Mastering English Tenses: Present, Past, and Future
Present Simple
The present simple tense is used for:
- Habits, repeated actions, or events (e.g., She runs in the park every day).
- With adverbs of frequency (always, usually, never, rarely, sometimes, often, etc.). Adverbs usually go before the main verb or after the modal/auxiliary verb (e.g., She often goes dancing at the weekends).
- Facts that are always true (e.g., Famous singers earn a lot of money).
- Fixed timetables (e.g., The train leaves in ten minutes).
- Time clauses with a future meaning (e.g., I’ll see you when I finish my work).
- Describing the plot of a film or book (often used in reviews) (e.g., The police arrive and break down the door).
Present Continuous
The present continuous tense is used for:
- Actions happening at the moment of speaking (e.g., He’s playing a computer game at the moment).
- With ‘always,’ for something that happens often and is annoying or surprising (e.g., He’s always borrowing my phone).
- Situations or states that are changing (e.g., Our summers are getting wetter).
- Fixed plans and arrangements in the future (e.g., We’re going to the cinema this evening).
- Events that are happening around now, but not necessarily at this moment (e.g., They’re building more houses in this area).
Present Perfect Simple
The present perfect simple tense is used for:
- Single or repeated actions completed at an unspecified past time and connected to the present (e.g., He’s decorated his bedroom; it looks great. I’ve been to several countries in South America).
- An action in a time period that is still continuing (e.g., I’ve learnt a lot of things today).
- An event that started in the past and continues up to the present, especially with for and since (e.g., I’ve had this phone for two months).
Present Perfect Continuous
The present perfect continuous tense is used for:
- An action that started in the past and continues up to now (e.g., I’ve been acting since I was six years old).
- A past continuing action with a present result (e.g., I’ve been playing tennis, and I’m very tired now).
- To emphasize how long an activity has been going on (e.g., We’ve been waiting for two months).
Present Perfect Simple vs. Past Simple
Use the present perfect simple for actions in the past when we don’t know the time, for actions that started in the past and are still continuing in the present, and for completed actions in a time period that is unfinished. Use the past simple for actions that started and finished in the past, for actions in the past when we know the time, and for completed actions in a finished time period.
Past Simple
The past simple tense is used for:
- Single events completed in the past.
- Completed time periods in the past.
- Sequences of completed actions in the past.
Past Continuous
The past continuous tense is used for:
- An action in progress at a particular point in time in the past.
- An action in progress in the past which was interrupted by another short action. We use ‘when’ before an action in the past simple and ‘while’ before an action in the past continuous.
- To set a scene for a story.
Past Perfect Simple and Continuous
We use the past perfect simple for an event/action that happened before another action in the past. We use many of the same time expressions that we use with the present perfect with the past perfect (just, yet, already, ever, never). We use the past perfect continuous for an action in the past that continued until another past action or event.
Used To and Would
Used to or would are used for regular past activities that have changed or stopped.
Going To
Going to is used for general predictions about the future or for things we expect to happen because of what we can see or know, and for intentions and plans that we have already made.
Future Tense
Forms: have + ing or ed / have + been + ing
Personality Adjectives
Bitchy, bossy, brave, caring, easy-going, funny, fussy, generous, gifted, gorgeous, laid-back, loyal, mean, moody, obsessed with, reliable, sarcastic, sensible, sociable, spoiled, stubborn, thoughtful, trendy, trustworthy.
Unit 2 and 3 Vocabulary
Burst its bank, climate change, defense mechanism, fossil fuel, global warming, greenhouse gas, habitat destruction, heat wave, ice cap, illegal logging, issue, warming, learn a lesson, polar bear, soil erosion…