A grammatical category known as tense provides information about the time at which an action occurred. This article will examine how “enjoy” shows past, present, and future tenses.
The verb “enjoy” means to be happy, to get pleasure and satisfaction from something, to have fun, and to benefit or gain an advantage. “Enjoy” undergoes some grammatical inflections to represent one of these actions in the past, future, and present tenses’ forms – simple, perfect, continuous, and perfect continuous.
This article will aid us in understanding how, when and why the verb “enjoy” is employed in all the twelve English tense forms.
“Enjoy” in present tense
When an action occurs at this very moment, it is represented using the present tense. Here, we shall find out how the verb “enjoy” is utilized in all the present tense forms.
The verb “enjoy” in the present tense has forms such as “enjoy”, ‘enjoys’, ‘is/am/are enjoying,’ ‘has/have enjoyed,’ and ‘has/have been enjoying’ after going through some inflections.
When is “enjoy” used in the present tense?
The verb “enjoy” in the present tense is used to show the current or ongoing actions or activities of being happy, getting pleasure and satisfaction, having fun, and benefitting or gaining an advantage.
Sentence formation of “enjoy” in the present tense
Forms Of Present Tense | Structures |
1. Simple Present Tense | a. First/second person plural/singular Subject + enjoy+ object + final part of the sentence b. Third person singular subject + enjoys + object + sentence end c. Plural third person subject + enjoy+ object + last part of the sentence |
2. Present Continuous Tense | a. Singular first Person subject + am + enjoying+ object+ sentence end b. Plural first person subject + are + enjoying + object + rest of the sentence c. Singular/plural second person + are + enjoying + object + remaining sentence d. Singular third person + is + enjoying+ object + last part of the sentence e. Plural third person + are+ enjoying + object + remaining sentence |
3. Present Perfect Tense | a. Singular/plural first /second person subject + have + enjoyed+ object + sentence end b. Singular third person subject + has + enjoyed + object + final part of the sentence c. Plural third person subject + have + enjoyed+ object + remaining part of the sentence |
4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense | a. Singular/plural first/second person subject + have + been + enjoying + object + end of the sentence b. Singular third person subject + has + been + enjoying+ object + sentence end c. Plural third person subject + have + been + enjoying+ object + rest of the sentence end |
Examples of “enjoy” in the present tense
Examples | Explanations |
a. I/We/ You enjoy watching movies with friends on weekends. b. Raj enjoys watching movies with friends on weekends. c. Nihal and Kaushik enjoy watching movies with friends on weekends. | The verb “enjoy” and its inflected form ‘enjoys’ are used in the present simple tense here in these sentences to show the current action that occurs regularly on weekends when the subject has fun watching movies with friends. |
a. I am enjoying the sunsetwith Sai on the beach. b. We are enjoying the sunsetwith Sai on the beach. c. You are enjoying the sunsetwith Sai on the beach. d. Shrishti is enjoying the sunsetwith Sai on the beach. e. The children are enjoying the sunsetwith Sai on the beach. | In all these examples, the letter ‘e’ is omitted and the letters ‘-ing’ is added to the base verb “enjoy” to create the present continuous form, ‘enjoying’ to mark the currently ongoing (continuing to happen now) action of the subject relishing the sunset with Sai on the beach. |
a. I/we/ You have enjoyed listening to music with hot tea on rainy days. b. Suha has enjoyed listening to music with hot tea on rainy days. c. These girls have enjoyed listening to music hot tea on rainy days. | In this instance, the verb “enjoy” is used in the present perfect tense and the past participle ‘enjoyed’ is used to mean ‘has/have enjoyed.’ Its usage denotes that the subject’s actions of getting pleasure and satisfaction from listening to music with a cup of tea on rainy days have begun in the past and are continued even now. |
a. Since the change of management, I/We/You have been enjoying a stress-free work environment. b. Since the change of management, Virat has been enjoying a stress-free work environment. c. Since the change of management, the employees have been enjoying a stress-free work environment. | The base verb “enjoy” is used as ‘has/have been enjoying’ in the present perfect continuous to show that since the change of management (an action that took place sometime back in the past), the subject is continuing (present) to gain or benefit a stress-free work environment. |
“Enjoy” in past tense
When an action has occurred anytime before this very moment, it is denoted using the past tense. Here, we will learn how the verb “enjoy” is used in all the past tense forms.
The verb ‘enjoy’ in the past tense undergoes an inflection where ‘-ed’ is added to the base verb and takes up several forms like ‘enjoyed,’ ‘was/were enjoying,’ ‘had enjoyed,’ and ‘had been enjoying.’
When is “enjoy” used in the past tense?
The verb “enjoy” in the past tense is used to represent the completed or already occurred actions of getting pleasure and satisfaction, being happy, relishing, benefitting or gaining advantages, or having fun.
Sentence formation of “enjoy” in the past tense
Forms Of Past Tense | Structures |
1. Simple Past Tense | First/second/third person plural/singular Subject + enjoyed + object + end of the sentence |
2. Past Continuous Tense | a. First person singular subject + was+ enjoyed + object + sentence end b. First person plural subject + were + enjoying + object + rest of the sentence c. Second person plural/singular subject + were+ enjoying + object + last part of the sentence d. Third person singular subject + was + enjoying+ object + sentence end e. Third person plural subject + were + enjoying + object + final part of the sentence |
3. Past Perfect Tense | First/second/third singular/plural subject + had + enjoyed +object + sentence end |
4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense | First/second/third plural/singular subject + had + been + enjoying + remaining sentence |
Examples of “enjoy” in the past tense
Examples | Explanations |
I/We/You/he/They enjoyed the day out yesterday after three months of working overtime. | In the given example, ‘enjoyed’ is the simple past tense of the verb “enjoy”. Usage of ‘enjoyed’ conveys the subject’s action of having fun on the day out is already over yesterday (the day before ‘today’). |
a. I was enjoying all sorts of privileges that the company offered me. b. We were enjoying all sorts of privileges that the company offered us. c. You were enjoying all sorts of privileges that the company offered you. d. Sonia was enjoying all sorts of privileges that the company offered her. e. The workers were enjoying all sorts of privileges that the company offered them. | ‘Was/were enjoying’ is the past continuous form of the verb “enjoy” formed by adding ‘-ing’ to the base verb. Here, it denotes the subject’s past action (which was continuing in the past) of benefitting from all the privileges the company provided. |
I/We/You/He/They had enjoyed my/our/his/their life in England before moving here. | ‘Enjoyed’, the past participle of “enjoy” is utilized to create the past perfect tense ‘had enjoyed’. The past perfect tense conveys that the subject was happy and had fun while living in England (past) before moving here (present). |
I/We/You/She/ They had been enjoying all the privileges the post provided until the last day of work. | In this example, the verb “enjoy” is utilized in its past perfect continuous tense, ‘had been enjoying’ to mark the subject’s actions of gaining advantages or benefitting the privileges of the post were happening until the last day of work. |
“Enjoy” in future tense
When an action occurs anytime after this moment, it is indicated using the future tense. Here, we will check the usage of the verb “enjoy” in all the different future tense forms.
The verb “enjoy” in the future tense takes many forms like ‘will/shall enjoy,’ ‘will/shall have enjoyed,’ ‘will/shall be enjoying,’ and ‘will/shall have been enjoying.’
When is “enjoy” used in the future tense?
The verb “enjoy” in the future tense is used to show the yet-to-occur actions or activities of being happy, liking, relishing, benefitting or gaining the advantage, having fun, or getting pleasure.
Sentence formation of “enjoy” in the future tense
Forms of Future Tense | Structures |
1. Simple Future Tense | First/second/third plural/singular subject + will + enjoy+ object + sentence end |
2. Future Continuous Tense | First/second/third plural/singular subject + will + be+ enjoying + object +rest of the sentence |
3. Future Perfect Tense | First/second/third singular/plural subject + will + have+ enjoyed+ object + last part of the sentence |
4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense | First/second/third plural/singular subject + will + have+ been + enjoying + object + sentence end |
Examples of “enjoy” in the future tense
Examples | Explanations |
I/We/You/He/They will enjoy the movie as it has many comical scenes. | The simple future tense of the verb “enjoy” is ‘will enjoy’ and it is utilized in this sentence to show that the subject’s action of liking the movie has not yet occurred and will take place when he watches the movie anytime after now. |
I/We/You/He/ They will be enjoying playing different games in the play zone tomorrow. | ‘Will be enjoying’ is the future continuous form of the base verb “enjoy” and its usage marks that the subject’s action of having fun playing the games in the play zone will happen tomorrow(the day after ‘today’) |
By tomorrow, I/We/You/He/ They will have enjoyed visiting many places in America. | Usage of ‘will have enjoyed’, the future perfect form of the base verb “enjoy” shows that the actions of getting pleasure by visiting many places in America by the subjectwill have occurred by tomorrow (future). |
I/We/You//She/They will have been enjoying the summer holidays next week. | The future perfect continuous tense of the action word “enjoy”, ‘will have been enjoying’ that is used in this sentenceshowsthat the subject’s actions of having fun in the summer holidays will be happening the next week (upcoming week). |
Conclusion
Thus, this article provides a brief overview of the several tenses (past, future, and present) and their forms that the verb “enjoy” can be used to indicate the moment at which an action occurred.
Hi… I am Sowndharya Jagadeeswaran, a university rank holder in M.A. English Literature. I have also done my master’s in Business Administration. Inquisitive as I am, my interest in action-oriented research helped me publish research papers in reputed journals. Now, as a career, I am an instructor where I teach young and adorable students the intricate technicalities of Public Speaking and Creative Writing. I also enjoy writing articles on topics I specialize and research in.
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