Common Errors in Tenses and Articles

Common Errors made while
using Tenses and Articles
PRESENTATION BY-
MRS. MOUSMI MAJUMDAR
DEPT. OF ENGLISH
D. A. V. PUBLIC SCHOOL
HEHAL, RANCHI

1. The film show began before we arrived in the hall.
2. No sooner the news appeared in the paper than there was a rush in the counter.
3. Mr. Sharma is planning to settle in Delhi as soon as he will retire in April next year.
4. He told me that he couldn’t buy the paintings which he wanted to because he hadn’t much
money.
5. He was extremely annoyed when I reported the matter to him and had fired him.

1. The film show had begun before we arrived in the hall.
2. No sooner had the news appeared in the paper than there was a rush in the counter.
3. Mr. Sharma is planning to settle in Delhi as soon as he retires in April next year.
4. He told me that he couldn’t buy the paintings which he had wanted to because he hadn’t
much money.
5. He was extremely annoyed when I reported the matter to him and fired him.
1. The film show began before we arrived in the hall.
2. No sooner the news appeared in the paper than there was a rush in the counter.
3. Mr. Sharma is planning to settle in Delhi as soon as he will retire in April next year.
4. He told me that he couldn’t buy the paintings which he wanted to because he hadn’t much
money.
5. He was extremely annoyed when I reported the matter to him and had fired him.

6. He not only comes there to swim but also to coach new swimmers.
7. No sooner the bell rang than the teacher entered the class.
8. I have the pleasure to certify that Shamim worked meritoriously for the last three years in our
organization.
9. He would not have written that letter if he would have heard the terrible news.
10. If John had told me last Thursday I will have given him the money but now it’s too late.

6. He comes there not only to swim but also to coach new swimmers.
7. No sooner had the bell rung than the teacher entered the class.
8. I have the pleasure to certify that Shamim has worked meritoriously for the last three years in
our organization.
9. He would not have written that letter if he had heard the terrible news.
10. If John had told me last Thursday I would have given him the money but now it’s too late.
6. He not only comes there to swim but also to coach new swimmers.
7. No sooner the bell rang than the teacher entered the class.
8. I have the pleasure to certify that Shamim worked meritoriously for the last three years in our
organization.
9. He would not have written that letter if he would have heard the terrible news.
10. If John had told me last Thursday I will have given him the money but now it’s too late.

11. It’s high time you start digging your nose into your business.
12. Many of my friends wished to come here today but none of them arrived yet.
13. Before the alarm had stopped ringing, Veera had pulled up the shade.
14. I have been knowing him for ten years but I don’t know where he lives.
15. I wish he saw your charizma when you were working as a chef.

11. It’s high time you start digging your nose into your business.
12. Many of my friends wished to come here today but none of them arrived yet.
13. Before the alarm had stopped ringing, Veera had pulled up the shade.
14. I have been knowing him for ten years but I don’t know where he lives.
15. I wish he saw your charizma when you were working as a chef.
11. It’s high time you started digging your nose into your business.
12. Many of my friends wished to come here today but none of them have arrived yet.
13. Before the alarm stopped ringing, Veera had pulled up the shade.
14. I have known him for ten years but I don’t know where he lives.
15. I wish he had seen your charizma when you were working as a chef.

16. The judge had not given any decision until he had studied the case.
17. I live here since 1980, so I know everything about this city.
18. If we had Mohan in our team, we would have won the match.
19. Radha came to the meeting much later than I expect.
20. The teacher said to us that we should stay at home if it rains.

16. The judge had not given any decision until he had studied the case.
17. I live here since 1980, so I know everything about this city.
18. If we had Mohan in our team, we would have won the match.
16. The judge did not give any decision until he had studied the case.
17. I have been living here since 1980, so I know everything about this city.
18. If we had had Mohan in our team, we would have won the match.

22. Dipu hopes to become an officer after he will complete his higher education.
23. The thief was caught after he disposed off all the goods.
24. I am seeing that he is walking with a limp.
25. It is about time you take your children to school.

22. Dipu hopes to become an officer after he will complete his higher education.
23. The thief was caught after he disposed off all the goods.
24. I am seeing that he is walking with a limp.
25. It is about time you take your children to school.
21. The teacher said to us that we should stay at home if it rained.
22. Dipu hopes to become an officer after he completes his higher education.
23. The thief was caught after he had disposed off all the goods.
24. I see/can see that he is walking with a limp.
25. It is about time you took your children to school.

26. I have been adoring her for the voice with which she is gifted.
27. Carol was pretending that she had a sore throat.
28. I hanged my coat on the peg and waited for the tailor to come and take measurements.
29. She said that she’ll help me whenever I found myself caught up in a situation.
30. I was having a class when you called me.

26. I have been adoring her for the voice with which she is gifted.
27. Carol was pretending that she had a sore throat.
28. I hanged my coat on the peg and waited for the tailor to come and take measurements.
29. She said that she’ll help me whenever I found myself caught up in a situation.
30. I was having a class when you called me.
26. I adore her for the voice with which she is gifted.
27. Carol pretended that she had a sore throat.
28. I hung my coat on the peg and waited for the tailor to come and take measurements.
29. She said that she would help me whenever I found myself caught up in a situation.
30. I had/was taking/ was attending a class when you called me.

 It is raining for two days.

 It has been raining for two days.

 The baby is sleeping for three hours now.

 The baby has been sleeping for three hours now.

 I am living in this house since 2010.

 I have been living in this house since 2010.

 It is snowing for two days.

 It is snowing for two days.
 It has been snowing for two days.

 Here the error lies in using the present continuous instead of the present perfect continuous.
 We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action which started in the past,
has gone on till the present and is still continuing.
 We generally use perfect tense with for/since.

Past simple or Present Perfect?

 I have seen him yesterday.
.

 I saw him yesterday.
.

 He has returned from London last week.
.

 He returned from London last week.
.

 I have met Rita yesterday.
.

 I met Rita yesterday.
.

.
 David has gone to London last week.

.
 David has gone to London last week.
 David went to London last week.

 We can’t use present perfect tense with time reference.
 Here the error lies in using the present perfect tense instead of the simple past tense. The
present perfect is a present tense. It can’t be used with adverbs of past time.

 See that she won’t harm herself.

 See that she doesn’t harm herself.

 Make sure that you shouldn’t get cheated.

 Make sure that you shouldn’t get cheated.
 Make sure that you don’t get cheated.

 It is wrong to use the future tense in the subordinate clause when the verb
in the main clause is in the imperative mood.

Subordinate clause in Future tense

 I will reach home before my mother will find out about my absence.

 I will reach home before my mother finds out about my absence.

 They’ll come only after I’ll leave.

 They’ll come only after I leave.

 I will call you when the dinner will be ready.

 I will call you when the dinner is ready.

 He will help if you will ask him.

 He will help if you will ask him.
 He will help if you ask him.

 When the verb in the main clause is in the future tense, the verb in the subordinate clause
should be in the present and not in the future.

 Ram did not went to school yesterday.

 Ram did not go to school yesterday.

 Rajesh used to wrote poems in his college days.

 Rajesh used to write poems during his college days.

 I was called you yesterday.

 I was called you yesterday.
 I called you yesterday.

 We use stative verbs when talking about our likes, dislikes, feelings, and emotions.
 A stative verb is a state of mind, or a description of a mental state/condition.
 Stative verbs can be used in ‘ing’ only when we use them as present participle or
gerund.
 I love the decor. (opinion)
 Loving someone is a beautiful thing. (gerund)
 I know him so I don’t blame him.
 Knowing the truth, I decided to stay quiet.

Common Errors in Tenses and Articles

Some verbs can be used stative and
dynamic both.

I think it's a good idea. (opinion)
Wait a moment! I'm thinking. (progressive action)

I have an old car. (state – possession)
I'm having a quick break. (action – having a break is an activity)

Do you see any problems with that? (state – opinion)
We're seeing the Director tomorrow afternoon. (action – we're meeting him)

He's so interesting! (state – his permanent quality)
He's being very unhelpful. (action – he is temporarily behaving this way)

This coffee tastes delicious. (state – our perception of the coffee)
Look! The chef is tasting the soup. (action – tasting the soup is an activity)

 If we had a car, we would have driven to Patna.

 If we had had a car, we would have driven to Patna. (3rd Conditional)

 If Shalini knew the details, she would have handlesd the situation better.

 If Shalini had known the details, she would have handled the situation better. (3rd Conditional)

 My mother would have scolded me if she knew about my whereabouts.

 My mother would have scolded me if she knew about my whereabouts.
 My mother would scold me if she knew about my whereabouts. (2nd Conditional)

•The Zero Conditional:
(if + present simple, ... present simple)
If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils.
•The First Conditional:
(if + present simple, ... will + infinitive)
If it rains tomorrow, we'll go to the cinema.
•The Second Conditional:
(if + past simple, ... would + infinitive)
If I had a lot of money, I would travel around the world.
•The Third Conditional
(if + past perfect, ... would + have + past participle)
If I had gone to bed early, I would have caught the train.

More Common Errors that students make
while using Tenses
 Incorrect inflections in Simple Present Tense
 The children plays in the park.
 The students studies sincerely.
 Framing Questions
 What she was asking?
 Why he was absent yesterday?
 Framing Negatives
 He not went there.
 She not sleep well.

More Common Errors that students
make while using Tenses
 Verb Confusion in Past and Present Test/Not Being Consistent with
Tense
 We were on the way to school. Suddenly, the sky turns dark.
 Incorrectly Forming Past Participles
 She had went to the doctor.
 He had drove to the station.
 Incorrect Irregular Verbs
 They swimmed to the boat.
 Kyle putted the copy in his bag.
 The Chief Guest cutted the ribbon.

More Common Errors that students
make while using Tenses
 Slang and Texting Language
 Modals and past tense
 He may go. He might went.
 She can go. She could went.
 Switching tenses -
 "Gracie! Get down here right now!" Nana yelled. Nana was a fierce drill sergeant
and is always nagging me about punctuality.
 Double negatives
 I have no any problem.
 She cannot give no speech.

 There: points to a place
 Their: plural possessive pronoun
 They're: a contraction of "they" + "are“
 Where: asks about a place
 Were: plural past tense of the verb "to be"
 We're: a contraction of "we" + "are"
Confusing Contractions

 Your: a second person possessive
 You’re a contraction of "you" + "are"
 U R: informal slang or abbreviation for you + are (should not be used in a formal essay)
 Its: shows possession
 It's: is a contraction of "it" + "is"

 The man is the only animal who is endowed with a power of speech.
 The Principal asked the girls to return to the hostel before the sunset.
 The Ganges is for North India what Krishna is for South India.
 He got promoted to the rank of an S.P. but he hasn’t been able to join the duty because of a
problem in paperwork.
 ‘Music is science but singing is art’, said the teacher.

 The man is the only animal who is endowed with a power of speech.
 The Principal asked the girls to return to the hostel before the sunset.
 The Ganges is for North India what Krishna is for South India.
 He got promoted to the rank of an S.P. but he hasn’t been able to join the duty because of a
 ‘Music is science but singing is art’, said the teacher.
 Man is the only animal who is endowed with the power of speech.
 The Principal asked the girls to return to the hostel before sunset.
 The Ganges is for North India what the Krishna is for South India.
 He got promoted to the rank of S.P. but he hasn’t been able to join the duty because of a
 ‘Music is a science but singing is an art’, said the teacher.

 It takes an year complete a diploma program.
 He is the best artist but unfortunately least recognized.
 I couldn’t meet the clerk in the office because he was on a leave for three days.
 The injured man was sent to a hospital for treatment but he was pronounced dead by the
doctors.
 My sister goes to a school as she is just 14 but she has a degree in Karate and painting. She can
also play guitar and hum along.

 It takes an year complete a diploma program.
 He is the best artist but unfortunately least recognized.
 I couldn’t meet the clerk in the office because he was on a leave for three days.
 The injured man was sent to a hospital for treatment but he was pronounced dead by the
doctors.
 My sister goes to a school as she is just 14 but she has a degree in Karate and painting. She can
also play guitar and hum along.
 It takes a year complete a diploma program.
 He is the best artist but unfortunately the least recognized.
 I couldn’t meet the clerk in the office because he was on leave for three days.
 The injured man was sent to hospital for treatment but he was pronounced dead by the doctors.
 My sister goes to school as she is just 14 but she has a degree in Karate and painting. She can
also play the guitar and hum along.

 He leads a very busy life so he goes everywhere in a car.
 We were unhappy about quality of the food available in the cafeteria.
 Jack comes from Ireland but I come from U.K.
 French is the language of French.
 Remember the movie we watched last week?

 He leads a very busy life so he goes everywhere by a car.
 We were unhappy about quality of the food available in the cafeteria.
 Jack comes from Ireland but I come from U.K.
 French is the language of French.
 He leads a very busy life so he goes everywhere by car.
 We were unhappy about the quality of the food available in the cafeteria.
 Jack comes from Ireland but I come from the U.K.
 French is the language of the French.

 I live in the apartment, close to the supermarket.
 I'd like to go to the good restaurant.
 I stayed in the hotel near the park. The hotel was very nice, and a park had
some wonderful paths.
 Remember a presentation we went to last week?
 The apples are generally very tasty in season.

 I live in the apartment, close to the supermarket.
 I'd like to go to the good restaurant.
 I stayed in the hotel near the park. The hotel was very nice, and a park had
 Remember a presentation we went to last week?
 The apples are generally very tasty in season.
 I live in an apartment, close to the supermarket.
 I'd like to go to a good restaurant.
 I stayed in a hotel near the park. The hotel was very nice, and the park had
 Remember the presentation we went to last week?
 Apples are generally very tasty in season.

 Many people are worried about the bad effects of mobiles on brain.
 Many are worried about the bad effects of mobiles on the brain.

 We need to look at factors such as the availability of health care.

 We need to look at factors such as availability of health care.

 A diet high in cholesterol is bad for heart.
 A diet high in cholesterol is bad for the heart.

 The introduction of computerized systems led to an increase in unemployment.
 The introduction of the computerized systems led to an increase in unemployment

 I went to university.
 I went to a university.
 I went to the university.

 I went to university.
 I went to a university.
 I went to the university.
 I went to university when I was just 19. (to study)
 I went to a university for the survey I was assigned by my department.
 I went to the University of Texas for my Post Graduate Program. (name of the
organization/noun used as a proper name)

Common Errors in Tenses and Articles

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