tense of error? ›Errored definition
Simple past tense and past participle of error.
What is Simple Verb Tense? Simple verb tense can be divided into three categories: past, present, and future. Present Tense: He writes a letter today. Past Tense: I wrote a letter yesterday. Future Tense: I will write a letter tomorrow.
What is the most common grammar mistake? ›- 1) Present and Past Tense. ...
- 2) How To Avoid the Overuse of Adverbs. ...
- 3) Your/You're. ...
- 4) Misplacing Apostrophes. ...
- 5) There / Their /They're. ...
- 6) Confusing similar spellings and words. ...
- 7) Using incomplete comparisons. ...
- 8) Getting adjectives and adverbs confused.
- Always read the entire sentence.
- When looking for the error, examine each choice individually.
- Check verbs and pronouns first, since they're the most likely to include errors.
- When an answer choice contains more than one type of word, check both.
As a general rule, the verb tense you are using should be consistent throughout your sentence and your paragraph. For example, the sentence “We had eaten (past perfect tense) dinner, and then we talked (simple past tense)” should be written as “We ate (simple past tense) dinner, and then we talked (simple past tense)”.
What are the common errors of parts of speech? ›
There are three types of errors related to parts of speech: verb tense, subject-verb agreement, and pronoun usage.
Can I use error as a verb? ›error used as a verb:
To function improperly due to an error, especially accompanied by error message. "The web-page took a long time to load and errored out." To show or contain an error or fault. "The block transmission errored near the start and could not be received."
(intransitive, computing) To fail with an error.
Can I say error? ›How to Pronounce Error - YouTube
What called tense? ›Definition of tense (Entry 3 of 3) 1 : a distinction of form in a verb to express distinctions of time or duration of the action or state it denotes. 2a : a set of inflectional forms of a verb that express distinctions of time. b : an inflectional form of a verb expressing a specific time distinction.
What are the 10 most common grammar mistakes? ›- Subject-Verb Agreement Errors. ...
- Sentence Fragments. ...
- Misuse of Contractions and Apostrophes. ...
- Passive Voice. ...
- Dangling Modifiers. ...
- Comma Splice. ...
- Run-on Sentences. ...
- Ending a Sentence in a Preposition.
- Wrong Word. Wrong word errors take a number of forms. ...
- Missing Comma after an Introductory Element. ...
- Incomplete or Missing Documentation. ...
- Vague Pronoun Reference. ...
- Spelling. ...
- Mechanical Error with a Quotation. ...
- Unnecessary Comma. ...
- Unnecessary or Missing Capitalization.