3 main tenses in English table. Tenses in English: a detailed explanation

There are present, past and future tenses in both Russian and English. Verbs ( verbs ) change with time ( tenses ). But this is where the similarity with Russian times ends, because for each of these three times the English have more varieties. In this article, we will provide a short and simple guide based on diagrams and tables to understand tenses in English for dummies ( dummies ).

Table and examples of tenses:

Aspect	Time
	present	Past	Future
Simple	Martha cooks every day.(Martha cooks every day.)	Martha cooked a roast chicken yesterday.(Martha cooked fried chicken yesterday.)	Martha will cook a huge cake for my birthday.(Martha will make a huge cake for my birthday.)
continuous	Martha is cooking fish at the moment.(Martha is cooking fish now.)	Martha was cooking a soup when we came home.(When we got home, Martha was making soup.)	Martha will be cooking a rice pudding soon.(Martha will be making rice pudding soon.)
Perfect	Martha has already cooked many dishes.(Martha has already prepared many dishes.)	Martha had cooked for 2 hours by the time I joined her.(Martha had been cooking for 2 hours by the time I joined her.)	Martha will have cooked at least 20 dishes by 10 o'clock.(Martha will have cooked at least 20 meals by 10 o'clock.)

All three tenses (past, present and future) have three main aspects: simple ( simple ), long ( continuous ) and perfect ( perfect ). Long are used for repeated actions, or those actions that last in time.

Perfect tenses exist to describe actions or states of being that happened in the past, no matter when. The main thing is that at the time of the conversation they had already ended. These tenses are used whenever we need to link past and present.

Simple tenses in English for dummies

simple tenses ( simple tenses ) are applied to actions or states in the past, present or future.

The table shows that the form of the verb in the simple past tense does not change by person, so it is very easy to remember the scheme for constructing sentences. Well, knowledge of irregular verbs will come with the practice of reading and listening.

Simple future tense ()

Talks about events that have not yet happened. It is formed the same for all persons - by adding an auxiliary verb will + base verb.

Long tenses in English for dummies.

long times ( continuous tenses ) are needed to describe the actions that occur at the moment of speech. It can be both in the present period, and in a specific period in the past or future.

Present continuous ()

The diagram clearly shows the difference between the long and simple forms of the present tense.

Formed with an auxiliary verb to be + ing - the form of the semantic verb (Present Participle) .

Past continuous (Past Continuous)

Built with an auxiliary verb to be in past tense + semantic verb in ing-form .

Future continuous (Future Continuous)

This tense is used to talk about activities that may be interrupted in the future, or to say what will happen at a certain time in the future. Compare the diagram with Future Simple .

Future Continuous is formed according to the following formula: Will be + verb-ing

Perfect or perfect tenses in English for dummies

They express completed actions, the result of which is important at the moment of the story. May be accompanied by adverbs already (already), yet (Not yet), just (just now), for (during), since (since) ever (ever) never (never). Formed with an auxiliary verb have + semantic verb in the Past Participle form.

present perfect

From the following diagram, it can be understood that the main difference between the present perfect and the simple past is in the moment of the past when the action ended. For Present Perfect, it doesn’t matter when it happened, but for Past Simple, it matters.

How is the present perfect tense formed?

Example: Has not already paid for the dinner. (He has already paid for dinner.)

It is no secret that one of the most popular grammar topics for learners and those interested in English is still the topic: tenses in English. Interest in it is quite justified, since the cases of using one or another tense in English differ from their understanding in other languages ​​and thus cause many difficulties.

There are such lovers of conquering linguistic peaks who strive, by all means, to master everything tenses of english. But in reality, even the British themselves do not use even half of them.

Table of English tenses

To understand the ornateness of this topic, of course, sketchiness will help. Table of English tenses is a wonderful visual and should always be at hand for every beginner to learn the language.

Answer unequivocally the favorite questions of beginners: “ How many tenses are there in English? What to prepare for? Why so many? pretty hard. We can say 24! (16 in the active voice and 8 in the passive) and frighten students with an abundance of temporary forms, especially long, completed and completed-long, which seem to have no analogues in their native language.

Tense	Simple	continuous	Perfect	Perfect Continuous
present		I am doing		I have been doing He has been doing
Past	I did	I was doing	I had done	I had been doing
Future	I will do	I will be doing	I will have done	I will have been doing
Future in the Past	I would do	I would be doing	I would have done	I would have been doing

You can calm down by answering that in English there are also three time planes - past, present and future, and then we encounter only shades of action. True, the verb forms that you have to comprehend will not decrease from this :)

	Simple	continuous	Perfect
present	The work is done	The work is being done	The work has been done
Past	The work was done	The work was being done	The work had been done
Future	The work will be done	-	The work will have been done

Let's leave this question to the world's leading philologists, who have been arguing about this for many years, and we ourselves will focus on the use of temporary forms.

Tenses in English seem rather complicated, but this is only at first glance. It is important to learn some principles:

Firstly, it is possible to draw a parallel in the study of tenses with the Ukrainian and Russian languages. The difference lies in the fact that grammatical means are used to convey the shades of actions in English, while lexical means are used in Ukrainian and Russian.

Secondly, the formation of tenses in English is much simpler and more logical. Memorizing these forms usually does not cause difficulties for students. It is much more difficult to decide where and what form should be used. This is what we will pay special attention to.

Active Voice / Active voice

	Simple	continuous long	Completed	Perfect Continuous Complete-long
	Data. What we do with a certain frequency. Always used when talking about a sequence of events.	Long procces. As a rule, it is translated as an imperfective verb.	Perfect action. Translated by perfective verbs.	An action that lasted a certain period of time and, accordingly, ended or ended at a certain moment.
present The present	I cook a pizza sometimes. - Sometimes I cook pizza.	I am cooking a pizza now. - Now I'm making pizza.	I have just cooked the pizza. - I just made pizza.	I have been cooking the pizza for half an hour. - I've been making pizza for half an hour (up to now).
Past Past	I cooked the pizza, wrote the letter and went to the shop. - I cooked pizza, wrote a letter and went to the store.	I was cooking the pizza yeasterday. - I cooked this pizza yesterday (for some time).	I had cooked the pizza by the meeting. - I made a pizza for the meeting (the action ends at some point in the past).	I had been cooking the pizza for twenty minutes when my friends came. I had been cooking pizza for twenty minutes when my friends came.
Future Future	I will cook a pizza tomorrow. - I will cook pizza tomorrow (there is no emphasis here on the duration or completion of the process, we are just reporting a fact).	I will be cooking a pizza tomorrow. - I will cook pizza tomorrow (for a certain time).	I will have cooked a pizza by the meeting. - I will cook pizza for the meeting (that is, the pilaf will be ready by this date.	I will have been cooking a pizza for twenty minutes by the time my friends come. I will have been cooking pizza for twenty minutes by the time my friends arrive. (This form is used very rarely and, as a rule, in book speech).
Future in the Past denotes a future action relative to a certain point in the past. As can be seen from the examples, the sentence necessarily contains a verb in the past tense in the main clause; without it, the use of Future in the Past is impossible.	He said that he would cook a pizza tomorrow.	He said that he would be cooking a pizza tomorrow.	He said that he would have cooked the pizza by the meeting.	He said that he would have been cooking pizza for twenty minutes by the time his friends come.

Passive Voice / Passive Voice

	Simple	continuous long	Completed	Perfect Continuous Complete-long
The present	Letters are sent every day. - Letters are sent every day.	Letters are being sent now. - Letters are sent now.	Letters have already been sent. - The letters have already been sent.
Past	Letters were sent yesterday. - The letters were sent yesterday.	Letters were being sent at 5 yesterday. - Letters were sent yesterday at 5 o'clock.	Letters had been sent before he phoned. - The letters were sent before he called.
Future	Letters will be sent tomorrow. - Letters will be sent tomorrow.		Letters will have been sent by 5 tomorrow. - Letters will be sent tomorrow by 5 o'clock.
Future in the Past

Coordination of tenses in English

If you have figured out the forms of constructing certain tenses and cases of their use, then the next difficulty may be tense agreement in english. Here it is not only necessary to correctly construct the time itself, but also to understand the very principle of coordinating the main and subordinate parts of the sentence. This is difficult to explain at first glance. The good news is that special attention should be paid to the fact that if in the main clause the verb is in the past form, then in the subordinate clause the verb must also be in one of the past tenses, and it does not matter whether it refers to actions in the present or future.

Table of tenses in English:

Time in direct speech	Present Indefinite	Present Continuous	Present Perfect	Past Indefinite	past perfect	Future Indefinite
Time in bone speech	Past Indefinite	Past continuous	past perfect	past perfect	past perfect	Future Indefinite in the Past

And most importantly, in order to communicate in English, you need to know not so many tenses. After all, the British speak as easily as possible without piling up complex structures. Basic tenses (Present Simple, Past Simple, Future Simple) are enough, but it is also desirable to master the Present Continuous and Present Perfect. The use of complex temporary forms in colloquial speech will only testify to your illiteracy.

Of course, for a varied and refined coherent speech in the process of working and presenting your thoughts on paper, you should be patient and learn the entire table of times. And we will be happy to help you, please contact us, we have classes in groups and individually:

Is it easy to learn English in a few lessons, as promised by the numerous appeals of an army of teachers who consider themselves experts in the field of education? The experience of an even larger army of students cramming English lessons for beginners shows that not everything is as easy as promised. And the first stone in the study of English grammar, which all beginners stumble over without exception, immediately knocks down a touch of aplomb and ambitions of future language users.

Such strange English times

Diligent Russian-speaking students of English courses get acquainted with the examples in the tables, starting to master the rules of behavior of the English verb. What a strange phenomenon this part of speech is in English grammar! What a system of incomprehensible word forms that should express an action in a particular time period! And why is this necessary, when everything in the native language is so clear: one present, one past and one future.

How many tenses are there in English grammar?

However, in such simple English, through which half the world communicates, and another quarter wants to learn it, there are as many as twelve tense forms of the verb only in the active voice. So, the present tense in English expresses a moment of time in reality in different ways. Native speakers, without thinking about grammar, will use one form of the verb when they talk about what they do always, sometimes, often or usually, and another if it is important for them to emphasize that they are busy with something at a given time. In the first case, they will use the cell of their innate grammatical memory, where the verbs are collected in the form of the present simple (Present Simple), and in the second - the present long

For a Russian-speaking student, it is important to understand that the action in question can be instantaneous or extended in time, it can just happen or happen usually, as always, rarely or often. Each such action in English requires the use of a verb in a strictly defined form. In Russian, the nuances of relative time are defined lexically, the participants in the dialogue specify in words how and when the action takes place: now, usually, often, from some moment or during a certain period.

The present tense is “ours” and “foreign”

Those who explain English tenses for dummies know that the best way to understand the rule is based on their native language. For example, we say “I (now) watch TV” or “I (usually) watch TV after dinner”. In both expressions, the verb “look” is used in the present tense. But it is a completely different matter if the same phrases are spoken by an Englishman. He will say: I am watching television and I watch television after dinner. They themselves, without additional lexical means, show that in the first case the action takes place right now, this very minute, and in the second the action is repeated, ordinary, daily.

Grammar system of time

It is not easy to understand the meaning of verb diversity in expressing the temporal layers of reality in the English language. Only a small example of the use of different forms of the present tense already puzzles the student. But there is still the past and the future.

Such an abundance of times surprises Russian-speaking students, who are just beginning to storm the vagaries of the English verb. But later they even have to do numerous exercises for English tenses to their taste, honing the skills of correct word usage in the flow of colloquial speech. Practice shows that it is easiest to master the tense forms of the verb in the system. So, placing English tenses with examples in tables, it is easier to understand their grammatical layering.

Tenement house for English verb

This house has four floors. Each floor is a grammatical tense: Simple, Continuous, Continuous. There are three apartments on each floor, in each of which tenants settled - the word forms of the present (Present), past (Past) and time. An example for resettlement would be the irregular verb “drink (drink)” and the correct “watch (watch)”.

English Times. English Tenses

	I drink tea (always, often...) I watch television	I drank tea (yesterday...) I watched television	I will drink tea I will drink tea (tomorrow...) I will watch television
	I am drinking tea I'm drinking tea right now) I am watching television	I was drinking tea I was drinking tea (at that moment in the past when you called...) I was watching television	I will be drinking tea I will drink tea (at some point in the future) I will be watching television
	I have drunk tea I drank tea (just now, already...) I have watched television	I drank tea (already, at some point in the past) I had watched television	I will have drunk tea I'll have my tea already (at some point in the future) I will have watched television
Perfect Continuous	I have been drinking tea for 2 h. I have been watching television since 5 o'clock	I had been drinking tea for 2 h. I had been watching television since 5 o'clock	I will have been drinking tea for 2 h. I will have been watching television since 5 o'clock

The presented English tenses with examples in the tables give a systematic idea of ​​the variety of verbal word forms. Beginners to master the topic should practice with different English verbs, substituting them in the cells of the table. But in order to correctly use temporary forms in speech, written and colloquial, this is not enough. It is important to understand the situation in which the speaker is. Each verb form accurately indicates a point in time, and not absolute, but relative.

How to solve a grammar problem

Effective exercises are translations of phrases from your native language into English. So you can easily learn the rules of English tenses based on your native grammar. It is important to understand why this or that word form is required in a given context, as well as to see the lexical and grammatical signals that will tell you which table window to look into.

What are you doing in the evenings?

I usually watch TV.

What are you doing now?

I drink tea and watch TV.

What were you doing yesterday when I called?

When you called, I was watching TV.

I'll call you tomorrow at 5. What are you going to do?

Tomorrow at 5 I will be watching TV.

Here, when translating, it requires the use of six forms of the verb tense, of which two are present, two past and two future. What are these forms? English tenses with examples in the tables will help those who wish to master difficult rules and put them into practice.

The Russian version has clue words: “usually”, “in the evenings”, “now”, “tomorrow”. And also an indication of one action in relation to another: “When you called, I was watching TV”, “Tomorrow (when you call) I will watch TV.” Look at the table and solve this grammar problem.

Phrases from dialogues in Russian will also help you learn the meaning of English tenses from the lower floor of “Perfect Continuous”.

Have you been watching TV for a long time?

I have been watching TV since 5 o'clock (for two hours).

When you called (yesterday), I had been watching TV for two hours (from 5 o'clock).

Tomorrow, by the time you come, I will have been watching TV for two hours (from 5 o'clock).

How to say in English?

In English lessons for beginners, as vocabulary is accumulated, more and more complex grammar exercises are included. But already from the first classes, the concept of times is given. First, about simple ones - from the Simple and Continuous groups, later the use of the times of the Perfect and Perfect Continuous groups is worked out. It is easier to learn the language in speech situations. That's why no rule in a box is a substitute for practical training. There is material for this all around: on the street, at home, at work. Everywhere you can train the skill “How would I say this in English”.

This article discusses tenses in english - detailed explanation what it is, what it is and how it is used.

Actually, there are three of them, as in other modern Indo-European languages: present (Present), past (Past) and future (Future). But usage is affected by the form of the verb to which the tense refers. There are only four such forms (Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous).

3x4 = 12, so sometimes they talk about twelve times , which is basically wrong, although in the tables given for visual understanding, there are really 12 fields with different options.

a brief description of

Times (Tenses) express the temporal relationship between the current moment and the one being discussed. It does not matter whether a person pronounces words orally, perceives them by ear, writes or reads. It is always possible to single out conditionally the present moment, and the one described or pronounced in the sentence. For example, in the phrase “prepare to disembark, the ship is approaching port,” the story is in the present tense, although these real events described in the old book could have taken place a very long time ago.

The reader, as it were, is transported into the past, and plunges into another world. The linguistic richness of many literary works is based on such conventions. An educated person gets used to them, and perceives automatically, without thinking about word forms. And he also easily composes phrases with the correct use of temporary constructions. But Russian phraseology differs from English. When translating or constantly switching to someone else's speech, difficulties arise, especially for beginners.

The main difficulty is the development of perfect and continuous forms of verbs in Western European countries. The Germanic and Romance languages ​​are more complex in this respect than the Slavic ones. In Russian, there are practically no differences between the basic and continuous forms. "I live" — an action that by definition continues. Changing the meaning often occurs by adding prefixes that turn the word, in fact, into a completely different lexical unit. "I lived" — action continued in the past — has already ended.

English is analytical, which is unlike most Germanic languages. Phrases are made up of relatively short elements that retain their spelling. There are no prefixes, suffixes and endings, as in synthetic ones. Getting used to it and fully understanding the process is the key to success for a translator or a person speaking to the British.

It's really easy to get used to, given the rigor of the language constructs. Word order is fixed and predetermined. Having some experience, it is no longer possible to make a mistake, you just need to gain sufficient vocabulary. It even becomes boring to speak in such a rigid framework. Slavic languages ​​give more freedom in the formation of phrases. Almost all words are successfully interchanged, many are generally skipped, although inserting them is also not a mistake.

So, what do the times express in relation to the current time interval:

• present - at least approximately coincides with the current time period;
• past - events developed earlier, or have already occurred;
• future - expresses a forecast, planning of events that are probable later.

Table of English tenses with examples

Only the verbs change depending on time. But even without taking into account the context and other members of the sentence, they provide comprehensive information about the duration and completeness. Such accuracy is due to the presence of 4 verbal word forms:

• Simple - simple;
• Continuous - long;
• Perfect - perfect (without determining the duration);
• Perfect Continuous - continuous perfect.

Each intersects with three time categories. This is a radical difference from Slavic linguistics, where the simple form is similar to the continuous one, the perfect one is exclusively in the past and the future. Non-standard techniques are actively used, such as a complete replacement of the verb, when describing a completed or ongoing activity. But expressing tense forms of verbs in English table standardized.

Let's give an example of the correct verb to live (live), how a similar scheme looks like, filled with specific words.

	Past	present	Future
Simple	I lived	I live	I'll live
continuous	I was living	I am living	I'll be living
Perfect	I had lived	I have lived	I'll have lived
Perfect Continuous	I've been living	I have been living	I'll have been living

The example uses the colloquial (and commonly used) abbreviation I'll instead of the full phrase I will. Since the second and third dictionary forms of regular verbs are the same, we will also give a similar table for the wrong one to know (to know), now in the second person instead of the first.

	Past	present	Future
Simple	You knew	you know	You'll know
continuous	You were knowing	You are knowing	You'll be knowing
Perfect	You had known	You have known	You'll have known
Perfect Continuous	You had been knowing	You have been knowing	You'll have been knowing

Of course, not all of the above options are used in practice in everyday vernacular. The perfect-continuum form refers rather to complicated book turns, and is rarely used even in scientific or fiction. But to know it is necessary for the completeness of linguistic representations.

In Russian vocabulary, only a small proportion of such constructions is applicable. I did, I do, I will do - the simple form coincides with the long one. The perfect exists only in the past and the future - I did it, I will do it. There is no combination of perfect and continual at all. The gerund living or going is translated approximately as a verbal adjective "living" or "going", but is used in a different context. In Russian, usually only in the third person, and such turns of speech are in any case considered undesirable. Modern phraseology tries to avoid them. For English speakers, these are frequently used parts of speech of direct action. They should definitely be mastered by beginners who study, how tenses are formed in english.

Signs of tenses in English

Neighboring words may indirectly indicate that a certain time must be applied. The need to apply the future is shown: always - always, often - often, usually - usually, sometimes - sometimes, never - never, everyday - daily, on Mondays (etc.) - on Mondays or other days, at weekends - on weekend. Signs of the present are present in generalized phrases or conveying periodic repetition of events. For example, the bus leaves (arrives) on certain days of the week. So detailed explanation of tenses in English help you express yourself beautifully and unmistakably.

Signs of the past: yesterday - yesterday, the day before yesterday - the day before yesterday, last week - last week, ago - ago, earlier - earlier, in the past - in the past.

Signs of the future: tomorrow - tomorrow, the day after tomorrow - the day after tomorrow, next week - next week, in an hour - within an hour, in ten hours - 10 hours later, later - soon, soon - soon, in the future - in the future.

How are formed

The dictionaries give three forms of irregular verbs . For correct ones, the second and third are formed in the standard way by adding the ending -ed to the first (main). For example: stay, stayed, stayed. Incorrect example: be, was (were), been. Here the second option also differs depending on the number: in the singular was, in the plural were. With the pronoun You, only were is used, but it should not always be translated as "you". The Russian "you" also has the right to exist. To translate a live conversation helps intonation and the nature of the relationship with the interlocutor. In a literary work, the context, but sometimes it is still difficult to determine what is meant

Simple present. In the present simple, the formation of phrases occurs as follows: after the pronoun comes the first dictionary form of the verb. It cannot be separated from the pronoun. She looks - she looks. She draw - she draws.

Simple past. The simple past is formed similarly to the present, but instead of the first verb form given in dictionaries, the second is used. She looked - she looked. She drew - she drew.

Simple future. The simple future is expressed as follows: after the pronoun comes will (or abbreviated ‘ll) then the first form of the verb. She will look or She'll look - she will look. She will draw or She'll draw - she will draw. implied generalized actions or regularly repeated , without reference to a specific period.

continuous present. The continuous present is formed by using to be in the form am, is or were, followed by a gerund derived from the main verb. He is staying - he is standing (right now).

continuous past. The continuous past is expressed in a similar way, only changing is (am, are) to was (were). He was staying - he stood (were instead of was in the plural).

continuous future. The continuous future is formed as follows: pronoun + will be + gerund. He will be staying - he will stand. They imply specific events that will last for a certain period.

perfect present. The perfect present is a specific speech construction that is absent in Russian. It means the event recently completed . The pronoun is followed by have (or has) and the 3rd form of the main verb. For the correct ones, it coincides with the second one. We have tried - we tried. We have written - we wrote. It should be noted that in the Russian translation, words are used that differ in prefixes from the main non-prefixed options “try” or “write”.

Perfect past. In the past perfect, we use had instead of have. Otherwise, the formation of phrases is similar to how it conveys perfect tenses in english present. We had tried - we (long ago) made an attempt. We had written - we (long ago) wrote something. So they say and write about events that have been completed for a long time. The choice of Present or Past in the perfect depends on the general logic associated with the context.

If any action is inherently long, the scope of using the Present Perfect expands. So, for daily exercises in the morning, “yesterday” is already a long time ago. But for a good feature film, which takes months or years to process, yesterday's presentation to the audience is still relatively recent. If in a text or conversation close to each other two completed events of different duration are mentioned, it is worth mentioning one of them (earlier) in the past perfect, and the second (later) in the present. Without disturbing the natural logic of the story too much. A year ago is a long time anyway.

perfect future. Expresses the intention to do something. Education scheme: pronoun + will have + 3rd form of the verb. We will have tried - we will try. We will have written - we will write. We can talk about things that will come true for sure, or about conjectural, but very likely. Sometimes such a perfect construction expresses self-confidence, a desire to impress the interlocutor, to promise something.

Perfect Continuous Present. The pronoun is followed by have (has) been and the gerund. They have been listening - they listened. Expressions in such a complicated format are absolutely uncharacteristic of Russian speech, which tends to simplify and reduce. But often, in fact, they correspond more to completed events than the usual perfect. Listening is by definition a long-term action. In this case, they mean recently completed compared to its normal duration or frequency. For meals, “recently” means people were sitting at the table no more than an hour ago. But a trip to the resort a week later will still be a relatively fresh fact.

Perfect Continuous Past. The only difference from the present above is had instead of have (has). They have been listening - they listened. What happened here ended so long ago that it no longer falls within the time frame of the presentation.

Perfect Continuous Future. Formation scheme: pronoun + will have been + gerund. They will have been listening - they will listen. This expresses only continuous actions.

Examples

When considered all tenses in english, it is worth giving more options using various pronouns.

The correct verb to warm (warm):

	Past	present	Future
Simple	He warmed	He warmes	He'll warm
continuous	He was warming	He is warming	He'll be warming up
Perfect	He had warmed up	He has warmed up	He'll have warmed up
Perf. Cont.	He had been warming	He has been warming	He'll have been warming

In the perfect, it translates "to heat up", "to warm up", "to warm up". Subtle nuances transmitted in Russian by numerous prefixes are often expressed by the prepositions in, on, at, to, out, off, above, under. But this is already beyond the scope of the discussion, and testifies to the skill of an experienced translator.

Irregular verb to break (break):

	Past	present	Future
Simple	you broke	you break	You'll break
continuous	You were breaking	You are breaking	You'll be breaking
Perfect	You had broken	You have broken	You'll have broken
Perf. Cont.	You had been breaking	You have been breaking	You'll have been breaking

Here you can clearly see difference between br oke and br oken .

Using Present Indefinite (Simple) Tense

Present Indefinite used to express a repeated or constant action in relation to the present:

I go to school. (I am going to school)

He works. (He works)

She comes here at six o'clock. (She comes here at 6 o'clock)

Present Indefinite used to express an action that characterizes the subject constantly or throughout the present period of time:

You read very well. (You read very well)

He dances very badly. (He dances very badly)

Present Indefinite is used to express an action or state that is not limited by time and occurs regardless of the person's desire:

Sugar dissolves in water. (Sugar dissolves in water)

Present Indefinite is used to express an action happening at the moment of speaking:

• with verbs that are not used in the continuous form: to see, to hear, to know, to feel, to like to hate, to love, to understand.

I don't see anything. (I can not see anything)

I don't understand it. (I do not understand this)

• if the speaker is only stating a fact and not conveying the action as a continuing process.

Here she comes. (Here she comes)

Present Indefinite used to express future action in subordinate clauses of time and condition, which are introduced by unions when(When); after(after); before(before, before); till, untill(Bye); as soon as(as soon as); if(If); unless(if not) and so on:

I'll be here till you come. (I'll be here until you come)

Wait until I get my coat. (Wait while I change my coat)

Present Indefinite used to express a planned future action (in most cases with verbs denoting movement). In such sentences, adverbial words are usually used that indicate the time of action. In the corresponding Russian sentences, the present tense can also be used:

I leave Moscow tomorrow. (I'm leaving Moscow tomorrow)

When does the doctor come? (When does the doctor come?)

Present Indefinite used in a connected narrative to express an action or a series of successive actions in the past. Such use Present Indefinite enlivens the story, events seem to occur at the moment of speech.

All of a sudden, one evening comes little Emily from her work and him with her. (Suddenly, one evening, little Emily comes home from work and he is with her)

Use of Past Indefinite (Simple) Tense.

Past Indefinite is a tense form of a verb that expresses an action that has happened or happened in the past. Past Indefinite regular verbs are formed by adding to the infinitive without the particle to ending -ed:

Verbs in Past Indefinite have the same form in all persons singular and plural:

• -e, then in Past Indefinite it is not written:

• if the infinitive ends with a letter -y preceded by a consonant, then before the end -ed it changes to -i:

to study-study

• if the infinitive ends with one consonant preceded by a short stressed vowel, then the final before -ed doubles:

to stop - stopped

• final letter -r doubles if the last syllable is stressed:

prefer - preferred

• final letter -l doubles if it is preceded by a short vowel (stressed or unstressed):

to travel - traveled

In Past Indefinite, irregular verbs are used in the second form.

to speak - spoke

to write - wrote

The interrogative form Past Indefinite of regular and irregular verbs is formed using an auxiliary verb to do and the infinitive of the main verb without the particle to:

Did you study at this university? (Did you study at this university?)

Did she go to a park? (Did she go to the park?)

The negative form of Past Indefinite is formed with the help of a negative particle not after the auxiliary verb:

I didn't like that party. (I didn't like that party)

In oral speech, they are usually abbreviated: I didn't like that party.

In the interrogative-negative form Past Indefinite auxiliary verb did is placed before the subject, and the particle not after him:

Why didn't you say it? (Why didn't you tell me this?)

but if an abbreviation is used, then didn't come before the subject:

Why didn't you go there? (Why didn't you go there?)

The verb to do in Past Indefinite can also be used to reinforce the thought being expressed:

I did love you! (I really loved you!)

The verb to be in Past Indefinite has two forms: was for the first and third person singular and were for everyone else.

In the interrogative form of the verb to be placed before the subject:

Were you at home? (Were you at home?)

In the negative form, after was / were, the particle is used not:

I was not in Great Britain. (I have not been to the UK)

They were not there. (They weren't there)

The abbreviation is usually used: I wasn’t…You weren’t…

The verb to have in Past Indefinite has the form - had.

I had a friend. (I had a friend)

She had a good car. (She had a nice car)

He had a house. (He had a house)

The interrogative form of the verb to have in Past Indefinite is: did+have. To form a question did used before the subject have after him.

Did you have books? (Did you have books?)

The negative form, as a rule, is formed without the auxiliary verb to do, and is used as in with negative particles. not or no.

I hadn't problems. (I didn't have a problem)

I had no choice. (I had no choice)

Past Indefinite expresses a single or permanent action in the past. The time of the past action is often specified by the words: yesterday (yesterday), last week (last week), last year (last year), etc. :

I was there yesterday. (I was there yesterday)

He was at the hospital last week. (He was in the hospital last week)

She was here this morning. (She was here in the morning)

Past Indefinite is used to express a series of successive actions in the past:

I woke up, washed myself and went out of home. (I woke up, washed and left the house)

Past Indefinite is used to express a repeated action in the past:

I saw him every day. (I saw him every day)

She came many times to our house. (She came to us many times)

Using Future Indefinite (Simple) Tense.

Future Indefinite used to express a single, permanent or repeated action in the future:

I'll go over with you tomorrow morning.

(I'll go with you tomorrow morning)

I'll always come back.

(I will always return)

He'll work at the factory next year.

(Next year he will work at the factory)

In subordinate clauses of time and condition, Future Indefinite is not used! To express future action in such sentences, !

I'll message you know when I come home.

(I'll text you when I get home)

I'll ask him when he arives.

(I will ask him when he arrives)

Using Present Continuous Tense

Present Continuous Tense expresses an action as a process, that is, an action that continues at the moment of speech or at the present time.

Present Continuous is formed from an auxiliary verb to be in and present participle (Present Participle) of the main verb.

Present Participle is formed by adding an ending -ing to the infinitive of the main verb without a particle to.

read + ing - reading

work+ing - working

I am working (I'm working)

(I am working)

He is working (He's working)

(He works)

She is working (She's working)

(She works)

It is working (It's working)

(It works)

In the interrogative form, the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject.

Are the boys playing football?

(Boys are playing football?)

Is he working in the garden?

(Is he gardening now?)

The girls are not singing.

(Girls don't sing now)

In interrogative-negative sentences, the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject, and the particle not is placed after the subject.

Am I now preparing for my examinations?

(Am I not studying for exams?)

Action taking place in moment of speech:

Why are you crying?

(Why are you crying?)

You are not listening to me.

(You don't listen to me)

Present Continuous is used to express long time, although not necessarily at the moment of speech:

What are you doing here in Paris?

(What are you doing here in Paris?)

I'm studying at the Sorbonne.

(I study at the Sorbonne)

Present Continuous is used to express to express a long action taking place simultaneously with another action in the present tense:

I'm only happy when I'm working.

(I'm only happy when I'm working)

Present Continuous is used to express planned future action, especially with verbs denoting movement. In this case, the adverb of time must be used:

We're flying to Paris in the morning.

(We're leaving for Paris in the morning)

Is he coming tonight?

(Will he come tonight?)

Verb to go V Present Continuous with the infinitive of another verb means the intention to perform an action in the very near future and gives it a hint obligation, the inevitability to perform the action indicated by the infinitive:

I'm going to speak.

(I will speak)

He's going to be a teacher.

(He's going to be a teacher)

Using Past Continuous Tense

Past continuous formed from an auxiliary verb to be V and present participles of the main verb:

I was working. (I worked)

He was working. (He worked)

She was working. (She worked)

It was working. (It worked)

We were working. (We worked)

They were working. (They worked)

You were working. (you worked)

What were you telling him?

(What did you say to him)

In the negative form, after the auxiliary verb, the particle is used not:

I was not working in the evening.

(I didn't work in the evening)

In oral speech in negative and interrogative-negative forms, instead of was not and were not, abbreviations are used mainly:

He wasn't working.

(He did not work)

They weren't working.

(They didn't work)

Wasn't he working?

(Didn't he work?)

Weren't they working?

(Didn't they work?)

Past continuous used to express an action that took place at a certain moment in the past. The duration of the action is usually also indicated by adverbial words like at two o'clock, at midnight, at that moment, at 5 o'clock or subordinate clauses with a verb-predicate in Past Indefinite:

He was working on his English at that time.

(He was working on his English at the time)

Jack was sitting by the window when she came in.

(Jack was sitting near the window when she came in)

Past Conyinuous is used to express an action, that lasted for some period of time in the past:

I the spring of the year 1881 he was visiting his old schoolfellow.

(In the spring of 1881 he was visiting his old school friend)

In subordinate clauses, if the verb-predicate of the main clause is used in the past tense, Past Continuous is often used with verbs with the meaning of movement (to go, to come, etc.) to indicate an action that was future relative to the past:

She said she was coming to see you after supper.

(She said she would come to you after dinner)

Verb to go V Past continuous with the infinitive of another verb expresses an action that was future relative to the past tense. Often this combination expresses the intention to perform an action:

He was going to be an engineer.

(He was going to be an engineer)

What were they going to do.

(What were they going to do)

Using Future Continuous Tense

Future Continuous is formed with an auxiliary verb to be in and present participles of the main verb:

I will be working.

He will be working.

She will be working.

It will be working.

We will be working.

You will be working.

They will be working.

Auxiliary verb in interrogative form will placed before the subject:

Will they be working?

In the negative form after the auxiliary verb will negative particle is used not:

They will not be working.

The Future Continuous is used to express long-term action that will take place at some point or time in the future:

Meet me at two o'clock. I'll be waiting for you.

We'll be playing all morning.

In modern English Future Continuous often used in the same sense as Future Indefinite, i.e. expresses future action:

You won't be coming back here anymore.

(You won't come back here again)

From now I'll be asking thousands of questions.

(From now on I will ask a thousand questions)

He'll be going to school soon.

(He will go to school soon)

Use of Present Perfect Tense.

Perfect (perfect) tenses express an action that happened before a certain moment or period in the present (Present Perfect), past (Past Perfect), future (Future Perfect) and future relative to the past (Future in the Past).

Perfect tenses usually express the presence of some result of an action associated with subsequent events.

Periectal tenses are formed from the corresponding forms of the indefinite tenses of the auxiliary verb to have and the past participle (Past Participle) of the main verb.

The Present Perfect is formed from the auxiliary verb to have in and the past participle (Past Participle) of the main verb.

The Past Participle of regular verbs is formed by adding the ending -ed to the infinitive, that is, the Past Participle of regular verbs does not differ from

Using Past Perfect Tense

Past Perfect is formed from the auxiliary verb to have in and the past participle (Past Participle) of the main verb. Verbs in the Past Perfect do not change in person and number:

I (he, she, it, we, you, they) had worked.

In spoken language, instead of had the abbreviated form is predominantly used ‘d, which in the letter is attached to the subject:

I'd (he'd, she'd, it'd, we'd, you'd, they'd) worked.

In the interrogative form, the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject:

In the negative form, a negative particle is used after the auxiliary verb not:

I had not worked.

In oral speech in negative and interrogative-negative forms, the abbreviated form hadn't is also used:

He hadn't worked

Hadn't he worked?

an earlier action in the past, expressed by the verb in Past Indefinite:

I told you I had met her.

(I told you that I met her)

When she had closed the suitcase, she put on her coat.

(Closing the suitcase, she put on her coat)

In the darkness he couldn't see the man who had spoken.

(In the dark, he couldn't see the person who said it)

The sun had set and it became dark.

(The sun had already set. It was getting dark)

Form was becoming dark expresses an action that took place at a specific time period in the past (the sun has set by that time period)

Notes.

1. During the list of past actions in the sequence in which they occurred, verbs are used in:

I opened the door, closed it and went into the bedroom.

(I opened the door, closed it and went to the bedroom)

1. In a complex sentence with conjunctions after after and before before. When there is no need to specifically note that one action precedes another, Past Indefinite is used in both the main and subordinate clauses:

He stood motionless after she disappeared.

(He stood still after she was out of sight)

I was a school teacher before I got into the army.

(I was a school teacher before joining the army)

Past Perfect is used to express past action, which has already ended at a certain point in the past. This moment can be indicated by such phrases: by two o'clock by two o'clock, by that time by that time, by the 1st of September by the first of September, etc.:

I had done my homework by eight o'clock.

(By eight o'clock I had already done my homework)

The negative form of the Past Perfect indicates that the action has not ended at a certain point in the past:

I had not read the book by Saturday.

(Before Saturday, I had not read the book yet)

The Past Perfect is used to express an action started up to a certain point in the past and continued up to that moment. In this sense, Past Perfect is used mainly with verbs that do not have the Continuous form:

When he came, I had been there for half an hour.

(When he came, I had already been there for half an hour)

After she had worked, he went to her side and watched her.

(After she worked for a while, he came over and watched her)

In subordinate clauses of time and condition, Past Perfect is used to express a past action that was future relative to the past:

She said that she would go home as soon as she had passed all her exams.

(She said she would go home as soon as she passed all her exams)

In this case past perfect translated into Russian in the form of the future tense.

Using Future Perfect Tense.

Future Perfect Tense formed with the help of the auxiliary verb to have in and past participles (Past Participle) of the main verb:

I will have done.

He (She, It) will have done.

We (You, They) will have done.

In the interrogative form, the first auxiliary verb will is placed before the subject:

Will he have done?

In the negative form, the particle not is placed after the first auxiliary verb will:

He will not have done.

In oral speech, the same abbreviations are used as in Future Indefinite:

I'll have done; I won't have done.

The Future Perfect is used to express a future action that will end at a certain moment or at the beginning of another action in the future:

You'll have forgotten me by then.

(By then you'll forget me)

You'll have to read the story by the time you come back.

(I'll read the story while you get back)

In subordinate clauses of time and condition, instead of Future Perfect, we use:

Her room will be ready before she has finished her tea.

(Her room will be ready before she finishes her tea)

We will get a new flat when they have built the house.

(We will get a new apartment when this house is built)

Using Future Indefinite (Simple) in the Past Tense

In English, the future action, which is considered from the point of view of some moment in the past, is expressed by a separate form of the verb, which is called Future Indefinite in the Past.

This time is used in stories about past events when retelling in indirect speech or thoughts of another person regarding the future time:

In his letter Peter wrote that he would go to Warsaw in January.

(In his letter, Peter wrote that he would go to Warsaw in January)

Future Indefinite in the past is formed using the auxiliary verbs should and would and the infinitive of the main verb without the particle to:

I should work (I'd work)

He would work (He'd work)

She would work (She'd work)

We should work (We'd work)

You would work (You'd work)

They would work (They'd work)

In brackets are abbreviated forms that are used in oral speech.

In the interrogative form, the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject:

Would they work?

In the negative form, after the auxiliary verb, the particle is used not:

She wouldn't work (She wouldn't work)

Future Indefinite in the Past is used mainly in subordinate clauses, if the verb of the main clause expresses the past action:

We arranged to start the following Saturday from Kingstone.

Harris and I would go down in the morning, and take the boat Chertsey.

George would meet us there.

(We agreed that we would hit the road next Saturday from Kingston.

Hariss and I will leave there in the morning and take the steamboat to Chartsey.

And George will meet us there)

None of the forms of the future tense, including Future Indefinite in the Past, are used in the subordinate clauses of time and condition in English. An action that was future from the point of view of the past is expressed in such sentences by the form

I hope that before we parted, he would tell me what it was.

(I was hoping he would tell me what it was before we parted ways)

I wrote down to you to ask you not to see anyone till I came.

(I wrote to you and asked you not to meet with anyone until I arrived)

Using Future Continuous in the Past Tense

is formed in the same way as , but instead of will, would is used:

He would be working.

She would be working, etc.

Future Continuous in the Past is used instead of Future Continuous mainly in subordinate clauses if the verb predicate is used in the past tense:

He said that at sunset he would be waiting for you.

(He said he'll be waiting for you at sunset)

Verbs that are not used in the continuous form.

A verb in the Continuous form expresses an action as a process that lasts at the moment of speech or at a certain period of time. Verbs whose meaning does not express action as a process, as a rule, are not used in the Continuous form. These include:

a) verbs that express relationships between objects: to be be; to have have; to possess, to own have; to consist consist; to contain, to hold contain; to belong belong; to depend depend, etc.

b) verbs with the meaning of sensation: to see see; to hear hear; to smell smell; smell;

c) verbs that express desire, feeling, will: to want to want; to wish, to desire wish, want; to love, to like love, like; to hate hate; to refuse refuse; to object mind; agree agree; to prefer prefer;

d) verbs with the meaning of mental activity: to know know: to believe believe; to suppose assume; to recognize learn; to remember remember, recall; to understand understand.

But in oral speech there are cases of using these verbs in the form continuous.

Using the Future Perfect in the Past Tense

Future Perfect in the Past is formed in the same way as , but instead of the auxiliary verb will, the verb should or would is used:

I should have done.

He/She/It would have done

We should have done.

You/They would have done.

Future Perfect in the past is used instead of Future Perfect mainly in subordinate clauses, if the verb of the main clause expresses the past action:

I thought you would have gone by now.

(I thought I would never find you)

In subordinate clauses of time and condition, instead of Future Perfect in the Past, we use

Using Present Perfect Continuous Tense

The Perfect Continuous tenses express an action that began before the moment of speech (Present Perfect Continuous Tense) or before the moment of speech in the past or future (Past Perfect Continuous and Future Perfect Continuous) and continues / continued up to this moment.

Using Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past Perfect Continuous formed with an auxiliary verb to be in and present participles of the main verb. The verb in the Past Perfect Continuous does not change by person:

I (he, she, it, we, you, they) had been working.

The interrogative, negative and interrogative-negative forms of the Past Perfect Continuous are formed according to the same rules as the corresponding forms.

Interrogative form: Had you been working?

Negative form: I had not been working; I hadn't been working.

Interrogative-negative form: Had he not been working? Hadn't he been working?

Past Perfect Continuous can also be called Beforepast Continuous. This tense expresses a continuous action that began before some point in the past, or lasted at this moment, or ended immediately before it. The duration of the action or its beginning is indicated in the same way as in sentences with a verb in Present Perfect Continuous. But in most cases, the duration of the action is not indicated:

I explained that I had been loking for it for the last two hours.

(I explained that I had been looking for him for two hours)

There sat her father. The newspaper he had been reading had dropped on the carpet.

(Her father was sitting there. The newspaper he was reading fell on the carpet)

With verbs that don't have a form continuous, instead of Past Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect is used.

When we came to see Kate, she had been ill for three days.

(When we came to visit Katya, she had been sick for three days)

After consideration tenses in English with examples remains to be summed up.

Outcome

The previous sections have discussed in detail tenses in English - how are they formed and what they mean. When you get acquainted with them, there seem to be many different options, it is difficult to get used to the perception of complex language structures and quickly recognize what is said or written. Especially if you speak or write on your own. Simple rules will help you navigate:

1. The 3rd form of an irregular verb (for example, spoken) occurs only in the regular perfect. Since the 2nd only appears in the Simple Past, it is also easy enough for the correct ones to distinguish between them.
2. The gerund (for example, speaking) is used only when describing long actions, whether it is the usual Continuous or, in addition, with the perfect.
3. The word been occurs only in Perfect Cont

Having recognized the continuum and perfect forms, it is already quite easy to deal with the attitude to the present moment. Will ('ll) is exclusively in the future. The 2nd form of the verb, was (were) and had - only in the past. But you need to get used to the correct word order. After a certain training, it is impossible to make a mistake, standard schemes are firmly eaten into memory. A person automatically recognizes speech with the words "been" and long modal sequences as "abstruse", which is better not to copy in everyday life.

» Tenses in English: a detailed explanation

It is known that when learning English, many people have difficulties with the complex system of tenses of the verb. In the grammar of the English language, in both voices (real and passive), 26 types of tense forms of the verb are distinguished. Many of them even can not remember, let alone competently use. How to remember all these tenses in English?

To begin with, I compiled a table of English tenses with examples, in which absolutely all their types were reflected. It is important that this table is with examples, so you can see how and what exactly is changing.

It should be borne in mind that there are four groups of tenses in the English language.

Tenses in English

indefinite (Indefinite)

long (Continuous)

perfect (Perfect)

perfect-long (Perfect-Continuous).

In each of these groups of tenses there are four tenses:

present (Present)

Past

future

future in the past (Future-in-the-past).

In addition, there are five forms of the verb in English.

English verb forms

infinitive (an indefinite form that is given in dictionaries)

third person singular verb (always ends in -s or -es)

simple past tense (regular verbs end in -ed or -d, and irregular ones should be looked at in a special table of irregular verbs)

past participle (regular verbs again have the ending -ed or -d, and irregular ones must also be looked at in a special table of irregular verbs)

present participle (always ends in -ing).

All this seems terribly complicated, although it is not. In Russian, we say: I go, he goes, we go, you go, you go, they go, it goes. Here are seven forms of the verb "to go" in the present tense. And there is also the future and the past. And each has its own endings and prefixes. There are few endings in English. This is offset by the presence of complex and varied prepositions and a large number of tense forms of the verb.

Table of English tenses with examples

So that the table is not cumbersome, conventions are adopted here:

V is the infinitive.

V-es is a verb in the third person, singular, present tense.

V-ed is the simple past tense. It is a verb ending in -ed or -d. For irregular verbs, this is the second column of the table of irregular verbs.

V3 is the past participle. Regular verbs usually end in -ed or -d. For irregular verbs, this is the third column of the table of irregular verbs.

V-ing is the present participle.

To illustrate the translation of each form of the verb, an example of a phrase is given - a sentence in English with this form and its translation. The form of the verb and its translation are underlined in sentences.

Comments are provided where required.

Please note that the forms of the English verb in the passive voice (Passive) are six less than in the real (Active).

Active(active voice)	passive(passive voice)
Indefinite (indefinite times)
Present (present)
I write letters every day. I writing letters every day.	The letter is written. This letter write.
past (past tense)
I wrote a letter yesterday. Yesterday I wrote letter.	The letter was written yesterday. This letter was written yesterday.
Future (future tense)
I will write a letter tomorrow. I write letter tomorrow.	The letter will be written tomorrow. This letter will be written Tomorrow.
Future-in-the-past (future in the past)
I said that I should write a letter to him. I said that I write him a letter.	would, should be V3 He said that the letter would be written tomorrow. He said that the letter will be written Tomorrow.
Continuous (long times)
present
I am writing a letter (at the present moment). I writing letter (currently).	The letter is being written. This letter write(At the moment).
Past
I was writing a letter at five o'clock. I wrote letter at five o'clock.	was, were being V3 The letter was being written at five o'clock. This letter wrote at five o'clock.
Future
I will be writing a letter at five o'clock. I I will write letter at five o'clock.	——-
Future-in-the-past
would, should be V-ing I said that I should be writing a letter at five o'clock. I said that I I will write letter at five o'clock.	——-
Perfect (perfect tenses)
present
I have written the letter. I have already wrote letter (to date).	have, has been V3 The letter has been written. This letter is already written(to date).
Past
I had written the letter by five o'clock. I have already wrote letter by five o'clock.	The letter had been written by five o'clock. By five o'clock the letter wrote.
Future
I will have written the letter by five o'clock. I have already write letter by five o'clock.	will have been V3 The letter will have been written by five o'clock. By five o'clock the letter will be written.
Future-in-the-past
would, should have V3 I said that I should have written the letter by five o'clock. I said already write letter by five o'clock.	would, should have been V3 He said that the letter would have been written by five o'clock. He said that by five o'clock the letter write.
Perfect-Continuous (perfect-long tenses)
present
I have been writing the letter for an hour. I writing the letter is already an hour.	——-
Past
I had been writing I wrote The letter was already an hour old when it arrived.	——-
Future
will have been V-ing I will have been writing the letter for an hour when he comes. I I will write the letter is an hour before it arrives.	——-
Future-in-the-past
would, should have been V-ing I said that I should have been writing the letter for an hour when he came. I said that I I will write this letter is already an hour old when it arrives.	——-

How to use the table of tenses in English?

Print the table and carry it with you. But it is even better to rewrite the table by hand. That way she'll be better remembered. At every opportunity, just look through it. Try to catch in subtleties how the translations of different temporary forms differ.

Even better, if you try to make your sentences with other verbs for each tense. This is not always easy, but very useful work.

After about a week, you will realize that you have learned the table of English tenses by heart. Check it out by restoring it from memory on paper. Now it will be much easier for you to translate from English, as you will immediately notice these forms in the texts and they will not confuse you. All other words can be looked up in dictionaries, and knowledge of temporary forms will allow you to connect these words without losing the meaning and idea of ​​the author.

All! Congratulations on mastering a large part of English grammar!!! Now you will not be scared at times in English!