Verbs & Tenses: Types of Verbs, Their Three Forms, and the 12 Tenses
This page covers the types of verbs, the V1–V2–V3 forms, confusing irregular verbs, the structure of all 12 tenses, and the rules for using them. REET 2024 carried 5 questions on this topic — mostly on identifying the tense of a passage sentence and spotting the wrong verb form.
- 5 questions in REET 2024
- Class 5–10 grammar level
- 9-minute read
How REET asks this topic
Of REET 2024's 5 questions, 3 asked for the tense of a given sentence: 'One feels tempted to look into a mirror' and 'The human body never gets used to noise' (both Present Simple/Indefinite), and 'I had to make my presence felt' (Past Simple — here had to expresses obligation, not past perfect). One question asked which of several sentences built from a passage was incorrect ('His arms grown heavy' — V3 with no auxiliary verb), and one asked for the base form of 'sat' (sit). So the exam focuses squarely on verb forms (V1/V2/V3) and identifying tense structure, with traps built around cues like 'had' and '-s'.
Types of Verbs
A verb is a word that expresses an action, a state of being, or a condition. (1) A main verb (the principal verb) carries the core meaning of the sentence — write, eat, grow. (2) An auxiliary verb (helping verb) works with the main verb to build tense, voice or meaning: the primary auxiliaries are be (is, am, are, was, were), do (do, does, did), have (has, have, had); modal auxiliaries include can, may, must and so on. Be, do and have can also function as main verbs: He has a car (has = main verb).
(3) A transitive verb needs an object — She wrote a letter; an intransitive verb doesn't — The baby slept. (4) Regular verbs form V2/V3 with -ed (play–played–played); irregular verbs have their own separate forms (go–went–gone). (5) A finite verb changes with the subject and tense (He goes / They go / He went); non-finite forms — the infinitive (to go), the gerund (going as a noun), and the participle (going, gone) — don't show tense and can't be the main verb of a sentence on their own. That's exactly why 'His arms grown heavy.' is wrong: grown (V3) needs has/have/had; the correct sentence is His arms grew heavy.
(6) Stative verbs (know, believe, love, like, want, own, understand) express a mental state or possession and usually don't appear in continuous tenses — I know him (never I am knowing him).
Confusing Verb Forms
| V1 | V2 | V3 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| sit (to sit) | sat | sat | sit is intransitive |
| set (to place/arrange) | set | set | all three forms identical |
| lie (to lie down) | lay | lain | He lay on the bed. |
| lie (to tell an untruth) | lied | lied | regular |
| lay (to place) | laid | laid | Hens lay eggs. |
| rise (to go up) | rose | risen | The sun rose. (intransitive) |
| raise (to lift) | raised | raised | Raise your hand. (transitive) |
| grow | grew | grown | His arms grew heavy. |
| fly / flow | flew / flowed | flown / flowed | birds flew; rivers flowed |
| find / found (to establish) | found / founded | found / founded | He founded a school. |
| hang (to hang / to execute) | hung / hanged | hung / hanged | regular in the execution sense |
The 12 Tenses: Structure and Examples
| Tense | Structure (positive) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple / Indefinite | S + V1 (V1+s/es with he/she/it/singular) | The human body never gets used to noise. |
| Present Continuous | S + is/am/are + V-ing | She is reading a book. |
| Present Perfect | S + has/have + V3 | They have finished the work. |
| Present Perfect Continuous | S + has/have + been + V-ing (+ since/for) | It has been raining since morning. |
| Past Simple / Indefinite | S + V2 | He loved his work. / I had to leave early. |
| Past Continuous | S + was/were + V-ing | We were playing when it rained. |
| Past Perfect | S + had + V3 | The train had left before we reached. |
| Past Perfect Continuous | S + had been + V-ing | He had been working for hours. |
| Future Simple / Indefinite | S + will/shall + V1 | I shall go tomorrow. |
| Future Continuous | S + will/shall be + V-ing | She will be travelling at this time tomorrow. |
| Future Perfect | S + will/shall have + V3 | They will have reached by noon. |
| Future Perfect Continuous | S + will/shall have been + V-ing | By June, he will have been teaching for ten years. |
Questions/negatives in Present Simple use do/does + V1, and in Past Simple, did + V1 — He does not play / Did he play?
Essential Rules for Using Tenses
Present Simple: universal truths (The sun rises in the east), habits/routines (He goes for a walk daily), general statements (One feels tempted to look into a mirror), and a scheduled future (The train leaves at 6 pm). Words like never, always, usually, often are usually a cue for this tense. Present Continuous: an action happening right now (now, at present, look!).
Present Perfect: an action recently completed with an effect on the present (I have lost my pen). It never appears with a definite past-time marker like yesterday, last year, ago — I saw him yesterday is correct, I have seen him yesterday is wrong. since goes with a point in time (since 2020, since Monday) and for with a duration (for two hours).
Past Perfect: for the earlier of two past events, use had + V3 — The patient had died before the doctor came. Don't mistake had to for past perfect: had to + V1 means 'was forced to' and is the past simple form of have to (obligation) — I had to make my presence felt. Identifying it: had followed by V3 is past perfect; had followed by to + V1 is past simple (obligation); had standing alone as the main verb (He had a dog) is also past simple.
In time and condition clauses (when, if, before, after, as soon as, unless), a future meaning is expressed with Present Simple, not will — If it rains, we will stay at home (not If it will rain).
How to Teach This to Children
Classes 4–5: My daily routine
Children speak 5 sentences about their daily routine — 'I get up at six. My mother makes tea.' This is how Present Simple and the -s ending with he/she are picked up in context.
Classes 6–8: Timeline
Draw a timeline on the board (yesterday – today – tomorrow) and have children place event cards in the right spot. For past perfect, give two past events and ask which happened first.
Verb-forms game
'Verb chain': one child says V1 (sit), the next V2 (sat), the third V3 (sat), and the fourth makes a sentence with it. Run separate rounds for pairs like sit/set, rise/raise.
Teaching aids
A 12-box tense chart, a timeline strip, irregular-verb flash cards, and a story sheet where children turn verbs into the past.
Common misconceptions
Mistaking had to for past perfect; 'I have seen him yesterday'; V2 after did; using stative verbs in -ing form (I am knowing); making V3 the main verb without an auxiliary.
Assessment idea
Have children write 6–8 sentences describing yesterday's holiday and give feedback based on correct Past Simple forms; then let them correct their own mistakes.
Memory trick / exam tip
To identify a tense, first look at the auxiliary verb: no auxiliary + V1/V1+s = Present Simple; no auxiliary + V2 = Past Simple; has/have + V3 = Present Perfect; had + V3 = Past Perfect. But 'had to + V1' and 'has to + V1' express obligation — don't count these as perfect tenses.
Questions asked in REET 2024 (solved)
Question 38
____________ is that incorrect sentence.
- AHe loved his work.
- BIt would be his last work.
- CHis arms grown heavy.
- DHe worked till hands began to tremble.
Explanation
‘His arms grown heavy.’ में ‘grown’ past participle है, जिसे has/have जैसी सहायक क्रिया के बिना मुख्य क्रिया के रूप में प्रयोग नहीं किया जा सकता; गद्यांश में सही रूप ‘His arms grew heavy.’ दिया गया है। (D) में ‘his’ छूटा हुआ है, पर उसकी क्रिया-रचना सही है। क्रिया-रूप की स्पष्ट त्रुटि के कारण BSER की अंतिम कुंजी ने (C) को अशुद्ध वाक्य माना है।
Question 32
....... ‘One feels tempted to look into a mirror’ lies in :
- Apast simple
- Bpresent simple
- Cfuture simple
- Dpast perfect
Explanation
'One feels tempted to look into a mirror' में मुख्य क्रिया 'feels' है, जो verb के पहले रूप में 's' लगाकर बनी है। यह एक सामान्य सत्य/आदत बताता है, इसलिए वाक्य present simple tense में है।
Question 35
....... ‘I had to make my presence felt’ is an example of the following tense :
- Apast simple
- Bpast continuous
- Cpast perfect
- Dpresent simple
Explanation
'I had to make my presence felt' में 'had to' का अर्थ है 'करना पड़ा' – यह 'have to' (बाध्यता) का past रूप है, न कि past perfect का 'had + V3'। यहाँ 'had' के बाद V3 नहीं बल्कि 'to make' है, इसलिए वाक्य past simple में है।
Question 49
The root verb of ‘sat’ is
- ASet
- BSit
- CSut
- DSite
Explanation
'sat' क्रिया 'sit' का Past/Past participle रूप है (sit – sat – sat)। 'set' की तीनों फॉर्म set ही हैं, इसलिए (A) गलत है।
Question 57
The human body never gets used to noise. The sentence is in
- ASimple future
- BPresent indefinite
- CPast perfect
- DPresent continuous
Explanation
'The human body never gets used to noise.' में क्रिया 'gets' (V1 + s) है, जो Simple Present अर्थात् Present Indefinite tense दर्शाती है। यह एक सामान्य सत्य/आदत बताता है।
Practice questions
Question 1
‘The earth revolves round the sun.’ The sentence is in:
- APresent continuous
- BPresent simple
- CPresent perfect
- DPast simple
Explanation
A universal truth is written in Present Simple; 'revolves' is V1 + s.
Question 2
The past participle (V3) of ‘rise’ is:
- Arose
- Braised
- Crisen
- Drised
Explanation
rise–rose–risen; 'raised' is the form of the different verb 'raise' (to lift).
Question 3
Choose the correct sentence.
- AI have met him yesterday.
- BI met him yesterday.
- CI had meet him yesterday.
- DI have meet him yesterday.
Explanation
'yesterday' is a definite past-time marker, so Past Simple (met) is needed; Present Perfect never appears with such words.
Question 4
‘The patient ______ before the doctor arrived.’
- Ahas died
- Bhad died
- Cdies
- Dwas dying
Explanation
For the earlier of two past events, Past Perfect (had + V3) is used.
Question 5
‘She has to catch the early bus.’ The verb phrase ‘has to catch’ expresses:
- Apresent perfect tense
- Bobligation in the present
- Cpast habit
- Dfuture perfect tense
Explanation
'has to + V1' expresses present obligation; in Present Perfect, has would be followed by V3.
Question 6
‘It ______ since morning.’
- Ais raining
- Bhas been raining
- Crained
- Dwas rain
Explanation
'since morning' shows the action started earlier and is still continuing, so Present Perfect Continuous (has been + V-ing) is needed.
Question 7
Which of the following verbs is normally NOT used in the continuous form?
- Aplay
- Bwrite
- Cknow
- Drun
Explanation
'know' is a stative verb expressing a mental state, so 'I am knowing' is not said; the rest are action verbs.
Question 8
‘If it ______ tomorrow, we will cancel the trip.’
- Awill rain
- Brains
- Crained
- Dwould rain
Explanation
In a conditional if-clause, Present Simple expresses a future meaning; will appears in the main clause.
Question 9
Identify the incorrect sentence.
- AThe hen laid an egg.
- BHe lay on the grass for an hour.
- CThe sun has rose.
- DShe set the table.
Explanation
'has' must be followed by V3 — The sun has risen. 'rose' is V2. The other sentences use correct verb forms.
Question 10
To teach the Past Simple tense to Class 6, the most meaningful activity would be:
- Amemorising a list of 100 irregular verbs
- Basking learners to narrate what they did last Sunday
- Ccopying the tense chart five times
- Dtranslating Hindi sentences word by word
Explanation
Asking learners to narrate what they did last Sunday lets them use Past Simple in a meaningful, real context; memorising a list or copying doesn't build meaningful use.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tenses are there?+
English has three main tenses — Present, Past and Future — and each has four forms (Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous), making 12 tenses in total.
What tense is 'I had to go' in?+
This is Past Simple. 'had to + V1' means 'was forced to', which is the past form of have to (obligation); in Past Perfect, had is followed by V3.
What is the difference between Present Indefinite and Present Simple?+
None — these are two names for the same tense. Likewise, Past Indefinite = Past Simple.
What are the three forms of Sit and Set?+
sit–sat–sat (to sit down) and set–set–set (to place/arrange). So the base form of 'sat' is 'sit'.
How many questions come from Tenses in REET?+
REET 2024 carried 5 questions on Verbs & Tenses — three on identifying tense, one on an incorrect verb form, and one on a verb's base form.
Read next
Nouns & Pronouns
Types of nouns, number, gender, and the kinds of pronouns.
Articles & Determiners
The rules for using a, an, the and determiners.
REET Syllabus 2026
The complete subject-wise syllabus and exam pattern for Level 1 and Level 2.
REET 2024 Solved Paper
Official questions from every shift, with the BSER answer key and explanations.
Official Sources
Change Log
- 17 September 2026 — English page published — mirrors the fact-checked Hindi page, independently bilingual-accuracy checked