Source: Science News for Students

Being able to communicate in English will open many doors for you in your career and social life. It is the language of the internet and the lingua franca of the global village. According to the latest Ethnologue report, there are over 1 billion English second-language speakers considerably more than native speakers who number around 372.9 million. Mastering the basic grammar of English will enable you to learn the language so much faster and in this article, we will cover all you need to know about tenses.

Present Simple Tense

The following thoughts are expressed in the present simple tense:

1. to state general truths or facts
2. to describe a person’s habits or customs
3. to connect future plans (often regarding programs and timetables)
4. To tell jokes and stories, or to live-broadcast sporting events.

In the present simple 3rd person singular (he, she, it), add s, es, or ies to the base form of the verb.

POSITIVE

Subject	Verb	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/ It	goes	to school.
I / You / We / They	practice	baseball every day.

NEGATIVE

Subject	Auxiliary verb	The verb in base form	Rest of Sentence
I / You / We / They	don’t (do not)	practice	everyday.
He / She / It	doesn’t (does not)	go	to school early.

QUESTIONS

Auxiliary Verb	subject	the verb in base form	rest of sentence
Does	he / she / it	turn off	the light?
Do	I / you / we / they	drive	to the city on Mondays?

Present Perfect Tense

(source: https://english4today.com/grammar-topic/present-perfect-when-to-use-it/)

The following thoughts are expressed in the present simple tense:

1. To describe a situation or an action that started in the past and is still continuing
2. We use it to describe an action that is not yet finished.
3. To describe a repeated action that takes/took place for an unspecified period between the past and the present.
4. When we describe an action that was performed in the recent past using the word ‘just’.**
5. When we describe an action where time is not a factor.

The present perfect tense consists of the appropriate form of the auxiliary verb to have and the past participle of the main verb.

POSITIVE

Subject	to have	Verb (past participle)	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/It	has	lived	in London.
I / You / We / They	have	played	for a long time.

NEGATIVE

Subject	to have + not	Verb (past participle)	Rest of Sentence
I / You / We / They	have not (haven’t)	practised	everyday.
He / She / It	has not (hasn’t)	been	to the doctor.

QUESTIONS

to have	subject	verb (past participle)	rest of sentence
Has	he / she / it	visited	Paris?
Have	I / you / we / they	met	Thomas yet?

Present Continuous Tense

(source: https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/present-continuous/ and https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/present-continuous)

The following thoughts are expressed in the present continuous tense:

1. To describe something that is happening in the very present.
2. An action that is taking place during a period of time or a trend.
3. To describe an action or event that will take place in the future.
4. When describing an event or situation that is temporary.
5. It is used to describe a series of repeated actions with the words “always, forever, constantly”.

The present continuous is composed of the present tense of the verb ‘be’ and the present participle of the main verb.

POSITIVE

Subject	to be	+ base + ing	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/It	is	visiting	some friends.
You / We / They	are	staying	in New York for two weeks.
I	am	reading	my new book.

NEGATIVE

Subject	to be + not	+ base + ing	Rest of Sentence
You / We / They	are not (aren’t)	playing	basketball.
He / She / It	is not (isn’t)	talking	to her sister anymore.
I	am not	listening	to classical music.

QUESTIONS

to be	subject	+ base + ing	rest of sentence
Is	he / she / it	touring	the Spanish countryside?
Are	you / we / they	going	to church tomorrow?
Am	I	writing	an exam next week?

Past Simple Tense

(source: https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/simple-past-tense/)

The following thoughts are expressed in the past simple tense:

1. To express the frequency with which action happens with the words ‘often’, ‘sometimes’ and ‘always’.
2. A definite point in time: last week, when I was a child, yesterday, six weeks ago
3. An indefinite point in time: the other day, ages ago, a long time ago

The past simple tense is formed by

adding -d, -ed, or -ied to the base form of the verb

POSITIVE

Subject	Verb (past participle)	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/It	lived	in London.
I / You / We / They	played	for a long time.

NEGATIVE

Subject	+ did not	+ infinitive without to	Rest of Sentence
I / You / We / They	did not (didn’t)	read	The Odessey.
He / She / It	did not (didn’t)	go	to the circus.

QUESTIONS

Did	subject	+ infinitive without to	rest of sentence
Did	he / she / it	see	the latest Marvel movie yet?
Did	I / you / we / they	hear	that song on the radio?

Past Perfect Tense

(source: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/past-perfect)

The following thoughts are expressed in the present simple tense:

1. We use the past perfect test when talking about a certain event in the past.
2. We use the past perfect to emphasise the order of two events that took place in the past. The earlier action can be illustrated using the past perfect tense while the action that took place later can be emphasised using the past simple.
3. The past perfect can also be used to show that something was not done or left incomplete when the past simple event action took place.

The past perfect tense is composed of two parts: the past tense of the verb to have (had) and the past participle of the main verb.

POSITIVE

Subject	+had	Verb (past participle)	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/It	had	read	about it in the newspaper.
I / You / We / They	had	given	presents for Christmas.

NEGATIVE

Subject	had + not	Verb (past participle)	Rest of Sentence
I / You / We / They	had not (hadn’t)	thought	of that before.
He / She / It	had not (hadn’t)	made	fries in years.

QUESTIONS

had	subject	verb (past participle)	rest of sentence
Had	he / she / it	been	to Paris?
Had	I / you / we / they	met	you before?

Past Continuous Tense

(source: https://www.ef.com/saen/english-resources/english-grammar/past-continuous-tense/)

The following thoughts are expressed in the present simple tense:

1. To describe the background of a story written in the past tense.
2. When we are talking about an action that was unfinished or interrupted by another action.**
3. When we want to express a change of mind*: e.g.* “I was going to visit my friend in London but I’ve decided to stay home instead.”
4. To make a polite request with the word ‘wonder’: e.g. “I was wondering if you could buy me a chocolate.”

The past continuous is composed of two parts: the past tense of the verb “to be” (was or were), and the base of the main verb and the past participle -ing.

POSITIVE

Subject	was/were	verb + ing	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/It	was	buying	some groceries in town.
You / We / They	were	playing	outside in the rain.
I	was	practising	for the marathon.

NEGATIVE

Subject	was/were + not	verb + ing	Rest of Sentence
You / We / They	were not (weren’t)	practised	everyday.
He / She / It	was not (wasn’t)	been	to the doctor.
I	was not (wasn’t)	reading	the book.

QUESTIONS

was/were	subject	verb + ing	rest of sentence
Was	he / she / it	visiting	Paris?
Were	you / we / they	watching	the movie?

Future Simple Tense

(source: https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/simple-future-tense/)

The following thoughts are expressed in the future simple tense:

1. We use it to describe a situation that will happen in the future.
2. When requesting something in its interrogative form.
3. When making an offer in its interrogative form.
4. To express unwillingness in its negative form or willingness in its positive form.
5. To emphasise a decision that is made on the spur of the moment.

The future simple tense is composed of two parts: will or shall and the infinitive form of the main verb.

POSITIVE

Subject	+will	Verb (infinitive)	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/It	will	read	the new book.
I / You / We / They	shall	play	the flute.

NEGATIVE

Subject	will + not	Verb (infinitive)	Rest of Sentence
I / You / We / They	will not (won’t)	study	for the exam.
He / She / It	will not (won’t)	go	to the doctor.

QUESTIONS

will	subject	verb (infinitive)	rest of sentence
Will	he / she / it	visited	Paris?
Will	I / you / we / they	met	Thomas yet?

Future Continuous Tense

(source:https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/future-continuous/)

The following thoughts are expressed in the present simple tense:

1. The future continuous tense refers to an action that is unfinished or an event that will be occurring at a later stage.
2. We can also use the future continuous to project ourselves into the future.
3. It can also be used when predicting future events.
4. In the future continuous’ interrogative form, it can be used to ask for information about the future.
5. It is used when we are talking about events we expect to happen in the future.
6. When combined with still, this tense refers to events that are already happening now and we do still continue into the future.

The future continuous is constructed using the simple future of the verb “to be” and the present participle (base+ing).

POSITIVE

Subject	+simple future of the verb “to be”	+present participle	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/It	will be	living	in near the city centre.
I / You / We / They	will be	reading	six books.

NEGATIVE

Subject	simple future of the verb “to be” + not	+present participle	Rest of Sentence
I / You / We / They	will not (won’t) be	listening	to music anymore.
He / She / It	will not (won’t) be	going	to the doctor.

QUESTIONS

Will	subject	be	+present participle	Rest of Sentence
Will	he / she / it	be	talking	to the manager?
Will	I / you / we / they	be	writing	exams next month?

 

Future Perfect Tense

(source:https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/future-perfect/)

The following thoughts are expressed in the present simple tense:

1. The future perfect tense refers to a completed action in the future.
2. When we use this tense we are projecting ourselves forward into the future and looking back at an action that will be completed sometime later than now.
3. It is most often used with a time expression.

The future perfect consists of the simple future tense of the verb “to have” (will have) + the past participle of the main verb.

POSITIVE

Subject	+ will have	Verb (past participle)	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/It	will have	played	tennis.
I / You / We / They	will have	heard	the president’s speech.

NEGATIVE

Subject	will have + not	Verb (past participle)	Rest of Sentence
I / You / We / They	will not (won’t) have	practised	everyday.
He / She / It	will not (won’t) have	been	to the doctor.

QUESTIONS

Will	subject	have	Verb (past participle)	Rest of Sentence
Will	he / she / it	have	read	the book?
Will	I / you / we / they	have	talked	about it?

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

(source:https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/present-perfect-continuous/)

The following thoughts are expressed in the present perfect continuous tense:

1. It is used to refer to an unspecified time between ‘before now’ and ‘now’.
2. Actions that started in the past and continue in the present.
3. Actions that have just finished, but we are interested in the results.

The present perfect continuous is composed of the present perfect of the verb ‘to be’ (have/has been), and the present participle of the main verb (base+ing)

POSITIVE

Subject	+has/have been	Verb + ing	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/It	has been	working	on the project.
I / You / We / They	have been	typing	for a long time.

NEGATIVE

Subject	has/have + not + been	Verb + ing	Rest of Sentence
I / You / We / They	have not (haven’t) been	practising	everyday.
He / She / It	has not (hasn’t) been	going	to the doctor.

QUESTIONS

has/have	subject	been	Verb + ing	Rest of Sentence
Has	he / she / it	been	reading	magazines?
Have	I / you / we / they	been	looking	at you?

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

(source:https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/present-perfect-continuous/)

The following thoughts are expressed in the present perfect continuous tense:

1. It is used to refer to an unspecified time between ‘before now’ and ‘now’.
2. Actions that started in the past and continue in the present.
3. Actions that have just finished, but we are interested in the results.

The present perfect continuous is composed of the present perfect of the verb ‘to be’ (have/has been), and the present participle of the main verb (base+ing)

POSITIVE

Subject	+had been	+verb + ing	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/It	had been	staying	at home.
I / You / We / They	had been	played	for a long time.

NEGATIVE

Subject	had + not + been	+verb + ing	Rest of Sentence
I / You / We / They	had not (hadn’t) been	practised	everyday.
He / She / It	had not (hadn’t) been	been	to the doctor.

QUESTIONS

to have	subject	verb (past participle)	rest of sentence
Has	he / she / it	visited	Paris?
Have	I / you / we / they	met	Thomas yet?

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

(source:https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/future-continuous-and-future-perfect)

The following thoughts are expressed in the future perfect continuous tense:

1. The future perfect continuous tense is rarely used in daily conversation as it quite complex in its structure.
2. It is used to refer to an event or trend that will continue up until a particular event or time in the future.
3. It refers to events or actions that are currently unfinished but will be finished at some future time.
4. It is used to project ourselves forward in time and to look back.

future perfect continuous tense is composed by using the verb ‘be’ and the present participle of the main verb.

POSITIVE

Subject	+ will have been	Verb (past participle)	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/It	will have been	living	in London.
I / You / We / They	will have been	playing	for a long time.

NEGATIVE

Subject	will + not + have been	Verb (past participle)	Rest of Sentence
I / You / We / They	will not (won’t) have been	practising	everyday.
He / She / It	will not (won’t) have been	reading	the book.

QUESTIONS

Will	subject	have been	Verb (past participle)	Rest of Sentence
Will	he / she / it	have been	living	in Paris?
Will	I / you / we / they	have been	studying	for exams?

Modal verbs

(source:https://www.myenglishlanguage.com/english-grammar/modal-verbs/)

We use modal verbs to show if we want to show that something is possible, certain or impossible to do. Modal verbs are also used when asking for permission, making offers or expressing our ability. Examples of verbs include:

can	could
may	might
must
shall	should
will	would

POSITIVE

Subject	modal verb	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/It	must	travel to London.
I / You / We / They	might	study for a long time.

NEGATIVE

Subject	modal verb + not	Rest of Sentence
He/ She/It	should not (shouldn’t)	stay in London.
I / You / We / They	may not	visit them.

QUESTIONS

modal verb + not	Subject	Rest of Sentence
Should not (shouldn’t)	he/ she/it	stay in London?
May	I / you / we / they	visit them?

WH – Questions

(source:https://prepeng.com/asking-questions-in-english/)

WH words refer to words we use when we ask questions. The words often start with the letter wh eg. what and where or contain them somewhere eg. how. Other wh-words include the following:

Question words	Function	Sentence
What	Used to find out more about things.	What is the name of this lotion?
When	Used to specify the time.	When will the movie start?
Where	Used to ask about places.	Where does he stay?
Which	Used when discussing choices.	Which egg do you want?
Who	Used when asking about people.	Who read the newspaper?
Whose	Used when to ask about possession.	Whose pen is this?
Why	Used when asking for a reason or cause.	Why did you empty the bucket?

Question Tags

(source:https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/question-tags)

Question tags are placed at the end of statements in order to turn them into questions. We often use it when we are seeking confirmation or validation. The basic structure of a question tag is as follows:

Positive statement	Negative tag
The paper is blue	isn’t it?
It will be sunny	won’t it?

Negative statement	Negative tag
You don’t like beer	do you?
It isn’t safe	is it?

Conditionals

(source:https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/conditional/)

We use the conditional tense when we want to speculate about things that could happen or might have happened. The conditional is used to describe the result of a particular condition. The ‘if’ clause describes the condition (if you wake up late) and the main clause tells us the result of the condition (you will miss the train).

If you wake up late, you will miss the train.

There are four types of conditional sentences.

Zero Conditional

The zero conditional is used when we are expressing general truths- situations in which one thing always causes a specific result. For example:

If clause	Main clause
If + simple present	simple present
If you eat a lot of sweets	your teeth will rot.
If you stay in the sun too long	your skin will burn.

First Conditional

We use the first conditional when we are talking about situations that are possible and could take place in the future.

If clause	Main clause
If + simple present	simple present
If it is sunny tomorrow	we will go to the beach.
If Liverpool wins	they will be first in the league.

Second Conditional

We use the second conditional when we are talking about situations that are impossible and not likely to happen in the future.

If clause	Main clause
If + simple present	simple present
If I won the lottery	you would buy your own private jet.
If it rains	you will be wet.

Third Conditional

We use the third conditional when we are talking about things in the past and situations that do not reflect reality.

If clause	Main clause
If + simple present	simple present
If I won the lottery	you would buy your own private jet.
If it rains	you will be wet.

This, that, these, those

(source:https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/grammar/a1-a2-grammar/these-those)

The words this, that, these, and those are known as demonstrative pronouns and are used to point out specific objects, animals or people in a situation. For example, imagine you want to talk about a cup near you you want to have taken away. You would say ‘please take this cup away from me’. Below are some more examples that illustrate the use of demonstrative pronouns.

This (singular) and these (plural):

• This chair needs to be painted pink.
• These shoes are worn out.

That (singular) and those (plural):

• What is that?
• I liked that those chocolates.

Preposition

(source:https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/sundaresh07/prepositions)

Prepositions are words that connect one noun or noun substitute with another. These include words such as: ‘with’, ‘at’, ‘by’, ‘to’, ‘in’, ‘for’, ‘from’, ‘of’, and ‘on’. For example,

The dog sat on an old chair.

I went shopping with three of my friends at the mall.

I sent the letter to you a few weeks ago.

Passive voice

(source:https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/passive-voice/)

We use the passive voice when we want to shift the focus of a sentence. It is often used when we do not want to mention who or what is performing the action. We use the passive voice in formal or academic writing. Some examples of the passive:

My ball was stolen.

object	be	past participle
My flight	was	cancelled.
The museum	was	constructed in 1909.

The passive voice is constructed by starting the sentence with the object, using the verb ‘be’ and the past participle.

Countable and uncountable nouns

(source:https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/a1-a2-grammar/countable-and-uncountable-nouns-1#)

A countable noun can be counted, for example, one pineapple, two strawberries and three plums. Uncountable nouns can’t be counted, for example, sand, air, water, hair etc.

Countable nouns

These nouns have singular and plural forms. The determiners ‘a’ and ‘an’ are used in for singular nouns and ‘some’ for plural nouns. For example,

He sat on a chair.

There were two birds in the garden.

I would like an appointment for Tuesday.

Uncountable nouns

These nouns are used with a singular verb. We use the word ‘some’ in positive sentences and ‘any’ in negative sentences.

There is some milk left in the fridge.

There isn’t any sugar left.

I have acquired so much knowledge at the university.

The key to mastering basic grammar

(source: https://lightpdf.com/websites-english-learners.html)

Mastering verb tenses is key to gaining insight into the building blocks of English grammar. If you get a good grasp of all the tenses you have learned about in this article, it will greatly aid you in mastering your writing and speaking skills. The English language consists of three divisions of time: past, present and future. Each tense is then further divided to express different ideas and events during specific time periods. Knowing when to use an appropriate tense is key to expressing yourself effectively and correctly in English and avoiding avoidable misunderstandings.

Mastering so many tenses can be quite a hard task, and you might consider hiring a tutor to help you. AmazingTalker has a wide selection of tutors to help you on your learning journey. You can take classes that suit your needs and schedule. Visit AmazingTalker today!