English with Lucy - Overview of All 16 English Tenses

Jun 4, 2024

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English with Lucy - Overview of All 16 English Tenses

Introduction

  • Purpose: To teach all 16 English tenses including conditionals
  • Duration: Under 30 minutes
  • Extra resource: 30-day Tenses Challenge for mastering tenses
    • Includes detailed videos, mind maps, exercises, community support, and a digital certificate
    • Enrollment deadline: Midnight, 31st July
    • Course starts: 1st August

Present Tenses

Overview

  1. Present Simple: I eat chocolate
  2. Present Continuous: I am eating chocolate
  3. Present Perfect: I have eaten chocolate
  4. Present Perfect Continuous: I have been eating chocolate

Present Simple

  • Usage: General statements, habits, facts, scheduled events
  • Structure: Subject + base form of verb (add 's' for third person singular)
    • e.g., I work, He works
  • Examples:
    • General statement: I am a woman.
    • Habit: Mary meets her friends on Friday evenings.
    • Scheduled event: The train to London leaves at 8 p.m.

Present Continuous

  • Usage: Actions happening now, temporary situations, trends, arrangements
  • Structure: Subject + am/are/is + verb+ing
    • e.g., I am teaching, They are baking
  • Examples:
    • Present moment: I am teaching English
    • Temporary: James is living in Manchester.
    • Arrangement: Sarah is meeting her parents tomorrow.
    • Trend: I am loving my Christmas jumper.

Present Perfect

  • Usage: Unfinished actions from the past continuing to the present, life experiences, past actions with present consequences
  • Structure: Subject + has/have + past participle
    • e.g., I have lived, She has walked
  • Examples:
    • Unfinished Action: I have lived in the UK all my life.
    • Experience: She has been to Canada three times.
    • Consequence: I have eaten breakfast, so I’m not hungry.

Present Perfect Continuous

  • Usage: Actions starting in the past and continuing to the present, emphasize duration
  • Structure: Subject + has/have + been + verb+ing
    • e.g., I have been working
  • Examples:
    • Emphasis on duration: I have been watching that TV show for weeks.
    • Recent actions: It has been snowing.
    • Note: Not used with state verbs, e.g., I have belonged to a band.

Past Tenses

Overview

  1. Past Simple: I worked abroad last summer
  2. Past Continuous: I was working at 2pm yesterday
  3. Past Perfect: I had worked there for two years before I got my promotion
  4. Past Perfect Continuous: I had been working there for two years before my promotion

Past Simple

  • Usage: Finished events or actions
  • Structure: Subject + verb (ed for regular, irregular forms for others)
    • e.g., I worked, He went
  • Examples:
    • Specific time: I went to bed at 10 p.m. last night.
    • Irregular: Dennis ate a box of chocolates for breakfast.

Past Continuous

  • Usage: Actions happening at a specific moment in the past, background actions
  • Structure: Subject + was/were + verb+ing
    • e.g., I was working, They were talking
  • Examples:
    • Specific moment: Tom was cooking dinner at 7 p.m. yesterday.
    • Background action: Will was speaking to me whilst I was trying to record a video.
    • Interrupted action: We were eating dinner when he arrived.

Past Perfect

  • Usage: Events that happened before another past action
  • Structure: Subject + had + past participle
    • e.g., I had worked, They had gone
  • Examples:
    • Sequence: When I arrived at the bus stop, the bus had already left.
    • State duration: She had worked at the company for five years before it closed.

Past Perfect Continuous

  • Usage: Actions that continued up to a past point
  • Structure: Subject + had been + verb+ing
    • e.g., I had been working
  • Examples:
    • Up to a past point: They had been walking for hours before they realized they were lost.
    • Repeated action: The orchestra had been practicing for months before the concert.

Future Tenses

Overview

  1. Future Simple: I will work in the summer
  2. Future Continuous: I will be working at 2 o'clock tomorrow
  3. Future Perfect: I will have worked there for two years on Sunday
  4. Future Perfect Continuous: I will have been working there for two years on Sunday

Future Simple

  • Usage: Predictions, offers, promises, future facts
  • Structure: Subject + will + base form of the verb
    • e.g., I will work, She will go
  • Examples:
    • Prediction: I think it’ll rain tomorrow.
    • Offer/Promise: I’ll help you carry those boxes.
    • Future Fact: It will be our first wedding anniversary next year.

Future Continuous

  • Usage: Ongoing actions at a specific future point
  • Structure: Subject + will be + verb+ing
    • e.g., I will be working
  • Examples:
    • Specific future time: I will be eating dinner at 8pm tomorrow.
    • Ongoing action: I’ll be playing tennis tomorrow.

Future Perfect

  • Usage: Actions completed before a specific future time, often with time clauses
  • Structure: Subject + will have + past participle
    • e.g., I will have worked
  • Examples:
    • Planned action: I will have retired by the time I’m 65.
    • Time clause: You will have finished the popcorn before the film starts.

Future Perfect Continuous

  • Usage: Actions continuing up to a future point, focus on duration
  • Structure: Subject + will have been + verb+ing
    • e.g., I will have been working
  • Examples:
    • Duration up to future point: She will have been living in Cardiff for three months in August.
    • Continuous up to future point: When I retire next month, I will have been working here for three years.
    • Note: Not used with state verbs, e.g., I will have had my cat for five years.

Conditional Tenses

Overview

  • Usage: Hypothetical situations, events depending on other events or states
  1. Conditional Simple: I would work abroad if I could
  2. Conditional Continuous: I would be working abroad now if I wasn’t stuck here
  3. Conditional Perfect: I would have worked abroad last year but didn’t get my visa
  4. Conditional Perfect Continuous: I would have been working here for longer if I had got my visa earlier

Conditional Simple

  • Usage: Hypothetical actions in the present
  • Structure: Subject + would + base form of verb
    • e.g., I would travel, She would walk
  • Examples:
    • Specific hypothetical: I would travel in first class if I won the lottery.
    • Note on modals: Could, should, might can replace would.

Conditional Continuous

  • Usage: Emphasis on duration of hypothetical continuous actions
  • Structure: Subject + would be + verb+ing
    • e.g., I would be working
  • Examples:
    • Emphasis on duration: I would be writing emails if I was at work.
    • Modals: He could be walking his dog if he hadn’t broken his ankle.

Conditional Perfect

  • Usage: Hypothetical past actions
  • Structure: Subject + would have + past participle
    • e.g., I would have worked
  • Examples:
    • Hypothetical past: I would have bought that house but I couldn’t afford it.
    • Modals: Could, should, might can replace would.

Conditional Perfect Continuous

  • Usage: Hypothetical ongoing actions from the past
  • Structure: Subject + would have been + verb+ing
    • e.g., I would have been working
  • Examples:
    • Past continuous duration: I would have been wearing my red dress if I had washed it.
    • Modals: She could have been living in Japan if she took the course.

Conclusion

  • Summary: Covered all 16 tenses of English including present, past, future, and conditional tenses
  • Additional Resources: Links to social media, pronunciation tool, vlogging channel for listening practice
  • Reminders: Download provided PDFs and quizzes, join the Tenses Challenge for comprehensive practice