hi in this lesson you will review all of
the English tenses 16 of them this is a
quick revision and I'd recommend you
watch the complete video to get the big
picture of the tenses and how they all
fit together if you want to look in each
at each tense more detail then check out
the links below so let's get started so
let's start by looking at the present
simple tense
this is used firstly for routines and
habits so for instance you could say I
play tennis every Friday this is a
routine something you do every Friday so
you use the present simple tense just
remember with the present simple the one
difference is with he she and it and you
say plays so don't forget the S the
present simple is also used for
permanent situations so for instance you
could say I live in Oxford this is a
permanent situation and not one that is
likely to change anytime soon so you use
the present simple finally the present
symbol is used for facts
so water boils at a hundred degrees
centigrade this is a fact so we use the
present simple so the present simple is
used for routines and habits permanent
situations and facts okay so moving on
to the present continuous the present
continuous is used for something than is
happening now so for instance I'm having
my dinner it's happening now the form is
the subject plus an R is and the in form
of the verb the present continuous is
also used for temporary situations so
you could say I'm staying with a friend
for two weeks this is telling your
listener that the situation is not
permanent it's just for two weeks it's a
temporary situation so you use the
present continuous
okay so now let's look at the past
simple this is used for finished action
in the past and usually there's some
kind of time reference included so for
instance you could say I lived in London
for five years and this means that it's
now finished you're no longer living in
London so with regular verbs we simply
add Edie to make it the past simple as
in this case live is a regular verb so
the past simple is lived and for
irregular verbs there's a list on my
website and you can check out the link
down below to get that there are lots
are the regular verbs and you just need
to learn them the past simple is also
used for past actions that occur in
chronological order so if you say here I
got up had a shower and then left for
work these are all past actions in
chronological order in the order in
which they happened so you use the past
simple so now let's look at the past
continuous tense this is used for
something that happened before and after
a particular time in the past so for
instance you could say I was eating
dinner at 7 o'clock last night and from
the timeline here you can see you were
eating dinner before 7 p.m. and after 7
p.m. so here we use the past continuous
the form is either the past tense of to
be so either was or were and the Ink
form of the verb the past continuous is
also used for parallel actions in the
past so for instance in this case I was
reading while she was making dinner here
you've got two actions going on at the
same time as you can see from the
timeline the reading is happening at the
same time as she was making dinner so
here we use the past continuous
the past continuous is also used for
interrupted actions in the past so here
the example is I was having a shower
when the phone rang so here you can see
from the timeline again I was having a
shower over a period of time and it's
interrupted by the phone ringing so it's
an interrupted action so here we use the
past continuous for the continuing
action having the shower and the past
simple for the phone ringing it's also
used to show something continued over at
some time so for instance you could say
everyone was singing or for something
that happened again and again so here I
was practicing every day three times a
day now let's move on to use to used to
is used for repeated actions or
situations which are no longer true so
here the example is I used to smoke in
other words you no longer smoke it's in
the past let's now look at the present
perfect simple the present perfect is
used for actions or situations happening
until now usually not finished for
instance I've started reading his latest
book this implies that you've started
reading the book at some unspecified
time in the past and you're still
reading it now and you haven't finished
reading it and you will continue reading
it in the future if we look at the
timeline you can see the cross
represents starting reading the book but
the impact is on the present it's on now
and into the future as well the fall is
have or has plus the past participle
again these need to be learnt and can be
found on a link down below the present
perfect is also used for life experience
is as this is unfinished time your life
is not over so you couldn't say I
haven't traveled much and this is in
your life up until now but maybe in the
future you will travel more
so for life experiences use the present
perfect so the present perfect is also
used when a past action has a present
result so in this case we've got I've
done the shopping this means you did the
shopping in the past the recent past and
it's completed action but the result is
that you now have food so it has an
impact or result in the present the
present perfect is also used with just
ever already yet and since so one
example that's a very common question is
have you ever so in this case how have
you ever seen a panda it could be have
you ever eaten snails have you ever it's
an expression and you can say I have or
I have never seen a panda and all these
words are used with the present perfect
now moving on to the present perfect
continuous this tense is used to show an
action in progress so in this example we
we have got I've been painting the
kitchen this is why you can see and
covered in paint here we use the present
perfect continuous when we want to focus
on the activity that is unfinished and
the focus here is on the action of
painting so the action is unfinished
finished and you say it in the present
perfect continuous if you'd said I've
painted the kitchen you're using the
present perfect simple it would mean
that you'd finished painting the kitchen
whereas here we're saying that we still
have more to paint so it's the present
perfect continuous the form is the
subject plus have or has been plus the
verb in the in form the present perfect
yes also talks about how long something
has been happening so here I've been
cooking all morning the focus is on the
unfinished activity of cooking that has
taken all morning it's also used to show
something is temporary so you could say
I usually work in finance but I've been
working on this project for three weeks
so here we're implying that it's a
temporary situation that your project is
only for three weeks and then you'll
probably go back to finance okay so
moving on to the past perfect simple
this is you to talk about an action or
situation which happened before another
action in the past
so John rang Mary's doorbell at 8:15 but
Mary had already left which action came
first Mary left then John rang the
doorbell so here we can see on the
timeline that Mary left and then John
rang the doorbell so we used the past
perfect to talk about an action here
Mary leaving which happened before
another action in the past here John
ringing the doorbell here is another
example when mrs. Brown opened the
washing machine she realized she had
washed the cat Oh No
so looking at the timeline which action
came first she washed the cat and then
she opened the door so we used the past
perfect for had washed as it comes
before the opening of the door so let's
move on to the past perfect continuous
so we use the past perfect continuous to
talk about a longer event which took
place before another action in the past
so here we have I had been living in
Oxford for two years so that's over a
period of time before I bought a flat so
this is a continuous tense and therefore
happens over a period of time before
another event at the past so I had been
living for two years
on the timeline we can see you were
living in Oxford you had been living in
Oxford before you bought the flat the
form here is the subject plus had been
plus the ink form of the verb okay now
we're going to turn to the future tense
in English in English there are four
different ways to talk about the future
so it's often unlike your own language
and that's why it's good to know when to
use which the first future we are going
to look at is the will future and this
is used for making decisions at the time
of speaking so when you spontaneously
make a decision for instance I think
I'll make curry for dinner tonight you
haven't planned this you just
spontaneously decide it so notice in
spoken English the will is very often
contracted to aisle heel wheel etc the
farmers will blast the bare infinitive
that is the verb without to the well
future is also used for predictions
based on your opinion and so is usually
used with phrases like I think or
something similar so here we've got an
example I think you'll take the job it
seems to be just what he's looking for
this is a prediction based on your
opinion the well future is also used for
facts in the future so for instance
Alice will be 5 next month this is a
fact so we use we'll finally the will
future is also used for threats and
promises so I'll send you the
information tomorrow this is a promise
so we use the will future another way to
talk about the future in English is with
going to and this is used for decisions
made before speaking
so plans or intentions so I'm going to
visit Scotland this year I just need to
work out when this is your plan or
intention something you decided before
you speak
so you use going to perform is going to
plus the bare infinitive the going to
future is also used for predictions
based on some kind of evidence so look
at those black trousers I think it's
going to rain this is a prediction
because you can see the black clouds so
you have some evidence so you use going
to the third future we're going to look
at is the future with the present
continuous this is sometimes called the
diary future as it's used for
arrangements appointments things that we
could write in our diary and can only be
changed by informing others so someone
else is involved so for instance I'm
meeting Jackie next Tuesday here we have
I am or she's been contracted to I'm
meeting Jackie next Tuesday you have
arranged this with Jackie it's in the
diary and if you wanted to change it you
would have to contact jetting Jackie so
that's the diary future the final way to
talk about the future in English is with
the present simple tense and this is
used for schedules and timetables
set often by companies or organizations
so maybe transport companies or schools
for instance the plane leaves at 7:00
a.m. this is a schedule so we use the
present simple now looking at the future
perfect simple this is used when
something will be finished by a
particular time in the future so for
instance I will have finished the work
by next Friday if we look at the
timeline you can see next Friday is in
the future and you will finish the work
before that time the cross is sometime
before next Friday next Friday is the
latest time when you will finish the
work the fall is will have plus the past
participle often the future simple is
used with either by
or in and this means not later than the
time so here's another example of the
future perfect simple this time using in
so I'll have finished in an hour and
then you can use the computer looking at
a timeline now it's one o'clock and in
an hour it's two o'clock here you're
saying at two o'clock latest you will
have finished this is the latest time
that your finish you might finish before
- and this is possible - so now looking
at the future progressive this is used
for something that will be in progress
at around a time in the future so this
time tomorrow will be sitting on the
beach I can't wait so here on the
timeline you can see that we will be
sitting on the beach in the future here
we are imagining a time in the future
well we'll be doing something over a
period of time
remember it's the continuous form so
it's over a period of time the form is
will be plussing the in form of the verb
the future continuous can also be used
to talk about something we assume is
happening at the moment in the present
so don't phone grandpa he'll be sleeping
here we use the future continuous for
something we assume is happening now so
finally we're going to look at the
future perfect continuous we use this
tense when we're thinking of ourselves
at a time in the future we're looking
back from that time to a duration of an
activity so the activity will have begun
sometime in either the past present or
in the future and is expected to
continue into the future so here the
example we have is in September I have
been working at my company for three
years we are thinking ahead to September
a future time and it's in September
we're looking back to the G over the
duration and you say I will have been
working in the camp
for three years so on the timeline you
started in the past it could be the
present or the future and you're looking
back at the duration of your work so
remember a continuous tense looks over a
period of time the form is will have
been plus the ink form of the verb so
that's it for today
you've just revised all the English
tenses check out more videos here and a
playlist of all those tenses in more
detail don't forget to subscribe to my
channel by clicking the link down below
remember to like and share this video
with people learning English friends and
colleagues then thank you for it and
I'll see you very soon so bye for now
thanks for watching