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English Grammar: Importance of Tenses

You should always keep in mind that English is a chronological language. English speakers simply always
need to know when some action or event took place.

Chronology, or events and dates set in order of their happening, is expressed by English speakers
through verb tenses. Each tense indicates the connection between two or more time periods or the
exact time an activity occurred, which underlines the importance of English grammar tenses. They can
be used to create different meanings from the same verbs and help to anchor the listener understand
the meaning behind your story. Thus, English has a lot of verb tenses with some expressing a connection
between two time periods whereas others indicate the exact timing of an activity. Further, the depth of
the English tenses should never be underestimated. We can, indeed, express very different things when
simply changing the tense; or even use tenses as rhetorical devices to stress whether we strongly
believe a project "is going to succeed" or simply express that we "will see" if a project "will succeed".

Some languages do not put as much emphasis on tenses and the chronological order of events and
actions. Instead, they stress (hierarchical) relationships between the people involved in the events and
actions that are being described by the speaker/narrator. Japanese is one example for a language that
puts much more emphasis on relationships. Thus, English learners whose first language is Japanese need
to pay extra attention to the tenses in English and should work with visualization aids to move English
tenses from the rather abstract realm of textbooks to a much more tangible and understandable
medium. For example, why not take a wooden box and imagine that the past tenses need to placed
within that box to symbolize how they describe events and actions that started and were completed in
the past. This method works for tactile and visual learners alike.

If you’re still wondering why verb tenses are important, then let’s walk through the different types of
tenses and how they can be used to effectively communicate with other people. After all, the goal of this
post is to understand the important verb tenses that will help you in businesses and daily life.

Where does the word ‘tense’ come from?

Understanding where words come from will help you remember why they’re important. You can quickly
recall the value of a verb tense by memorizing that it comes from the Latin word tempus, meaning time.
With the English verb tense lists below, you’ll be able to quickly understand how to communicate about
different events in time.

Four Main Types of Verb Tenses

Past Tense

Present Tense

Future Tense

Perfect Tense

Four Forms of Verb Tenses

Simple

Progressive/Continuous

More About the Different Types of Verb Tenses

The four main types of verb tenses and two forms can be used in a variety of combinations to create
unique meanings. With so many options, it can be hard to determine what type of verb tense to use at
the appropriate time. Below, you’ll find definitions of the different verb tenses and examples to help you
understand how these could be used in your daily life.

Simple Form Verb Tenses

You can think of simple verb tenses as the building block of all other forms. In English grammar, simple
form verb tenses do not have an auxiliary verb in affirmative sentences, which you’ll find in other forms.
Below, you’ll find examples of simple present, past, and future phrases that you can use in conversation.

Simple Present Tense – Definition & Examples

The present tense can be used in two ways: to express a recurring action and to represent a common
belief. Below, you’ll find an example of how the present tense is used in each of these instances.

Example 1: The tallest buildings are on 42nd and E Street.

Example 2: On warm days, the students run home from the park.

Example 3: Plants process carbon dioxide through photosynthesis.

Simple Past Tense – Definition & Examples

If you’re talking with a friend or a coworker and you want to explain that you started and finished an
activity in the past, then you’d want to use a simple past tense verb. Regular past tense verbs end with
-ed, but you’ll also find irregular past tense verbs where the spelling of the root word changes.

Example 1: We jumped off the diving board and into the pool.

Example 2: We drove through the night to make it home after the party.

Simple Future Tense - Definition & Examples

In its simple form, the future tense signifies something that is going to happen in the future. You can
identify or use the simple future tense by using will or shall (note: The latter is far less common than
will). Aside from will and shall, you can also express the simple future tense with am, is, are + base verb
+ ing, going to, and the simple present.

Example 1: My team will finish the report on Friday.

Example 2: We’re going to the mall on Saturday to find new clothes before the concert.

Example 3: The race starts early in the morning before the sun rises.

Perfect Verb Tenses

Not all events are clearly situated within a time frame, which is to say that some events happen at an
indefinite time. Do you remember the specific time you drank coffee today? Probably not, because it
stretched out over an indefinite period of time in the past. Perfect verb forms also apply to past and
future tenses, where an event took place before another or will be completed in the future before
another action.

Present Perfect Tense - Definition & Example

Communicating events with indiscrete times can be tricky in English. The present perfect tense is
supposed to make this easier. If you want to explain an event that happened at an indefinite time in the
past or that began in the past and continues into the present, then I’ve put together a few examples
below. These will help you understand the basic rule of the present perfect.

Example 1: My friends have seen the movie so many times, they lost count.

Example 2: People have gathered together to celebrate each other’s birthdays for hundreds, if not
thousands, of years.

Past Perfect Tense - Definition & Example

If you’re talking about multiple events that happened in the past, then the past perfect tense will be
useful for you. This verb tense allows you to discuss or write about an event that took place in the past,
but before another past action.

Example 1: All the cars had parked alongside the road to watch the meteor shower.

Future Perfect Tense - Definition & Example

Just like you can discuss the relationship between two events in the past, you can also do so for those
occurring in the future. The future perfect tense describes an event that will occur before another in the
future. You can identify future perfect tense verbs because they’ll use the phrase, will have with a past
participle.
Example 3: When I finally visit Japan, I will have traveled to every country.

Progressive Verb Tenses

If you want to signify something that is ongoing or discuss two events that overlapped in time, then the
progressive verb tense is the best option to use. Both in writing and conversation, progressive forms
help to show the duration of an event rather than just stating that it occurs, occurred, or will occur.

Present Progressive Tense - Definition & Examples

Often times, it’s useful to explain that an occurrence is happening at the same time of your explanation
or writing. In English, the verb tense you would use to show that an action is happening at the same
time of the explanation is called the present progressive form. Typically, speakers and writers use a verb
ending in -ing alongside am, is, or are to create a present progressive form.

Example 1: The students are studying for their exams for the next few weeks.

Example 2: The children are eating their breakfast before our hike today.

Example 3: I am finding a way to go to the festival this year!

Past Progressive Tense - Definition & Example

Aside from using a progressive verb tense to show that an event is occurring at the time of the
statement, they’re also used when talking about events that happened in the past. A past progressive
tense can be used to show an action that was happening at the same time as another in the past. These
past tense progressive verbs are typically used with was or were and also end in -ing.
Example 1: Our friends were eating breakfast at our house when we got the news our family just landed
in Chicago for a surprise visit.

Example 2: I was sitting in the lobby when the clock struck midnight.

Future Progressive Tense - Definition & Example

Like the other forms, the future progressive tense also uses verbs that end in -ing along with will
be/shall be, and am/is/are + going to be. This tense is most commonly used in conversation and when
writing to describe a future event that will be ongoing.

Example 1: My friends will be spending some time with us next Saturday.

Example 2: I am going to be waiting for you in the lobby of the hotel.

Perfect Progressive Forms

Aside from showing an event at a certain period of time or the relationship between two past or future
events, there is one more option you have when discussing the time between events. A perfect
progressive form allows you to explain an event that happened in the past, is occurring in the present,
and may occur in the future. In other words, you can use this when trying to explain a project you
started last week but you won’t finish until the next.

Present Perfect Progressive Tense - Definition & Examples

When making project updates, or trying to explain when you’re going on vacation, you might need to
use the present perfect progressive tense. This verb tense describes an event or action that started in
the past, continues in the present, and may continue into the future. This form is created by using has or
have been and a verb ending in -ing.
Example 1: For the past two weeks, the team members have been debating who will be the next team
campaign leader.

Past Perfect Progressive Tense - Definition & Examples

If you’d like to communicate with depth, then you can use the past perfect progressive tense. Trust me,
it sounds more complicated than it is in practice. Put simply, this verb tense gives you the ability to talk
about a past action that was ongoing and completed before another past action occurred.

Example 1: We had been baking for the holidays when we heard our friends knock at the door.

Future Perfect Progressive Tense - Definition & Examples

Especially when talking business, the future perfect progressive tense is helpful for communicating with
others. If you need to explain the expectations one or two quarters out, then you can do so by
communicating or writing with this verb tense. The future perfect progressive tense describes an event
in the future that is ongoing, but occurs before an arbitrarily specified time. You can create this form by
using will have been and a verb ending in -ing.

Examples: By the end of the century, we will have been using the internet for over forty years.

There you go — now that you know the different types and forms of verb tenses you can start to
practice communicating about time with people. Challenge yourself with one of these verb tenses a
week to try to improve your fluency. At the end of the week, write down the different phrases you used
and keep an ongoing journal to commit them to memory.

August 9, 2016

01
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MIDDLE SCHOOL

Back to the basics: past, present, and future tenses in English

ACADEMICS ENGLISH GRAMMAR

By Alison

As an English teacher and literature major in college, I am passionate about the English language. I am a
self-identified stickler for grammar, and I will correct a text to a friend if I notice it lacks an apostrophe
or contains an erroneous punctuation mark.

But by no means am I an expert on everything there is to know about English. In fact, I have realized
how little I knew when I started teaching English as a Foreign Language this year at an Italian high school
in Italy. I teach across a range of ages and abilities, but studying grammar is common among all classes.
And I have been asked many times to prepare exercises or speaking activities for topics like the present
perfect versus past simple, or contexts that call for the present continuous.

Until now, I never learned what the present perfect was, nor did I know the difference between that and
past simple or when to use the present continuous. Of course, implicitly, I know all of these rules from
learning English as my first language and from studying it in school. But never had I learned the labels for
these verb tenses or the explicit reasons for differentiating between one and another. Now, in teaching
these aspects of the English language, I am also relearning them from the perspective of my non-native
English-speaking students. What follows is a summary of the basics of each English verb tense as non-
native speakers commonly study them.

Write, Wrote, Written: The Three Basics

Non-native speakers of English often learn verbs in three basic parts: the present, the past, and the past
participle. With these three parts, one can form any combination of tense.
For example:

I write (Present)

I wrote (Past)

I have written (Present perfect)

I had already written (Past perfect)

I will write (Future)

I would write (Conditional)

With the above verb to write: the present is write, the past is wrote, and the past participle is written.

Below is a summary of how to form and when to use each verb tense in English.

PRESENT

The present tense in English is fairly simple. It comprises the verb as it appears in the infinitive (the "to"
form, as we learn it in foreign languages).

Unlike in Romance languages, English does not involve a different conjugation for each subject pronoun.
There is only one variation that takes place in the third person singular form:
For the verb to write:

I write

You write

He/She/One/It writes

We write

They write

We use the simple present to describe a current condition or action in general.

I write for the New York Times.

I am a teacher.

We like ice cream.

She rides her bike to school every day.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS OR PRESENT PROGRESSIVE

The present continuous could be referred to as the "-ing" form of a present tense verb. It is used to
describe an action that takes place in the present and is still ongoing at the moment it is being
described.
It is formed with the subject + form of to be + present participle.

NB: The present participle is the stem of the verb + -ing. The stem is the part of the verb that is common
to all other variant forms of that verb (the infinitive, the present, the past participle, etc). The stem of
the verb to write is writ, to which we add -ing for present continuous.

I am writing a blog post.

She is reading her favorite book.

We are playing a board game.

They are laughing at the TV show.

It is not raining right now.

The above examples describe actions that are happening in the moment they are being described. The
present continuous may also describe a general condition in the present that is not specific to the
current moment:

I am working as a teacher.

This week in science class, he is studying genetics.

Perhaps counter-intuitively, the present continuous can also describe a future action, although the verb
itself is in the present form, as in:
I am travelling to Sicily next week.

My friends are getting married in three months.

PAST

The past tense has several different degrees of past.

SIMPLE PAST

The simplest one is called just that: simple past. It consists of the past tense form of the verb. In the case
of the verb to write, the past is wrote:

I wrote

You wrote

He/She/One/It wrote

We wrote

They wrote

In the past, the verb does not change depending on the subject it follows.

Regular verbs form the past tense by adding -ed to the end of the present tense form, as in play à
played, talk à talked, work à worked.
In the case of a regular verb like to talk, the past is the same as the past participle.

à talk (present), talked (past), talked (past participle).

To write is an irregular verb because the past is not formed by adding -ed to write (it is not writed), but
it is more conducive to showing the difference among the three basic verb parts.

PAST CONTINUOUS

The past continuous is what other languages, like French, Spanish, and Italian, call the imperfect. It
indicates an action that took place in the past over a continuing period of time, an unfinished action.

I was watching a movie.

We were driving to practice.

The kids were studying for their test.

Usually the past continuous is used soon before or soon after the past simple. In this scenario, it
describes a continuing action in the past that was happening before another finished action happened.

I was watching a movie when you texted me.

We were driving to practice when the coach called to cancel it.

When the teacher entered the room, the kids were studying for their test.
In the above scenarios, the action following the word when is in the past simple: it is a complete action
that happened in the past. The past continuous describes the preceding situation, the condition that was
ongoing up until the point of the completed action.

PRESENT PERFECT

The name may sound misleading, but the present perfect tense is used to talk about something that
started in the past and continues to be true in the present.

It is formed with the present form of to have + past participle of the action verb:

I have seen this movie twice already.

So far this week, I have eaten pasta three times.

She has played piano since she was a child.

We have lived in Boston for five years.

We have not yet ordered our food.

In this last example, the present perfect refers to something that is not yet complete, but the fact that it
is not complete applies to the recent past in addition to the present moment.

Follow this link from Education First for a more extensive list of situations in which we use the present
perfect.

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

There is a subtle but distinct difference between the present perfect and the present perfect
continuous. The present perfect continuous is used in many of the same situations as the present
perfect, but its function is to emphasize the process or the ongoing progress of the action and not just
its end result.

It is formed with has or have + been + present participle:

I have been waiting for three hours.

She has been hanging up posters all over town.

They have been trying to get in touch with you.

In some cases, there is little difference between present perfect and present perfect continuous:

We have lived in Boston for five years. vs. We have been living in Boston for five years.

The effective meaning is the same, but the latter (present perfect continuous) underscores the fact that
we have lived in Boston for five years already and we are still living in Boston now.

PAST PERFECT

Compared to the simple past, which describes a completed action at a specified time in the past, the
past perfect describes a completed action that is even more in the past. In other words, the past perfect
happens before the simple past, but both are already completed actions that happened in the past.

Form the past perfect by using had + past participle:

I had met her before.

The rain had stopped.

The first day of school had finally arrived.

Almost always, the past perfect is used in connection with simple past. For example:

I realized I had met her before. (I realized = simple past; I had met her = past perfect).

à Some time in the past, I realized that another time farther in the past (even longer ago) I had met her.

The rain had stopped by the time the game started.

à When the game started (at a specific time in the past), at some point before that time, the rain had
already stopped (farther in the past).

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Much like the present perfect and present perfect continuous, the past perfect has a continuous
counterpart.

It is formed with had + been + present participle.

They had been taking lessons for six months before they performed their first concert.

We had been planning to go on vacation in July, but we found a better rental in August.
Had you been studying French a long time before you decided to attend a university in France?

FUTURE PERFECT

Again, it might sound like an oxymoron, but the future perfect tense is actually a form of the past. It is
used to talk about a completed action (past) but at a future point. It describes a time in the future, from
which one can look back at an action that, at that point will already be complete.

It is formed with the future will + have + past participle.

By the end of this year abroad, you will have travelled to six different countries.

When you get here, I will have finished my homework.

Once I pass my last exam, I will have completed every level of certification.

Note that in the last two examples, the first verb is in the present, and the second verb is in the future
perfect.

FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS

The future perfect continuous is formed the same way the past and present continuous are formed, but
with the future verb:

will + have + been + present participle

For example:

By the end of June, I will have been teaching for one whole year.
At midnight, we will have been dancing for five hours straight!

FUTURE

To talk about things that have not yet happened, use the future tense.

SIMPLE FUTURE

The simple future tense has two component parts:

à future of to be (will) + present form of the verb

The future tense refers to actions that have not yet been completed. They will occur at a later point
from now.

My brother will pick us up after school.

The waiter will bring the food in a moment.

Will you be able to make it to the party?

I won't go unless you come with me. (I won't = I will not go)

FUTURE CONTINUOUS

The future continuous is used for actions that will be completed in the future over some duration of
time.
It is formed with will + be + present participle.

You will be laughing so hard when you see the new comedy.

How many days will you be staying at our hotel?

In just a week, we'll be sitting by the ocean and sipping iced tea on the beach. (we'll = we will)

This summer, I'll still be working at the ice cream shop. (I'll = I will)

CONDITIONAL

There are several different types of the conditional, which I have previously explained in a former blog
post. But the one that introduces a new verb form for the purpose of this post is the present conditional,
which uses would, to express a hypothetical or uncertain situation. It is formed as an "if "clause, to
express what would be the case if a currently not-real scenario became the reality.

If + simple past à would + present verb

If I ran six miles a day, I would get in shape.

If I ate more fruit, I would be healthier.

We would get better grades if we studied more.

For a comprehensive guide of all verb tenses and combinations thereof, look at the EF verb pages here.

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