Grammar: tenses

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•For repeated action that happened very often (+ annoyance)

Continuous The track was so rough that we were continually mending punctures.

expressing the future: Future Continuous

She will be meeting him in the library at 10am.

expressing the future: Future Perfect Continuous

I will have been running for an hour by then.

expressing the future: Future Perfect

I will have worked on this for a long time.

We have been to South Africa twice.

Indefinite time

expressing the future: Present Continuous

Mum is seeing her friend Sherry on Wednesday.

Quarantine changed us. Usage?

No indication of present relevance

Single actions / repeated actions

Past Perfect At the start of the lecture, we realised that we had studied this tense before.

The tourists had swum in all of the rivers in the area by the time their holiday ended.

Past Perfect single actions/repeated actions

Ongoing situations or actions which continued up to, or stopped just before, a time in the past

Past Perfect Continuous At the start of the lecture, we realised that we had been studying the tenses for four weeks.

When they were rescued, the tourists had been swimming in the water for more than two hours.

Past Perfect Continuous Ongoing situations or actions which continued up to, or stopped just before, a time in the past

No indication of present relevance

Past Simple Quarantine changed us.

Definite time

Past Simple We went to South Africa last year.

Finished state / action / time: for completed actions and situations clearly situated in the past

Past Simple We were on lockdown from March to May.

•to describe trends

Present Continuous Belgian summers are getting wetter. Cambio, the carsharing company, is gaining more customers.

•for frequently repeated actions, particularly when perceived as annoying (often with adverbs of frequency always, forever, continually)

Present Continuous I disliked that class. The professor was always laughing at his own jokes. My dad's always giving me grief about my laziness. It's so annoying.

•for temporary situations or actions in progress at / around the time of speaking (often with adverbs now, just, still, currently, at the moment)

Present Continuous I'll be with you in a minute. I'm just finishing something in the kitchen.

•for repeated actions events within a temporary period

Present Continuous I'm going to the gym these days. Due to her car accident a few days ago, my sister is taking the train to work.

•to describe pictures and actions which form background to a story.

Present Continuous Our head of department is the one who's standing on the left in this college photo.

!!! In stories, the background action (things that were already happening when the story starts) is usually a

Present Continuous There's this man who is walking though the jungle when he meets a gorilla.

Present result / relevance: to talk about a new or recent completed action in the past that is relevant to or has a result in the present

Present Perfect Quarantine has changed us.

Unfinished state / action / time: actions or situations that started in the past and might still continue in the present

Present Perfect We have been on lockdown since March.

Indefinite time

Present Perfect We have been to South Africa twice.

•in commentaries, instructions, demonstrations and stories that include a series of events: to express the immediacy of an event/action

Present Simple 1. And it's a ball kick for the Red Devils, DeBruyne passes the ball to Lukaku, Lukaku slices it to Chadli, Chadli cuts inside .... and it's a goal!

•permanent situations, facts, general truths (with always, usually, every day, often)

Present Simple British people drink a lot of tea, while the French drink more coffee.

•with state verbs (e.g. like, love, hate, need, know, realise, mean ...)

Present Simple I'm hangry. I want something to eat.

•for regular events or habits (often with adverbs of frequency always, sometimes, never, ...)

Present Simple Many people from the north of Europe take their summer holiday in the warmer south.

Quarantine has changed us. Usage?

Present result / relevance

verbs that describe a sense or form of perception

Sense verbs see, hear, feel, etc.

•when the verb is intransitive

Sense verbs typically used in simple form You smell terrible!

•when action of sensing something is involuntary

Simple form I smell exhaust fumes whenever I open my bedroom window. Why are you smelling your armpit?(=deliberate / intentional action)

expressing the future: Present Simple

The movie starts at 8, we better go.

We have been on lockdown since March. Usage?

Unfinished state / action / time

Present Continuous: general

We use the present con>nuous for actions which are less regular I'll be with you in a minute. I'm just finishing something in the kitchen.

Present Simple:general

We use the present simple for things which are permanent or regular British people drink a lot of tea, while the French drink more coffee.

to continue a narrative would or used to?

Would "When I was a kid our dad used to be away a lot on business and he would always bring back a lot of presents."

I've got an older nephew who is currently living in Italy for his PhD. He was working as a researcher in a research facility in Lombardy when he met his husband.

actions and situations in progress at a certain point in the past

when performative verbs refer to past or future

can be used with continuous aspect My dad was always warning us to be home by 10:00 pm. Professor Jones is apologising for his rude email in our next lecture.

William left the party early because he was taking an early plane to Madrid in the morning.

describe past arrangements that may or may not have taken place

simple aspect:

in some cases, verbal action experienced as habitualor complete

⚠️Before+ past perfect

n sentences with a past perfect in the before-clause, the past perfect tense can refer to a time later than the action of the main verb. This is unusual. He left before I had finished my sentence.

finished or completed but focus on the result of the activity

present perfect I have read this book and I really liked it.

when you want to focus on the number of times you have done something

present perfect I've tried to login three times already but there seems to be an issue.

a continuous or repeated activity

present perfect continuous I have been reading this book for a few days and I think I really like it.

when you want to focus on duration

present perfect continuous I've been trying to login all morning but there seems to be an issue.

Darkness was falling over the city as James hurried back to college...

providing background to completed past actions

lay-laid-laid

put sth down(transitive)

The track was so rough that we were continually mending punctures.

repeated action that happened very often (+ annoyance)

During my training, I was earning a lot less than my wife. When I was living in NY, I was always working late.

temporary actions/events/situation in the past

lie-lay-lain

to be down, recline(transitive)

He was working as a researcher in a research facility in Lombardy when he met his husband.

to contrast an ongoing action with a single event (past simple) that interrupts it

The number of infections were increasing each day.

trends in the past

I was hoping to catch you in class this morning but it seems you're not here. (in an email e.g.)

unfulfilled arrangements (with plan, expect, hope)

Past states used to or would?

used to When I was a child, I didn't use to like the taste of pineapple with soy sauce.

I used to dip my pineapple in soy sauce.

used to past repeated action

when performative verbs are used in the first person and present tense

usually simple aspect On behalf of our daughter, we invite you to the celebration of her wedding. I insist you read the novel in its original language.

perfective aspect:

verbal action experienced as completed

progressive aspect:

verbal action experienced as in progress

I was wondering whether you were available by any chance to go out with me sometime...?

with think and wonder: to make requests, suggestions and questions more tentative and polite

I would dip my pineapple in soy sauce.

would past repeated action

→the 'before' past: actions before a time in the past

• Single actions / repeated actions • Ongoing situations or actions which continued up to, or stopped just before, a time in the past

I'm sure you will enjoy the film

• predictions about the future (based on opinion, analysis, or judgement)

If you ask me, he will get his heart broken.

• predictions about the future (based on opinion, analysis, or judgement)

Ordered coursebooks will never arrive on time, even if you order them long beforehand.

• predictions about the future (based on opinion, analysis, or judgement)

Oh, I forgot! It's granny's birthday. I'll call her tonight.

• spontaneous decisions (usually contracted form)

5. No doubt you will all remember what Hamlet says about suicide.

•Even quotations (uttered in the past) are introduced with "says" (5)

Expressing the future

•Future simple(Will + inf) •Going to + inf •Present simple •Present continuous •Future perfect •Future continuous •Future perfect continuous

"I always thought that we'd meet again" vs "I've been thinking about you"