A few words about the importance and use of tenses
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Puspita and Shramana are very enthusiastic about my blog. They are very supportive too. I have discussed how different tenses are formed and how we should use them to write grammatically correct sentences.To know the basic rules is definitely important. When we speak a language it is not necessary to be grammatically correct. no native speaker of any language speaks grammatically correct sentences. It is simply not possible. In this regard let us recall what George Bernard Shaw has said in his brilliant essay SPOKEN ENGLISH AND BROKEN ENGLISH. He has advised a foreign visitor not to speak in the Queen's English and Accent.If he/she does so the native speaker will not help him because they themselves don't speak like that. It may give them a complex.
Jokes apart let us discuss a few essential things. In English we follow the SUBJECT> VERB>OBJECT pattern when we write a simple assertive sentence. The verb always sits next to the subject. Other words follow them. But in Bengali we follow the SOV= Subject>object>verb pattern.
This is the main difference between an English sentence and a Bengali sentence. Study the following examples:
1. I read a book. ( In Bengali AMI EKTA BOI PORI}. In the first sentence I=Subject, Read=verb and A Book= object = S V O. Within the first brackets I have written the Bengali sentence in the Roman Script. Here the verb PORI sits at the end of the sentence. So please remember one important thing. Whenever you construct a simple sentence in English follow the SVO pattern.
2. Please remember another important thing. It is necessary to know the tenses of verbs but don't be fastidious about them. Poets and authors take liberties with their grammar. Don't imitate them because it is their mother tongue, not yours. Don't ever try to find fault with Shakespeare or John Keats. Don't try to correct their language. Just mind your own language and see that you are using the correct forms of tenses.
3.You can take the following liberties with the use of your tenses because they are grammatically correct.
A) You can say or write= Here comes Shramana. ( Instead of= Shramana is coming ) It means you can use the present indefinite tense in place of present continuous tense. But be careful. You cannot use it at random.
B) You can also use the present continuous tense in place of future indefinite tense/future continuous tense.
Sukanya is going to Kalyani tomorrow= Sukanya will go to Kalyani tomorrow= Sukanya will be going to Kalyani tomorrow. ( All these sentences are grammatically correct. Be bold enough to use them. But a word of caution:: Don't write them in your answer script if you are appearing at the Madhyamik Examination next year. Some of the teachers may not appreciate it.
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