Summary table of English verb tenses. How to learn English tenses quickly and easily? Present Progressive - present continuous tense

Anyone who has studied or is studying English is familiar with the difficulty of perceiving, understanding and understanding the difficult tense system of the English verb.

All of us who speak Russian know and are accustomed to the fact that there are 3 times. And what bewilderment is caused by the information that how many tenses are there in English. After all, English grammar boasts as many as 12 tense forms of the verb!

To simplify this difficult task of studying “treacherous times,” the editors "So simple!" shares a useful graphic diagram with friends. It will be useful to have on hand for all those who want to quickly learn and learn how to use this or that time in a specific situation.

Tenses in English for Dummies

Look at the diagram when you need to determine which tense is more correct to use in a given situation, be it speaking or writing text. More practice, more effort, and soon you won't need the diagram.

Take your time. By spending just half an hour a day, you will quickly and effectively master all grammatical nuances.

Here are a few practical advice, which will help you quickly master theoretical material!

Decoding the scheme

1. I had worked - Past Perfect- By that time I had worked.
2. I will have worked - Future Perfect- By that time I will definitely be working.
3. I will be working - Future Continuous- I will be working at this time.
4. I will have been working - Future Perfect Continuous- At that moment I will still be working.
5. I have been working - Present Perfect Continuous- I'm still working.
6. I had been working - Past Perfect Continuous- At that moment I was still working.
7. I have worked - Present Perfect- I've already worked.
8. - I am working now.
9. I am working - Present Continuous- At this time I plan to work (Present Continuous is used to describe my plans and intentions).
10. I was working - Past Continuous- I was working at that time.
11. I will work - Future Simple- I will work.
12. I worked - Past Simple- I worked.
13. I work - Present Simple- I am working.

The last three times are just statements. I worked, I work and I will work. Other times usually require further clarification.

We hope this English tenses table for dummies will turn you into a real virtuoso!

And most importantly, don’t be lazy to devote enough hours to practice. After all, only it will allow you to experience the English language and bring to automatism the skill of using aspectual and tense forms of verbs.

Tenses in the English language seriously frighten novice Anglomaniacs. It is difficult for Russian-speaking people to understand the set of words that the British use when communicating. Breaking stereotypes, we can say with confidence that tenses in English are not such a terrible section of grammar.

In English, tenses are divided into 12 categories, in Russian - into three (present, past and future):

• When it is necessary to emphasize the duration of an action, we use synonyms that are closest in importance to verbs;
• To understand the meaning in English, you need to take a specific verb and put it in the past tense in the non-perfect form. When we dig around for synonyms, the logical English system converts the verb into 12 main groups.

You can look at examples using the table for dummies. With their help, it is easy to catch a hidden, at first glance, pattern that needs to be understood.

Using the examples from the table, sentences in English will be easier to understand. You should not grab at all the theoretical material about all tenses at once; it is more effective to alternate between the theory of spoken language and practice. Translation, reading texts and watching films in English will help you develop language skills.

In order to more effectively master theoretical material related to tenses, you can use the following methods:

1. Don't grab everything at once. This is the biggest mistake that hinders quality language learning. Before you start learning a new tense form, you should have a good understanding of the previous tense and complete a sufficient number of practical tasks. Then the material will be “layered” one on top of the other, and not collected in pieces in your head;
2. You should not “memorize” the rules. Many people think that this is the best way to learn any subject. However, “cramming” has never benefited anyone. Each rule must be understood, especially the rules about tense forms. First, you should carefully understand the grammatical material, after which you should move on to practical tasks. The more practice, the higher the level of language proficiency;
3. In order to quickly master tense forms in English, you must clearly understand the difference between all tenses. Be sure to compare the new time with the previous times that you have already studied. You must clearly know where and under what conditions you should use this or that tense;
4. Do not take learning to a high level. Remember, after studying any grammatical material (especially temporary ones), you should bring this knowledge to automatism. If you study the material superficially, you will not be able to use it freely in conversation.

There are 4 tenses in English:

Simple.
Long lasting.
Completed.
Durable-complete.
Each time is divided into:

The present
Past
Future
It’s simple, tenses are divided according to the same system in the Russian language. Now I will briefly describe each of the times and its distinctive properties and how to easily and quickly distinguish it from others.

1) Simple.

This is the easiest time. The easiest.

Meaning - Statement of fact. Denotes a regular, usual, natural action. Facts, truths. This time does NOT have a specific point in time.

In general, if you just say it, it shows a normal action, someone did something, someone knows something, etc. or just a fact. The same action that, for example, a person does every morning, or every day, or what a person did yesterday.
If the sentence contains the words - everyday, usually, never, at first, then, after, in the morning, in the evening, tomorrow, next week, next month, often, soon - then most likely this is a simple tense. You can distinguish by the presence in a sentence of auxiliary verbs in negative and interrogative sentences: do, does, did, didn"t, don"t, will, shall, will not, shall not. Remember - regularity, fact, ordinary action.

Present - the person is doing it now, or he is doing it every day (talking every day, or reading a book, writing a letter, etc.)
past - an action that happened or happened in the past. Well, or a fact from the past (wrote a letter yesterday, worked every day, worked from 90 to 95, went shopping in the evening)
future - an action or a series of actions that will happen in the future, predictions, forecasts (I will work tomorrow, I will write a letter, I will study foreign language every day, I will do an essay soon)
2) Long-term.

Process is the main meaning of time. Indicates that an action is being done, has been done, or will be done for a certain time. I did, but didn't do it. If the sentence contains the words - now, at the moment, at, when, while, at 20 o"clock, tomorrow - then most likely it is a long time. You can distinguish it by the ing ending of the verbs. Auxiliary verbs - was, were , was not, were not, am, will be, shall be. Remember - shows that time was spent on the action

The present is an action that a person does right now, he really does it and wastes his time, and this is what is shown in the sentence (Working now, writing a letter at the moment, going home now)
past - an action that occurred at some specific moment in the past, or that was done at the moment when another action occurred. (I was writing a letter at 7 pm; he was writing a letter when I entered the room, he had been sleeping for 4 hours)
future - an action that will take place at a certain moment in the future (I will write a letter at 7 pm, I will dig the earth tomorrow from 7 to 9 am)
3) Completed.

The result is the main meaning of time. Shows that the action has been completed, there is a result! If a sentence contains the words - twice, lately, recently, several times, yet, already, never, just, ever - then this is most likely a completed tense. You can distinguish them by the auxiliary verbs - had, has, have, shall have, will have.

Remember - there is a result here, the action here has completed or will be completed, and this is either way.

The present is an action that took place in the past, but has the most direct connection with the present. Example: he has already written a letter. Let me explain: he did this in the past, but the result applies specifically to the present. Example: I just lost my key. Let me explain: what he lost was in the past, but he is talking about it now.
past - an action that completed before a certain point in time in the past (I wrote a letter by 7 o'clock).
future - an action that will be completed by some specific moment in the future (I will write a letter by 7 o’clock).
4) completed - long-lasting.

Here I recommend independent study. This tense is not used in colloquial speech, and it is better to come to the study of this tense after studying the above written tenses. Don't worry about it, work out the previous tenses!

So, to summarize:

Simple tense is a statement of fact.
It's a long process.
Completed is the result.

The main difficulty of the English language is the large number of tenses and the difficulty of remembering them. Sometimes even the English themselves confuse this or that time and pronounce them incorrectly. But if you systematize all the information about them, it will be much easier to remember them. If you do this, then having a good vocabulary, you will be able to express yourself fluently in English.

To be able to freely use tenses as tools of your speech, you need to logically understand why they are needed, why there are so many of them. To do this you need to know how to use them. That is, compare them with the way we speak Russian. In fact, the English language is much simpler than Russian in composition, content, and knowledge about it is much easier to systematize. Since the English language does not have as many endings, suffixes and prefixes as ours. They compensate for this with different verbs and their forms. As in the Russian language, there is past, present and future. Only there is still a division into simple, completed and continuous, as well as completed continuous in each of the tenses. Simple - simple time is what is done in general, always, every day. As in Russian: I taught, I teach, I will teach.

The next form of tenses is the action that is in process - Continuous. Here the emphasis is on the fact that a person is, was or will be in the process. If in Russian we say: I am reading now, then in English it will be verbatim - I am reading, writing, speaking. That is, in process: I will be reading tomorrow. The main feature of this time is the ing ending.

Perfect. Here the emphasis is on results and experience. That is, some action that has already brought results. If we say - I learned English, then the British will say - I have learned English, I have learned how to speak English. Surely in these forms of time there is already some completed action with the result or experience obtained. The main feature is the verb have and its forms, as well as the third form of verbs.

Perfect continuous. The emphasis here is on a certain period of time. That is, how long a certain process took. I walked on the street for two hours, but the English will literally say: I have been walking for a 2 hours. The main features: the construction have been in forms and the ing ending of verbs, as well as the obligatory mention of a period of time: 5 minutes, twenty years, three weeks.

Try to remember the times and understand the difference between them. Then your English will become brighter, richer, and it will become easier for you to understand people and speak it.

Here you can find English tenses in tables with examples / Tenses in English in tables with examples.

1. The Present Perfect Tense

The Present Perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb have/has and the past participle form of the verb (Past Participle). The ways of forming sentences with regular and irregular verbs are different.

• With regular verbs

• With irregular verbs.

Please note these rules in the examples in the table below.

Education Present Perfect
Affirmative form	Negative form	Interrogative form
He (she, it) has seen her We have seen her You have seen her They have seen her	I have not seen her He (she, it) has not seen her We have not seen her You have not seen her They have not seen her	Have I seen her? Has he (she, it) seen her? Have we seen her? Have you seen her? Have they seen her?
Cases of using the Present Perfect
1. If an action is described, the result of which is visible in the present tense	The prisoners have laid an escape plan; here it is.	The prisoners made an escape plan; here he is.
2. Instead of Present Perfect Continuous with verbs that are not used with Continuous tenses (know, recognize, see, etc.)	Tom has known Mary for ten years	Tom has known Maria for 10 years

2. The Past Perfect Tense

The Past Perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb had and the past participle form of the verb (Past Participle). The ways of forming sentences with regular and irregular verbs are different.

• With regular verbs

The ending -ed is added to the infinitive form.

• With irregular verbs.

The Past Participle form is used (third column of the table of irregular verbs).

Education Past Perfect
Affirmative form	Negative form	Interrogative form
He (she, it) had seen her You had seen her They had seen her	I had not seen her He (she, it) had not seen her We had not seen her You had not seen her They had not seen her	Had he (she, it) seen her? Had we seen her? Had you seen her? Had they seen her?
Uses of Past Perfect
1. When describing an action that occurred before a certain point in the past or before another past action.	The students had shown us the presentation by three o"clock We had called them when you came	The students gave us a presentation at three o'clock We called them when you arrived
2. An action that began before another action in the past and was still being performed at the time of its occurrence.	Mary had waited for me for several hours, when I found her	Maria had already been waiting for me for several hours when I found her

3. The Future Perfect Tense

The Past Perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb have in the form of the future tense (will have) and the past participle form of the verb (Past Participle). The ways of forming sentences with regular and irregular verbs are different.

• With regular verbs

The ending -ed is added to the infinitive form.

• With irregular verbs.

The Past Participle form is used (third column of the table of irregular verbs).

Education Future Perfect
Affirmative form	Negative form	Interrogative form
I will have seen her He (she, it) will have seen her We will have seen her You will have seen her They will have seen her	I will not have seen her He (she, it) will not have seen her We will not have seen her You will not have seen her They will not have seen her	Will I have seen her? Will he (she, it) have seen her? Will we have seen her? Will you have seen her? Will they have seen her?
Uses of Future Perfect
1. When a future action is described that will occur before a certain point in the future.	The students will have shown the presentation when your manager comes	The students will have already shown the presentation when your manager arrives.

Perfect Continuous Times

1. The Present Perfect Continuous Tense

This tense is formed using the verb to be in the Present Perfect form (have been/has been) and the present participle form of the verb (Present Participle). In other words, the Present Perfect Continuous is formed by using the auxiliary verb have/has been and adding the ending -ing to the semantic verb.

Education Present Perfect Continuous
Affirmative form	Negative form	Interrogative form
I have been waiting for you He (she, it) has been waiting for you We have been waiting for you You have been waiting for me	I have not been waiting for you He (she, it) has not been waiting for you We have been waiting for you You have been waiting for me They have been waiting for you	Have I been waiting for you? Has he (she, it) been waiting for you? Have we been waiting for you? Have you been waiting for me? Have they been waiting for you?
Cases of using the Present Perfect Continuous
1. A continuous action that occurs in the present tense with an indication of how long it takes to complete.	They have been painting the walls since nine o"clock	They've been painting the walls since nine o'clock.
2. A long-term action that began in the past and ended immediately before the moment of speech.	Although the sun is shining, it is still cold as it has been raining hard.	Although the sun is shining, it is still cold as it has been raining heavily.

2. The Past Perfect Continuous Tense

This tense is formed using the verb to be in the Past Perfect form (had been) and the present participle form of the verb (Present Participle). In other words, the Present Perfect Continuous is formed by using the auxiliary verb had been and adding the ending -ing to the semantic verb.

Formation Past Perfect Continuous
Affirmative form	Negative form	Interrogative form
I had been waiting for you He (she, it) had been waiting for you We had been waiting for you You had been waiting for me They had been waiting for you	I had not been waiting for you He (she, it) had not been waiting for you We had not been waiting for you You had not been waiting for me They had not been waiting for you	Had I been waiting for you? Had he (she, it) been waiting for you? Had we been waiting for you? Had you been waiting for me? Had they been waiting for you?
Cases of using Past Perfect Continuous
1. A continuous action in the past that occurred at the time of the occurrence of another past action, indicating how long it took to occur.	They had been painting the walls for three hours when we came	They had already been painting the walls for three hours when we arrived.
2. A long action in the past that ended just before the moment of another past action.	John felt tired as he had been playing tennis for four hours.	John felt tired because he had been playing tennis for four hours.