Table of tenses in English with explanation. English Times. Tenses in English (Verb Tenses). Present Simple: examples of negative sentences

The English tense system has 3 large groups: Past (past), Present (present) and Future (future).

In all these groups there are 4 times:

• Simple (simple),
• Continuous (continued),
• Perfect (perfect),
• Perfect Continuous (perfect continuous).

Group Present (present)

1. Present Simple. This is a tense that indicates an action that occurs (or does not occur) regularly, constantly.

We hunt and fish every summer. We hunt and fish every summer.
She often cooks pizza. She often makes pizza.

2. Present Continuous (or Present Progressive) denotes an action happening right now, at the present moment.

I am singing my favorite song just now. I'm singing my favorite song right now.
My chief is talking to the partners at the moment. My boss is talking to partners at the moment.

3. The action in the Present Perfect was just now, today, this week, this year, month, etc.).

I have just painted this fence. I just painted this fence.
This week my sister has left for China. This week my sister went to China.

4. The action in the Present Perfect Continuous began in the past, is still happening and will end unknown when.

The plane has been flying for some hours. The plane flies for several hours.
The grandparents have been reading your newspapers since early morning. Grandparents read their newspapers from early morning.

Past times group

1. Past Simple. Past simple. The action happened once in the past, happened constantly, regularly.

We graduated from the University in 1998.
Our neighbors moved to Moscow 3 years ago. Our neighbors moved to Moscow 3 years ago.

2. Past Continuous. The subject was in the process of action at a specific moment in the past or during a specific period of time.

Yesterday from 10 till 11 a.m. my son was writing his test. Yesterday from 10 to 11 am my son was writing a test.
On the 12th of June at 7 p.m. I was enjoying a new film. On June 12 at 7 pm I was enjoying a new film.

3. Past Perfect indicates that an action occurred in the past before some point.

I had watered the vegetables in the garden by the moment my wife cooked dinner. I watered the vegetables in the garden by the time my wife cooked dinner.

4. The action in the Past Perfect Continuous began before some time in the past and was still happening at that time.

She had been ironing the clothes for 20 minutes when the iron was broken. She had been ironing clothes for 20 minutes when the iron broke.

Future times

1. Future Simple. These are processes that will take place in the future regularly, constantly.

I will become a good lawyer. I will become a good lawyer.

2. Actions in the Future Continuous will be relevant for a specified time in the future or will continue for a certain period of time.

In 3 days at this time we will be climbing a mountain. In 3 days at the same time we will be climbing the mountain.
Tomorrow since 17.00 till 20.00 we will be walking around Novgorod. Tomorrow from 17.00 to 20.00 we will walk around Novgorod.

3. Future Perfect is used extremely rarely. Indicates an action that will occur in the future at a certain point.

Tomorrow at 5 p.m. he will have repaired his bike. Tomorrow by 5 o'clock he will have repaired his bicycle.

4. Future Perfect Continuous. A process that will begin and will still be in progress at a specified time in the future. It is used, just like Future Perfect, extremely rarely.

Next year you have been writing your novel for 2 years. Next year it will be 2 years since you wrote your novel.

Here you can find English tenses in tables with examples / Tenses in English in tables with examples.

1. The Present Perfect Tense

The Present Perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb have/has and the past participle form of the verb (Past Participle). The ways of forming sentences with regular and irregular verbs are different.

• With regular verbs

• With irregular verbs.

Please note these rules in the examples in the table below.

2. The Past Perfect Tense

The Past Perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb had and the past participle form of the verb (Past Participle). The ways of forming sentences with regular and irregular verbs are different.

• With regular verbs

The ending -ed is added to the infinitive form.

• With irregular verbs.

The Past Participle form is used (third column of the table of irregular verbs).

3. The Future Perfect Tense

The Past Perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb have in the form of the future tense (will have) and the past participle form of the verb (Past Participle). The ways of forming sentences with regular and irregular verbs are different.

• With regular verbs

The ending -ed is added to the infinitive form.

• With irregular verbs.

The Past Participle form is used (third column of the table of irregular verbs).

Perfect Continuous Times

1. The Present Perfect Continuous Tense

This tense is formed using the verb to be in the Present Perfect form (have been/has been) and the present participle form of the verb (Present Participle). In other words, the Present Perfect Continuous is formed by using the auxiliary verb have/has been and adding the ending -ing to the semantic verb.

2. The Past Perfect Continuous Tense

This tense is formed using the verb to be in the Past Perfect form (had been) and the present participle form of the verb (Present Participle). In other words, the Present Perfect Continuous is formed by using the auxiliary verb had been and adding the ending -ing to the semantic verb.

Verb tenses in English table.

Legend:

S – subject,

V – verb

Let's start from the present time.

Table of verb tenses in English: past tense.

Let's move on to the past tense of the verb in English. I offer you the following table.

Verb tense table: future tense.

Let's move on to the future tense of the verb in English. I offer you a table of future tenses in English.

English grammar seems complicated and confusing to beginners. However, first impressions are deceiving. For example, the tense system is an example of a clearly thought-out and logically constructed scheme that allows you to understand the time of events at the first glance at the verb. Desperate to grasp this logic and comprehend the essence of each aspect? Do not worry! The purpose of today's article is to explain in detail all the tenses in English for dummies, beginners and all those who dedicatedly learned the theory, but still do not know how to apply the memorized rules in practice.

Let's start with a general explanation of the English tense system.

In Russian speech we use three types of tense: present, past and future. In the English language, there are more than 12 types, as many believe. But this is not entirely the right approach.

In fact, the British have exactly the same 3 types of time, but each of them is divided into 4 more subtypes:

• – just an action;
• - an action taking place at a specific moment in time.
• – completed action;
• Perfect Continuous - an action that has been going on for some time, brings certain results, but has not yet been completed.

If you know how to understand these semantic shades, then the use of tenses will not cause any problems. We will try to develop this skill and provide accessible explanations for each aspect.

All the rules for tenses in English for dummies

Here we will find examples of all possible tense groups, an explanation of their use and detailed information about sentence construction.

Present

If for us the present is everything that relates to a given moment, then for the British the present plays with four different colors.

1) Present Simple

Facts, everyday actions, abilities, skills. This aspect carries the most generalized understanding of time.

• I write poems - I write poems(always, every day, never, often, rarely).
• He writes poems– in the 3rd person the predicate is always supplemented with –s.

For questions and negatives, remember to use the auxiliary do.

3) Present Perfect

The result of a completed action. Such sentences are always translated into Russian using perfective verbs (what did you do?). In this case, the duration of action is not indicated specifically, but approximately.

• I have written poems- I wrote poetry(just now, already, not yet, once upon a time, by such and such a day, hour, month).

All types of statements are constructed using the auxiliary verb have (for the 3rd person has).

4) Present Perfect Continuous

An action that has already brought some results, but is not yet completed. The extent of events over time is emphasized.

• I have been writing poemssince2005 – I write poetry since 2005(from childhood, from such and such a time, from ... to, all day, during, recently).

2) Past Continuous

Events took place at a specific moment in the past.

• She was writing this letter at 5 o’clock yesterday –ShewroteThisletteryesterdayat 5hours(at that moment).

4) Past Perfect Continuous

An action that continued for a long time and was completed at a certain point in the past.

• She had been writing theletterforafewdaysbeforeshesentit– She wrote this letter for several days before sending it.(before when).

2) Future Continuous

The action is planned to take place at a specific point in the future.

• I will be flying to Spain at this time tomorrow –TomorrowVThistimeIwillflyVSpain.

4) Future Perfect Continuous

The action will last until a certain point in the future. This aspect is used in speech extremely rarely.

• By April 15, I will have been living in Spain for 3 months –K 15AprilIwillliveVSpainalready 3month.

We hope we have coped with the task and clarified the tenses in English even for dummies. To consolidate the theory you have learned, we recommend solving practical exercises on verb tenses in English.

Good luck in improving your knowledge and see you again!

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