Everything you NEED TO KNOW about English Tenses in 25 minutes! The Ultimate GUIDE

hey guys welcome to lingua Marina today the topic of our video is tenses in English I know they can be very confusing but there are certain tricks that can help you identify the right tense there are certain rules that are easy to remember and I hope that by the end of this video you will be able to confidently tell the difference between present perfect continuous and past perfect continuous it's very important that you grab a piece of paper and pencil and get ready to write things down please welcome our teacher at lingua trip Anastasia who's going to help you conquer all tenses in English hello and welcome to this class today we're going to cover the 12 tenses that all English students struggle with this topic is very important because if you confuse tenses in English or can't use them effectively when speaking you will find it hard to communicate effectively in fact every single student I've ever had no matter how advanced their level has had some problems with tenses some can't switch between tenses quickly enough when speaking some can't understand the difference between the past simple and the present perfect there are also those who often make mistakes with verb forms in this lesson we'll address all these issues and make sure you understand all 12 tenses once and for all without further Ado let's get started the first thing you should understand is that instead of 12 tenses there are only three tenses in English past present and future much like in most languages what about the 12 tenses you ask you'll get this number when you consider the four aspects of verbs they are simple perfect continuous and perfect continuous look at this table as you can see when we combine three tenses and four aspects we get the famous 12 that everyone keeps talking about so the tenses show us when the action takes place while the aspects give us additional information about the action and show if it's a completed action a continuous action and so on basically they show us how the action is happening let's begin with the simple aspect this is the aspect we use most when we are just starting to learn English this aspect usually indicates facts or generalizations repeated actions or single completed actions for example the present simple is used to talk about one present facts and generalizations I live in LA it's a fact La is a big city another fact fact teenagers spend too much time on their phones generalization not all teenagers do this two repeated actions in the present like daily routines or Hobbies I study English twice a week I go to the gym every day I play golf on Sundays the past simple is used in a very similar way only this time the actions happen in the past one past facts and generalizations I didn't live in LA L when I was a kid that's the same fact but this time it's a past fact he didn't like to play golf before I lived in Europe for 6 years two repeated actions in the past I studied English twice a week when I was in college I went to the gym every day when I was younger I played golf on Sundays as you can see these are the same repeated actions only now they happened in the past we can also use the past simple in some other situations three a single action in the past for example I got a phone call a few minutes ago yesterday I saw a cute fat cat in the window she didn't go to work last week all these actions are in the past so we use them in the past simple it can be one action or a series of actions four a series of actions in the past when you watch an action movie you often see a lot of action on the screen one action is quickly followed by another and then another think of it as the past simple the criminal stole the money ran out of the bank and hid behind the corner I finished dinner loaded the dishwasher and went to bed something similar will happen with the future simple it can be used to talk about facts and generalizations that will happen in the future one future facts and generalizations people will read Less in the future generalization not all people will read less I will be an actor when I grow up two repeat needed actions in the future when I retire I'll play golf every day I'll go to the movies twice a week we can also use the future simple when we volunteer to do something or make a promise for example I'll help you carry your bags voluntary action I promise I'll come home early promise I'll take care of your cat don't worry about it promise for voluntary actions imagine a person who is always super enthusiastic about helping when you say it's too hot in the room here or she will immediately say wait a minute I'll turn on the AC if you have an important project you'll hear I'll help you you're deciding who's going to cook dinner tonight they'll say I'll do it a quick review which tense should we use to talk about a habit in the past the past simple two which tense do we use to volunteer to help the future simple three which tense would you use when making a promise again the future simple four which tense would you use to tell a fact about yourself the present simple let me quickly pause the video here and uh tell you that if you love Anastasia and if you like the way we teach English we have an amazing sale going on right now which is a summer sale to take our bestselling course from intermediate to Advanced in this course we not only cover tenses in depth we also teach you vocabulary that you need to become Advanced we also cover other topics of grammar that you need to be confident in in order to be an advanced English language speaker and if you purchase the course you get 3 months of access to our speaking Pro Pro Club for free in the speaking Club you can practice your conversational skills in real life situations plus you will also get my interactive English as a lifestyle workbook the course is created for busy individuals who want condensed information and a lot of practice you will have access to 40 pre-recorded classes your homework is going to be checked by professional teachers you will get access to q&as you will be able to print out additional materials that are also part of the course check the link down below and I hope that this summer your English will finally become Advanced let's move on aspect two continuous you may also hear it called Progressive The Continuous aspect emphasizes the ongoing nature or duration of an action it's often used to describe actions that are in progress at a given time let's begin with the present continuous one an action that is happening now now is a very small limited period of time at this very moment we're now having a lesson on tenses two an action that takes place over a period of time this period can be longer or shorter but is still temporary I'm studying English this year I'm working from home this month compare these two sentences I study English that's a fact about me maybe I love English and plan to study it all my life I'm studying English it's a temporary action I'm only studying it for a period of time we can also use the present continuous to talk about the near future especially if you've already made some arrangements for it three an action in the near future I'm flying to laay tomorrow are you going out tonight as you can see if I'm flying to La lay tomorrow I've already bought the plane tickets and made a hotel reservation so I'm about 90% sure I'll be going to a the next day now let's take the present continuous and move it into the past we're going to get the past continuous we use the past continuous to talk about long actions in the past these actions can describe the atmosphere the birds were singing the Sun was shining happened simultaneously I was taking a walk while Josh was working in the office be interrupted by shorter action in the past usually in the past simple I was taking a shower when I heard a strange noise happened at a specific time what were you doing at 7:00 p. m. yesterday I was watching a movie at 700 p.

m. yesterday remember how I compared the past simple to an action movie well the past continuous can easily be compared to a horror movie imagine an opening scene of a typical horror movie it would probably be a dark and gloomy place you could describe it like this the wind was blowing the clouds were moving quickly across the sky the dogs were barking wildly I was sitting at home watching a movie when suddenly I heard a strange noise coming from my garage so you get the idea the future continuous we use it for long actions in the future these actions can happen at the same time I will be walking while Josh will be working in the office tomorrow be interrupted by shorter action in the future usually in the present simple I will be cooking breakfast when you come or happen at a specific time what will you be doing tomorrow at 7:00 p. m.

tomorrow at 7:00 p. m. I will be watching a film that's it time for a little review which tense will you use to talk about a long action in the past the past continuous which tense do you used to talk about something that is happening now the present continuous which tense do you used to describe a long action interrupted by a shorter action in the future the future continuous which tense should I use to tell you about my plans for the near future the present continuous great let's keep going the next aspect is the perfect aspect it's the aspect that many students find the most complicated the perfect aspect shows the relationship between two different times it often emphasizes the completion of an action relative to another time or the relevance of a past action to the present simply put this aspect often describes events that happened before a certain time and our attention is on their result as always let's begin with the present perfect we usually use it in two situations one an action that took place in the past but has an effect on the present no time specification so we don't specify when it took place two an action that started in the past and has continued until now let's begin with the first case one an action that took place in the past past but has an effect on the present no time specification it can be our experience imagine making a list of your accomplishments things that you've done up to the present day you're not interested in expressing when they happened you have the past simple to deal with that you just want to remember that these things happened in your life for example I've been to London five times I've never done any EXT dream Sports I've learned five foreign languages I've been on television a few times compare them with the same sentences in the past simple he went to London five times he never did extreme sports he learned five foreign languages he was on television a few times these sentences sound somehow final as if the person being spoken about is dead or I can't do them anymore for some reason in fact if a person were dead we could use the past simple for all his or her actions because there is nothing more he or she can do however people who are still alive have a chance to do the same things again compare these two sentences I've been to London twice I'm thinking of going back next summer poor Josh he never went to London it's a shame can never saw it in the first sentence the person is alive in the second he's either dead or for some reason won't get a chance to go to London you can always ask others have you ever have you ever been to London have you ever been on television have you ever broken a bone all of these questions ask you about a particular moment in your life but you'll use the past simple as soon as you add details or time have you ever been to London yes I have I've been to London twice the last last time was in 2021 to recap we often use the present perfect when an action happened in the past but it's somehow affects the present it can be your experience your accomplishments or simply things you've done or never done in your life you'll never say when these actions happened but you can say how often they happened for example once twice three times never and so on two we can also use the present perfect for actions that began in the past and have continued to the present for example I've lived in a l for 7 years I'm still living in a l we often use the present perfect to show how things have changed over time people have become much more independent and are still becoming more and more independent the Advent of technology has changed the way people live and is still changing our lives both actions are still in progress there is only one use of the past perfect that you should remember now an action that happened before another action or time in the past you'll often see the time Expressions by the time before and when in such sentences by the time I got home she had already cooked dinner so first she made dinner and then I came home she had never been to the West Coast before coming to California when I called him again he had already left for work by 10: p.

m. last night she had already gone to bed so for the future perfect the situation is very similar we use it to describe an action that will take place before another action in the future by the time you get home she will have already left by tomorrow morning they have already signed the contract time for a little review which tense should I use to show that an action took place before another action in the past the past perfect which tense do we use to talk about our experience the present perfect which tense do we use to show change over time again the present perfect which tense do we use to answer this question at which time tomorrow will you have finished the project the future perfect we will say I will have finished the project by noon tomorrow finally the perfect continuous aspect in English is used to emphasize the duration or continuity of an action or event that began in the past and is still continuing or has just finished it combines elements of both the perfect aspect which shows the completion or relev of an action to a point in time and the continuous aspect which emphasizes the ongoing nature of an action so it's pretty much like the perfect aspect but the emphasis is in the duration how long for example the present perfect continuous can be used to show an action that started in the past and is still going on for example I've been working for this company for 5 years I started working there 5 years years ago and I'm still working for the same company I've been studying since early morning I'm so tired I haven't seen Josh for almost 3 months I wonder how he's been doing all this time you'll often see how long this action has been going on for example for 5 years since early morning all this time since July look at this sentence again I haven't seen Josh for almost 3 months I wonder how he's been doing all this time I haven't seen is a short action so we use the present perfect the emphasis is on the result that I haven't seen him he's been doing all this time is a long action so we use the present perfect continuous the emphasis is on the duration how he's been doing all this time now wait a minute you say what about the sentence I've worked for this company for 5 years what's the difference between this sentence and I've been working for this company for 5 years well they are very similar and many people use them interchangeably however there is a slight difference as I showed in the previous example about Josh the present perfect emphasizes the result of an action while the present perfect continuous emphasizes its duration so the difference between these two sentences lies primarily in the emphasis and the aspect of time being conveyed I've worked for this company for 5 years this sentence emphasizes the completion of the period of time it does State how long this action has continued but the stress is still in the result example I've worked for this company for 5 years and I've learned a lot the important thing is that I've learned a lot during this time now I've been working for this company for 5 years emphasizes the ongoing nature of the work it highlights the continuous action example I've been working for this company for 5 years and I've made a lot of friends during this time as you can see both sentences indicate that the person has been with a company for 5 years but the first one focuses on the fact that the 5-year period has been completed while the second one suggests an ongoing process we can also use the present perfect continuous to talk about things we've been doing recently or lately similar to the present continuous these are some temporary actions for example you look tired what have you been doing lately I've been working a lot I've been going to the gym a lot recently he's been working on an important project for the last couple of months so he's quite busy so we use the present perfect continuous to show the duration for 2 weeks for 6 months or with lately or recently and all these actions started in the past and have continued until now now the past perfect continuous shows an action that has continued up to a certain time or event in the past she had been cooking dinner for 2 hours by the time I came home they had been cleaning the house the whole morning before they went to work again we can see the duration for 2 hours the whole morning compare she had cooked dinner by the time I came home the emphasis is on the result the action was completed the dinner is waiting for me on the table two she had been cooking dinner for 2 hours by the time I came home the emphasis is on the duration she spent the whole 2 hours doing it and when I came home I saw her in the process of cooking so the present perfect continuous shows an action that has continued up to now the past perfect continuous shows an action that had continued up to a certain event or a time in the past now the future perfect continuous shows an action that will continue up to a certain event or time in the future by 11:00 p. m.