Tenses - Past to Present

 

To express ourselves clearly, we need to be able to differentiate between present, past and future actions. For now, we will focus on the eight past and present tenses. 

 

In English, we generally distinguish between the simple form (habitual and non-continuous actions) and the progressive form (continuous actions). Additionally, you'll come across the word "perfect" (lat. perfectum = complete), which focuses on how a past action effects the present. 

 

Obviously, all past tenses can be used to express everything the respective present tense does, but as past action. 

Principle Parts of Verbs

For the tenses we will need to revise the four main forms of a verb, which thankfully aren't that complicated.

To form the second or third form of a regular verb, simply add -ed to the infinitive.

The Present Participle is the ing-form.

But there are quite a few verbs that are irregular, including some of the most important verbs like to be, to go and to see. You can find a full list of irregular verbs here.


Infinitive Simple Past Past Participle Present Participle
 walk walked walked walking
 look looked looked looking
come came come coming
go went gone going

Forming the Tenses

Simple Present Present Progressive Present Perfect Simple Present Perfect Progressive
 I walk to school every day.   I am walking to school now.  I have walked to school three times this week. I have been walking to school for 20 Minutes. 
 Infinitive (he/she/it: + s) am/are/is + present participle have/has + past participle  have/has + been + present participle
Simple Past Past Progressive Past Perfect Simple Past Perfect Progressive
 I walked to school this morning. I was walking to school at 8am. I had walked to school before I sat down to eat breakfast. I had been walking to school when my phone rang.
past participle was/were + present participle had + past participle  had + been + present participle

Simple Present

Simple Present is used when an action is habitual or happens repeatedly. It's also used with certain words like to love, to like, to have since they describe a general state (we'll talk about this later). This includes characteristics as well. 

 

Signal words

  • every (day, week, etc.)
  • sometimes
  • always/never
  • often
  • usually/normally
  • once a (month, year, etc.)

Examples

  • I always go to the same restaurant. 
  • I love the soup there!
  • Tony usually wakes up at 6AM.
  • Louise doesn't do the dishes every day.
  • Mirjam is quite intelligent.

Present Progressive

Present Progressive is used when an action is happening at the very moment. It also includes temporary actions and trends.

 

 

Signal words

  • now
  • at the moment
  • currently
  • Look! 

Examples

  • Joseph is watching TV at the moment.
  • Xenia and Nina aren't listening to music.
  • They are studying for an exam.
  • More and more people are using social media these days. 
  • I am working from home for the time being. 

Present Perfect Simple

Present Perfect Simple is used when something has happened in the past but has a connection to the present or when something started in the past and continues into the present. Asking "how often?" can also help you check if you're using the right tense.

 

Signal words

  • ever/never
  • yet
  • so far
  • since/for
  • just
  • up to now
  • recently

Examples

  • Lisa has never been to New York.
  • I have lived in Spain since January.
  • Have you ever seen the rain coming down on a sunny day?
  • Max hasn't been home recently.
  • They have just started playing basketball. 

Present Perfect Progressive

Present Perfect Progressive is used when an action started in the past and just finished or something has been happening for a certain period of time (how long?).

 

Signal words

  • all day
  • since
  • for

 

Examples

  • I have been learning Spanish for 3 months now. 
  • Mica has been working all day.
  • It has been raining since 4PM. 
  • The boys haven't been playing football since the break started. 

Simple Past

Simple Past is used when an action was completed in the past and is not directly connected to the present.

 

 

 

Signal words

  • last 
  • ago
  • in (March/1989, etc.)
  • yesterday

 

 

Examples

  • I went to the cinema with some friends last weekend.
  • The First World War ended in 1918. 
  • Julia watched the latest Avenger-movie a few weeks ago.
  • Timon didn't leave his house yesterday. 
  • He didn't feel like taking a walk. 

Past Progressive

Past Progressive is used when an on-going action in the past is disrupted by a shorter action or something was happening at a certain time in the past.

 

Signal words 

  • while
  • when
  • yesterday at (5PM, etc.)

 

Examples

  • While Joseph was watching TV, the girls were studying hard for their exam. 
  • I was working when my mother called. 
  • What were you doing at 5PM last Sunday?
  • I wasn't having fun at the party so I went home early. 

Past Perfect Simple

Past Perfect Simple is used when comparing two past actions, where one of them is further back than the other. 

 

 

 

Signal words

  • before/after
  • already
  • just
  • never

 

 

 

Examples

  • Before Lea watched a movie, she had done her homework.
  • After I had finished my chores, I went out with my friends. 
  • Lisa had never been to New York before this trip.
  • If you hadn't called me, I would have overslept and missed my flight. 

Past Perfect Progressive

Past Perfect Progressive is used when describing how long something had been happening before another action took place or when comparing two past tenses, emphasizing on the duration.

 

Signal words 

  • since
  • for
  • all day/night

Examples

  • I had been learning Spanish for 3 years before I moved to Mexico. 
  • It had been raining all day. 
  • I had been studying for weeks so I felt relieved when the finals were over. 

Special Cases

Simple Present

To emphasize an action, you can add "do" and its respective forms to a sentence.

  • I do love soup.
  • He does want to start working out. 

Scheduled future actions (with certain verbs like to arrive, to end, to depart, to leave)  can also be expressed through the Simple Present. 

  • The train arrives in an hour.
  • My flight departs in 15 minutes. 

Present Progressive

If a sentence converts strong emotions, the progressive form is used instead of the simple, even if there is a very clear signal word like always.

  • You are always complaining! 
  • This kid is driving me insane!

Stative Verbs

Certain verbs are rarely used in the ing-form. This is because these verbs describe a state, not an action or activity. Here are some examples: 

  • to love, to like, to hate, to prefer, to want, to wish
  • to be, to have, to need, to belong, to hear, to know
  • to agree, to deny, to disagree, to promise, to surprise
  • to believe, to recognize, to remember, to understand

Example Sentences

  • I want coffee. 
  • Nico has had this car for 3 years. 
  • I understood the lecture perfectly.

Some verbs can be stative or action verbs, depending on the context. 

  • I think that's a good idea. (I have an opinion)
  • I'm thinking of changing schools. (I'm trying to solve a problem)
  • Chris is looking at himself in the mirror. (He's actively looking at something)
  • He looks happy. (He seems happy)