Tense is a form of grammar that helps us to determine the time when an action occurred or is occurring. In this article we will see how the word “leave” is used in all tense forms.
The root word “leave” means to move away, deliver, deposit, to stop from taking something away or refraining from depleting something. The verb “leave” goes through some changes while changing the tense forms and is written as “left” in both past and past participle forms. “Leaving” is the continuous form of the verb.
Now let us see the usage of the word “leave” in the various tense forms as – present, past and future.
“Leave” in Present Tense
Present tense depicts an action or incident that is currently happening or has happened in this moment. We will learn about the usage of the verb “leave” in present tense form.
In the present tense, the term “leave” can be depicted in various ways as- “leaves” (if the subject is a third person singular male or female), “am/is/are leaving” (for present continuous tense), “has/have left (for present perfect tense) and “has/have been leaving” (for present perfect continuous tense).
When is “leave” used in Present Tense?
The term “leave” is used in the present tense to refer to a presently occurring or occurred action of departing, going away, delivering something or withdrawing oneself from an action and transfer responsibility to someone else hence stop concerning about it.
Sentence formation of “leave” in Present Tense
| Forms of Present Tense | Structure of Sentence |
| 1. Simple Present Tense | a. First/second person (singular/plural) subject+ leave+ object. b. Third person (singular) subject + leaves + object. c. Third person (plural) subject + leave + object. |
| 2. Present Continuous Tense | a. First person (singular) subject + am+ leaving + object. b. First person (plural) subject + are+ leaving + object. c. Second person (singular/plural) subject +are+ leaving+ object. d. Third person (singular) subject + is+ leaving+ object. e. Third person (plural) subject+ are+ leaving+ object. |
| 3. Present Perfect Tense | a. First/ second person (singular/plural) subject+ have+ left+ object. b. Third person (singular) subject+ has+ left+ object. c. Third person (plural) subject+ have+ left+ object. |
| 4. Present Prefect Continuous Tense | a. First/second person (singular/plural) subject+ have+ been+ leaving+ object. b. Third person (singular) subject+ has+ been+ leaving+ object. c. Third person (plural) subject+ have+ been+ leaving+ object. |
Examples of “leave” in Present Tense
| Forms of Present Tense | Examples of Present Tense | Explanations |
| 1. Simple Present Tense | a. I/we/you usually leave for school early in the morning. b. Rohit usually leaves for school early in the morning. c. Rohit and Rashi usually leave for school early in the morning. | Here the verb ”leave” is used to denote the present tense form along with the word “leaves” for third person singular subject. |
| 2. Present Continuous Tense | a. I am leaving for a vacation today. b. We are leaving for a vacation today. c. You are leaving for a vacation today. d. Natasha is leaving for a vacation today. e. The workers are leaving for a vacation today. | The continuous form of the word that is “leaving” is used here together with “ am/is/are” to represent present continuous form. |
| 3. Present Perfect Tense | a. I/we/you have left for my/our/yours dental check up in the morning. b.Radha has left for her dental check up in the morning. c. The children have left for their dental check up in the morning. | The past form of the word “leave” is used here to represent the present perfect form with has/have to state the singular or plural form of the subject. |
| 4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense | a. Since the birth of the child I/we/you have been leaving letters for her to read. b. Since the birth of the child Raj has been leaving letters for her to read. c. Since the birth of the child her grandparents have been leaving letters for her to read. | The base verb “leave” has taken the form of “has/have been leaving” in the present perfect continuous tense to show an action that started in the past but is still continuing. |
“Leave” in Past Tense
Past tense is generally used to depict an action that had already happened but it may have a little continuation in the present moment, that is in case of past continuous tense.
The past and past participle form of the word “leave” is same, that is “left”. Here the root word “leave” takes up various forms like “was/were leaving”, “had left”, “had been leaving” to establish the past tense of the main word.
When is “leave” used in Past Tense?
The root word “leave” is used in the past tense to emphasize an already happened act of departing, stopping, giving something to someone, ending one’s connection, separating from someone and depositing something. In certain cases these actions may have some lingering effect in the present time.
Sentence formation of “leave” in Past Tense
| Forms of Past Tense | Structure of Sentence |
| 1. Simple Past Tense | a. First/second/third person (singular/plural) subject+ left + object. |
| 2. Past Continuous Tense | a. First person (singular) subject + was + leaving + object. b. First person (plural) subject + were + leaving + object. c. Second person (singular/plural) subject +were + leaving+ object. d. Third person (singular) subject + was + leaving+ object. e. Third person (plural) subject+ were + leaving+ object. |
| 3. Past Perfect Tense | a. First/ second / third person (singular/plural) subject+ had + left+ object. |
| 4. Past Prefect Continuous Tense | a. First/second/ third person (singular/plural) subject+ had + been+ leaving+ object. |
Examples of “leave” in Past Tense
| Forms of Past Tense | Examples of Past Tense | Explanations |
| 1. Simple Past Tense | a. I/we/you/He/ She left for the station early yesterday morning. | In this given example the past form “left” is used to denote the past tense. |
| 2. Past Continuous Tense | a. I was leaving for my work when I heard the news about the plane crash. b. We were leaving for our work when we heard the news about the plane crash. c. You were leaving for your work when you heard the news about the plane crash. d. Nazia was leaving for work when she heard the news about the plane crash. e. The workers were leaving for work when they heard the news about the plane crash. | The continuous form “leaving” is used along with “was/were” based on the subject being singular or plural showcasing the past continuous form . |
| 3. Past Perfect Tense | a.I/we/you/he/she/They had already left the home when the police arrived. | “Left” the past participle form of “leave” is used here and “had” is added to portray the past perfect tense. |
| 4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense | a.I/we/you/he/she/they had been leaving him notes for a while before he finally remembered to submit his assignments. | In the given example the past perfect continuous form “had been leaving” is used to mark the action of the subject that had started at a certain time in the past and had even been completed in the past. |
“Leave” in Future Tense
The future Tense is the representation of an act that will probably take place later at a given period of time. Let us see the word “leave” in all its future tense forms.
The verb “leave” can be written in various forms to determine its future tense forms such as – “will/shall leave”, “will/shall be leaving”, “will/shall have left” and “will/shall have been leaving”.
When is “leave” used in Future Tense?
The term “leave” in future tense form is used for representing an action of moving, refraining from taking something away, delivering, withdrawing oneself, to stop depleting, to put something, or to give something to someone in a given period of time later in the future.
Sentence formation of “leave” in Future Tense
| Forms of Future Tense | Structure of Sentence |
| 1. Simple Future Tense | a. First/second/third person (singular/plural) subject+ will + leave + object. |
| 2. Future Continuous Tense | a. First/second/third person (singular/plural) subject + will+ be+ leaving+ object. |
| 3. Future Perfect Tense | a. First/ second / third person (singular/plural) subject+ will+ have+ left+ object. |
| 4. Future Prefect Continuous Tense | a. First/second/ third person (singular/plural) subject+ will+ have+ been+ leaving+ object. |
Examples of “leave” in Future Tense
| Forms of Future Tense | Examples of Future Tense | Explanations |
| 1.Simple Future Tense | a. I/we/you/He/ She/ they will soon leave India. | In this given example the future tense form “will leave” is used to state an action that will happen in the future. |
| 2.Future Continuous Tense | a.I/we/you/he/she/they will be leaving for Dubai on next Saturday. | “leaving” that is the continuous form is used here along with “will be” to show the future continuous form. |
| 3.Future Perfect Tense | a.I/we/you/he/she/They will have left the country by this time tomorrow. | The past participle form “left” is used here with “will have” to represent future perfect tense. |
| 4.Future Perfect Continuous Tense | a.I/we/you/he/she/they will have been leaving my/our/his/her/their home town for two years by next month. | In this example “will have been leaving” denotes the future perfect continuous form. |
Conclusion
In this article we can conclude that the past and past participle form of the verb “leave” is “left” and it gives us a brief overview of the root word “leave” in all its tense forms.
Hello Everyone…My name is Sulogna Mahapatra. I have completed my master’s in English along with a B.Ed. I have 2 years of teaching experience in a school. I am also a creative writer. Presently I am working as a Subject Matter Expert in Lambdageeks.
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