The cornerstone for anyone who learns English is his time. You dismantled the group Simple(Indefinite) and everything seems to be clear and easy. And you start the next one, and your head is already a mess. How not to just learn 12 tenses in english, but also to understand them in order to really use them in speech, and not bury them in the “useful knowledge” section somewhere deeper in your head?

"Dreams and everyday life of a worm" - this visual table, which at one time blew up the Internet and helped millions stop making mistakes in time. If you are also "swimming" in this topic, take picture c examples yourself. Place on your desktop or print and hang in a conspicuous place.

And right now, go through all 12 tenses. Learning fun like children and easy to remember times in English!

Group Present (present)

Simple (Indefinite, simple): I eat apples every day. - I eat apples every day.

Continuous (long): We are eating the same apple now. We are eating the same apple now.

Perfect (completed): I have already eaten this apple. I have already eaten this apple.

Perfect Continuous (completed-long): I have been eating this apple since early morning. I have been eating this apple since early morning.

Group Past (past tense)

Simple (Indefinite): I ate apples yesterday. - I ate apples yesterday.

Continuous: I was eating an apple when my mother came. I was eating an apple when my mother came.

Perfect: We had already eaten apples when we began to eat plums. We had already eaten apples when we started eating plums.

Perfect Continuous: I had been eating apples for two hours when my friend arrived. I had been eating apples for 2 hours when my friend came.

Group Future (future tense)

Simple (Indefinite): I will eat apples in summer. I will eat apples in summer.

Continuous: I will be eating apples at 5 o'clock tomorrow. I will be eating apples at 5 o’clock tomorrow.

Perfect: I will have eaten this apple before the midnight. I will eat this apple before midnight.

Perfect Continuous: I will have been eating this apple for two hours before the guard comes. I will have been eating this apple for 2 hours before the watchman appears.

Friends, and finally, a useful tip: try to understand, not memorize 12 times of the English language. You need to clearly understand how the next tense differs from the one you have already studied. If you can't see the difference yet, it's best to stop and perfect that piece, and then move on.

Also, be sure to practice. At home, at work, with friends. We are sure that your environment will understand and support the desire to improve English. And you, thus, will bring the learned rules from passive into active colloquial speech. Good luck to you and good mood!

Understand, repeat or learn tenses in English? Yes, you are joking! It's almost like a Chinese letter! In fact, no, and we know a few secrets on how to easily and quickly learn and remember English tenses (table attached).

It is the times that become the very main brake that prevents you from easily and simply learning this most beautiful and most popular language in the world. Sit back, because now we will tell you how to quickly and easily learn and remember verb tenses in English.

Method 1: how to quickly learn verb tenses in English

Students are confused from the very beginning, believing that there are 100500 tenses in English. In fact, English also has 3 tenses: present (Present), past (Past) and future (Future). Later, as soon as you master these basics, you will need to impose the rest of the knowledge on the existing foundation.

Now is the time to learn that all verbs denoting actions in English can be divided into ongoing and non-continuous (i.e. continuous and non-continuous).

How to distinguish between them: if an action occurs, has occurred or will occur within a certain period of time, then it is continuous (long or long). For example, Kolya was sleeping, Lena was doing her homework, Artem was reading a book.

If the sentence contains the following constructions, use Continuous - a long time:

• at the moment
• from 5 to 7,
• the whole day,
• when he came and so on.

It applies when it comes to about an unfinished process, action that was done, is being done or will be done in a specific period of time.

Group Times Indefinite or Simple are used to denote an action that occurs regularly, every day, and its exact moment is unknown. It is characterized by words-indicators: usually, twice, a week, on Sundays, often, sometimes, never, in summer, hardly, ever and so on. These words state the fact that an action is taking place.

When talking about completed action, use Perfect if the sentence contains phrases:

• already,
• just,
• recently,
• lately, etc.

These indicator words testify about the presence of a result by a certain moment: something happened now or yesterday by 5 o'clock, or will be ready by tomorrow morning.

Now we define whether it is important for understanding the meaning by what point in time this action will be completed. Thanks to this, we will understand whether we use perfect tense or not (Perfect or non-Perfect). It's time to bring together all the signs of action we have identified. So we get a complete definition of the available time. For example, Past Continuous Perfect.

The times of the Perfect Continuous group are practically not used in real life. However, to pass the test and understand the literary language, it still does not hurt to study them. For example: In April I'll have been working on the book for 10 months. In Russian, it will sound something like this: in April it will be 10 months since I started work on the book.

Method 2: how to quickly learn English tenses (table)

There is another way if nothing happened with the previous one. There is nothing easier than learning the table of tenses in English.

This table shows all the signs of action. Comparing one sign with another, it will not be difficult for you to determine what time has appeared before you.

When studying tenses, you will need to learn the forms of auxiliary verbs and verbal words that serve to form one or another tense. And be sure to learn the table with irregular verbs!

And if there is still not enough time to prepare for the test or control in English, do not be shy - contact the student assistance service. Service specialists know everything about times, if not more, and they certainly know how to help you. And to broaden your horizons or just keep abreast of student life, subscribe to our telegram channel.

And here is a video on how to quickly and easily learn the time in English:

Tenses in English represent perhaps the greatest difficulty to understand, remember and apply. Today we give you some tips that will make your life easier and allow you to master the tenses in the most efficient way.

We note right away that we do not consider the formation of tenses: as practice shows, this is not a problem for English learners. It’s easy enough to learn schemes, but it’s by no means easy to understand the use of tenses. So let's get started...

• Understanding the names

There are, in principle, only three tenses in English - Present (present), Past (past) and Future (future). However, the situation is complicated by the fact that each named time can have four types. Those. The present tense has four kinds, the past and the future also have four kinds. What types of times are there?

The first type of times is called Simple (simple). Thus, there are , Past Simple (past simple) and Future Simple (future simple).

The second type of tenses is called Continuous (continuous, long). Accordingly, times can be (present continuous), Past Continuous (past continuous) and Future Continuous (future continuous).

The third kind is called Perfect. Thus, there are (present perfect), Past Perfect (past perfect) and Future Perfect (future perfect).

The last type of tenses combines the names of the previous two and is called Perfect Continuous (perfectly continued). Accordingly, times can be (present perfect continuous), Past Perfect Continuous (past perfect continuous) and Future Perfect Continuous (future perfect continuous).

As you can see, you need to remember, on the one hand, the names of tenses (Present, Past, Future), on the other hand, their types (Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous).

By the way, in many textbooks the first two types of times may be called differently. Instead of Simple, you can find the term Indefinite, and instead of Continuous - Progressive. You should be aware that these terms are interchangeable.

The name of a specific time consists of the name of the time itself and its type, for example: Present Simple, Past Continuous, etc.

• Understanding and remembering meanings

The next key point you need to remember is that each type of time has its own meaning. Next, we will analyze each type separately.

Remember the meaning of the form Simple - a) a simple action, a fact; b) regular, repetitive action. Simple conveys its meaning to specific tenses. So, Present Simple means: a) a simple action, a fact in the present tense; b) a regular, repetitive action in the present tense. For example: “The earth revolves around the sun” is a fact, so when translating this sentence into English, we will use Present Simple. Another example: “This boy is often sick” is a regular, repetitive action, so when translating into English, we will also use Present Simple.

Past Simple means: a) a simple action, a fact in the past; b) a regular, repeated action in the past. For example: “Moscow was founded by Yuri Dolgoruky” is a fact of the past, therefore, when translating this sentence into English, we will use Past Simple. Another example: “As a child, I was often sick” is a regular, repetitive action, so when translating into English, we will also use the Past Simple.

Future Simple means: a) a simple action, a fact in the future; b) a regular, recurring action in the future. For example: “Next year I will move to Germany” is a designation of the fact of the future, so we use the Future Simple. “He will often visit you” is a regular, repetitive action, hence the Future Simple again.

So, we figured out Simple, now let's move on to Continuous. Everything is much simpler here. Remember the most basic meaning - the process. It is the meaning of the Continuous process that conveys specific times.

Present Continuous denotes a process in the present. For example: “He is sleeping now” is a process in the present tense, so when translating into English, we will resort to Present Continuous.

The Past Continuous denotes a process at a certain point in the past. For example: "Yesterday at six o'clock he was sleeping."

Future Continuous denotes a process at a certain point in the future. For example: "Tomorrow at six o'clock he will sleep."

Now consider Perfect. Remember the key value of this type - the result. This value is passed to specific times.

The Present Perfect denotes the result so far. For example: “I wrote a letter. I am free." The act of writing a letter is no longer performed, it is over, but by now the result has remained from it - a letter ready to be sent.

Past Perfect denotes the result to a certain moment in the past. For example: "I wrote a letter in the evening." In the evening, the act of writing a letter was no longer performed, it was over, but the result remained of it - a letter ready to be sent.

The Future Perfect denotes the result to a certain moment in the future. For example: "I will write a letter by evening." In the evening, the action of writing a letter will no longer be performed, it will be completed, but the result will remain of it - a letter ready to be sent.

And finally, let's turn to Perfect Continuous. Remember the main meaning - a process that lasts a specified amount of time. This value will be passed to specific times.

So, Present Perfect Continuous denotes a process that lasts a specific time and continues at the present moment. For example: "He has been sleeping for three hours."

Past Perfect Continuous denotes a process that lasted a specified amount of time until a certain point in the past. For example: "He slept for three hours when you returned." There is a moment of the past in this sentence - your return. Until that moment, the process was going on - he was sleeping. The process lasted the specified amount of time - three hours.

Future Perfect Continuous refers to a process that will last a certain amount of time until some point in the future. For example: "He will sleep for three hours before you return."

To finally understand the tenses of the English language, we recommend watching a lecture on this topic (in Russian). This lecture discusses in detail the question of the formation and use of tenses of the active voice.

There is one topic in the study of the language, which, perhaps, can be discussed endlessly. Of course, we mean tenses in English. Learners who are just starting out with the language can sometimes find it hard to get used to the way English-speakers make time for themselves. In fact, each temporary form in English has its own analogue in Russian, it’s just that we don’t single out these forms as separate groups. Therefore, it is not at all difficult to understand the times, and today you will see for yourself.

To begin with, let's do a quick overview of all time groups so that you have an idea of ​​​​what we are going to talk about today. As in Russian, English sentences can be built in the past, present and future. But besides these tenses, English also has 4 tenses, namely: Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Perfect Continuous. In general, it turns out that one idea can be expressed in twelve temporary forms. Each form has a different way of forming the verbs that appear in the sentence. They can be used to determine the time. Detailed table for clarity:

Formation of tenses in English
Time / View	Simple (Simple)	Continuous or Progressive (long)	Perfect (perfect)	Perfect Continuous / Progressive (Perfect Continuous)
Past (past)	V2	to be (2nd form) + V-ing	had + V3	had + been + v-ing
Present (present)	V1	to be (1st form) + V-ing	have / has + V3	have / has + been + v-ing
Future (future)	will + V1	will be + v-ing	will + have + V3	will + have + been + v-ing

Having briefly analyzed the English tenses, let's move on to their more detailed study and consider the rules for the formation of tenses with examples.

Why are tenses needed in English?

But first I would like to dwell on the question of why the tenses of the English language are needed and whether it is worth learning them all. The system of tenses in English helps to correctly convey your idea to others. That is, you can make it clear what action is in question. Was it in the past or present? Has it ended or is it still going on? Or does it happen regularly? - all these questions will disappear on their own , if it is known what tense was used in the sentence.

“So I’m just starting to learn the language, and I immediately have to learn all 12 tenses of the English language?” - you ask. Ideally yes, you need to learn all tenses. But, most likely, you will not be able to do it all at once. Therefore, start your training from the time of the Simple group. Knowing simple time, you will be able to explain what happened to you or will happen to you, what you need and why. But you should not be limited to this time, and therefore, having dealt with it, gradually continue to study other groups. The latest can be considered the Perfect Continuous group. Often they resort to it when the level of the language of the students is already "passing" for the average, because the tenses of this group are used quite rarely and are used more to demonstrate their knowledge.

Tenses in English: Simple group

Simple (Simple)		Present (Present)	Past (past)	Future (future)
	+	V1	V2	will + V1
	—	do / does + not + V1	did + not + V1	will + not + V1
	?	Do/Does…V1?	Did…V1?	Will…V1?

present simple

Present Simple or simple present tense , perhaps the most used. The use of this English tense is necessary to express regularly repeated actions, habits, schedules and facts.

As you can see from the table above, the present tense is formed using the verb in its initial form, that is, in the form in which the word is listed in the dictionary. However, this form may vary slightly depending on the person and number. So, if the action is performed by a third person in the singular, the verbs end in -s (-es):

The auxiliary verb do is used to form negative and interrogative sentences. If it is used with third persons in the singular, then this verb turns into does, because it takes the ending -s (-es) from the semantic verb.

Examples:

As you can see, this time does not have any complex grammatical rules.

past simple

Past Simple or simple past tense in English is used to express the same simple repetitive actions, but only in the past. For its formation, a verb in the second form is used. It is of two types. If the verb is correct, then it is enough to add the ending -ed to it. If it is incorrect, then you just need to memorize the second form, because each irregular verb has its own. Compare:

In this case, the person performing the action does not affect the verb in any way, that is, for all persons the form of the verb is the same. Consider the use of this tense with the help of examples:

In this case, the auxiliary verb did is used to form negative and interrogative sentences. It takes over the function of the past tense determiner, so the semantic verb returns to its original form:

Future Simple

The Future Simple or the simple future tense in English is used to express simple actions that will happen in the future. It has an auxiliary verb will in all three forms of the sentence:

	She will help you.	She will help you.
	I will explain you how to do this.	I will explain to you how to do it.
	They will share their main ideas.	They will share their main ideas.
	You will not (won't) remember anything.	You won't remember anything.
	She won't be available because she'll turn off her phone.	She won't be available because she'll turn off her phone.
	They won't sign the documents.	They won't sign the papers.
	Will you be with me?	You will be with me?
	Will they like the description of the product?	Will they like the product description?
	Will he lie or not?	Will he lie or not?

Tenses in English: Continuous group

continuous / Progressive (Long)		Present (Present)	Past (past)	Future (future)
	+	to be (1st form) + V-ing	to be (2nd form) + V-ing	will be + v-ing
	—	to be (1st form) + not + V-ing	to be (2nd form) + not + V-ing	will + not + be + v-ing
	?	to be (1st form) … V-ing?	to be (2nd form) … V-ing?	Will … be V-ing?

Present Continuous

The Present Continuous (Present Progressive) or the present continuous tense in English (also known as the continuous tense in English) is a tense that shows that an action is ongoing, that is, is in progress at a given time. It is usually built with the help of the auxiliary verb to be, which is expressed in three forms, depending on the person and number:

Examples:

	I am typing him a message right now.	Right now I'm typing a message for him.
	We are watching TV all day long.	We watch TV all day.
	They are translating the text at the moment.	They are currently translating the text.
	He is not (isn't) reading now.	He is not reading now.
	Jim isn't writing a new post.	Jim is not writing a new post.
	I am not (‘m not) learning Turkish.	I don't study Turkish.
	Is she working here till summer?	Does she work here until the summer?
	Are you doing this on purpose, huh?	You're doing this on purpose, right?
	Are they studying the course at the moment?	Are they studying this course at the moment?

Past continuous

(Past Progressive) or the past continuous tense is used to show that some action lasted at a certain point in the past. For its formation, auxiliary and semantic verbs are also required. The same verb to be acts as an auxiliary, but only in the past tense:

Pronouns	to be in past tense
I	was
We	were

The semantic verb is formed in the same way as for the present continuous tense.

Examples:

	I was sleeping when he called me.	I was asleep when he called me.
	She was cooking while I was reading a newspaper.	She was cooking while I was reading the newspaper.
	They were watching a cartoon when the electricity was suddenly cut off.	They were watching a cartoon when the lights suddenly went out.
	He was not (wasn't) surfing the Internet at 8 in the evening.	He wasn't surfing the internet at 8 pm.
	They were not (weren't) talking to each other when I came in.	When I entered, they did not speak to each other.
	I wasn't analyzing the results.	I didn't analyze the results.
	Was she laughing during your presentation?	Did she laugh during your presentation?
	Were they training in the evening?	Did they train in the evening?
	Was she teaching her student at 3 p.m.?	Was she studying with her student at 3pm?

Future Continuous

Accordingly, Future Continuous (Future Progressive) or future continuous shows an action that will take place at a particular moment in the future. All 3 forms of the sentence in this tense need an auxiliary verb will be and a semantic verb with the ending -ing:

	When I come back, they will be listening to music.	When I return, they will be listening to music.
	I will be passing the exam this time tomorrow.	I will be taking my exam at this time tomorrow.
	They will be rehearing here at 9 p.m.	They will rehearse here at 9pm.
	Diana will not (won't) be recording a song tonight.	Diana will not be recording a song tonight.
	Unfortunately, I will not be spending time with my friends during my vacations.	Unfortunately, I will not be spending time with my friends during the holidays.
	They will not be building a website this time on Monday.	They will not be developing the website at this time on Monday.
	Will they be chilling the whole day?	Will they chill all day?
	Will she be washing the dishes when we go downstairs?	Will she wash the dishes when we go downstairs?
	Will they be conducting a research?	Will they do research?

Tenses in English: Perfect Group

Perfect (Perfect)		Present (Present)	Past (past)	Future (future)
	+	have / has + V3	had + V3	will + have + V3
	—	have / has + not + V3	had + not + V3	will + not + have + V3
	?	Have/Has…V3?	Had…V3?	Will … have V3?

Present Perfect

The present perfect or present perfect tense is a tense in English used to express actions that have completed by now. It differs from the simple past tense in that it emphasizes the result in the present that caused the action in the past.

This tense requires the auxiliary verb have, which changes to has in the third person. But with verbs used in the role of semantic, not everything is so simple. Past participles are responsible for them. The participle can be formed in two ways:

• If the verb is correct, then it is enough to add the ending -ed:

Suggestion examples:

	The son has broken the window with a ball.	The son broke the window with the ball.
	My children have already made the list of presents.	My children have already made a list of gifts.
	I have heard this story many times.	I have heard this story many times.
	I have not (haven't) hurt people ever.	I have never hurt people.
	She has not (hasn't) decided yet.	She hasn't made a decision yet.
	They haven't learned these formulas by heart; that's why I'm sure they have written cheat sheets	They didn't memorize these formulas, so I'm pretty sure they wrote the spurs.
	Has she been to Europe?	Has she been to Europe?
	Have you ever watched an eclipse?	Have you ever watched an eclipse?
	Have they met him yet?	Have they already met him?

past perfect

Or the past perfect tense is used to show that some action took place before a specific moment in the past. It is formed using the auxiliary verb had and all the same past participles:

	I had prepared a surprise for my children by 7 o'clock in the evening.	I have prepared a surprise for kids by 7 pm.
	We had considered all suggestions by Friday.	We considered all proposals by Friday.
	I wanted to visit her but she had moved already.	I wanted to visit her, but she had already moved.
	She had not (hadn't) spent too much time before she understood the concept.	She didn't spend too much time before she understood the concept.
	They hadn't finished the construction by the deadline.	They didn't finish building by the deadline.
	We hadn't published the magazine by Monday.	We hadn't published the magazine by Monday.
	Had she edited everything by the end of the day?	She edited everything before the end of the day?
	Had he learned the details carefully before he started doing the project?	Did he carefully study all the details before starting the project?
	Had she come back by Thursday?	Was she back by Thursday?

Future Perfect

Future Perfect or future perfect tense, as you might have guessed, shows that the action will be completed by a certain moment in the future. To form this tense, in addition to the auxiliary verb have, the verb will will be required. The semantic participle is the past tense:

	I will have changed everything by this time.	By this time I will change everything.
	She will have been in the Maldives at 3 a.m.	She will be in the Maldives at 3 am.
	The builders will have built the stadium by next winter.	The builders will build the stadium by next winter.
	They will not (won't) have spent much time on family till they understand its value.	They will not spend much time on the family until they understand its value.
	She won't have reached her goals until she starts working.	She won't achieve her goals until she starts working.
	I think George and Quincy won't have made up before your birthday party.	I think George and Quincy won't make up before your birthday.
	Will they have made it by March?	Will they make it by March?
	Will she have got his real intentions before they get married?	Will she understand his true intentions before they get married?

Tenses in English: Perfect Continuous Group

Perfect (Perfect)		Present (Present)	Past (past)	Future (future)
	+	have / has + been + v-ing	had + been + v-ing	will + have + been + v-ing
	—	have / has + not + been + v-ing	had + not + been + v-ing	will + not + have + been + v-ing
	?	Have / Has … been + V-ing?	Had…been + V-ing?	Will … have + been + V-ing?

Present Perfect Continuous

The Present Perfect Continuous or Present Perfect Continuous is a tense used to show an action that started and lasted up to a certain point or continues to continue to this day.

It has the auxiliary verbs have been, which change to has been in the third person. The semantic verb is the same verb that was used in Continuous tenses. Among all tenses of the English language of this group, Present Perfect Continuous is the most common:

	It has been raining all day long.	It rained all day.
	My friend has been persuading me to go with him for an hour.	My friend urges me to go with him for an hour.
	I'm tired because we have been creating a studio all night.	I'm tired because we've been creating the studio all night.
	She has not (hasn't) been learning French since she moved from Canada.	She hasn't studied French since she moved from Canada.
	Bryan hasn't been enjoying his weekends since his mother-in-law came to visit them.	Brian didn't enjoy the weekend because his mother-in-law came to visit.
	We haven't been sleeping all night.	We didn't sleep all night.
	How long have you been living here?	How long have you been living here?
	Have you been fighting again?	Did you fight again?
	Who has been touching my documents?!	Who touched my documents?!

Past Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect Continuous or Past Perfect Continuous is used in the same way as Present Perfect Continuous, only in this case the action ends at a certain point in the past. Sentences are formed in this tense with the help of the auxiliary verbs had been and the semantic verb with the ending -ing. Since this form is not used very often and there are not many options for its use, consider just a few examples:

Future Perfect Continuous

Future Perfect Continuous or future perfect long time implies a certain moment in the future. Time is used in very rare cases. It uses the auxiliary verbs will have been and the same semantic verb:

That's all. We hope that the explanation of the topic helped you, and the use of tenses in English is no longer a problem for you. Try to use all tense forms as often as possible when speaking, compose examples with them, perform various exercises on English tenses and make a translation.

In order not to constantly return to this article, redraw or make your own table of English tenses. It will be like a cheat sheet for you. Refer to it periodically, even if you have completed the study of this topic, since repetition of the past will never be harmful. If at first you still have a little confusion with the times, with proper practice you will quickly understand how to use them. The main thing is that we deal with all tenses in stages and do not move from one group to another until we fully master the material.