Tenses and subject–verb agreement – TGPSC MPSO / ASO notes

Core facts

English has three times (present, past, future), each in four forms: simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous. That makes 12 tenses.
Simple present for habits and general truths: The sun rises* in the east.*
Present continuous for an action happening now: She is cooking* now.*
Present perfect for a past action whose result is seen now, with no fixed past time: I have finished* my work.*
Present perfect continuous for an action that began in the past and is still going on: He has been waiting* since 9 o'clock.*
Simple past for an action finished at a known past time: We visited* Ramappa temple last year.*
Past continuous for an action going on at a past moment: I was reading* when the power went off.*
Past perfect for the earlier of two past actions: The train had left* before we reached the station.*
Simple future with will: I will call* you tomorrow.*
Since + a point of time (since Monday, since 2014); for + a length of time (for three days).
A singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject takes a plural verb: The boy plays. The boys play.
Question tag: positive sentence → negative tag; negative sentence → positive tag: She is a doctor, isn't she? He can't swim, can he?
The tag uses the same helping verb and a pronoun: Ramesh has gone, hasn't he?
With no helping verb, use do/does/did: You like tea, don't you? She went home, didn't she?

Explained

1. The 12 tenses at a glance (verb: write)

Time	Simple	Continuous	Perfect
Present	write / writes	am/is/are writing	has/have written
Past	wrote	was/were writing	had written
Future	will write	will be writing	will have written

Perfect continuous: has/have been writing (present), had been writing (past), will have been writing (future).

2. Key rules of use

Words that call for the simple present: always, usually, often, every day, generally. She goes* to the temple every Saturday.*
Universal truths stay in the simple present even in a past sentence: The teacher said that water boils* at 100 °C.*
Words that call for the present continuous: now, at present, at the moment, look!, listen! Look! The children are dancing.
Stative verbs are usually not used in the continuous: know, believe, understand, like, love, hate, want, belong, own, seem, contain. ✗ I am knowing him ✓ I know* him.*
Present perfect is never used with a past time word (yesterday, last week, in 2019, ago). ✗ I have seen him yesterday ✓ I saw* him yesterday.*
Present perfect goes with: just, already, yet, ever, never, so far, recently, since, for. He has just left.
Past perfect needs two past actions: When I reached* the bus stand, the bus had left.*
*After if, when, unless, as soon as, before, until* about the future, use the simple present, not will*: If it rains, we will stay at home.* ✗ If it will rain.
Hardly/scarcely … when and no sooner … than take the past perfect with inverted order: *No sooner had the bell rung than the children ran out. Hardly had I sat down when the phone rang.*
*It is time* + simple past: It is time we left.
*Wish* about the present + simple past (were for all persons): I wish I were* rich.*

3. Conditionals (if-sentences)

Type	If-part	Main part
Real (likely)	if + present	will + verb
Unreal present	if + past (were)	would + verb
Unreal past	if + had + V3	would have + V3

If you study, you will pass. If I were* you, I would apply. If he had left early, he would have caught the train.*

4. Subject–verb agreement

Two subjects joined by and take a plural verb: Ravi and Sita are* friends.* But if they name one person or one idea, singular: Bread and butter is* my breakfast. The secretary and treasurer has come* (one person).
As well as, along with, with, together with, in addition to, besides do not change the number of the first subject: The teacher, along with the students, was* present.*
Either … or, neither … nor, not only … but also: the verb agrees with the nearer subject: Neither the manager nor the clerks were* present. Either the clerks or the manager is to blame.*
Each, every, everyone, everybody, nobody, someone, either, neither take a singular verb: Each of the boys has* a bicycle.*
One of + plural noun takes a singular verb: One of my friends lives* in Karimnagar.* But one of those who + plural verb: He is one of those officers who work* hard.*
The number of + plural noun → singular verb; a number of → plural verb: The number of students is* small. A number of students are absent.*
Collective nouns (team, jury, committee, family) take a singular verb when acting as one unit: The committee has* given its report.* Plural when the members act separately: The jury were* divided in their opinions.*
Amounts of money, time, distance taken as one whole are singular: Ten kilometres is* a long walk. Five thousand rupees is a big sum.*
News, mathematics, physics, economics, politics (as subjects) take a singular verb: The news is* good.*
Police, people, cattle, scissors, trousers take a plural verb: The police have* arrested the thief.*
Many a + singular noun + singular verb: Many a student has* failed this test.*

5. Auxiliaries (helping verbs)

Be (am, is, are, was, were), have (has, have, had), do (do, does, did) and the modals (can, will, shall, may, must…).
After do/does/did use the base form: Did she go? ✗ Did she went?
After modals use the base form: He can swim. ✗ He can swims.
After have/has/had use the past participle (V3): has gone, had written.

6. Question tags in detail

Sentence	Tag
She is ready.	isn't she?
They were late.	weren't they?
You have finished.	haven't you?
He will come.	won't he?
We can win.	can't we?
She plays chess.	doesn't she?
They bought a car.	didn't they?
He doesn't smoke.	does he?

Special tags:

I am → *aren't I?: I am right, aren't I?*
Let's → *shall we?: Let's go to Bhadrachalam, shall we?*
Imperative (order/request) → *will you?* (or won't you? for an invitation): Close the door, will you?
Negative words never, hardly, seldom, scarcely, barely, nobody, nothing, no one make the sentence negative, so the tag is positive: He never tells lies, does he? Nobody came, did they?
Everyone, everybody, someone, nobody take *they* in the tag: Everyone was happy, weren't they?
Nothing, everything take *it: Nothing happened, did it?*
There is/are keeps *there: There is a bank nearby, isn't there?*
This/that → it; these/those → they: That is your bag, isn't it?
Used to → *didn't: She used to live here, didn't she?*
Had better → *hadn't: You had better go, hadn't you?*
Has as a main verb (possession) can take doesn't: She has a car, doesn't she? (In exam items prefer the form the options give; hasn't she is the British alternative.)

Common traps

✗ I have seen this film last week. ✓ I saw this film last week.
✗ He is living here since 2015. ✓ He has been living here since 2015.
✗ She has been ill since three days. ✓ She has been ill for three days.
✗ If it will rain, the match will be cancelled. ✓ If it rains, the match will be cancelled.
✗ I am understanding the lesson. ✓ I understand the lesson.
✗ No sooner had he reached when it began to rain. ✓ No sooner had he reached than it began to rain.
✗ One of my cousins live in Siddipet. ✓ One of my cousins lives in Siddipet.
✗ The news are bad. ✓ The news is bad.
✗ Neither he nor his friends was there. ✓ Neither he nor his friends were there.
✗ I am late, amn't I? ✓ I am late, aren't I?
✗ He never comes on time, doesn't he? ✓ He never comes on time, does he?
✗ Let's start now, will we? ✓ Let's start now, shall we?

Quick revision

12 tenses = 3 times × simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous.
Present perfect never with yesterday, ago, last year, in 2019.
Since + point of time; for + length of time.
Past perfect for the earlier of two past actions.
After if, when, unless about the future: simple present, not will.
No sooner … than; hardly/scarcely … when (with had).
Each, every, one of, the number of, news → singular verb.
Either/neither … or/nor: verb agrees with the nearer subject.
Tag: opposite sign, same helping verb, pronoun; do/does/did if none.
I am → aren't I; Let's → shall we; never/nobody → positive tag; order → will you.

Go deeper: Deeper (beyond what TGPSC MPSO / ASO usually asks)

Deeper Advanced

Verbs like see, think, have, taste can be continuous when they mean an action: I am thinking* of joining the course* (considering). She is having* lunch* (eating). But I think* he is right* (opinion), She has* two sons* (possession).
Since clause takes the simple past, main clause the present perfect: It has been* two years since he left.*
Would for a past habit: As a child, I would walk to school.
Suggest, recommend, insist, demand + that + base verb (or should): The doctor suggested that he (should) rest.
The majority of + plural noun takes a plural verb: The majority of farmers are* happy with the rain.*
A pair of + plural noun takes a singular verb: A pair of shoes is* under the bed.*
With there, the verb agrees with the noun that follows: There is* a temple and two tanks* (nearest noun) is the common usage; exam items normally use There are* two tanks and a temple*.
A tag with I think: tag follows the clause after it: I think she is right, isn't she?

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17.1.2 Tenses and subject–verb agreement

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Core facts

Explained

Common traps

Quick revision

Deeper Advanced