The term “hear” performs the role of a “verb” in parts of speech of English language. Let us have some explanations on the use of “hear” in various time frames.
The term “hear” states that someone is, was, or will be learning about any news, information, idea, thought, etc. from any source. The term “heard” can be designated as both the past and past participle forms of the term “hear,” while the term “hearing” is the present participle term.
Now, we will learn facts and explanations regarding application of the verb “hear”.
“Hear” in present tense
The term “hearing” can be regarded as the noun form of the verb “hear.” Let us have justifications for using “hear” in the present tense.
Terms like “hear,” “am/is/are hearing,” “have heard,” “has been hearing” and “have been hearing” must be used to frame various types of present-tense sentences.
When we can use “hear” in the present tense?
| Form of Present Tense | Usage of “hear” in various present tense forms |
| 1. Simple Present Tense | The base form “hear” must be used after subject to frame the simple present tense to state that someone is generally in a mode to learn new concepts, information, facts, news, etc. at the time at hand. |
| 2. Present Continuous Tense / Present Progressive Tense | The present continuous mode “am/is/are hearing” after subject can be used to indicate that someone is actively learning new concepts, information, facts, news, and so on in the present. |
| 3. Present Perfect Tense | The present perfect mode “Have heard” or “has heard” must be used after the subject to convey that someone is generally in mode to learn new concepts, information, facts, news, etc. from the past while still lingering on its essence. |
| 4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense | The present continuous mode “am/is/are hearing” must be used after subject to convey that someone is actively learning new concepts, information, facts, news, etc. from a specific pre-decided time frame that started in the days that have already passed and are still in functional mode. |
Structures of sentences with “hear” in the present tense
| Present Tense Forms | Structures of sentences with “hear” in the present tense |
| 1. Simple Present Tense | Subject + hear/hears + remaining parts of the sentence |
| 2. Present Continuous Tense / Present Progressive Tense | Subject + am/is/are + hearing (Present Participle Form/ Present Progressive Form) + remaining parts of the sentence |
| 3. Present Perfect Tense | Subject + have/has + heard ( Past Participle Form ) + remaining parts if the sentence |
| 4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense | Subject + have/has + been + hearing ( Present Participle Form ) + remaining parts of the sentence |
Examples with “hear” in the present tense
| Type of Present Tense | Examples with “hear” | Explanation |
| 1. Simple Present Tense | I hear that you live with your grandparents in an abandoned village. | The term “hear” is in use to frame this sentence in simple present mode to state that the speaker got to learn information about the addressed person. |
| 2. Present Continuous Tense / Present Progressive Form | I am hearing that you live with your grandparents in an abandoned village. | The present continuous term “hearing” may be applied to state that the speaker is actively paying attention to the dwelling place of the addressed person. |
| 3. Present Perfect Tense | I have heard for the last three days that you live with your grandparents in an abandoned village. | The present perfect mode “have heard” may be applied to state that the speaker pays attention to the information about the dwelling place of the addressed person, though that attention has been started sometime in the bygone days and still has its essence. |
| 4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense | I have been hearing that you have been living with your grandparents in an abandoned village from last year until now. | The present perfect continuous mode “Have been hearing” can be used to indicate that the speaker is paying attention to information about the addressed person’s residence, even if that attention began in the past and is still on-going. |
“Hear” in past tense
Listen, overhear, and hearken are some of the synonyms of the verb “hear.” Let us have justifications for using “hear” in the past tense.
We can use the term “hear” by changing its form to “heard” to state that someone got to learn about some news, information, etc. in the days that have passed. To frame sentences in various modes of past tense, terms such as “heard,” “was hearing,” “had heard,” and “had been hearing” must be used.
When we can use “hear” in the past tense?
| Type of Past Tense | Usage of “hear” in various past tense forms |
| 1. Simple Past Tense | The term “heard” must be used to state sentences in simple past mode to state that someone was generally in a mode to learn new concepts, information, facts, news, etc. in bygone days. |
| 2. Past Continuous Tense | The terms “was hearing” or “were hearing” must be used to frame sentences in past continuous mode to convey that someone was actively learning new concepts, information, facts, news, etc. at a time in a bygone day. |
| 3. Past Perfect Tense | The term “had heard” must be used to frame the past perfect mode of a sentence to show a sequence of events, among which one must state that someone was generally in a mode to learn new concepts, information, facts, news, etc. |
| 4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense | The past perfect continuous mode “had been hearing” conveys that someone was actively learning new concepts, information, facts, news, etc. for a specific pre-decided time period in the days which have already been spent. |
Structures of sentences with “hear” in the past tense
| Past Tense Forms | Structures of sentences with “hear” in the past tense |
| 1. Simple Past Tense | Subject + heard ( past form ) + remaining parts of the sentence |
| 2. Past Continuous Tense | Subject + was/were + hearing ( present participle form / present progressive form ) + of the sentence |
| 3. Past Perfect Tense | Subject + had + heard ( past participle form ) + remaining parts of the sentence |
| 4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense | Subject + had + been + hearing ( present participle form ) + remaining parts of the sentence |
Examples with “hear” in the past tense
| Type of Past Tense | Examples | Explanation |
| 1. Simple Past Tense | Sandip heard that his best friend Rony was going abroad for higher studies. | The term “heard” is in use to frame the simple past tense to state that the subject learned information about his best friend. |
| 2. Past Continuous Tense | Sandip was hearing that his best friend Rony was going abroad for higher studies. | The term “was hearing” is in use to frame the past continuous tense to state that the subject was in an active mode of learning information about his best friend. |
| 3. Past Perfect Tense | Sandip had heard that his best friend Rony was leaving for higher education in the last month before his sister’s wedding. | Previously, the past perfect tense “had heard” could be used to convey the sequence of two events, one of which showed that the subject learned information about the addressed person. |
| 4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense | Sandip had been hearing for the last five years that his best friend Rony was going abroad for higher education, but it never happened. | In bygone days, the past perfect continuous “had been hearing” could be used to state that the subject was actively picking up information about his best friend. |
“Hear” in future tense
“Give an ear” and “give an audience to” are the two word groups that are related to “hear.” Let us have justifications for using “hear” in the future tense.
Terms like “shall hear”, “will hear”, “will be hearing,” “will have heard,” and “have been hearing” must be used to frame sentences in the future tense to state that someone is going to pick up data about any news, event, etc. in the days ahead.
When we can use “hear” in the future tense?
| Type of Future Tense Form | Usage of “hear” in various future tense forms |
| 1. Simple Future Tense | The base term “hear” must be used in simple future mode to state that someone is going to be in a general mode to learn new concepts, information, facts, news, etc. in the coming days. |
| 2. Future Continuous Tense | The term “will be hearing” must be used to frame the future continuous mode to convey that someone will be actively learning new concepts, information, facts, news, etc. in the coming days. |
| 3. Future Perfect Tense | The term “will have heard” must be used to frame the future perfect tense to state that someone is going to be in general mode to learn new concepts, information, facts, news, etc. in the coming days but before a specific time period. |
| 4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense | To state that someone will be actively learning new concepts, information, facts, news, etc. in the coming days but between specific time frames, the term “will have been hearing” must be used to frame the future perfect continuous mode. |
Structures of sentences with “hear” in the future tense
| Future Tense Forms | Structures of sentences with “go” in future tense |
| 1. Simple Future Tense | Subject + shall/will + hear ( present form ) + remaining parts |
| 2. Future Continuous Tense | Subject + will + be + hearing ( present participle form) + remaining parts |
| 3. Future Perfect Tense | Subject + will + have + heard ( past participle form ) + remaining parts |
| 4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense | Subject + will + have + been + hearing ( present participle) + remaining parts |
Examples with “hear” in the future tense
| Type of Future Tense | Example | Explanation |
| 1. Simple Future Tense | I hope I will hear soon about your success in hotel management. | The term “will hear” is in use to dictate that the speaker is going to learn the news of the success of the addressed person in the days ahead. |
| 2. Future Continuous Tense | I hope I will be hearing soon about your success in hotel management. | The term “will be hearing” may be applied in the future continuous mode of sentence to convey that the speaker will be hoping to have good news about him or her. |
| 3. Future Perfect Tense | I hope I will have heard soon about your success in hotel management before the completion of your course in two years. | The term “will have heard” may be applied in the future perfect mode of tense to convey that the speaker will complete having information about the addressed person before a specific time in the days that are going to occur. |
| 4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense | I hope I will be hearing soon about your success in hotel management over the next year to five years. | The term “will be hearing” may be applied in the future perfect continuous mode of tense to convey that the speaker is going to have the respective news about the addressed person in a specific, pre-determined time frame in the days that are going to occur. |
Conclusion:
We are going to sum up our lesson with the most common phrasal verb, which is framed with the verb “hear.” The phrasal verb “hear of” is the most common phrasal verb to state that someone learned about any person, event, idea, thought, etc.
Hey! I am Arpita Bose Roy. My qualifications are M.A. in English with B. Ed. in both general education and special education. I have 2 years of experience as a “language analyst” at IIT Kharagpur and 4 years of experience as an “Academic Content Developer” at IIT Kharagpur. Currently, I am working as an academic writer at Lambdageeks.