We use Present simple to talk about what we do regularly, in the past, the present and the future. We use it also to talk about constant situations and facts:
I eat sushi every day.
You should buy a new car.
My friend and I like playing with marbles.
The Harlem Globetrotters play basketball well.
It doesn't rain very much around here.
We use Present progressive to talk about unfinished actions or actions that are happening during the time of speaking, or when talking about temporary situations.
I am playing football with my friends.
What are you doing? I need to see you.
Jun Suzuki is in Scotland. He is learning English.
The water is boiling. Could you switch off the kettle?
Adam and Tomoko meet every day. They are falling in love with each other.
Perfect forms of the verb, are preceded by have or has. We use the present perfect form to talk about a past action which has a connection with, or a relevance to, the present situation. It is often used when describing the very recent past which affects the present. When we say something has happened, we are talking about the past, but also thinking about a present situation.
We could often change a present perfect sentence into a present sentence with the same meaning:
I've broken my toe = My toe is broken now
Have you read the bible? = Do you know the bible?
I have finished my dinner.
John has been to France.
Have you ever eaten nato?
Have you worked abroad?
Mayuko has not lost her purse 8 times.
We have never travelled to China.
1. Finished Actions: Result Now
We often use present perfect to talk about finished actions, when we are thinking of their present consequences; the results which affect the present and will affect the present and possibly even the future. For example:
FINISHED ACTION>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>RESULT NOW
I've broken my leg>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I can't walk
America has invaded Iraq>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>War
2. Finished Actions: Timeup to now
We use the present perfect to ask if something has ever happened; to say that it has happened before or to say that it has never happened
3. Repeated actions up until now
We use the present perfect when saying something has happened several times up until the present state:
How many letters have you written?
How many pies have you eaten
You've been in love more times than I care to remember
Actions and states continuing up until now
We can use past perfect when talking about states, actions or situations which started in the past and d still apply:
I have been studying Spanish all my life.
They've been following us for three hours.
Perfect forms of the verb, are preceded by have or has. We use the present perfect progressive form to talk about a past action which has finished either very recently, or has not yet finished. When we say we have been doing something, it means either we are still doing or we have finished it very recently and, as such, has an effect on the present. For example:
"Shhhh.....I have been watching this movie for 2 hours now. Please don't interrupt me". (The person is still watching the movie)
"I have been working hard all day and I'm pretty tired now" (The person may be working now, or may have just stopped, i.e. taking a break).
"The ground is wet. It has been raining."(It has recently stopped raining)
"It has been raining for the last hour." (It is still raining)
My knees are dirty because I have been playing football.
John has been smoking a lot recently. He really should cut down.
I have been playing professional football for 12years now.
It's good to see you Jimmy. What have you been doing since we last met?
I have been working really hard these past few months.
We use past simple to talk about things that have already happened, actions that are completed and finished. There are two types of verb, regular and irregular. Regular past tense verbs end in 'ed', whereas irregular ones don't.
I worked in a computer company last year.
You ate all the pies, didn't you?
Jun Suzuki was in Scotland. He bought a castle.
The dog walked home alone last night/
Bob Sapp played American Football 10 years ago.
I was a policeman for two years.
You were in France last year weren't you?
In questions and in negative statements we can use did / didn't + infinitive:
I didn't like the movie
Did the earth move for you?
I didn't drink a glass of orange pop, I drank a whole bottle
We use the past progressive when describing what we was happening at a particular point in past time. The past action we are referring to is not complete.
I was playing football with my friends yesterday.
What were you doing yesterday at three O'clock? I needed to see you.
Jun Suzuki was in Scotland. He was learning English.
The water was boiling. Why didn't you switch off the kettle?
Adam and Tomoko met every day. They were falling in love with each other, until Adam revealed his secret past.
We often use the past progressive with the simple past tense. The past progressive refers to a past event which was going on for a longer period of time and the simple past refers to an event which happened during the longer event was happening;
The phone rang while I was having breakfast
While I was watching a movie, Mary finished her homework
Past Perfect forms of the verb, are preceded by had. We use the past perfect to talk about an action which happened before another action in the past. We use it to talk about something that already happened before the past event we are talking about.
We could often change a present perfect sentence into a present sentence with the same meaning:
I had finished my dinner before she called me.
John had been to France already, but he went again with Miho.
Had you ever eaten nato before you came to Japan?
I had you worked abroad before I came here.
I recognised him immediately. I had seen before.
We weren't hungry. We had just eaten dinner
Past Perfect forms of the verb, are preceded by had. We use the past perfect progressive form to talk about a continuous action that was happening before another action/time in the past
I had been watching the movie for 2 hours when someone interrupted me(the person is still watching the movie)
I had been working hard all day and therefore was pretty surprised when my boss asked me to do more overtime
This morning when I woke up the sun was shining but the ground was wet. It had been raining.(It had recently stopped raining)
My knees were dirty because I had been playing football.
When I met John he stank of cigarettes. He had been smoking
I had been playing professional football for 12 years , when I became injured
When talking about the future we can use both going to and will. Generally we can use either for must future situations but there are some slight differences in usage.
We use 'going to' to talk about an action which has been planned for the future, and are already decided now (perhaps they have already started)
She is going to have a baby
We have decided to have a party, we are going to invite a lot of people
What are doing today. I am going to go to the cinema with Jimmy. We are going to watch The Xmen
The sky is black. It is going to rain
'Will' is commonly used to describe events that are not already clearly decided, or slightly unplanned:
If she has a baby she will call it Ken.
If we have a party, we will have it in Nobuhiro's house.
Nobody will ever know what happened to him.
We also use shall or will + infinitive to express 'interpersonal' meanings when we are offering, making requests, promising or threatening:
Will you keep the windows open please
If you don't pay me the money I will break your kneecaps
Will you give me hand for a second please?
We use future progressive to talk about something that will be taking place in a particular point in the future
I will be playing tennis at 3 O'clock tomorrow .
What will you be doing tomorrow? I need to see you then.
Jun Suzuki is going to be in Scotland next month. He will be learning English.
This time tomorrow I'll be sitting on a plane bound for Mexico
We use the Future Perfect tense when we are referring to an event which has finished in the future:
I will have finished by then.
I will have eaten my dinner in around 20 minutes. Please call me around that time again.
I will have returned from the supermarket when you get back home
We use the Future Perfect Progressive tense when we are referring to a instant that will have already begun and will be continuing in the future:
I will have been playing tennis for one hour by the time you call me.
He will already have been driving for 20 minutes if you call him at three O'clock.
You can meet me at 3 O'clock if you want, but I will already have been drinking for 3 hours then, so I will likely be very drunk.
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