TENSES IN ENGLISH «A PRACTICAL WAY OF UNDERSTANDING

THE DIFFERENCES AMONG 12 TENSES FOR TURKISH STUDENTS»

INSTRUCTOR: GÜLŞAH DEMİRCİ

WHAT DOES TENSE MEAN?

Tense means

‘the form of a verb that shows the time at which an action happened.’

Examples:

I study English at Anadolu University.

I watched a movie yesterday.

I will go to the theatre tomorrow.

Present Tense

Past Tense

Future Tense

Is that so easy?

Be careful!

• Tense is not only related with the time but it can also be

related with the process, order, and some special

usages.

• There are 12 tenses in English.

• We need to know about the tense agreement.

There are 3 families and 4 members in each

The PASTs: «Nostalgia»

They are about the actions in the

past.

They are not interested in other

families.

The actions shouldn’t be based

on the present or future.

The PRESENTs: «Carpe Diem»

They are about the actions in the

present generally.

They are interested in future.

The actions can start in the past

at times but they must be linked

with ‘now’, too.

The FUTUREs: «Space Age»

They are about the actions in the

future.

They are interested in present.

The present and future actions

can exist in a sentence with a

time linker.

1st

Simple Tenses

Present Simple

Past Simple

Future Simple

I eat cereals for breakfast every morning.

I ate cereals for breakfast last morning.

I will eat cereals for breakfast next morning.

«One event»

With time linkers, they

also can tell about the

actions in order.

2nd

Continuous

Tenses

Present Continuous

Past Continuous

Future Continuous

I am studying English now.

I was studying English last night when you called me.

I will be studying English this time tomorrow.

«Two parallel events»

Present continuous can be

used alone, too.

3rd

Perfect Tenses

Present Perfect

Past Perfect

Future Perfect

After the match has ended, I will call you.

After he had finished his homework, he watched a movie.

By the time Jessica comes, we will have had dinner.

«Two events in order»

Present perfect has

different usages, too.

4th

Perfect

Continuous

Tenses

Present Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect Continuous

Future Perfect Continuous

I have been learning English since I was 10.

I had been learning English for 9 years when I started university.

I will have been learning English for 10 years by next year.

«Two events in order +

process»

Present perfect

continous can also be

used in different

situations.

WHAT IS TENSE AGREEMENT?

TENSE AGREEMENT

• PAST WANTS PAST

• PRESENT WANTS PRESENT AND/OR FUTURE

• Don’t bring past and present/future together except some

situations!

TENSE AGREEMENT

• When you came here, you will see my dog. (False)

• When you come here, you will see my dog. (True)

• When you came here, you saw my dog. (True)

• While she is sleeping, I was listening to music. (False)

• While she was sleeping, I was listening to music. (True)

• While she is sleeping, I am listening to music. (True)

Remember!

• You need to know about the usage of time linkers. If you

know about the tense agreement, you can answer most of

the tense questions.