main uses of present, past and future tenses

7/27/2019 Main Uses of Present, Past and Future Tenses

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Present Simple Tense

The present simple is used for established facts and things ingeneral.

"A banana is never quite straight.""Malaysia exports rubber."

It is also used for habitualactivities or routines.

"The President gets up at fiveand starts work at seven."

The simple tenses are generallyused with verbs of perception: sound, seem,appear, smell, taste,look and feel (note, however,that look and feel can also beused with the continuoustenses)..

"Going to Fiji sounds just greatbecause the beachesappear lesscrowded and theprices seem quite reasonable."

"This French bread smells quitefresh, tastes delicious,feels verysoft and looks just great."

COMPARE: "I am not feeling very

well today" and "Youarelooking wonderful in that newdress, my dear, but whathappened to the curtains?"

The present simple is usedwith hear , and with see(exceptwhen it means "to meet").

"I hear footsteps. Quick,someone's coming!""I see you don't understand what Imean."COMPARE: "She is seeing thedentist tomorrow."

The simple tenses are alwaysused with so called state (or

stative) verbs, such as: agree,approve of, believe, belong to,consider (hold an opinion),consist of, contain, cost, depend,disagree, gather (understand),hate, have(own), know, like,loathe, love, mean, own, need, possess, prefer, realize, regret,remember, resemble, suppose,think (hold an opinion),understand, want, wish,etc.

"Some people believe in UFOs,but I think they're misguided."

"Henry regrets what he didand wishes to make amends.''

"Although, of course, I don'tnormally approve of gossip, Ido like her new autobiography.It contains a number of shockingrevelations about the world of showbiz!"

The present simple is usually

used with so calledperformativeverbs (i.e. utterances thatactually constitute anaction), such as: accept,acknowledge, admit, advise,apologize, assume, deny,guarantee, hope, inform, predict, promise, recommend, suggest,warn, etc.

"He admits he made a big

mistake, acknowledges fullresponsibility, accepts theconsequences, apologizesfromthe bottom of his heartand promises not to do it again."

It is used for schedules drawn upby others.

"His ship sails at dawn.""The next train leaves at half-pastsix."

It is often employed when telling jokes or funny stories.

"A man wanders into a restaurantand says he can eat a horse. The



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The present perfect is used toemphasize the results in thepresent of a recentlycompleted past activity.

"Someone has eaten mysandwiches (which explains whythe plate is empty and I'll have togo hungry)."

It is used to emphasize the

results in the present of a recentevent.

"I've lost my passport (hence I

can't leave the country)."

American English prefers thesimple past tense to conveypersonal news. It thereby losesthe subtlety of British English toclearly distinguish betweenrecent and not so recent events.

"I lost my passport." (Today?Last week? Last year?)

It is used for breaking newsheadlines or when wishing toemphasize that something hasoccurred rather than

exactly when it occurred.

"Two lions have escaped fromChessington Zoo.""Powerful tornadoes have hitMississippi, Louisiana and

Arkansas"

The present perfect is usedwith already, just and yet.

"Samantha has already left, butCindy has just arrived, so I guessthe party hasn't finished yet."

Note that American English oftenuses the simple past tensewith already, just and yet .

"Samantha already left, butCindy just arrived, so I guess theparty didn't finish yet."

It is used to refer to a person'sentire life experience since theywere born.

"Dan has traveled a great deal,but he has never been toGreenland."

It is used with ever to question aperson's entire life experience of something in particular.

"Have you ever seen a straightbanana?""Has Chuck ever done an honestday's work in his life?"

American English, on the other hand, prefers the simple pasttense with ever .

"Did you ever see a straightbanana?""Did Chuck ever do an honestday's work in his life?"

The present perfect is also usedto quantify something done or progress made so far.

"Harry has driven 200 milessince breakfast.""Meg has saved $8,000 towardher new BMW."

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Used toemphasize activities that were inprogress right up to or shortlybefore the time of speaking andso have a direct influence on thecurrent situation.

"She has been using a computer all day (so her eyes are nowbloodshot).""Someone has been eating mysandwiches (so half of them aremissing)."

Used with for or since to say howlong an ongoing or continuing

activity has been in progress.

"Harry has been driving for threehours."

"Meg has been saving for her BMW since last summer."



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In many other cases the presentperfect continuous can beexchanged for the presentperfect simple, although whenthe latter is chosen one tends tofeel that change might be in the

offing.

"I've been living here for tenyears (in other words, I feelalmost like a native).""I have lived here for ten years(so perhaps it's about time Imoved on to pastures greener)."

Remember that so called stateverbs cannot be used incontinuous tense forms.

"I have beenknowing known Samantha for 19years."

Past Simple Tense

The past simple is usedfor activities or eventscompleted at a specifictime in the past (which is

either understood or indicated by a timeexpression).

"Manchester United thrashed Chelsea 4:1.""The ice sculptures attracted manyvisitors.""Most of the bars closed at midnight."

It is used for two or morecompleted past activitiesor events that occurred insequence rather than inparallel.

"I went into town at ten, booked mysummer holiday at the travelagent's, ate lunch at Pizza Hut, saw thenew Bond film at the Odeoncinema, did my shopping for the weekendand arrived home in time for tea at four."

The past simplecorresponds tothe foreground in a

painting. It is used for theaction in a story for whichthepast continuous setsthe scene.

"The rock group were performing when theearthquakestruck. Nobody noticed."

It is used with adverbs of frequency to talk aboutrepeated actions or events in thepast; would and used to are also used to talkabout past habits androutines.

"Former British Prime Minister MargaretThatcher oftenslept only four hours a night.She would go to bed at one in the morningand get up at five to read the morningpapers. The first thing she used to checkwas what they were saying about her."

It is used with verbs of perception: sound, seem,appear, smell, taste,look and feel (notethat look and feel canalso be used with thecontinuous tenses).

"Thebread smelt fresh, tasted delicious, felt verysoft and looked just great."COMPARE: "Max wasn't feeling at all welltoday. He reallywas looking under theweather."

The simple tenses arealways used for socalled state verbs suchas agree, approve of,believe, belong to,

consider (hold anopinion), consist, contain,

"The minister was agreeing agreed toresign even though he wasn'tthinking didn't think he wasneedingneeded to."

http://www.davidappleyard.com/english/tenses.htm#Present_Perfect


http://www.davidappleyard.com/english/tenses.htm#Past_Continuous

http://www.davidappleyard.com/english/tenses.htm#Past_Continuous





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cost, depend, disagree,gather (understand), hate,have(own), know, like,loathe, love, mean, own,need, possess, prefer,realize, regret, remember,

resemble, suppose,think (hold anopinion), understand,want, wish, etc.

The past simpleis usually preferred withso calledperformativeverbs (i.e. utteranceswhich actually constitutean action) suchas: accept, acknowledge,admit, advise, apologize,

assume, bet, deny,guarantee, hope, inform, predict, promise,recommend, suggest,warn, etc.

"Although the rich oil sheik promised (waspromising) the Hollywood actress onemillion dollars in cash, a brand newMercedes, and a house in Palm Beach, her lawyer advised her not to marry him."

Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous correspondsto the background in a painting.It sets the scene for all the actionreported in the past simple.

"I was leaning back in myarmchair staring up at the nightsky. The moonwas beaming brightly. All the

stars were twinkling. Thenit came to me: I would have toget the roof fixed."

It is used for temporary actionsor events that were going on ator around a particular time in thepast when something of shorter duration occurred.

"While I was waiting for the ferryI ate lunch in a sushi bar. WhileI was wolfing down my sushi, asmall piece of fish started moving."

It is also used for two activities of similar duration that were goingon in parallel.

"I was washing the car while mywife was cleaning the house."


"I was knowing knew Samanthavery well."

Past Perfect Tense

This tense is used to talk aboutthe pre-past, i.e. activities or events completed before (butrelevant to) subsequent activitiesor events referred to in the pastsimple.

"I had just prepared a candlelightdinner for two when theJehovah's Witnesses called.""Rosalind, who was now quitebreathless, had climbedten flightsof stairs."

"Mandy had studied Finnish for 3years before sheemigrated to

http://www.davidappleyard.com/english/tenses.htm#Past_Simple








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Finland."

If, however, the second action isa direct result of the first, thenthe past simple is used for both.

"When theartist had finally appeared onstage, everyoneapplauded."

The past perfect tense is used toreport on past intentions thatwere sadly never realized.

"The boss had hoped to slip off tothe golf course for the rest of theafternoon but headoffice wanted to speak to himabout disappointing salesfigures."

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

The past perfect continuous isused to report on anactivity of interest or direct

relevance that was still inprogress up until or immediatelyprior to a subsequent event inthe past.

"When the chemistryteacher returned to the lab,hesniffed and stopped smiling.

Someone had been makingastink bomb.""Police arrested the chief executive whose chain of restaurants had been cooking thebooks."


"In 1994 I had already beenknowing known Samantha for 10years."

Future Simple Tense

WILL: used to express purefuturity(i.e. without any element of willpower).

"The sun will rise tomorrowmorning."

WILL: used when makingpredictions based upon one'sknowledge of a person'scharacter.

"Linda will help you, I'm sure."

WILL: used for plain, informalrequests, as well as orders givento subordinates.

"Darling, will you post this letter for me?""Sally, will you show Mr.

Anderson to the accountsdepartment, please?"

WILL: used with emphasis toexpress irritation over the badhabits of others.

"My husband will always invitehis friends round for a drink justas I'm trying to put the kids tobed!"

WILL/SHALL: used for spontaneous offers or plansmade at the time of speaking, or to agree to something.

"If you do decide to buy this car model, sir, we'll include thissophisticated satellite navigationsystem.""Okay, I'll talk to my bankmanager about a loan."

WILL/SHALL: used for promises. "Don't worry, I won't / shan't tell a



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soul!"

SHALL: sometimes used insteadof WILL in the first personsingular and plural in moreformal style to express futurity,

especially in cases where theelement of willpower is involved.

"I shall (will) be late this evening.""We shan't (won't) go thatnightclub anymore; their pricesare exorbitant."

"We shall overcome!""I shall succeed!"

SHALL: used when seekingothers' approval of offers or suggestions.

"Shall I buy you a watch for your birthday?""Shall we all go out to dinner?"

SHALL: used to elicit moreinformation.

"Which restaurant shall we goto?"

GOING TO: used to talk aboutplans already made before thetime of speaking.

"I'm going to buy a new digitalcamera. My old one doesn'tseem to produce sharp enoughpictures."

GOING TO: used whenforecasting what is likely or inevitable because all the signsare there.

"Look over there. That crazydriver's lost control. He'sgoingto crash!""I feel awful after that raw fish. Ithink I'm going to throw up."

PRESENT CONTINUOUS: oftenused instead of GOING TO for self-made plans and voluntaryschedules, especially for the nottoo distant future.

"We're having a party on Fridaynight.""She's leaving home right after breakfast and driving all the wayup to Tallahassee in her grandma's old car."

PRESENT CONTINUOUS:usually preferred to the GOINGTO future with GO and COME.

"He is going to go to New Yorkafter he leaves Washington.""The Smiths are going tocome coming home from Canadanext spring."

PRESENT SIMPLE: used for schedules decided by others.

"He flies to Cairo on business atnoon tomorrow."

Future Continuous Tense

Used for actions or eventsforecast to be in progress at or around a particular time in thefuture.

"The kids will be sleeping when Iget home.""Some Japaneseschoolboys will no doubt still bedonning 19th century blackPrussian military uniforms in ahundred years' time."

Used for future events that arethe result of previousarrangements or decisions.

"As you know, I'll beworking overtime this evening.""Nancy will be staying at her parents' home over Christmas(she always does)."

The future continuous tense can

be used instead of thepresentcontinuous with future meaning.

"She'll be leaving home after

breakfast."

http://www.davidappleyard.com/english/tenses.htm#Present_Continuous






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It is also used to make extrapolite enquiries about someone'sfuture plans.

"Will you be needing your laptopat work today?""Is IBM going to be recruiting anynew personnel in the near future?"

Remember that so called stateverbs cannot be used in thecontinuous tense forms.

"The museum is well sign-posted, so you will beknowingknow which way to go."

Future Perfect Tense

Used for activities or eventsforecast to be completedby aparticular time in the future.

"No matter what their academicperformance, many students atJapan's most prestigiousuniversities will have found a jobone whole year before theygraduate."

Used to quantify progressforecast to have been made at agiven time in the future.

"He smokes 20 a day, so by thistime next year he willhavepuffed his way merilly through afurther 584 meters of cigarette."

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Used for activities forecast still tobe in progress at some time inthe future.

"By the end of 2013 we will havebeen flying in planes for 110years."in planes for 110 years."

Remember that so called state

verbs cannot be used incontinuous tense forms.

"Next summer I will have been

knowing known Samantha for 20years."

main uses of present, past and future tenses

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