A sentence can’t be formed without the timing of the verb which must be either in present, or in past or in future tense. Here we will discuss the verb “relate” in all three forms.
The verb “relate” simply means to associate, to correlate, to connect, to compare, to pertain, to describe, to communicate and so on. ”Relate” with the inflections in simple, continuous , perfect and perfect continuous is used as “relate”, “relates” ,”relating”, “related” in present, past and future tense respectively.
Now we will look into the utilization of the verb “relate” in all the three forms of the tense.
“Relate” in the present tense
In present tense the action occurs regularly or frequently. Here we will explore all the possible present tense form of the verb “relate”.
In present tense the action verb “relate” changes into “relates” while using third person singular number as subject in simple present tense and “am/is/are/ relating” in present continuous tense, “has/have related” in present perfect tense and “has/have been relating” in present perfect continuous tense.
When is “relate” used in the present tense?
In present tense the verb “relate” can be used when someone is trying to associate anything with another person or event, or to establish a communication with, to make a connection in current times.
Examples of “Relate” in the present tense
| Types of Tense | Examples | Explanation |
| SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE/ PRESENT INDEFINITE TENSE | 1. I/We are related with that school. 2. You can relate Shakespeare’s Macbeth to the movie of Maqbool in bollywood. 3. He relates his experience in Ghatsila to that of Jhargram. 4. Chiku and his friends relate their writings to the writings of Sukumar Roy. | As the first example is in passive voice form we find past participle form of relate. The third example adds “S” because the subject is third person singular no. here we can find the subject/subjects is/are trying to associate one thing with another in current times. |
| PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE | 1.I/We am/are relating Lionel Messi to Diego Maradona. 2.You are relating Lionel Messi to Diego Maradona. 3.He is relating Lionel Messi to Diego Maradona. 4.They are relating Lionel Messi to Diego Maradona | Here the subject/subjects are trying to compare the greatness of Lionel Messi to that of Diego Maradona by using the present continuous form of relate that is relating. |
| PRESENT PERFECT TENSE | 1. I/We have related the singing of Shreya Ghosal to that of Asha Bhosle. 2. You have related ganga river to the Yamuna river for its holiness. 3. Chiku has related cricket ball to tennis ball. 4. they have related theatre show to the jatras in villages. | In all these examples the subject/ subjects has/have established a connection between various subjects by using the past participle form of relate because of perfect tense |
| PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE | 1. I/we have been relating dollar to pound since morning. 2. You have been relating Sam’s wife to his sister-in-law for two hours. 3. Chiku has been been relating his mistakes for three hours 4. They have been relating hospital management to the hotel management studies for four hours. | Here the subject/subjects has/have tried to establish a relation between two different objects in a specific time frame by using perfect continuous form of relate( has/ have been relating.) |
“Relate” in past tense
In past tense the verb denotes that the action is over or completed. “Relate” in past form adds ‘ed’ with it and becomes “related”. Here we will explore the past forms of “relate”.
Past and past participle form of “relate” is “related”. In simple past tense we find the form “related” where as in past continuous we have was/were relating, in past perfect tense we have- “had related” and in past perfect continuous tense we have -‘had been relating’.
When is “relate” used in the past tense?
“Relate” in past tense is used when a person tried to establish a relation, to communicate with someone in the past, to compare certain things, to associate one thing with another, to pertain and to have made a connection in previous time or in past .
Examples of “Relate” in the past tense
| Types of tense | Examples | Explanation |
| Past indefinite tense/ simple past tense | 1.I/ we related my/our name/ names with the name/ names of my/ our friend/ friends. 2. You related our building to the building of Mr. Ghosal. 3. Chiku /Arna related his/ her marks with the marks of his/ her friend 4. They related football with basketball | Here the subject whether it is in first person or in second person or in third person with both singular and plural number used the past form the verb ‘relate’- that is ’related’ |
| Past continuous tense | 1. I/ we was / were relating the nature of current boss to the nature of the previous boss. 2.You were relating the brotherhood to the bonding of Ram and Laxman. 3. My mother was relating my childhood days with my kid’s boyhood days. 4. Children were relating the chase of cat and rat to the chase of tom and jerry. | As in past continuous tense the subject/ subjects is/ are having “ing” along with the main verb relate and becomes relating. In all these example you will find the subjects were trying to make an association with something in the past. |
| Past perfect tense | 1.I/ We had related the horror scene to the scene in Ghost Rider movie. 2. Children had related the beautiful scenery of Kashmir to the beauty of Switzerland. 3. You had related video games with indoor games. 4. Chiku had not related the affection of the nurse to the love of his mom. | As in past perfect tense the subject/subjects takes/ take the past participle form of relate with the helping verb ‘had’ according to rules to tense. Here the subject/ subjects tried to associate or describe one experience with another in past times. |
| Past perfect continuous tense | 1. I/we had been relating his internship experience here in the factory for six months. 2. You had been relating yoga with gymnastic since morning. 3. Rahul had been relating volleyball with basketball for two hours. 4. The little girls and boys had been relating cows with buffalos for two hours. | In the past perfect continuous tense a certain activity started in the past and continued till a certain time in past. Here the subjects made an association , a connection, a comparison by using the past perfect continuous form of verb relate( had been relating) |
“Relate” in future tense
Future tense denotes the action to be occurred in the coming days or near future. Here we will have a look into the use of “relate” in future tense.
With inflictions in future tense the verb “relate” has multiple forms like “will/shall relate”, “will be relating”, “will have related” and “will have been relating” respectively in simple future tense, future continuous tense, future perfect tense, future perfect continuous tense.
When is “Relate” used in the future tense?
“Relate” in future tense is used to correlate, to describe, to associate , to communicate , to interact, to link, to join, to unite, in the coming days . The action is yet to occur.
Examples of “Relate” in the future tense
| Types of tense | Examples | Explanation |
| Simple future tense/ future indefinite tense | 1.I/we will relate your condition to the principal sir. 2. You will relate the taste of pizza in sandwich. 3. Chiku will relate a beautiful story to his friend. | In simple future tense the action is yet to occur in future. For that here subjects inspite of using relate forms the form of “will relate”. The subjects are not in action here and will be in action in near future. |
| Future continuous tense | 1. I/we will be relating his story of success in the coming seminar. 2.You will be relating the experience of visiting Kashi to us. 3. Chiku will be relating his answer script to his friend’s answer script tomorrow. | The action verb relate here takes the future continuous tense form which shows the ongoing state of action in future time. Here the subject / subjects forms/ form the continuous form and uses “will be relating” according to the rule of tense. The subjects will be relating their action in the coming days. |
| Future perfect tense | 1.I/we will have related the ghostly experience before the morning. 2. My friend will have related his experience of visiting Japan to the experience in Qatar. 3. Chiku will have related coffee to the tea of Darjeeling. | The future perfect tense here uses relate in the form of “will have related” in connection to describe, to associate, to compare the action in near future. |
| Future perfect continuous tense | 1. I/We will have been relating his exam paper for two hours by 12.30 pm. 2. Chiku will have been relating his journey to all his mates. | “Will have been relating” is used in future perfect tense to show an action occurring in certain period of time in near future. Here the subject will ‘describe’ it’s actions. |
Conclusion
The article explains “relate” as verb in present, past, and future tense. Apart from that “Relate” has noun forms like “relation”, “relationship”, and adjective form “relative”, and adverb form “relatively” etc.
Hi…. This is Uttam Kumar Maji. I have completed my Master’s in English from Vidyasagar University. I have been teaching English Literature in Sabang Sajanikanta Mahavidyalaya since 2014. I am a creative writer. I am now part of the LambdaGeeks family.
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