The verb “lift’’ can be used in the present, past, or past participle form to refer to the actions at various times. Let us justify its usage in various tenses.
We must affix the “s” with the verb “lift’’ to frame the word “lifts’’ that is used while making a sentence in the simple present tense which has the third person singular number subject. The other forms are “lifting” and “lifted” that are used in continuous and perfect tense forms.
Now, let us explain more interesting facts regarding the usage of “lift” in the three tenses along with relevant examples and explanations.
“Lift’’ in the present tense.
The verb “lift’’ in the forms “lifts’’, “lift’’, or “lifting’’ can show its applications in the present tense. Now, let’s have a look at its role.
We use the verb “lift’’ to refer to taking hold of something and raising it in order to remove or carry it to a different place.
When can we use “lift’’ in the present tense?
We can use the term “lift’’ when we need to show someone’s power to put up something from its place and put it in a higher place. We must use lift, lifts, lifting, or lifted along with am/is/are, has/have, has/have been to frames sentences to indicate removing something from its place to a higher place.
Sentence structure of “lift’’ in the present tense-
| Type of present tense | Rule to form a sentence with “lift’’ in the present tense |
| 1. Present indefinite tense/ Simple present tense | (i) Subject (any person)+ lift/lifts + object + remaining part of the sentence(to make an assertive sentence) (ii) Do/does + Subject + lift + object + rest of the sentence? (while forming interrogative sentence) (iii) Lift + object + rest of the sentence if required (imperative sentence) |
| 2. Present continuous tense/ Present progressive tense | (I) Subject (any person) + am/is/are + hurting + object + rest of the sentence (assertive sentence) (ii) Am/is/are + subject + hurting + object + rest of the sentence(to frame an interrogative sentence) |
| 3. Present perfect tense | (I)Subject (any person) + has/have + lifted (past participle form) + object + rest rest of the sentence(assertive sentence) (ii) Has/have + subject + lifted + object + rest rest of the sentence+?(question formation sentence) |
| 4. Present perfect continuous tense/ Present perfect progressive tense | (I) Subject (any person) + has/have + been lifting + object + rest rest of the sentence(statement) (ii) Has/have + been + subject (any person) + lifting + object + rest rest of the sentence(question) |
Examples and explanations with the usage of “lift’’ in the present tense-
| Type of present tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Present indefinite tense/ Simple present tense | The man lifts his head very hard as he is unwell with a headache. | Here the verb “lifts’’ is in the usage to show the event that the man puts his head as he is not well. The action raising of the man’s head is done in a general sense. |
| 2. Present continuous tense/ Present progressive tense | The baby is lifting the doll from the floor. | The term “is lifting’’ forms the continuous action of taking up the doll from the floor. It is being done by the boy. |
| 3. Present perfect tense | Dorothy and Wizard have lifted the bloody man from the road and taken care of him. | The verb “have lifted’’ is used to mention an action in which the two girls have raised the bloody man from the road and taken care of him with gentleness. |
| 4. Present perfect continuous tense/ Present perfect progressive tense | The student has been lifting his bag full of books for a few minutes as it is heavy. | Here the usage of the verb “has been lifting’’ is applied to indicate the ongoing action continuing for some time. We come to know that the student has been putting up his bag full of books as it is very heavy. |
“Lift’’ in the past tense.
A past tense is used to refer to an action that closed the earlier while. Now, we will get the discussion on how the verb “lift’’ works in the past tense.
The verb “lift’’ is used in the past tense to show the action of raising something or someone from the ground.
When can we use “lift’’ in the past tense?
We can apply the verb “lift’’ in the past tense when we wish to indicate the act of putting up anything from its places to the higher places in the past. We can use the words lifted, lifting along with was/were, had, or had been to make sentences to show the actions of removing anything to a higher place in the past.
Sentence structure of “lift’’ in the past tense-
| Type of past tense | Rules to be followed to form a sentence with “lift’’ in the past tense |
| 1. Past indefinite tense/ Simple past tense | a. Subject (any person) + lifted (past form) + object + rest of the sentence(assertive sentence) b. Did + subject (any person) + lift + object + rest of the sentence(question) |
| 2. Past continuous tense/ Past progressive tense | a. Subject (any person) + was/were + lifting + object + remaining part of the sentence (assertive sentence) b. Was/were + subject (any person) + lifting + object + remaining part of the sentence (interrogative sentence) |
| 3. Past perfect tense | a. Subject (any person) + had + lifted (past participle form) + object + rest of the sentence(assertive sentence) b. Had + subject + lifted (past participle form) + object + rest of the sentence(question) |
| 4. Past perfect continuous tense/ past progressive tense | a. Subject (any person) + had + been lifting + object + rest of the sentence(assertive sentence) b. Had + subject (any person) + been + lifting + object + rest rest of the sentence+?(question) |
Examples and explanations with the verb “lift’’ in the past tense-
| Type of past tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Past indefinite tense/ Simple past tense | David lifted me up from misery and consoled me to have peace of mind. | In this sentence, the verb “lifted’’ is used to frame a sentence to show a completed act that David raised me from my miserable state and gave me much consolation in mind. |
| 2. Past continuous tense/ Past progressive tense | The businessman was lifting the ticket to show the number that won the first prize. | Here “was lifting’’ is used to mention that action of raising the ticket was continuing or in progress. It mentions the action that the businessman was lifting the ticket to show the number that won the first prize in the competition. |
| 3. Past perfect tense | The mob had lifted the fallen car from the canal before the crane came to the spot. | In this example, the verb “had lifted’’ has been applied to form a sentence with a sense to provide that the people mob had lifted the fallen car from the canal before the crane came to the spot. |
| 4. Past perfect continuous tense/ Past perfect progressive tense | I had been lifting the heavy load on my head for a few minutes. | Here the verb “had been lifting’’ has been used to indicate that an action of raising the load continued for some time. We come to know that I had been lifting a heavy load on my head for a few minutes. |
“Lift’’ in the future tense.
The verb “lift’’ will take shall/will after it to frame future tense to mention future actions. Let us justify the application of how “lift’’ acts in the future tense.
We can use the verb “lift’’ in the future tense to display the act of raising something or someone to a higher level or position.
When do we use “lift’’ in the future tense?
The verb “lift’’ along with shall/will is used to display the moving of something to a higher position. We must use shall/will have, and shall/will have been as per the requirement to construct sentences to show the removal of something or someone from its position.
Sentence structure of “lift’’ in the future tense-
| Type of future tense | How to form a sentence with “lift’’ in the future tense |
| 1. Future indefinite tense/ Simple future tense | a. Subject (any person) + shall/will + lift + object + remaining part(assertive sentence) b. Shall/will + subject (any person) + lift + object + remaining part +?(question) |
| 2. Future continuous tense/ Future progressive tense | a. Subject (any person) + shall/will + be + lifting + object + remaining part of the sentence(statement) b. Shall/will + subject (any person) + be + lifting + object + remaining part +?(in case of making question) |
| 3. Future perfect tense | a. Subject + shall/will + have + lifted + object + remaining part of the sentence(assertive sentence) b. Shall/will + subject (any person) + have + lifted + object + remaining part of the sentence+?(question) |
| 4. Future perfect continuous tense/ Future perfect progressive tense | a. Subject (any person) + shall/will + have + been + lifting + object + remaining part of the sentence(assertive sentence) b. Shall/will + subject (any person) + have + been + lifting + object + remaining part of the sentence(for making a question) |
Examples and explanations with the verb “lift’’ in the future tense-
| Type of future tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Future indefinite tense/ Simple future tense | The masons will lift the massive structure on the wall of the building. | The verb “lift’’ along with will is used to give us an example of putting up a massive structure on the wall of the building in a general sense in the future. |
| 2. Future continuous tense/ Future progressive tense | The gentlewoman will be lifting the veil when she will see any senior person coming. | In this example, it is seen that the verb “will be lifting’’ has formed to show a continuous action of the future. We find out that the gentlewoman will be lifting the veil when she will see any senior person coming. |
| 3. Future perfect tense | The young men will have lifted the iron balls in the gym center tomorrow. | In this sentence, it has been seen that the verb “will have lifted’’ has constructed a sentence to provide us with the sense that the young men will have lifted the iron balls in the gym center tomorrow. |
| 4. Future perfect continuous tense/ Future perfect progressive tense | The teacher will have been lifting the stick toward the naughty boys for some time. | Here the verb “will have been lifting’’ has made a sentence in the progressive form in which we find that the teacher will have been lifting the stick toward the naughty boys for some time in the future. |
Conclusion
After the discussion, it may be said that we can make phrases with the verb “lift’’ such as “not lift a finger’’ that can make sense of the sentence while we use it. We are certain to apply these phrases while framing sentences. We can frame phrasal verbs like “lift off’’, and “lift up’’ with this verb form.
