The verb “read’’ can be applied in present, past, or future tense. Now, let us take a detailed description of the usage of “read’’ in all tense forms.
We can definitely use the verb “read’’ to mention our desire to get to know about the incidents happening all over the world or to get knowledge about certain topics. The forms of past and past participle are the same as “read’’. We have to add “ing’’ to frame the present participle form.
Now, we will describe the utilization of the verb “read’’ in different types of tenses along with relevant examples and detailed explanations.
“Read’’ in the present tense.
An action that happens in a general way at present is called present tense. Now, we will provide a discussion on the usage of “read” in the present tense.
We apply the various forms such as “read’’, “reads’’, “am/is/are reading’’, “has/have read’’, and “has/have been reading’’ to present our intention of getting knowledge.
When can we use “read’’ in the present tense?
The verb “read’’ can be applied in the present tense to mention gaining knowledge by studying written papers. We use the verb “read” in the present indefinite, present, continuous, present perfect, and present perfect continuous tense to refer to the action of studying.
Examples of the usage of “read’’ in the present tense-
| Type of present tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Present indefinite tense/ Simple present tense | a. I read a novel written by my grandfather. b. We read in an English medium school. c. You read very attentively with your father. d. He reads in a vernacular school. e. They read story books for pleasure. | The present sentences show that the verbs “read’’, and “reads’’ are used in the general sense. We get to know that the study of the novel or others takes place in the general sense to mention the act of reading. |
| 2. Present continuous tense/ Present progressive tense | a. I am reading History now. b. We are reading sincerely for the coming test. c. You are reading the essay now. d. He is reading the book minutely. e. The teachers are reading loudly so that the students can hear them. | In the mentioned sentences, the term “ reading’’ is used along with am/is/are to form the continuous action in the present in which we find out that the actions of reading are going on at the present moment. |
| 3. Present perfect tense | a. I have read the story to solve all the questions on it. b. We have read the newspaper to know the events happening in the world. c. You have read my face and advised me to take a rest for a while. d. He has read the letter written to him by his friend. e. They have read out the reports to the owner of the company. | Here the verbs “has/have read’’ in its past participle form are used in the present perfect tense to present the actions of studying different written documents recently for providing information. |
| 4. Present perfect continuous tense/ Present perfect progressive tense | a. I have been reading History for the whole day. b. We have been reading in a college for three years to complete a degree. c. You have been reading the poem for an hour to clarify its meaning. d. He has been reading about wildlife for several months. e. They have been reading the road map for some time to go traveling. | Here we see that the verbs “has/have been reading’’ have been applied in the mentioned sentences to present the act of studying for a certain period of time. |
“Read’’ in the past tense.
The verb “read” remains the same in the past tense. Only the pronunciation is different. Let us explain how we can use “read” in the past tense.
We can use the verb “read’’ in the past tense to show the act of knowing something in the mind or heart by interpreting the meaning. We use the verb simple past, past continuous, past perfect, and past perfect continuous tenses to mention the action of getting knowledge.
When can we use “read’’ in the past tense?
The verb “read’’ refers to the meaning of study is used when there is a hunger for gaining concepts about any matter.
Examples and explanations of “read’’ in the past tense-
| Type of past tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Past indefinite tense/ Simple past tense | a. I read that Ramen had resigned from his post of manager. b. We read in a magazine about his success in the sports competition. c. You read that story of a famous person. d. He read the life history of the renowned athlete. e. They read it aloud to catch the attention of the listeners. | Here we have seen that the verb “read’’ is used in all the sentences to mention the act of placing something in some places. The verb “read’’ is applied in the same spelling as it is not changed in the past form. |
| 2. Past continuous tense/ Past progressive tense | a. I was reading the notebook last night. b. We were reading the questions very attentively. c. You were reading the letter yesterday. d. He was reading my note to get the meaning. e. They were reading the messages. | We find that the study was continued in the past. The present participle form is followed by the verb “reading’’ to indicate past events. |
| 3. Past perfect tense | a. I had read the questions before my tutor came to teach me. b. We had read the English newspaper before it started to rain. c. You had read the drama before you took part in the rehearsal. d. He had read the notes dealing with advice before I saw him. e. They had read the questions assigned to them before they were asked the questions. | In these sentences, the verbs “had read’’ form the instances with a sense to provide that the action of study in the past before another actions come off. |
| 4. Past perfect continuous tense/ Past perfect progressive tense | a. I had been reading the landscape for an hour. b. We had been reading your face for some time to have a concept of your mind. c. You had been reading the essay for an hour. d. He had been reading the story for some time. e. They had been reading the book to discover the magic. | The cited examples deal with the verbs “had been reading’’ to indicate the continuous actions of studying in the past. Here we find out that the actions of reading were in progress for a certain period of time in the past. |
“Read’’ in the future tense.
The verb that deals with the actions of the future are considered as the future tense. Here we will get to know the works of the verb “read’’ in the future tense.
We can use the verb “read’’ in the future tense to understand something in a particular subject. We can use the verb “read” in all the forms (future indefinite tense, future continuous tense, future perfect tense, and future perfect continuous tense) to exhibit acquiring knowledge by studying.
When do we use “read’’ in the future tense?
The strong verb “read’ is used to show the utterance aloud or render it in a speech in the future. The verb “read” takes the modal verbs or auxiliary verbs like shall, will, shall be, will be, shall have, will have, shall have been, and will have been to refer to study some papers or written documents to gain knowledge.
Examples and explanations of “read’’ in the future tense-
| Type of future tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Future indefinite tense/ Simple future tense | a. I shall read the prose tomorrow. b. We shall read the topic with great attention. c. You will read my mind. d. He will read my feelings to my face. e. They will read the sentence carefully. | In these sentences, we see that the verbs “shall/will read’’ are used in the sense for reading in the future in a general sense. We come to know that the verb “read’’ is used along with shall/will to present the sense of getting knowledge in the future tense. |
| 2. Future continuous tense/ Future progressive tense | a. I shall be reading the theory. b. We will be reading at a university next year. c. You will be reading the comic story. d. He will be reading the play in the M.A. syllabus. e. They will be reading Arabic. | Here we have found the usage of the verb “read’’ along with auxiliary verbs shall/will be to present the continuous actions of the future tense. Here we come to know that the actions of pursuing knowledge through the study will be going on in the future. |
| 3. Future perfect tense | a. I shall have read the book tomorrow. b. We shall have read the passage attentively. c. You will have read the poems composed by Milton. d. He will have read the textbooks. e. They will have read the quotations. | The cited sentences bear with the verb “read’’ along with shall/will have showing the future activities in which we see that the verb “read’’ is used to show the study of something in the future. |
| 4. Future perfect continuous tense/ Future perfect progressive tense | a. I shall have been reading the story for the whole morning tomorrow. b. We shall have been reading the situation for two hours to get information about the place. c. You will have been reading the reports for the whole morning tomorrow. d. He will have been reading the instructions for half an hour. e. They will have been reading the part of the story for the whole morning. | The sentences provide us with the conception that the verb “reading’’ along with shall/will have been is used to display the action of studying for a period of time. We get to know the function of the verb “read’’ in the future progressive tense. |
Conclusion
After learning the usage of “read’’ in various tenses we must point out that we can make phrases with “read’’ such as “read between the lines’’, “read like something’’, “take something as read’’, “read someone’s lips’’, etc. We can frame phrasal verbs like “read for’’, “read back’’, “read off’’, “read into aside’’, “read up on”, etc with this verb form.
Hi…. I am Goutam Datta. I have completed a double M. A. in English and B. Ed. I am a creative writer. Currently, I am a part of the LambdaGeeks.