Everything you need to know about past tense in English. Simple present tense in English Helpful words

• Review of all English tenses
• Rules of use, time signals
• Examples of sentences with different English tenses

Let's remember the times we went through in previous lessons.

Present Simple

Let's start with Present Simple. Let us remind you that this is a regular repeated action, the verb in the 3rd person takes on the ending -s, -es. Auxiliary verbs - do, does:

Does he work every day?

Statement

He works every day.

Negation

He doesn't work every day.

Past Simple

Past Simple used to indicate an action that happened in the past at a specific time. Auxiliary did. Temporal markers are words yesterday, last week, last month, last year:

Did he work yesterday?

Statement

He worked yesterday.

Negation

He didn’t work yesterday.

Present Continuous

Present Continuous denotes an action happening now. Time markers for this time: now, at the moment:

Is he working now?

Statement

He is working now.

Negation

He is not working now.

Final table of tenses Present Simple, Past Simple, Present Continuous

Look again at how affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences are formed in the past tenses

		Statement	Negation
	Does he work every day?	He works every day.	He doesn't work every day.
	Did he work yesterday?	He worked yesterday.	He didn’t work yesterday.
Present Continuous	Is he working now?	He is working now.	He is not working now.

Let's repeat the times we covered in previous lessons. Let's start with the Present Simple. Let us remind you that this is a regular, repeated action; the verb in the 3rd person takes on the ending -s/-es. Auxiliary verbs do/does. Listen to examples. Question: Does he work every day? Statement: He works every day. Denial: He doesn’t work every day.

Past Simple is used to indicate an action that happened in the past at a specific time. Auxiliary verb did. Time markers are the words yesterday, last week, last month, last year. Listen to examples. Question: Did he work yesterday? Statement: He worked yesterday. Denial: He didn’t work yesterday.

Present Continuous denotes an action happening now. Time markers for a given time: now, at the moment. Listen to examples. Question: Is he working now? Statement:He is working now. Denial: He is not working now.

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Past Simple Past Indefinite Tense

Example sentences

At the checked-in desk I showed my passport and suitcases, took the boarding pass and proceeded to the departure lounge. At the check-in desk I showed my passport and my suitcases, took my boarding pass and went to the waiting room. Molly took some flour, poured in a glass of water, added three eggs and mixed everything. Molly took some flour, poured in a glass of water, added 3 eggs and mixed everything. I want to go somewhere

Example sentences

What music did you like when you were 11 years old? What music did you like when you were 11? When I was a little boy I wanted to be a pilot. When I was a boy, I wanted to be a pilot. She used to play tennis when she was at school. She played tennis when she was in school.

Example sentences

The Olympic Games in London took place in 2012. The Olympic Games in London took place in 2012. I moved to Milan two years ago and started working there. I moved to Milan two years ago and started working there. Thomas Edison made the world’s first electric light in 1887. Thomas Edison made the world’s first electric light bulb in 1887.

Example sentences

Mozart wrote more than 600 pieces of music. Mozart wrote more than 600 pieces of music. We didn't hear the phone. We didn't hear the phone.

Example sentences

The train was going to Manchester from 6 to 8 PM. The train was on its way to Manchester between 6 and 8 pm. He was sitting by the window and was sipping a glass of wine the whole evening. He sat by the window and sipped a glass of wine all evening.

Example sentences

While I was waiting for the bus, it started to rain. While I was waiting for the bus, it started to rain. The car started to make strange sounds when I was driving back home. The car started making strange noises while I was driving home.

Example sentences

Ann was watching TV while Jane was doing physical exercises. Anna watched TV while Jane did her exercises. They were discussing the company's plans while the secretary was typing a letter. They discussed the company's plans while the secretary typed the letter.

Example sentences

It was a quiet summer evening in Provence. The sun was going down, the colors were mellowing, the light breeze was blowing, the leaves were whispering and the lavender odor was coming into the house. It was a quiet summer evening in Provence. The sun was setting, the colors took on a softer hue, a light breeze was blowing, the leaves were rustling and the smell of lavender entered the house.

Example sentences

The police arrived quickly but the robbers had already gone. The police arrived quickly, but the robbers had already fled. When she got the salary she realized that her boss had given her a pay rise. When she received her salary, she realized that her boss had increased her salary.

Example sentences

The flowers faded because nobody had watered them. The flowers withered because no one watered them. His skin was red and hurt him as he had got a sunburn. His skin was red and painful because... he got sunburn.

Example sentences

Had you been smoking for 20 years before you decided to give up? Did you smoke for 20 years before you quit? The children had been playing outside the whole day before it started to rain. The children played outside all day before it started to rain.

Circumstances of the time

The key to success for the correct use of past tenses is knowledge of special marker words that relate to a specific time. They are the ones who can help if we find it difficult to determine what tense should be used in an English sentence. Each time has its own time indicator words. The main ones are shown in the summary table below.

Tenses in English represent perhaps the greatest difficulty in understanding, remembering and applying. Today we give several recommendations that will make your life easier and allow you to master the tenses in the most effective way.

Let us immediately note that we are not considering the formation of tenses: as practice shows, this is not a problem for English language learners. It is quite easy to learn the patterns, but understanding the use of tenses is not at all easy. So let's get started...

• Understanding the names

There are, in principle, only three tenses in the English language - 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 types, the past and future also have four types. What types of tenses exist?

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

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

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

The last type of tense combines the names of the previous two and is called Perfect Continuous. Accordingly, the tenses 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), and on the other, their types (Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous).

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

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

• Understand and remember 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) simple action, fact; b) regular, repeated action. Simple conveys its meaning to specific tenses. So, Present Simple means: a) a simple action, a fact in the present tense; b) regular, repeated 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 the Present Simple. Another example: “This boy gets sick often” is a regular, repeated action, so when translating into English we will also use the Present Simple.

Past Simple means: a) a simple action, a fact in the past; b) 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 the Past Simple. Another example: “As a child, I was often sick” is a regular, repeated 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) regular, repeated 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 visit you often” is a regular, repeated action, hence again Future Simple.

So, we've dealt with Simple, now let's move on to Continuous. Everything is much simpler here. Remember the most basic meaning - process. It is the meaning of the process that Continuous conveys to 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 the Present Continuous.

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 be asleep.”

Now let's look at Perfect. Remember the key value of this type is the result. This meaning is conveyed to specific times.

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

Past Perfect denotes the result at 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 completed, it was over, but the result remained from it - a letter ready to be sent.

Future Perfect denotes a result at a certain point in the future. For example: “I will write a letter by evening.” In the evening, the act of writing a letter will no longer take place, it will be completed, but the result will remain - a letter ready to be sent.

And finally, let's look at the Perfect Continuous. Remember the main meaning - a process lasting a specified amount of time. This meaning will be transferred to specific times.

Thus, 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 up to a certain point in the past. For example: “He had been asleep for three hours when you returned.” This sentence contains a moment of the past - your return. Until this moment, the process was taking place - he was sleeping. The process lasted the specified amount of time - three hours.

Future Perfect Continuous denotes a process that will last a certain amount of time at 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 issue of formation and use of tenses of the active voice.

When learning English, even the most dedicated beginners have difficulty with tenses. After all, in English, unlike Russian, there are as many as 12 tense forms. Despite this, the system of English tenses is logical, orderly and strictly obeys the laws of grammar.

Learning all the rules for using verbs seems very difficult at first glance. But this is only at first glance. The easiest and most effective way to master all 12 tenses is to use tables that concisely and clearly present material about the formation and use of tenses in the English language.

Why 12?

Everyone knows from school that there are only three tenses in the Russian language - present/past/future. In English there are also three of them - present/past/future, but each tense, depending on the duration of the action, can be of 4 types: simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous. As a result, there are 12 temporary forms.

	Simple/Indefinite An action that occurs “in general” or an action that is repeated over and over day to day.	Continuous/ Progressive An action that occurs at a specific moment, a specific period of time, or an action planned for the near future	Perfect The completed action with the result is available at the time of speech.	Perfect Continuous An action that began and lasted until the moment of speech or ended immediately before this moment.
Present	I walk	I am walking	I have walked	I have been walking
Past	I walked	I was walking	I had walked	I had been walking
Future	I shall walk	I shall be walking	I shall have walked	I shall have been walking

Time formation table with examples

	Present	Past	Future
Simple	Rec. verb: do / does Ending: -, -s Formula: V (+s) - I don't play - He doesn't eat	Rec. verb: did Ending: -ed, — Formula: V2 - I didn't play — He didn’t eat	Rec. verb: will/shall Ending: - Formula: will/shall + V — I won't play - He won't eat
Continuous	Rec. verb: be (is / am / are) Formula: am/is/are + Ving — I am not playing - He is not eating	Rec. verb: was / were Window: -ing Formula: was/were + Ving — I wasn’t playing - He wasn't eating Was I playing? Was he eating?	Rec. v.: will be / shall be Window: -ing Formula: will/shall + be + Ving I will be playing He will be eating — I won’t be playing - He won't be eating Will I be playing? Will he be eating?
Perfect	Rec. v.: have / has Window: -ed Formula: have/has + V3 - I have not played — He has not eaten Have I played?	Rec. verb: had Window: -ed Formula: had + V3 — I had not played — He had not eaten	Rec. v.: will have / shall have Window: -ed Formula: will/shall + have V3 I will have played He will have eaten — I won't have played — He won’t have eaten Will I have played? Will he have eaten?
Perfect Continuous	Rec. v.: have been / has been Window: -ing Formula: have/has + been + Ving I have been playing He has been eating — I have not been playing - He hasn't been eating Have I been playing? Has he been eating?	Rec. verb: had been Window: -ing Formula: had been + Ving I had been playing He had been eating — I had not been playing — He had not been eating Had I been playing? Had he been eating?	Rec. v.: will have been / shall have been Window: -ing Formula: will/shall + have been + Ving I will have been playing He will have been eating — I won’t have been playing - He won't have been eating Will I have been playing? Will he have been eating?

Table of tenses

	Present	Past	Future
Simple	1) Normal, repetitive action I always do my homework. 2) Laws and natural phenomena, scientific facts The sun rises in the east. 3) Domestic situations Do you want to spend a lot of money here? 4) Stories, anecdotes, reviews, sports commentary Then the knight gets on his black horse and rides away. 5) Train schedules, movie theater schedules The plane from New York arrives at 16:45.	1) Fact or single completed action in the past The Titanic sank in 1912. I went to Greece five years ago. 2) Past actions that occurred in chronological order. I get up, took a shower, brushed my teeth, got dressed and went out to have coffee. 3) Repeated action in the past I took French courses when I was ten.	1) Simple action in the future He will read this book. 2) An action that will last in the future for a certain period of time Will you be my best friend? 3) Sequence of actions in the future He will meet me and tell me the situation. 4) Recurring actions in the future She will visit them a few times while she is in Great Britain. 5) Assumptions about the future I'm afraid she won't come today. 6) Decision made at the time of conversation I will have chips, and you? 7) Promises, requests, offers, threats Be quiet, everything will be OK.
Continuous	1) An action taking place at a given moment or period of time I can’t hear what she is talking about now. He is reading a new story by Edgar Allan Poe. 2) Action covering a time period in the present He is studying at the University. 3) Changing situation Is your French getting better now? 4) Any planned action (indicating place and time) They are meeting their friend at 6 at the café. 5) An action that will take place in the near future (with verbs of motion) The family is moving to the other town. 6) Expressing a negative characteristic Ann is always making a noise when I’m reading.	1) A long-term action that occurred in the past at a certain moment I was playing computer game at 7 o’clock. 2) Two or more long-term actions that occurred simultaneously in the past Mary was playing piano and her little sister was dancing. 3) A long action in the past, interrupted by another (short) action. As she was sleeping, somebody knocked at her door. 4) Description of the setting or atmosphere Sam entered the room. The smell of cigarettes was filling it. 5) Expressing a negative characteristic The dog was constantly playing in the kitchen.	1) An action that will occur at a certain point in the future: This time next Monday I shall be flying to Tahiti. 2) An action that will certainly occur in the future Jhon won’t be meeting you tomorrow, because he is ill. 3) A polite question about the interlocutor’s plans for the near future, in particular when we need this person to do something for us Will you be reading the magazine for long? My friend needs it urgently.
Perfect	1) An action completely completed in the past, the result of which has a connection with the present They have bought a new TVset, so they may sell the old one. 2) An action that began in the past and continues in the present I have known Kate since school years. 3) In subordinate clauses of time after such conjunctions as after, when, before, as soon as, till, until, in order to convey a future action that will end before the beginning of the action referred to in the main sentence We’ll serve you a pancake only after you have eaten the soup.	1) An action that occurred before a specific moment in the past By the end of the month he had learned to read. Fortunately the mist had diffused before we left the house. 2) An action that began in the past and lasted before or during another moment in the past I found out that Lisa and Steve had not met since our graduation party. 3) In phrases such as “barely”, “only”, “didn’t pass and..., how”, “didn’t have time and..., how”. She hadn’t said a sentence when someone interrupted her. They had scarcely finished supper when Susy brought a big choclate cake.	1) Future action that will be completed before a certain point in the future He'll have translated the text by noon. By the time they come home, grany will have cooked lunch. 2) Past intended action (“should be”, “probably”) The students will have noticed speaker’s negative attitude to any form of discrimination.
Perfect Continuous	1) An action that began in the past, lasted for some time and continues in the present Mother has been cooking dinner for two hours already. 2) A long action in the past, completed immediately before the moment of speech, and the result of which affects the present The roads are wet. It has been raining all the night.	1) A long-term action that began before a certain moment in the past and continues at that moment Mary had been singing for an hour when he came. 2) A long-term action that began before a certain moment in the past and ended right before it Students had been discussing some important topics and they looked upset after that long conversation.	1) Future continuous action that will begin earlier than another future moment or action and will continue at this moment He will have been working at the thesis for a month when Jack joins him

Hint words to help

In the English language there are many so-called “clue words” or sign words that can tell you exactly what tense should be used in a given sentence. The ability to recognize such words greatly helps when choosing tenses. But one should take into account the fact that some of these feature words can be used in several groups of tenses.

	Past	Present	Future
Simple/Indefinite	yesterday last year/month, etc one year/month ago	every morning/day, etc. always usually frequently/often sometimes	tomorrow tonight

Used: to express a common, regularly repeated action.
Formed: from the infinitive of the semantic verb (without to); in the 3rd l. units numbers ending -s(Verbs to have And to be have special conjugation forms).
do (does):

Doesn't read much.
Does he read much?
He doesn't read much.

Continuous

Used: to express an action taking place at the moment, at the moment of speech.
Formed: from an auxiliary verb to be present participle of the semantic verb (participle I) .
In interrogative is placed before the subject.
In negative - particle not placed after the auxiliary. verb.

Not reading.
Is he reading?
He is not reading.

Perfect

Used: to express a completed (or still ongoing) action, the result of which is associated with the present.
Formed: from an auxiliary verb have (has) past participle of the semantic verb (participle II).
In interrogative
In negative - particle not is placed after the auxiliary verb.

Has not already come.
Has he come?
He has not come yet.

Perfect-Continuous (perfect-continuous)

Used: to express an action that began in the past and continues in the present.
Formed: from an auxiliary verb to be in the shape of Present Perfect (have been; has been)
In interrogative auxiliary verb in sentences have or has is placed before the subject.
In negative - particle not is placed after the first auxiliary verb.

Has not been working here for 5 years.
Has he been working here for 5 years?
He has not been working here for 5 years?

Past (past)

Simple (Indefinite)

Used: to express an action that happened in the past.
By method of education Past Simple English verbs are divided into standard and non-standard.
Interrogatives and negatives sentences are formed using an auxiliary verb do in the shape of (did):

Didn't come yesterday.
Did he come yesterday?
He didn't come yesterday.

Continuous

Used: to express an action that occurred at a certain point in time in the past.
Formed: Past Simple (was, were) participle I of the semantic verb.
Interrogatives and negatives Present Continuous:

Wasn't reading when they came.
Was he reading when they came?
he was not reading when they came.

Perfect

Used: to express an action that ended before another action or a specific moment in the past.
Formed: from an auxiliary verb have in the shape of Past Simple (had) participle of the second semantic verb.
Interrogatives and negatives sentences are formed in the same way as in Present Perfect:

Didn't have finished his work by 6 o'clock.
Had he finished his work by 6 o’clock?
He had not finished his work by 6 o’clock.

Used: to express an action that began at a certain moment in the past and continued for some time before the beginning of another action.
Formed: from the auxiliary verb to be in the form Past Perfect (had been) participle I of the semantic verb.
Interrogatives and negatives sentences are formed in the same way as in Present Perfect Continuous:

Didn't have been working here for 5 years when the war broke out.

Future

Simple (Indefinite)

Used: to express an action that will happen in the future.
Formed: from auxiliary verbs shall(for 1st person singular and plural) and will(for other persons and numbers).
In interrogative auxiliary verb in sentences shall And will is placed before the subject.
In negative - The particle not is placed after the auxiliary verb.

Will not come tomorrow.
Will he come tomorrow?
He will not come tomorrow.

Continuous

Used: to express an action that will occur at a certain point in time in the future.
Formed: from auxiliary verbs shall or will, which are placed before the auxiliary verb to be (without to) Participle I of the semantic verb.
In interrogative In sentences, the first auxiliary verb comes before the subject.
In negative – not is placed after the first auxiliary verb:

Will not be working here from 10 till 12 tomorrow.
Will he be working here from 10 till 12 tomorrow?
He will not be working here from 10 till 12 tomorrow.

Perfect

Used: to express an action that will be completed by a specific point in time in the future.
Formed: from auxiliary verbs shall or will semantic verb in the form Present Perfect.
In interrogative auxiliary verb in sentences shall or will is placed before the subject.
In negative - particle not is placed after these verbs:

Will not have finished his work by Monday.
Will he have finished his work by Monday?
He will not have finished his work on Monday.

Perfect-Continuous (perfect-continuous)

Used: to express an action which, having begun at a certain moment, will still continue at some point in time in the future.
Formed: from auxiliary verbs shall or will verb to be(in the shape of present perfect) Participle I of the semantic verb.
Interrogatives and negatives sentences are formed similarly to others Future Tenses:

By the end of the year he will have been working here for 2 years.