[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n Simply put, a tense is a form of a verb that allows us to express time. <\/strong><\/p>\n For example, if you want to talk about something that happened last week, you would use the past tense<\/strong>.\u00a0If you want to talk about something that will happen next month, you would use the future tense<\/strong>.<\/p>\n When using tenses in English, we use the present (right now) as our point of reference because we are living in it.\u00a0So if you ate pizza yesterday, that action happened in the past, right?\u00a0That’s because it happened before the present time <\/strong>(before right now).<\/p>\n Since you ate pizza in the past, if you want to tell someone about it, you will have to use the past tense in English.<\/p>\n I ate<\/strong> pizza yesterday<\/em>.<\/p>\n Now imagine you want to tell your friend about a trip to the mountains. This trip is going to happen in three days, so the trip is in the future.\u00a0You cannot possibly use the same tense you used to say that you ate pizza yesterday.<\/p>\n This time, you will have to use a different tense, one that expresses that an action will happen after our present time<\/strong>.\u00a0That tense is the future simple tense:<\/p>\n I will go<\/strong> on a trip next Saturday<\/em>.<\/p>\n English has 12 tenses. They are divided into three groups (present, past and future).<\/p>\n Each group is further broken down into simple, continuous (progressive), perfect and perfect continuous tenses.<\/p>\n The present tense group includes four tenses that either allow us to talk about the present or are related to it somehow.<\/p>\n We use the present simple to talk about repeated actions, habits, general truths, wishes and emotions.<\/p>\n This tense is also used for directions and instructions, and to talk about timetables and schedules.<\/p>\n She goes <\/strong>to school by bus.<\/em><\/p>\n I am <\/strong>very tired.<\/em><\/p>\n The plane lands <\/strong>at 7:30 a.m.<\/em><\/p>\n The present continuous is used to describe actions or events that are happening at the moment (right now) or are ongoing.<\/p>\n We also use this tense when someone or something is bothering us.<\/p>\n I am not <\/strong>learning anything.<\/em><\/p>\n Mario is reading <\/strong>a book.<\/em><\/p>\n You are <\/strong>always arriving <\/b>late to class!<\/em><\/p>\n This is the tense we use to describe actions and events that happened at some point in the past but have a consequence or effect on the present.<\/p>\n I have lost <\/strong>my wallet.<\/em><\/p>\n Mary has broken <\/strong>her leg.<\/em><\/p>\n The neighbors have <\/strong>just moved<\/strong> in.<\/em><\/p>\n We use this tense to talk about actions and events that started happening in the past and are still happening today\/now.<\/p>\n I have been living <\/strong>in Poland for 13 years.<\/em><\/p>\n They have been waiting <\/strong>for over three hours.<\/em><\/p>\n She has been learning <\/strong>English for six months.<\/em><\/p>\n The past tense includes the four tenses that help us talk about the past.<\/p>\n The past simple is used to describe past actions and events that are completely finished.<\/p>\n He died <\/strong>in 2012 in a car accident.<\/em><\/p>\n I went <\/strong>to the mall last week.<\/em><\/p>\n Rose got <\/strong>married last month.<\/em><\/p>\n We use the past continuous when we need to describe past actions and events that lasted over a period of time.<\/p>\n I was running <\/strong>when I fell.<\/em><\/p>\n They were watching <\/strong>TV while I was washing <\/strong>the dishes.<\/em><\/p>\n Someone rang the bell when Sarah was having <\/strong>a bath.<\/em><\/p>\n We use past perfect to talk about actions and events that happened before another action or before a specific time in the past.<\/p>\n He had <\/strong>already left <\/strong>when I arrived.<\/em><\/p>\n Brooke had <\/strong>already moved <\/strong>to France when that happened.<\/em><\/p>\n When the police arrived, the thief had <\/strong>already escaped<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n We use the past perfect continuous to talk about actions and events that started in the past and lasted until another action or event in the past happened.<\/p>\n He had been waiting <\/strong>for two hours when he decided to go back home.<\/em><\/p>\n The kids had been playing <\/strong>for only five minutes when it started to rain.<\/em><\/p>\n By the time I arrived home, she had been crying <\/strong>for at least an hour<\/em>.<\/p>\n The future tense group includes the four tenses that refer to the future.<\/p>\n We use the future simple mainly for predictions and spontaneous decisions.<\/p>\n I think it will rain <\/strong>tomorrow.<\/em><\/p>\n We will help <\/strong>you!<\/em><\/p>\n You will find <\/strong>the love of your life in December.<\/em><\/p>\n This tense is used to refer to actions or events that will be in progress at some point in the future.<\/p>\n I will be working<\/strong> <\/em>when you come back.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n Jessica will be waiting <\/strong>for you there.<\/em><\/p>\n We will be eating <\/strong>dinner by then.<\/em><\/p>\n We use the future perfect tense to say that an action or event will be finished at some point in the future.<\/p>\n He will have finished <\/strong>by 8 p.m.<\/em><\/p>\n The man will have written <\/strong>the report by Monday.<\/em><\/p>\n I will not have eaten<\/strong><\/em> by the time you come back.<\/em><\/p>\n The future perfect continuous is used to describe actions and events that, at some point in the future, will have already lasted for some time.<\/p>\n By the end of this year, I will have been living<\/strong> <\/em>in London for seven years.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n She<\/em> will have been waiting <\/em><\/strong>for three hours by 5 p.m.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n In two months, I will have been studying <\/strong>English for one year<\/em>.<\/p>\n English has two special verb forms that are called English participles<\/a>.<\/p>\n The present participle<\/strong>\u00a0is the participle that ends with -ing<\/em>.<\/p>\n You have seen it in the previous section with the verb to be <\/em>in the continuous compound tenses.<\/p>\n Here you have two more examples of it:<\/p>\n She is drinking<\/strong> some tea.<\/em><\/p>\n We were waiting<\/strong> <\/em>for two hours.<\/em><\/p>\n Apart from using it to form the progressive tenses, the present participle can also be used as an adjective: <\/strong><\/p>\n She called from the neighboring<\/strong> house<\/em>.<\/p>\n Many learners of English mistake gerunds for present participles because they look exactly the same.<\/p>\n However, there is a great trick to always get them right.<\/p>\n Present participles can be adjectives while gerunds can be nouns<\/strong>:<\/p>\n The smoking<\/strong><\/em> lady was very rude.<\/em> <\/em>(Present participle)<\/p>\n Smoking<\/em><\/strong> is bad for your health.<\/em> (Gerund)<\/p>\n The past participle<\/strong> (not to be confused with the past tense<\/a>) ends with –ed <\/em>or can be an irregular verb.<\/p>\n We already know it is used together with to have <\/em>to form the perfect tenses:<\/p>\n I have broken <\/strong>my leg.<\/em><\/p>\n She will have written<\/strong> <\/em>it by tomorrow.<\/em><\/p>\n Apart from this, we can also use the past participle as an adjective and to form the passive voice:<\/p>\n I love cooked <\/strong>meat. <\/em>(Used as an adjective)<\/p>\n The house was built<\/strong>. <\/em>(Passive voice)<\/p>\n The emphatic form is when the verb “to do” is added to present or past tenses to emphasize (stress) a statement or make a correction.<\/strong><\/p>\n They can also be used in questions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The present emphatic is formed with the simple present of the verb \u201cto do\u201d followed by the main verb in the simple present.\u00a0<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n I do speak<\/strong> English<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The present emphatic can be used to ask a question. When a question is asked, the subject (the person or thing acting) and the verb \u201cto do\u201d are often inverted (switched).<\/p>\n You can use the emphatic to ask a question in the negative.<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n Don\u2019t you speak<\/strong> English?<\/em> Do you speak<\/strong> Russian?<\/em> To form the past emphatic, you take the simple past of the verb \u201cto do\u201d and put it in front of the simple past.<\/p>\n For example:<\/p>\n Didn\u2019t\u00a0<\/strong>you speak <\/strong>English when you were in Ireland?<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n Yes, I\u00a0did speak<\/strong> English. I spoke<\/strong> it the whole time I was there.<\/em><\/p>\n Learning tenses can be quite boring sometimes, especially if you are trying to learn by yourself<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, I have found there are some tips that are better than others when you want to learn English grammar tenses<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can use the division past, present and future to have three groups of four tenses.<\/p>\n This division is great if you want to learn everything about a specific “chunk” (piece) of the line of time without worrying too much about the rest, so it is a good technique for beginner learners who are still not ready to mix points in time.<\/p>\n For example, first you can focus on the present tenses, then the past tenses and then the future tenses.<\/p>\n Another way of dividing the different tenses is by making pairs. As you learn more, you will realize that very often tenses share certain features or like to appear together in sentences.<\/p>\n There are different ways of making this division:<\/p>\n You can divide the tenses in a different way if you feel two (or more) tenses go together. I recommend this technique for intermediate and advanced learners because tenses get mixed and used together.<\/p>\n If you prefer learning on the go, you can also download one or more apps and use them to become a master of the language<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here are a couple of resources that can help you practice and remember all those forms.<\/p>\n I recommend you choose one tense at a time and practice writing sentences, negative sentences and questions with it.<\/p>\n Write as many examples as you can think of, focusing on one tense at a time. This will help you memorize the structure of the tense in all its forms and allow you to use it more naturally.<\/p>\n Context is everything, and the more context we have, the better we understand what is being said.<\/p>\n The best thing about any type of native English video is that you are not only listening to native speakers talk (so you are practicing pronunciation) but also listening to full sentences in context<\/strong>.<\/p>\n When you listen to a tense being used in context, you will be able to understand why it is being used, so you will know when to use it by yourself.<\/p>\n FluentU<\/a> is one resource that bases its English lessons on authentic native-level video content. FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n <\/p> \r\n You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\nWhat is a Tense?<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nPresent Tenses<\/a><\/h2>\n
1. Present simple<\/a><\/h3>\n
2. Present continuous<\/h3>\n
3. Present perfect<\/h3>\n
4. Present perfect continuous<\/h3>\n
Past Tenses<\/h2>\n
5. Past simple<\/h3>\n
6. Past continuous<\/a><\/h3>\n
7. Past perfect<\/h3>\n
8. Past perfect continuous<\/h3>\n
Future Tenses<\/h2>\n
9. Future simple<\/h3>\n
10. Future continuous<\/h3>\n
11. Future perfect<\/h3>\n
12. Future perfect continuous<\/h3>\n
What Are Participles?<\/h2>\n
What is the Emphatic Form?<\/h2>\n
Present Emphatic<\/h3>\n
\nYes, I do speak<\/strong> English.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nNo, I don\u2019t speak<\/strong> Russian.<\/em><\/p>\nPast Emphatic<\/h3>\n
How to Learn English Verb Tenses<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nDivide them into past, present and future tenses<\/h3>\n
Divide them into pairs<\/h3>\n
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Practice with online exercises and apps<\/h3>\n
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Create your own sentences<\/h3>\n
Watch series, movies and videos to see tenses in context<\/h3>\n