“Build’’ is an irregular verb that can be used to refer to an act of making something. Now, we are going to describe how “build” is used in the different forms of tenses.
The term “build’’ is used in the present tense to indicate the work of making anything in the present moment. We can use it in order to make something part of a plan, system, calculation, etc.
Let us explore more interesting matters related to its usage in the three tenses along with examples and their detailed explanations.
“Build’’ in the present tense.
The present tense shows its function of locating a situation or action in the present time. Let us find out how “build’’ works in the present tense.
The action word “build’’ is used in the present tense to present our action of style or form of construction of something in an instant moment.
When can we use “build’’ in the present tense?
| Type of present tense | When to use “build” in the present tense |
| 1. Present indefinite tense | We use the verb “build” in the simple present tense in the forms build and builds to show an act of making something in a general sense. |
| 2. Present continuous tense | The verb “building” is used in the present continuous tense with the helping verb am/is/are to indicate an action of constructing something. It shows an action that is in progress now. |
| 3. Present perfect tense | We insert the verb “built” in the present perfect tense with the helping ver has/have to indicate the construction of something. It refers to an action that has already been completed with its result remaining. |
| 4. Present perfect continuous tense | We can use “building” in the present perfect continuous tense with has/have been to refer to making something. We get to know that construction is in progress for a period of time. |
Sentence formation and structure of “build’’ in the present tense-
| Type of present tense | Sentence formation and structure of “build’’ |
| 1. Present indefinite tense | a. Subject (first person singular/plural, second person singular/plural, third person plural) + build + object b. Subject (third-person singular number) + builds + object |
| 2. Present continuous tense | a. Subject (first singular, third person singular) + is building + object b. Subject (first person plural, second person singular/plural, third person plural) + are building + object |
| 3. Present perfect tense | a. Subject (first person singular/plural, second person singular/plural, third person plural) + have built + object b. Subject (third singular) + has built + object |
| 4. Present perfect continuous tense | a. Subject (first person singular/plural, second person singular/plural, third person plural) + have been building + object b. Subject (third singular) + has been building + object |
Examples of “build’’ in the present tense-
| Type of present tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Present indefinite tense | The mason builds a very big building in the town. | Here the action word “build’’ is in the usage to frame a present indefinite tense. We see that the mason makes a very big building in the city. |
| 2. Present continuous tense | Rahul is building a stout and strong body by going to the gym center. | Here the usage of the verb “build’’ in its present participle form indicates the formation of the present continuous tense. It shows that the boy is making a strong body by going to the gym center. |
| 3. Present perfect tense | Uday had built a negative sentence by using the word, not the words. | In this cited sentence, the verb “built’’ is used to make the present perfect tense. We can see that Uday’s building a negative sentence has been done earlier without its result now. |
| 4. Present perfect continuous tense | They have been building a nice flat for two years in Kolkata. | The verb “build’’ is used in the present participle form to make a sentence in the present perfect continuous tense. |
“Build’’ in the past tense.
The past tense is the tense form where the finished works are presented to us. Now, we will have a look at the word “build’’ and how it works in the past tense.
We use the term “build’’ in its second form “built’’ to refer to the system or framing something in the past period.
When can we use “build’’ in the past tense?
| Type of past tense | When to use “buy” in the past tense |
| 1. Past indefinite tense | The irregular verb “built” is used in the simple past tense when we need to express an act of making something in the past. It refers to an action that was completed in the past. |
| 2. Past continuous tense | We use the verb “building” in the past continuous tense with the helping verb was/were to show the action of constructing something that was going on in the past. |
| 3. Past perfect tense | We can apply the verb “built” in the past perfect tense to show the construction of something in the past. We get to know that the construction was completed before another action. |
| 4. Past perfect continuous tense | The verb “building” is used in the past perfect continuous tense with had been to show that the construction of something was continuing for a period of time. |
Sentence formation and structure of “build’’ in the past tense-
| Type of past tense | Sentence formation and structure of “build’’ |
| 1. Past indefinite tense | a. Subject (all persons and numbers) + built + object |
| 2. Past continuous tense | a. Subject (first singular, third person singular) + was building + object b. Subject (first person plural, second person singular/plural, third person plural) + were building + object |
| 3. Past perfect tense | a. Subject (all persons and numbers) + had built + object |
| 4. Past perfect continuous tense | a. Subject (all persons and numbers) + had been building + object |
Examples and explanations of “build’’ in the past tense-
| Type of past tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Past indefinite tense | We built a tree house in the backyard. | The second form of the verb “build’’ is used to frame a past indefinite tense in which we see the completed action. |
| 2. Past continuous tense | The Roy Industry family was building a yard for the conference. | The verb “build’’ is used to frame a sentence in the past continuous tense. It refers to an action that was kept on. |
| 3. Past perfect tense | They had built a large tower before the festival arrived last year. | Here the usage of “build’’ in its third form mentions the action of the present perfect tense. It refers that they had done the mold of a tower before the arrival of the festival. |
| 4. Past perfect continuous tense | Sanu had been building the important essay for an hour. | Here the verb “build’’ is used in the present participle form to make an example of past perfect continuous tense. We find that Sanu had been building an easy for a period of time. |
“Build’’ in the future tense.
A future tense is a grammatical form by which we can have the actions of the future. Let us discuss how the word “build’’ is acting in the future tense.
“Build’’ can be used in the future tense to show that the actions of comprising something will be done in the future.
When can “build’’ be used in the future tense?
| Type of future tense | When to use “build” in the future tense |
| 1. Future indefinite tense | We use the verb “build” in the simple future tense with shall/will to show that the action of constructing something will be done in a general sense in the future. |
| 2. Future continuous tense | The verb “building” is used to frame a future continuous tense with shall be/will be to show that the action of making something will be in progress. |
| 3. Future perfect tense | The verb “built” can be used in the future perfect tense with the helping verb had when we wish to show the construction of something in the future. The construction will be done before another action. |
| 4. Future perfect continuous tense | We can definitely use the verb “building” in the future perfect continuous tense with shall/will have been to show that the construction of something will be in progress for a period of time. |
Sentence formation and structure of “build’’ in the future tense-
| Type of future tense | Sentence formation and structure of “build’’ |
| 1. Future indefinite tense | a. Subject (first person singular/ plural number) + shall build + object b. Subject (second person singular/plural, third person singular/plural) + will build + object |
| 2. Future continuous tense | a. Subject (first person singular/ plural) + shall be building + object b. Subject (second person singular/plural, third person singular/plural) + will be building + object |
| 3. Future perfect tense | a. Subject (first person singular/ plural) + shall have built + object b. Subject (second person singular/plural, third person singular/plural) + will have built + object |
| 4. Future perfect continuous tense | a. Subject (first person singular/ plural) + shall have been building + object b. Subject (second person singular/plural, third person singular/plural) + will have been building + object |
Examples and explanations of “build’’ in the future tense-
| Type of future tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Future indefinite tense | Will you build a building this year? | The verb “build’’ is used in its present form with the verb “will’’ to construct a sentence in the future indefinite tense. We see that the question is framed as whether you will build a building this year. |
| 2. Future continuous tense | Garry will be building a nice project with this little amount. | The action word “build’’ is used to frame a future continuous tense to indicate that Garry will be going on to make a nice project. |
| 3. Future perfect tense | I shall have built the fence around my house. | The verb “build’’ is used in the future perfect tense as the formation shows its function in the sentence. |
| 4. Future perfect continuous tense | My friends will have been building a stage for two hours for the function in our school. | The usage of the verb “build’’ shows the action of the future perfect continuous tense. We see that my friends will have been constructing the stage for a period of time in the future. |
Conclusion
We can use the verb “build’’ in framing phrasal verbs to give different meanings. The phrasal verbs are “build up’’, “build in’’, “build on’’, “build up to, and so on. We can use these phrases in time of composing any sentence.
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.