Stop losing marks on tenses! Learn the 80% rule that makes identifying correct tenses instant. Complete guide with time signal words, examples, and free practice worksheet for CBSE Class 9-10.
You're staring at your English exam paper. Question 5 asks you to fill in the blank with the correct tense. Your mind races through all the rules you memorized. "Should it be 'has eaten' or 'had eaten'? Wait, or maybe 'was eating'?"
Sound familiar? You're not alone. Tenses confuse thousands of CBSE students every year.
But here's the secret nobody tells you. You don't need to memorize endless rules. You need one simple trick that works 80% of the time.
The grammar section in your CBSE English exam carries 15-20 marks. That's huge. Tenses questions alone can give you 5-7 guaranteed marks if you know the trick.
Most students try to memorize every rule about every tense. Present perfect. Past continuous. Future perfect continuous. Your textbook throws twenty different rules at you. When exam pressure hits, all those rules jumble together in your head.
The problem isn't that tenses are hard. The problem is how we're taught to learn them. Too many rules, not enough patterns.
Here's the trick that changes everything. Look for the time signal word in the sentence. That word tells you exactly which tense to use.
See "every day" in a sentence? Simple Present. See "yesterday"? Simple Past. See "Look!" or "now"? Present Continuous happening right this moment.
Why does this work? Because English speakers use time words to show when things happen. The tense follows the time word automatically. Master the time words, master the tenses.
This trick solves 8 out of 10 tenses questions instantly. You save your brain power for the really tricky questions. You finish faster. You make fewer mistakes.
Let's break down all 12 tenses into groups that actually make sense.
These show basic actions without any extra drama.
Simple Present shows habits and facts. "I eat rice every day." Time signals: every day, always, usually, often, sometimes, never.
Simple Past shows completed actions. "I ate rice yesterday." Time signals: yesterday, last week, ago, in 2020.
Simple Future shows plans and predictions. "I will eat rice tomorrow." Time signals: tomorrow, next week, soon.
Notice the pattern? The tense name tells you everything. Simple Present = simple action happening in present time. Simple Past = simple action that happened in past time.
These show actions in progress, happening over a period of time.
Present Continuous shows action happening right now. "I am eating rice now." Time signals: now, right now, at the moment, Look!, Listen!
Past Continuous shows action that was in progress in the past. "I was eating rice when you called." Time signals: when, while, at that time.
Future Continuous shows action that will be in progress at a future time. "I will be eating rice at 8 PM tomorrow." Time signals: at this time tomorrow, specific future time mentioned.
The word "continuous" is your clue. Something is continuing, in progress, not finished yet.
These show completed actions with a connection to a time point.
Present Perfect shows action completed recently or with present results. "I have eaten rice already." Time signals: already, just, yet, recently, ever, never, since, for.
Past Perfect shows action completed before another past action. "I had eaten rice before the movie started." Time signals: before, after, when (with two past actions).
Future Perfect shows action that will be completed before a future time. "I will have eaten rice by 8 PM." Time signals: by tomorrow, by next week, before.
Perfect tenses connect two time points. Present Perfect connects past to now. Past Perfect connects earlier past to later past. Future Perfect connects now to future completion.
These combine both ideas: action in progress AND completed up to a time point. Good news? These rarely appear in CBSE Class 9-10 exams. Focus on the first three groups.
Students often mix up "I have eaten" and "I ate." Here's the difference in one sentence.
Use Simple Past when the time is finished and mentioned. "I ate breakfast at 7 AM." The time (7 AM) is over and done.
Use Present Perfect when the time isn't mentioned or still continues. "I have eaten breakfast" (time not mentioned) or "I have lived here for five years" (time period continues until now).
The key? If you see a specific past time word (yesterday, last week, in 2020), always use Simple Past.
Past Perfect exists for one reason: to show which of two past actions happened first.
Wrong: "I had gone to school yesterday." (Only one past action, so Simple Past is correct: "I went to school yesterday.")
Right: "I had finished my homework when my friend arrived." (Two past actions: finishing happened before arriving.)
Use Past Perfect only when you need to show the sequence of two past events.
"Since" marks a starting point. "I have studied English since 2020." (2020 is when it started.)
"For" marks a duration. "I have studied English for five years." (Five years is how long.)
Both use Present Perfect, but since needs a point in time, for needs a period of time.
Here's how to master tenses in two weeks.
Before you even think about the verb, find the time signal word in the sentence. "Every day"? "Yesterday"? "Look!"? Circle it.
Does your time word suggest habit? Simple Present. Finished past? Simple Past. Happening now? Present Continuous. Connect time word to tense group instantly.
Once you know the tense group, apply the basic formula. Simple Past? Add -ed or use past form. Present Continuous? Use am/is/are + verb-ing. You already know these formulas from class.
Do 5 tenses questions every single day. Not 20 questions once a week. Five questions daily builds muscle memory. Your brain learns to recognize patterns automatically.
Track your improvement. Write down how many you get right each day. When you hit 5/5 correct for three days straight, you've mastered it.
Use real CBSE question papers for practice. The patterns repeat every year. Last five years of board exam papers give you all the question types you'll face.
Ready to test what you've learned? I've created a free practice worksheet with everything you need.
What's Inside:
The worksheet uses the exact 80% rule we discussed. Every answer shows you which time signal word revealed the correct tense. You'll see the pattern immediately.
This isn't just another boring worksheet. It's designed specifically for self-study. You can check your own work, understand your mistakes, and improve without a tutor.
Get Your Free Worksheet: Download Free Tenses Practice Worksheet →
Tenses aren't as complicated as your textbook makes them seem. Most questions follow simple patterns. Time signal words give away the answer.
Focus on Simple, Continuous, and Perfect tenses. Master the time words for each group. Practice five questions daily. Within two weeks, tenses questions become the easiest marks on your exam paper.
The difference between scoring 60% and 90% in English grammar? Usually just 4-5 tenses questions answered correctly. That's it.
Stop memorizing rules. Start recognizing patterns. Your exam scores will thank you.
Created by Shambhavi Thakur, an instructional designer with 15+ years of experience creating CBSE study materials. All resources follow the 5C approach: Clear, Correct, Concise, Coherent, and Complete.
Need more grammar help? Browse our complete collection of CBSE study materials covering Classes 9-12 across all subjects.
Questions? Drop a comment below or email info@shambhavithakur.com
Instructional Designer | 15+ Years Experience
Creating educational content for CBSE students across India
Master all 12 English tenses through quick reference guide and 5 practice questions with detailed answer key.
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