TENSE - Sequence of Tense for University Admission Test, Job Application Test, BCS Exam and Any Competitive Examination

TOPIC: SEQUENCE OF TENSES

Sequence of Tenses (টেন্সের ধারাবাহিকতা)

সংজ্ঞা:

একটি বাক্যে Principal Clause (প্রধান বাক্যাংশ)-এর Verb-এর Tense অনুযায়ী Subordinate Clause (নির্ভরশীল বাক্যাংশ)-এর Verb-এর Tense পরিবর্তন হওয়ার নিয়মকেই Sequence of Tenses বলে।

Rule-01: Past Tense Follows Past Tense

মূল নিয়ম:

যদি Principal Clause-এর Verb-টি Past Tense (অতীত কাল)-এর হয়, তবে Subordinate Clause-এর Verb-টিও অবশ্যই Past Tense হবে।

গঠন সূত্র (Structure):

Principal Clause (Past) + Connector + Subordinate Clause (Corresponding Past)

Connectors:

এই নিয়মটি সাধারণত নিচের শব্দগুলো দ্বারা যুক্ত বাক্যে প্রযোজ্য হয়:

That, What, Which, Where, When, Who, How, Though, Although, Since, As, If, Unless ইত্যাদি।

Tense পরিবর্তনের নিয়ম (Specific Changes)

Principal Clause যখন Past Tense-এ থাকে, তখন Subordinate Clause-এর পরিবর্তনগুলো নিচের মতো হয়:

Subordinate Clause (স্বাভাবিকভাবে যা থাকত)	পরিবর্তনের পর (যা হবে)
Present Indefinite (do/does)	$\rightarrow$ Past Indefinite (did)
Present Continuous (am/is/are)	$\rightarrow$ Past Continuous (was/were)
Present Perfect (has/have)	$\rightarrow$ Past Perfect (had)
Future (will/shall/can/may)	$\rightarrow$ Future in the Past (would/should/could/might)

উদাহরণ ও বিশ্লেষণ (Examples & Analysis)

ভুল এবং সঠিক ব্যবহারের তুলনা নিচে দেওয়া হলো:

১. সাধারণ পরিবর্তন (Is $\rightarrow$ Was):

• Incorrect: He said that he is busy.

• Correct: He said that he was busy.

  • (যেহেতু 'Said' Past Tense, তাই 'is' পরিবর্তিত হয়ে 'was' হয়েছে)

২. Future to Past (Will $\rightarrow$ Would):

• Incorrect: I knew that he will come.

• Correct: I knew that he would come.

  • (Principal verb 'knew' পাস্ট, তাই 'will' হয়ে গেল 'would')

৩. Modal Verbs (Can $\rightarrow$ Could):

• Incorrect: He worked hard so that he can succeed.

• Correct: He worked hard so that he could succeed.

৪. Connectors (Though/As):

• Incorrect: It was so dark that I cannot see anything.

• Correct: It was so dark that I could not see anything.

ব্যতিক্রম (Exception): Universal Truth

সতর্কতা: যদিও নিয়ম অনুযায়ী Past-এর পর Past হয়, কিন্তু Subordinate Clause-টি যদি চিরন্তন সত্য (Universal Truth) বা অভ্যাসগত কর্ম (Habitual Fact) বোঝায়, তবে তার Tense পরিবর্তন হয় না। সেটি সর্বদা Present Indefinite থাকে।

• Example: The teacher said that the earth moves (moved হবে না) round the sun.

Questions

1. He said that he — be unable to come. [29th BCS, JU (C) 15-16, পিটিআই এর শিক্ষক-১৯] He said that he — be faithful to his promise. (সে প্রতিজ্ঞা করল যে সে তার প্রতিজ্ঞা রক্ষা করবে) [JnU 09-10]

A. will

B. may

C. would

D. wants

Ans: C Explanation: Reporting verb 'said' is past, so 'will' becomes 'would'.

2. As the sun — , I decided to go out. [24th BCS, BSMRSTU E 16-17, দুর্যোগ ব্যবস্থাপনা মন্ত্রণালয়ে অডিটর-১৯]

A. has shone

B. shine

C. shines

D. was shining

Ans: D Explanation: Two actions in the past, one continuing (was shining) when another happened (decided).

3. He promised that he — come next Monday. [পাসপোর্ট ও ইমিগ্রেশন দপ্তরের জুনিয়র পরিসংখ্যান অফিসার-১৬]

A. will

B. should

C. can

D. would

Ans: D

4. Nobody knew that he — face a crisis. [NBR এর সহকারী রাজস্ব কর্মকর্তা-১৫]

A. can

B. may

C. will

D. would

Ans: D

5. He said that he (go) home the next day. (সে বলল যে সে পরের দিন বাড়ি যাবে) [RU B 19-20]

A. will go

B. goes

C. has go

D. would go

Ans: D

6. He said that —. [সে বলল যে সে পাঁচটায় আসতে পারবে না] [RU (C1) 18-19]

A. he will not come at five

B. he may not come at five

C. he could not come at five

D. he cannot come at five

Ans: C

7. I could not even imagine — The missing clause is: [RU (A1) 17-18]

A. that you deceive me

B. that you will deceive me

C. that you would deceive me

D. that I will deceive you

Ans: C

8. We hoped that she — able to return in time. [CU (D3) 16-17]

A. will be

B. would be

C. can be

D. likely to be

Ans: B

9. Father told me that he — (বাবা বললেন যে তিনি আমাকে সাহায্য করবেন) [CU (G) 15-16]

A. will help me

B. would be help me

C. will be helping me

D. would help me

E. had help me

Ans: D

10. Choose the correct sentence. [RU (ব্যবস্থাপনা) 09-10, রাজশাহী কৃষি উন্নয়ন ব্যাংক (সুপারভাইজার)-১৫]

A. He thought that it is raining.

B. He thought that it will be raining.

C. He thought that it will rain.

D. He thought that it would rain.

Ans: D

11. I never thought I — you again. (আমি কখনো ভাবিনি তোমার সাথে আবার দেখা হবে) [IU (C) 15-16]

A. will see

B. may see

C. would see

D. might see

Ans: C

12. We prayed that she — able to return in time. [CU (B7) 14-15]

A. will be

B. may be

C. would be

D. being

Ans: C

13. Did you buy any fruit when you — shopping? [CU (B7) 14-15]

A. go

B. gone

C. were going

D. went

Ans: D

14. I thought that the grass — cutting. (আমি ভেবেছিলাম ঘাসগুলোর ছাঁটাই দরকার) [JnU (C) 12-13]

A. needed

B. needs

C. need

D. had need

Ans: A

15. We knew he — be angry if we did not finish the work. [NSTU (A) 09-10]

A. would

B. can

C. will

D. ought to

Ans: A

16. We thought that she — the job. (আমরা ভেবেছিলাম সে চাকরিটা পাবে) [PSTU (BSc) 12-13]

A. gets

B. is getting

C. will get

D. would get

Ans: D

17. As we walked, he — the meaning of the book. [CU (B) 07-08]

A. explaining

B. explain

C. explained

D. explanation

Ans: C

18. I asked her if she — before she started to school. [CU (B-1) 09-10]

A. could read

B. reads

C. can read

D. is reading

E. reading

Ans: A

19. He said that he — . (সে বলল যে সে যাচ্ছে) [RU 09-10]

A. is going

B. has gone

C. was going

D. has been going

Ans: C

20. When I saw her leaving in a hurry, I — her where she was going. [DU (D) 95-96]

A. have asked

B. was asking

C. asked

D. had asked

Ans: C

21. Those (be) costly items, she bought. (সে যা কিনলো সেগুলো দামি সামগ্রী ছিল) [RU (সমাজবিজ্ঞান) 05-06] They — expensive combs, she knew. (সে জানত সেগুলো দামি চিরুনি) [নির্বাচন কমিশন সচিবালয়ে কর্মকর্তা-০৪] I knew that they — horribly expensive. [JU (গাণিতিক ও পদার্থ বিষয়ক অনুষদ) 11-12]

A. were

B. are

C. have been

D. had been

Ans: A Explanation: 'Those/They' is plural and the context (bought, knew) is past.

22. Choose the correct sentence. (আমি জানতাম না সে এখানে আসবে) [IU (C) 10-11]

A. I did not know that he will come here.

B. I did not know that he would come here.

C. I did not know that he will be coming here.

D. I did not know that he is supposed to come here.

Ans: B

23. Which one of the following is correct? [RU (Law) 11-12, COU (A) 16-17]

A. I thought he loves me.

B. I thought he loved me. (আমি ভেবেছিলাম সে আমাকে ভালোবাসে)

C. I thought he will love me.

D. I thought he may love me.

Ans: B

24. It seemed that — (মনে হল দিনটি কখনোই শেষ হবে না) [মাধ্যমিক স্কুল সহকারী শিক্ষক-০৩]

A. the day will never end

B. the day never ends

C. the day would never end

D. the day never ended

Ans: C

25. He did not know that the earth (move) around the sun. [JU (H) 14-15]

A. is move

B. moves

C. moved

D. has moved

Ans: B Explanation: Universal truth 'earth moves' remains in present tense even if reporting verb is past.

26. Which one is the correct sentence? [জনসংখ্যা ও পরিবার কল্যাণ কর্মকর্তা-০৯]

A. He said that the earth goes round the sun.

B. He said that the earth went round the sun.

C. He said that the earth had gone round the sun.

D. He had said that the earth had been going round the sun.

Ans: A Explanation: Universal truth.

27. Galileo taught that the earth — around the sun. [DU (B) 96-97]

A. revolves

B. revolved

C. will be revolving

D. have been revolving

Ans: A

28. Galileo discovered that the earth — the sun. [IU (C) 17-18]

A. moved round

B. moves round

C. had moved round

D. would move round

Ans: B

Answers With Explanation: