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Tenses and Their Usage
English has 12 tenses formed from 3 time periods (Present, Past, Future) × 4 aspects (Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous). Simple Present = habits/facts/timetables. Present Continuous = happening now/fixed future plan. Present Perfect = recent action with present result (has/have + V3), never with 'yesterday'/'ago'. Past Perfect = earlier of two past actions (had + V3). Future Perfect = action completed before a future deadline (will have + V3). 'Since' pairs with a point in time, 'for' with a duration. Continuous tenses avoid stative verbs. Conditional sentences (Type 1, 2, 3) each follow a fixed if-clause/main-clause tense pattern.
Important topics
- Three time periods (Present, Past, Future), each with four aspects (Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous) — 12 tenses in total
- Simple Present used for habitual actions, universal truths, and fixed schedules/timetables
- Present Perfect used for recently completed actions with present relevance; never used with definite past markers like 'yesterday' or 'ago'
- Past Perfect used to show an action completed before another past action
- Future Perfect used for an action that will be completed by a specific future point
- 'Since' is used with a point of time; 'for' is used with a duration
- Continuous tenses are not normally used with stative verbs (know, believe, love, own, belong)
- Tense sequencing rules in the three types of conditional sentences