English Tenses Lecture by Lucy

Introduction

• Overview of English tenses.
• Emphasis on learning all 16 tenses, including conditionals.
• Introduction to the 30-day Tenses Challenge.
  • Detailed lessons and exercises.
  • 45 days course community access.
  • Digital certificate of completion.

Present Tenses

Present Simple

• Structure: Subject + base verb.
• Used for general statements, habits, and facts.
• Examples:
  • "I work on Tuesdays."
  • "Mary meets her friends on Friday evenings."

Present Continuous

• Structure: Subject + be + verb-ing.
• Used for actions happening now or temporary situations.
• Exceptions for state verbs.
• Examples:
  • "I am teaching English."
  • "James is living in Manchester."

Present Perfect

• Structure: Subject + has/have + past participle.
• Used for past actions with present consequences or experiences.
• Examples:
  • "I have lived in the UK all my life."
  • "She has been to Canada three times."

Present Perfect Continuous

• Structure: Subject + has/have been + verb-ing.
• Emphasizes duration of actions.
• Examples:
  • "I have been watching that TV show for weeks."

Past Tenses

Past Simple

• Structure: Subject + regular verb-ed (or irregular forms).
• Used for finished past actions.
• Examples:
  • "I went to bed at 10 p.m. last night."

Past Continuous

• Structure: Subject + was/were + verb-ing.
• Used for past actions or states at a specific time.
• Examples:
  • "Tom was cooking dinner at 7 p.m. yesterday."

Past Perfect

• Structure: Subject + had + past participle.
• Used for actions before another past action.
• Examples:
  • "When I arrived, the bus had already left."

Past Perfect Continuous

• Structure: Subject + had been + verb-ing.
• Used for past actions continuing up to a point.
• Examples:
  • "They had been walking for hours before they decided they were lost."

Future Tenses

Future Simple

• Structure: Subject + will + base form.
• Used to express future actions or decisions.
• Examples:
  • "I will work in the summer."

Future Continuous

• Structure: Subject + will be + verb-ing.
• Used for actions in progress at a future time.
• Examples:
  • "I will be eating dinner at 8 p.m. tomorrow."

Future Perfect

• Structure: Subject + will have + past participle.
• Used for actions completed before a future point.
• Examples:
  • "I will have retired by the time I'm 65."

Future Perfect Continuous

• Structure: Subject + will have been + verb-ing.
• Used for actions continuing up to a future point.
• Examples:
  • "She will have been living in Cardiff for three months in August."

Conditional Tenses

Conditional Simple

• Structure: Subject + would + base form.
• Used for hypothetical present actions.
• Examples:
  • "I would work abroad if I could."

Conditional Continuous

• Structure: Subject + would be + verb-ing.
• Emphasizes duration of hypothetical actions.
• Examples:
  • "I would be writing emails if I was at work."

Conditional Perfect

• Structure: Subject + would have + past participle.
• Used for hypothetical past actions.
• Examples:
  • "I would have told John not to come."

Conditional Perfect Continuous

• Structure: Subject + would have been + verb-ing.
• Used for hypothetical actions starting in the past.
• Examples:
  • "I would have been wearing my red dress if I had washed it."

Conclusion

• Recap of all 16 tenses.
• Encouragement to join the 30-day challenge for mastery.
• Connection to Lucy's social media and other resources.