Sixteen tenses!（格式大乱）

Simple present tense Usage:

Usage 1: repetitive activity

Simple present tense is used to express the idea that a behavior is repetitive or often occurs.

This behavior can be a habit, a hobby or a daily activity, a planned event or something that happens regularly. It may also be something that someone often forgets or doesn't usually do. Usage 2: Facts or general situation

Simple present tense It can also refer to the speaker believing in a fact that is past, present, and will be true. The speaker does not matter whether the truth is correct. It can also be used to describe general people or things.

Usage 3: Plan for the near term Scheduled Events in the Near Future

The speaker occasionally uses the simple present tense to talk about the near-term plans. There is usually more talk about public transportation, but it can also be used in other planned affairs.

Usage 4, now (non-persistent verb) Now (Non-Continuous Verbs) The speaker uses simple present tense to express it, the existing occurrence or nothing has happened. This can only be used with discontinuous verbs and certain mixed verbs.

 Signal words: always, only, never, ever,etc.

 

Present Continuous:

The present continuous is made from the present tense of the verb be and the –ing form of a verb:

We use the present continuous to talk about:

activities at the moment of speaking:

I'm just leaving work. I'll be home in an hour.
Please be quiet. The children are sleeping.

future plans or arrangements:

Mary is going to a new school next term.
What are you doing next week?

Present continuous questions

We make questions by putting am, is or are in front of the subject:

Are you listening?
Are they coming to your party?
When is she going home?
What am I doing here?

We make negatives by putting not (or n't) after am, is or are:

I'm not doing that.
You aren't listening. (or You're not listening.)
They aren't coming to the party. (or They're not coming to the party.)
She isn't going home until Monday. (or She's not going home until Monday.)

We do not normally use the continuous with stative verbs.

Present Perfect Simple and Continuous

We use both the present perfect simple (have or has + past participle) and the present perfect continuous (have or has + been + -ing form) to talk about past actions or states which are still connected to the present.

Focusing on result or activity

The present perfect simple usually focuses on the result of the activity in some way, and the present perfect continuous usually focuses on the activity itself in some way. 

Ongoing states and actions

We often use for, since and how long with the present perfect simple to talk about ongoing states.

How long have you known each other?
We've known each other since we were at school. 

We often use for, since and how long with the present perfect continuous to talk about ongoing single or repeated actions.

How long have they been playing tennis?
They've been playing tennis for an hour.
They've been playing tennis every Sunday for years.

Sometimes the present perfect continuous can emphasis that a situation is temporary.

I usually go to the gym on the High Street, but it's closed for repairs at the moment so I've been going to the one in the shopping centre. 

 

Simple Past Usage:

We use the Simple Past to show the idea that an action started and finished at a certain time in the past.  When using this tense, the person speaking may not say the exact time, but they have one in mind. 

With most verbs, the past tense is formed by adding “ed”.But there are also a lot of irregular past tense forms.

 

Usage 1:something that happened once in the past

Usage 2:something that happened several times in the past

Usage 3:something that was true for some time in the past,but then it probably changed

Usage 4:the if-clause in second conditional type(when telling a hypothesis of future or present)

Signal words:yesterday,last night,since,ago,etc.

 

The past continuous:

It is made from the past tense of the verb be and the –ing form of a verb

 

This use of the past continuous is very common at the beginning of a story:

The other day I was waiting for a bus when …
Last week, as I was driving to work, … 

for something that happened before and after a specific time:

It was eight o'clock. I was writing a letter.

Compare: At eight o'clock I wrote (= started writing) some letters.

to show that something continued for some time:

My head was aching.
Everyone was shouting.

for something that happened again and again:

I was practising every day, three times a day.
They were meeting secretly after school.
with verbs which show change or growth:

The children were growing up quickly.
My English was improving.
My hair was going gray.
The town was changing quickly.

We do not normally use the past continuous with stative verbs. We use the past simple instead:

When I got home, I really needed (NOT was needing) a shower.

Past continuous

Past continuous and past simple

Level: intermediate

Past continuous and hypotheses

We can also use the past continuous to refer to the present or future in hypotheses (when we imagine something).

 

Past Perfect:

The past perfect is used in the same way as the present perfect, but it refers to a time in the past, not the present. We use the past perfect for something that started in the past and continued up to a given time in the past.

She didn't want to move. She had lived in Liverpool all her life.

For this use, we often use the past perfect continuous:

She didn't want to move. She had been living in Liverpool all her life.
for something that happened several times before a point in the past and continued after that point:

He was a wonderful guitarist. He had been playing ever since he was a teenager.
when we are reporting our experience up to a point in the past:

My fourteenth birthday was the worst day I had ever had.
for something that happened in the past and is important at a later time in the past: 

I couldn't get into the house. I had lost my keys.
We often use expressions with for and since with the past perfect:

I had been watching that programme every week since it started, but I missed the last episode. 

And we do not normally use the past perfect continuous with stative verbs. We use the past perfect simple instead.

 

Simple Past Future Usage：

This tense is simply created to talk about future in the past.

 

Future continuous

We can use the future continuous (will/won't be + -ing form) to talk about future actions that: 

will be in progress at a specific time in the future:

When you come out of school tomorrow, I'll be boarding a plane.
Try to call before 8 o'clock. After that, we'll be watching the match.
You can visit us during the first week of July. I won't be working then.

we see as new, different or temporary:

Today we're taking the bus but next week we'll be taking the train.
He'll be staying with his parents for several months while his father is in recovery.
Will you be starting work earlier with your new job?

 

Future perfect:

We use the future perfect simple (will/won't have + past participle) to talk about something that will be completed before a specific time in the future.

The guests are coming at 8 p.m. I'll have finished cooking by then.
On 9 October we'll have been married for 50 years.
Will you have gone to bed when I get back?

We can use phrases like by or by the time (meaning 'at some point before') and in or in a day's time / in two months' time / in five years' time etc. (meaning 'at the end of this period') to give the time period in which the action will be completed.

 

 

 

Talking about the future

When we know about the future, we normally use the present tense.

1. We use the present simple for something scheduled:

We have a lesson next Monday.
The train arrives at 6.30 in the morning.
The holidays start next week.
It's my birthday tomorrow.

2. We can use the present continuous for plans or arrangements:

I'm playing football tomorrow.
They are coming to see us tomorrow.
We're having a party at Christmas.

3. We use will:

when we express beliefs about the future:

It will be a nice day tomorrow.
I think Brazil will win the World Cup.
I'm sure you will enjoy the film.

to mean want to or be willing to:

I hope you will come to my party.
George says he will help us.

to make offers and promises :

I'll see you tomorrow.
We'll send you an email.

to talk about offers and promises:

Tim will be at the meeting.
Mary will help with the cooking.

4. We use be going to:

to talk about plans or intentions:

I'm going to drive to work today.
They are going to move to Manchester.

to make predictions based on evidence we can see:

Be careful! You are going to fall. (= I can see that you might fall.)
Look at those black clouds. I think it's going to rain. (= I can see that it will rain.)

5. We use will be with an -ing form for something happening before and after a specific time in the future:

I'll be working at eight o'clock. Can you come later?
They'll be waiting for you when you arrive.

6. We can use will be with an -ing form instead of the present continuous or be going to when we are talking about plans, arrangements and intentions:

They'll be coming to see us next week.
7. We often use verbs like would like, plan, want, mean, hope, expect to talk about the future:

We plan to go to France for our holidays.
8. We use modals may, might and could when we are not sure about the future:

I might stay at home tonight or I might go to the cinema.
9. We can use should if we think there's a good chance of something happening:

We should be home in time for tea.
The future in time clauses and if-clauses 

In time clauses with words like when, after, until we often use present tense forms to talk about the future:

I'll come home when I finish work.
You must wait here until your father comes.
They are coming after they have had dinner.

In clauses with if we often use present tense forms to talk about the future:

We won't be able to go out if it is raining.
If Barcelona lose tomorrow, they will be champions.
 

We do not normally use will in time clauses and if-clauses:

I'll come home when I finish work. (NOT will finish work)
We won’t be able to go out if it rains. (NOT will rain)

but we can use will if it means want to or be willing to:

I will be very happy if you will come to my party.
We should finish the job early if George will help us.

 

 

Future Perfect Continuous:

We make this tense using subject + will have been + (verb)ing.

For example: At lunchtime, I will have been working for four hours.

And we can also use won't to make the tense negative.

Form
The future perfect continuous tense is formed using: will (or won't) + have + been + (verb)ING.

·      I will have been learning English for five years come this July.

·      It's too soon. I won't have been working for long by then. Come later.

·      The next time we meet will be in 20 years! What will you have been doing by then?

Meaning
We use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that will still be in progress at an imagined time in the future. We often use the future perfect continous in relation to talking about durations - especially with the prepositions 'for' and 'since'.

·      At the start of the next scene, I will have been eating noodles for five minutes.

·      At lunchtime, I'll have been working for five hours.

·      She'll have been travelling to work on the same bus for 20 years.

Time
Unless obvious from the context, we often specify a time when using the future perfect continuous. Time expressions using 'by' are common, especially in relation to the end of a future time. E.g. by the end of the day. 

·      At the start of the next scene, I will have been eating noodles for five minutes.

·      By the time I get home, she will have been working for 45 extra minutes.

·      He won't have been travelling for very long by the end of November. Give him more time.

 

Past perfect continuous

Past perfect continuous construction: had + been + gerund (verb + ing)

We use the past perfect continuous to talk about an action that occurred in the past and continued up until another time in the past (the past before the past)

You can use an expression of time to express the duration of what had been happening. 

I had been doing my work when my boss came in.

She had been waiting a long time before catching her train.

Maria had been seeing her boyfriend for two years before they broke up.

It is common to use the past continuous to talk about a reaction, cause or effect of something in the past. 

She was very sick because she had been eating too many fast foods.

All the employees were exhausted because they had been working the whole day.

They were all sick and tired as they had all been feeling the effects of the crisis.

 

Past perfect continuous vs. past continuous

Past continuous

Past continuous = was/were + gerund (verb + –ing)

Past perfect continuous = had + been + gerund (verb + –ing)

Generally speaking, we use the past continuous to talk about an action in the past that is interrupted by something. We, therefore, use the past continuous to emphasise the ‘something’ that is being interrupted. 

She was cleaning her house when her friend rang the doorbell. 

We were helping our friends with their homework yesterday when Sam came in. 

It is not obligatory to have an interruption, only that the past continuous is used to emphasise an interruption:

I was playing football yesterday.

Past perfect continuous

The past perfect continuous Is generally used to emphasise a period of time in the past before the past. Therefore, it’s more acceptable to use time expressions such as; for three hours, since Tuesday, Since last year, for five days etc.

Moreover, the past perfect continuous is used to show the reaction or effect of something rather than the past continuous. 

I had been flying over Scotland when my dad called.

You had been living in Spain for three years before you married your wife.

She was sick because she had been working outside all day in the cold.

INCORRECT: I was helpless that day because I was working without motivation.

CORRECT: I was helpless because I had been working without motivation.

(‘I was helpless’ is the reaction and it needs to precede the past perfect continuous).

 

Past Future

It represents an action or state of existence that appears to occur at some time in the past. It used to be used in object clauses.

1. "world + verb original form" often indicates the future of subjective will.

2. "water / water + going to + verb form" often means what is happen as planned or arranged.

3. Instantaneous verb verbs such as some, go, lead, arrive, start can use past continuous tense to express the meaning of the past and the future.

4. Conditional adverbial clauses and time adverbial clauses must replace simple past tense with past and future times.

Common Error:

We do not know if he wants to speak at the meeting.

Error: We didn't know whether he is going to speak at the meeting.

Correction: We didn't know whether he was going to speak at the meeting.

Analysis: the main sentence of the sentence is the past tense, and the object clause represents the action that appears to happen from some time in the past, so the clause should use the past and the future tense.

The teacher asked Tom what he was going to do when he grew up.

Error: The teacher asked Tom what he was going to be when he would grow up.

Correction: The teacher asked Tom what he was going to be when he grew up.

Analysis: In time adverbial clauses, simple past tense is often used to represent actions that appear to happen in the past.

They said they would go to the farm if it didn't rain next Sunday.

Error: They said that they were going to the farm if it would not rain the next Sunday.

Correction: They said that they were going to the farm if it didn't rain the next Sunday.

Analysis: In conditional clauses, simple past tense is also commonly used to represent actions that appear to happen in the past.