Tenses in English are the main component of any course of study. I know from experience how difficult they can be for some people. But without them, nowhere.

There is a huge amount of literature on this topic, but this routine only confuses.

If you want to start learning English in order to know English or simply, for example, be able to compose questions or translate texts, then this article will be your assistant.

With the help of this article, you will understand the difference in times, it will help you stop getting confused in times, but the rules, forms of education are all easily accessible for self-study. You can also, after reading, on the basis of the principle, delve into the study of this topic.

So let's get started.

There are 4 tenses in English:
Simple.
Long.
Completed.
Long-term completed.

Each tense is divided into:
The present
Past
Future
It's simple, times are divided according to the same system in Russian. Now I will briefly describe each of the tenses 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, regular action. Facts, truths. At this time, the exact point in time is NOT defined.

In general, if you just say - it shows the usual action, someone did something, someone knows something, etc. or just a fact. So is an 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 just a simple time. You can distinguish by the presence in the 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, routine.

The present- the person does it now, or he does it every day (says every day, or reads a book, writes 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 learn a foreign language every day, I will make an essay soon).

2) Long

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

The present- an action that a person is doing right now, he really does it and spends 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 happened at a certain moment in the past, or that was done at the moment when another action took place. (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 point in the future (I will be writing a letter at 7 pm, I will be digging the ground tomorrow from 7 to 9 am).

3) Completed

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

Remember - there is a result, the action has ended or will end here, and this is for anyone.

The present- an action that took place in the past, but has the most direct connection with the present. Example: He has already written a letter. I explain: he did this in the past, but the result refers precisely to the present. Example: I just lost my key. I explain: what he lost was in the past, but he is talking about it now.
Past- an action that was 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

This is where I recommend self-study. This time is not used in colloquial speech, and it is better to come to the study of this time after studying the times written above. Do not worry, work out the previous tenses!

So let's sum it up:

Simple time is a statement of fact.
Long time is a process.
Completed is the result.
Practice leads to perfection. Do simple tasks, guided by this article, and soon you will calmly distinguish one time from another Improve yourself! Good luck!

When learning English, even the most determined beginners have difficulty with times. Indeed, in English, unlike Russian, there are as many as 12 species-temporal 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 at first glance very difficult. 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 the material on the formation and use of tenses in the English language.

Why 12?

Everyone knows from school that there are only three tenses in Russian - 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 4 types: simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous. As a result, 12 temporary forms come out.

Table of times formation with examples

Table of tense usage

Help words

In English, there are many so-called "hint words" or word-signs that can suggest which tense should be used in a given sentence. The ability to recognize such words greatly helps in choosing tenses. But one should take into account the fact that some of these sign words can be used in several groups of tenses.

How to learn tenses in English so as not to get confused in them and understand them perfectly? How to understand the rules for the formation of time and learn the subtleties of using this or that time? Let's consider the method of studying tenses in English and give a few little tricks on how to quickly and easily remember the tenses of the English language.

Whales of time: learning the basics

Before proceeding to the study of times, it is necessary to identify the scale of the task. There are a lot of tenses in English. This does not mean that all of them are used in our speech every day. No. When you learn to speak English fluently, you will understand that 3-4 types of time are enough for high-quality communication. But! It is also necessary to know the features of education and the application of others. An educated person does not speak in stereotyped phrases, but pleases with a complete, correct and beautiful speech.

The first thing to remember is that in English, the fundamental factor for determining time is its aspectual tense form. If in Russian we have only perfect and imperfect verbs, then English pleases with four such aspects:

These forms are the basis for the formation of a specific tense.

But! English would be boring to learn if everything was simple. It is extremely important to remember that these aspects apply to all three tenses - Present, Past and Future. Not in every and not always, but in separate temporary forms. How easy is it to understand the subtleties of the formation of these schemes? We recommend that you learn the table below by heart (the verb say can be replaced with any other).

The third important rule to remember is => English is also rich in impersonal forms of the verb - the infinitive and ing-forms.

The fourth gem in learning English tenses is the passive form, which is sometimes difficult to understand even for experienced students. But! The passive form must be learned like two and two! This will make it easier to understand the next stages of study, since the passive form is used in all tenses - from Simple to Perfect Continuous.

Help for clarification:

• to be done
• To be done
• To have been done
• To have been done.

But! And that is not all! Remember the extra use of modal verbs! Can, could, would, will do, should, might, have done, have been doing, may, will do… - the variety surprises with the choice, which allows you to make the speech colorful, and the thought exhaustive.

Important! But in any case, a simple form is the basis of all foundations. Start with her.

For some students, this topic may seem like no end, but it is not. Eat the elephant bit by bit. This means that do not take on the solution of the whole problem at once, in this case, the study of the issue globally. First we study one aspect, then the second. The study of the following should be started only when the previous ones are well studied.

A well-studied theory is the foundation for practical training

In this situation, consistency is the key to success. The English language boasts 26 types of aspect-temporal forms, so learning everything in one evening will not work. The first brick in the base foundation should be laid with Simple times. Simple forms are the basis for the formation of all others. First we learn the table of times of the English language, and then everything else. The tense table clearly shows how verbs are formed and what are their exceptions. Yes, yes, from the table you can see the features of the formation of the main form of the verb, you just need to fill your hand and know the formation of English verbs like twice two.

On a note! You need to know not only the formation of the verb, but also its meaning. Say, tell, speak - see the difference? Same with look/see. To use a verb correctly in a sentence, you need to know its specific meaning. Moreover, there can be several values. This can be confusing too. Therefore, we recommend that you study the rules for the formation of verbs along with examples. So you better understand what's what.

Theory dies if it is not supported by practical exercises.

Have you studied the theory well and feel confident for further achievements? Do you understand the theory well enough to put it into practice? Statistics show that in colloquial speech there is a human factor, which is the main reason for the incorrect use of the verb or its form. What does this mean?

Even if you have studied the theory perfectly well, during a conversation you can get confused and forget about everything. How to avoid it? To practice! Stand in front of a mirror and look into your eyes. Watch for one or two minutes. Do not be afraid. If you are afraid to look yourself in the eye, how will you look into the eyes of another person? Now start talking to a fictitious interlocutor. Speak confidently and correctly. Imagine that you have a colleague you want to impress, a person you like, or your teacher. To some this may seem ridiculous, but it is true.

The most famous speakers, before going on stage, develop their speech skills in front of a mirror (this technique is taught to many specialists). They try to communicate with people as much and as often as possible so as not to worry and avoid the human factor (confusion, fear, insecurity, etc.).

Other tips on how to sow the seed of confidence and consolidate theoretical knowledge:

• Read aloud texts, articles, notes in English
• Translate texts from Russian into English in different tenses. Feel like an author!
• Watch movies in English with English subtitles (with English subtitles). Think about why this time was chosen, and not another? In native speakers, you can learn a lot of interesting things in using the correct form of the verb.
• Everything that you do every day around the house, mentally translate into English. Are you making tea? Translate. Is dinner ready? You need to use a different tense. Do you plan to do laundry tomorrow? Time will be different. Translate every day! As they say, drop by drop. You yourself will not notice how you learn to use the basic forms of the verb easily and simply.

Native speakers are carriers of knowledge

Have you noticed that in all leading schools classes with native speakers are mandatory? This is an important factor that guarantees success. Who else, if not a person whose native language is English, will prompt and explain the intricacies of the formation of one form or another of the verb?

But! Remember that we are not talking about simple colloquial speech, but about grammatically correct speech. You know that in life we ​​talk differently than at school or at work. But in any case, the knowledge gained from native speakers will not be superfluous. After all, we understand the intricacies of the use of the verb, relying on the theory of the Russian language, but on the contrary, we need to take a foreign language as a basis. And native speakers in this situation are our best helpers. Remember the rules in a pleasant conversation!

Leave your comfort zone

The theory is studied, but there is no strength to do three or four practical exercises? No time? Or maybe desire? Leaving the heated comfort zone and developing new skills! Theory without practice is nothing. That's what a lot of teachers say. In time, you will realize that this is true. Spending two or three hours on studying theory and not allocating 2-3 minutes for practice, you risk reducing all your efforts to zero.

Be sure to do a practice session after each learned rule and time! Learned knowledge needs to be applied! You may forget the formation of the time itself, but you will remember the example, on the basis of which you can compose other sentences. Practice shows that most students remember exactly the examples on the basis of which they can explain the features of education of a particular time. Practice every day and you will understand that this is so!

How to learn tenses in English: summing up

How to learn tenses in English so that the result obtained remains for a long time? To practice! And every day! Remembering tenses in English is not so difficult if you develop a study methodology, systematics, and follow it step by step. In this case, doing everything faster is not an option. Do not try to embrace everything at once! It will turn out to be porridge, in other words, you will know a little bit from everyone, but in general, nothing concrete.

Take on a new look and temporary shape every day. You will see, if you learn one thing every day, then the result will be better than if you take 2-3 questions a day. Proceed to a new item only when the previous one has been carefully studied. This is an individual question. Some people find time easier, some harder. To study the same time, one student will need one day, another three. It all depends on the preparation, the existing knowledge base and, of course, the desire to gain new ones.

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Approximately in this ratio, the tense forms of the verb are used in oral speech

English verb tenses is one of the most terrifying topics in grammar. At first glance, a table of 20 (or 24, depending on how you count) cells with incomprehensible words, diagrams, and examples looks creepy. Plus, there are under three hundred that obey their own rules.

And for some strange reason, everyone who already knows the language says that there is nothing complicated about verb tenses! Maybe this reason is that there really is nothing complicated about them?

I also think that tenses in English is not such a terrible topic as it seems. These few detailed tips will help you deal with them!

1. Don't neglect textbooks

Sometimes there is an opinion that textbooks are a boring and outdated tool for learning a language. Now there are really a lot of useful training programs, services, but the textbooks have not lost their relevance at all.

The textbook is a very handy tool, it has the necessary theory, examples, exercises. Everything is arranged in a carefully thought-out order and fits under one cover. The tenses of English verbs, and indeed grammatical material in general, are analyzed in sufficient detail in general tutorials, for example, but there are also books specializing specifically in verbs. For example, “Repeat tenses of the English verb” by T. Klementieva. This thin book contains all the necessary information, detailed explanations and many exercises.

Of course, you should not limit the study of a language only to a textbook, because it cannot give, for example, conversational practice, but you don’t need to give it up, especially at first. This is a handy guide, a map that will help you not get lost on your language journey.

If it’s better for you to see it once, watch the video tutorials - there are a lot of them and they are all free. YouTube is full of teachers and just enthusiasts making educational videos. Unfortunately, many videos are shot “on the knee” and do not please with good quality.

I recommend watching the video tutorials on Puzzle English - they are professionally filmed, they give a good theory and provide interesting examples. In addition, after watching the lesson, you can go through the exercises and ask a question if something is not clear.

3. Don't be afraid of the number of verb tenses in English

We are used to the fact that in Russian there are only three tenses of the verb: present, past and future. In the English language, there are, in some unthinkable way, as many as 20 times. How is this even possible? In fact, 20 pieces are not times, but, to be more precise, types of temporary forms, which for simplicity are called times. It is necessary to distinguish between verb tense and aspect.

How many verb tenses are there in English? There are only three times, as in Russian:

• Present (present),
• Past (past),
• Future (future).

However, each of the times can be of four types. View- this is such a semantic modifier of time, which clarifies how exactly the action takes place. In Russian, there are only two types - perfect and imperfect, and even then only for verbs in the past tense.

We thought about the beautiful (imperfect form).

We thought about the beautiful (perfect view).

There are four types in English, and in all tenses.

• Simple (Indefinite)- action in general, regular action.
• Continuous (Progressive)- a long-term action that occurs at a certain moment.
• Perfect- completed action (as our perfect view).
• Perfect Continuous- the average between a long and completed action. In practice, it is used very rarely, especially in colloquial speech.

It is easy to calculate that three times of four types are already 12 possible combinations. These combinations are called “spectral forms”, and for brevity, simply the tenses of the English verb. When they say that there are 20 tenses in English, they mean temporal forms.

So, in English we counted 12 forms, where did 8 more come from?

Remembering them is very simple, there are no difficult rules, that's just the verb to be may cause some difficulties. To help deal with them, I wrote separate recommendations and made memory cards:

5. Simple times are the most needed

So, you already understood that tenses in English are not so scary. What's next? Further - simply, you need to carefully study each form and remember its formation. First of all, you need to know only THREE most used forms:

• - real simple
• - past simple
• - the future is simple.

Note: in some textbooks, instead of the term Simple, Indefinite (indefinite) is used - this is the same thing.

They form very easily. In Simple tenses, only verbs in the past tense add an ending -ed(not counting irregular verbs) and there is one form (1st person, singular) with the ending -s. This is a trifle compared to the branching systems of endings in Spanish, French, Russian, and many other languages.

These schemes are described in detail in. Since you already know the verb, you will be able to remember these forms not only in the affirmative form, but also in the interrogative and negative form.

Strictly speaking, this can complete the study of times. If your goal is communication at the level of “survival abroad”, if you are good at gestures, facial expressions, and are not afraid to make mistakes, then even these three times will be enough for communication.

But if such a minimum level does not suit you, I recommend that you consistently study all tenses, and then practice will show what is needed and what is not needed. I've compiled a handy table that lists all the .

6. Practice building phrases, develop skills

Learning a language is not a matter of gaining knowledge, but of developing skills. A common mistake is to try to “learn” a language, to remember it as if for later. Like, I will first learn the language, and then I will speak it. It is necessary not so much to learn the language as to train in its possession, to develop skills. Like in sports. And just like in sports, you need to practice. Here's how you can parse one kind of temporal form:

1. Learn the Rule

Usually it fits in one phrase, for example: “To build the past simple tense, add the ending -ed to the initial form of the verb.” Just do not forget that your task is to be able to build a phrase, and not to know the rule by heart.

2. Explore examples

In any textbook, after the rule, there are examples, for example:

I want ed- I wanted.

She help ed- She helped.

3. Do exercises to remember the pattern

Textbooks usually offer to compose phrases with the passed form, translate sentences, put the word in the desired form, and so on. For example:

Put the word in the correct form:

She (to invite) me to the party yesterday.

With the help of exercises, you will consolidate your knowledge of the rule by developing the initial skill of constructing the desired phrase. But many suffer from the fact that they seem to know all the rules, they can easily solve exercises from textbooks, but they cannot speak and understand by ear.

To speak and understand by ear, you need to practice speaking and understanding by ear. Grammar and vocabulary are only part of learning a language, knowledge of words and grammar needs to be multiplied by practice in, then you will really know the language, and not just know it.

7. Learn the tenses of the English verb in the affirmative, interrogative and negative forms

Option 2. Learn tenses of the verb using cards

Take cardboard cards and write an English phrase on one side, and a translation on the other (you can also use electronic cards)

Here's how you can use the cards:

1. Start with a bare outline without further ado

First, take cards with a complete conjugation table without further ado - only and. In articles about tenses of the verb, there are ready-made cards, for example, this set.

I noticed - I noticed.

You noticed - You noticed.

She noticed - She noticed.

He noticed - He noticed.

They noticed - They noticed.

We noticed - We noticed.

I did not notice - I did not notice.

You did not notice - You did not notice.

She did not notice - She did not notice.

We did not notice - We did not notice.

They did not notice - They did not notice.

Did I notice? - I noticed?

Did you notice? - You noticed?

Did he notice? - He noticed?

Did we notice? - Did we notice?

Did they notice? - Did they notice?

2. Expand the bare outline into short phrases

In life, we rarely say two words like “I invited” or “I noticed”. Expand the diagram into more detailed but short phrases, and choose a different context for each individual person and number to make the task more difficult (hard to learn - easy to fight). For example:

• I noticed your new dress.
• I didn't notice this noise.
• Did you notice something?

It will be great if you do bright, lively phrases. You can add the names of acquaintances, a little humor (funny is well remembered). Even if the phrases are completely absurd, it's okay, you just need to practice!

3. Practice building phrases on the fly

Write ten to fifteen verbs that you know well and, looking at them, say aloud phrases with these verbs that you have thought up on the go. Phrases are best built in the first person, because we most often speak in the first person. You can diversify the exercise by inserting phrases in other persons and numbers, adding affirmations and negatives. Knowing the simple times alone, you can tell a lot of things.

It may seem to you that such a detailed and thorough study of one type of temporary form is useless. Indeed, you can remember the form without it, but with the help of such exercises you will not only remember the construction of phrases better, but also work out your speech skill better.

8. Carefully work through the 7 main types of temporary forms

If we take the table of verb tenses in the active voice, we will see 12 forms. However, 7 of them are most commonly used, they are highlighted in orange in the table. They need to be worked out especially well.

You need to know other forms too, just don't try to learn them at such a level that you will accurately give out the Future Perfect conjugation when you are woken up in the middle of the night. This is not a priority. Efforts and time should be distributed wisely. Especially do not go deep into the Perfect Continuous times. You need to know them at the level of understanding (it will come in handy when reading), but to develop a confident speech skill ... they are very rare in speech. known

Friends! I don't do tutoring right now, but if you need a teacher, I recommend this wonderful site- there are native (and non-native) teachers there 👅 for all occasions and for every pocket 🙂 I myself went through more than 50 lessons with teachers that I found there!

If you are just starting to learn English, then you will be surprised: there are 12 verb tenses in English. This number does not include passive structures (the door was painted / the door was painted); on the contrary, all twelve tenses are needed for the verb in the "active", i.e. when an object performs an action. For beginners in English, we will provide enough information to familiarize yourself with the rules.

If you are familiar with the tenses of the English language, but have forgotten some of their differences, our article will not only remind you of the basic rules, but also give tips for better remembering them.

It's probably no secret that for a better understanding of the rules of tenses in English, they need to be presented in a table. The best format, in our opinion, is this one:

It is such a table that will allow you not only to briefly summarize the information, but also clearly show the similarities and differences between the times of the groups Present, Past and Future.

So that in the future we will not have any questions with filling in the cells, we will make a plan of what needs to be written about each time:

• When exactly the action takes place.
• How does the verb change in this tense (let's agree: "+" - for affirmative sentences (affirmative sentences); "-" - for negative sentences (negative sentences); "?" - for interrogative sentences (interrogative sentences)).

Simple, continuous, Perfect, Perfect continuous

First of all, let's talk about our "pointers":

Simple: tenses in this category describe actions that can be repeated, talk about our daily routine, the chronology of events, etc. The main thing is the fact that the tenses of the Simple group speak of actions that just happen / will happen / have happened: we don’t care about their duration or completeness; what matters is the act itself.

continuous: tenses of this type indicate the duration of an action that is taking place at a certain moment in the future / present / past.

Perfect: result oriented. Describes the activities that ceased

Perfect Continuous: duration orientation. Describes the activities that lasted to a specific moment in the future/present/past.

Fundamental difference Simple from continuous:

We use continuous to ask "How long?" (How long? ). For example:

how for a long time you write letter? / How long have you been writing the letter?

We use Simple to ask "How many times?" (How many times?) or "How many?" (How much? How many? ). For example:

How much apples you ate? / How many apples have you eaten?

How much once she is went in library on the this week? / How many times has she been to the library this week?

Future, present, Past

Future: here we “will not open America” - this group describes verbs in the future tense, which means that the helper verb, which will invariably be our companion here, is will.

present: works with verbs when talking about the present tense.

Past: everything that concerns "the affairs of bygone days", i.e. of the past.

Verbs in the past tense are divided into regular ones (we form the past tense according to the rule: “verb + ending ed »: stay ed, attach ed ) and irregular verbs (2 and 3 forms can be found in the tables of irregular verbs: come, came; had, has).

Table of English tenses

So, when we remembered the main tense groups of verbs, it's time to start filling out the table.

We suggest working with the verb "cook" ( Cook; correct verb).

As we have already agreed, each cell will have an affirmative ("+"), a negative ("-") and an interrogative sentence ("?") with this verb.

For convenience, in the further use of the table, we consider the change of this verb with all pronouns. So, Present Simple.

+ I / we / you / they cook ; He / she / it cooks (I / we / you / you / they cook / cook) food; he/she/it cooks food);

— I / we / you / they do not ( don ’ t ) cook ; He / she / it does not ( doesn't ’ t ) cook (I / we / you / you / they do not cook / cook) food; he/she/it does not cook food);

? Do I/we/you/they cook? Does he/she/it cook? (I / we / you / you / they cook / cook food)? does he/she/it cook food?).

We hope you remembered tenses in English. Probably, each student will need a table of times, but not everyone knows how to organize it correctly.

Did you find the table offered by us useful? Share it with us in the comments.