How to learn English tenses

English is a fairly easy language to learn on your own. However, there is an aspect of its grammar that terrifies speakers of Slavic languages. These are the tenses. However, this fear is exaggerated - anyone can figure it out if they spend a little time studying. All you need is the desire to understand and a good textbook. The former is up to you, and we can help with the latter. In this article, we'll tell you how to choose the best textbook for learning the tenses.

Why do you need to understand the tenses?

The Ukrainian language does not have such an extensive system of tenses, so many learners find this topic difficult. However, linguists say that the situation is actually quite the opposite. English has a clear structure, and each tense has a defined range of uses. The rules for using it are also regulated. There's no need to talk about structure: it can be expressed by a specific formula that never changes for a given tense. It is easy to remember.

The Ukrainian situation is much less certain. There are tenses, too, but they are not distinguished into a separate grammatical category and are used by native speakers mostly intuitively. Think about the difference between the words walked, went, and came. From the point of view of grammar, they all belong to the past tense. But they have completely different shades of meaning.

And here we come to the answer to the main question. You need to know the tenses in order to accurately understand the shade of meaning that the speaker puts into his or her statement. Small auxiliary verbs can carry more information than semantic verbs. They tell us whether the action was a one-time event, repeated regularly, lasted for a certain period of time, or whether the speaker wants to emphasize that it has already ended.

You've probably already realized that you can't do without learning the tense system. And to understand the order in which to learn English tenses, you need a good textbook. The authors have already developed the optimal order. So it's time to talk about how to choose it.

Assess your level

Obviously, you can't do without this step. This is the only way to choose a book that matches your current level of knowledge. Only beginners do not have difficulties. They are the only ones who can accurately identify their level of proficiency. Even after a few months of studying, it can be difficult to determine your progress.

When it comes to grammar, tests can help. They are ideal for assessing your knowledge and don't take much time. You can take them online or go to an English school near you. A few tasks will be enough for an experienced teacher to understand your level. If you opt for free tests, be sure to take several to determine your average score. Looking at the results, you will be able to understand the big picture. After that, feel free to choose textbooks for your level.

Which books are suitable for beginners

So, you want to learn the English tenses quickly. How do you know which book is right for you? A person who has just started learning English may want to use a grammar book right away. However, this is not the best solution. A comprehensive textbook is better. There are several reasons for this. First, it presents the topics sequentially. To start storming through the tenses, you must first learn the auxiliary verbs.

The second reason is the lack of vocabulary. It will be very difficult for you to understand the examples and nuances of using the tenses if you have to look up every word in the dictionary.

If you have a certain amount of knowledge, you can supplement your textbook lessons with a specialized grammar book. This is useful for practicing complex topics, which undoubtedly include tenses. Pay attention to such proven books as MyGrammarLab, Grammar Practice, Grammar in Focus, etc. Thanks to the simple and logical presentation of the material, these books will help you understand how to deal with the tenses in English.

However, don't forget that English consists of more than just grammar. You need to develop other aspects at the same time. This is the only way you can reach a high level. Also, don't go to the other extreme and think that you don't need to learn the tenses at all.

Use reading to its fullest potential

To master the tenses, you will need more than just written exercises and tests. It is best to observe their use in real speech. At the initial stages, listening comprehension is very limited, so books will help you. You can easily see different forms of the verb in the text.

To ensure that your learning is not in vain, analyze why a particular form is used every time. What did the author want to say? Why, for example, did he use the perfect form rather than the simple one? Very quickly, you will develop the skill of using the tenses correctly, and you will easily incorporate them into your oral speech.

Of course, before starting such lessons, you should familiarize yourself with the differences in the use of tenses in written language. Remember that spoken language tends to be simplified. Therefore, the excessive use of cumbersome constructions in it will make your speech unnatural.

Usually, in adapted literature, the grammar is up to par, so you won't encounter unfamiliar constructions. If you do, they are usually explained or translated. Use this opportunity to familiarize yourself with the new tense in advance. You don't need to learn them right away, just analyze them carefully.

What are the tenses and how do they differ?

What tenses are there in English? They can be divided into simple and complex. Don't let these names mislead you, they in no way reflect difficulty in learning. In fact, it's all about structure. Simple tenses do not use auxiliary verbs to form affirmative forms. Complicated tenses have a compound structure. Let's take a closer look at them.

Simple

If we talk about the order of learning the tenses, this group will be the first. The simple is usually used to describe facts (I live in Shanghai, I used to live in Cambridge, The birds will be back next summer), habits (When I was young I played football twice a week, I go to the gym every Monday) and to demonstrate spontaneity or some change in the situation (I'll come too! I now pronounce you husband and wife).

Perfect

The perfect is usually used to relate events that happened at one time to another time (“When I returned to Shanghai, my friends had already left”: to relate one past event to another past event, “I have visited many countries in Asia”: to relate past events to the present to talk about an experience, “I will have left Shanghai by October”: to show that a future action will be completed by a certain time in the future).

Continuous (or Progressive)

Continuous can be used to indicate temporality (if you hear “I've been living in Dublin for a year”, you can expect the next sentence to be “But I'm moving to Cork soon”, if you hear “I am living in Dublin”, you can expect to hear “And I just renewed the lease on my house”), events or actions that are in progress/not completed (“He's been fixing it all morning”, “We are enjoying our vacation”). The Continuous is also often used to refer to actions (“I was running recently” rather than “I ran recently”).

Perfect Continuous

The tenses of the Perfect Continuous group (you may also see the name Perfect Progressive) are used to describe ongoing or continuous actions, states that began in the past and continue until a certain point in time. They emphasize the duration or continuity of an action or state. These tenses are especially useful for discussing ongoing actions, durations, or states that are related to a specific time frame.

After the first introduction to tenses, students may wonder how to identify tenses in English. First, you can use markers to help you. These are special indicators of time that seem to wave a signal flag, giving a hint. For example, if you see the words ago, last month, or the exact year, then you are clearly in the Simple tense. The words now, at the moment clearly hint at the Continuous tense. And already, just, and yet are faithful companions of the Perfect tense. Now you can tell the difference between the tenses in English. How easy is it to memorize these markers? With regular repetition and practice.

Present, past and future tense

These are the categories we are already familiar with. Their usage is not much different from that of the Russian language:

1. The past tense refers to actions or events that have already taken place. It is used to describe events that happened in the past, providing a sense of time and chronology. For example, “She walked in the park yesterday”.
2. The present tense describes actions or events that are happening at the current moment. It represents the present tense and is often used for general statements, habits, or ongoing actions. For example, “He plays the piano every evening”.
3. The Future tense, as the name implies, is used to express actions or events that will happen in the future. It allows us to discuss plans, forecasts, or expected results. For example, “They will go to Europe next month”.

There are certain nuances. These include the use of the present tense to describe future events that occur on schedule. For example, The train leaves at six tomorrow morning. However, due to the similarity with the Russian language, these aspects usually do not cause difficulties.

Specifics of the Continuous tenses

The tenses of this group are used to describe actions that last for some time. The emphasis is on duration. Very often, they use another event rather than time to indicate a time marker. Such constructions indicate that one-time event A happened while event B was going on: The phone rang when I was studying.

The key here is the aspect of incompleteness. That is, at the moment to which the statement refers, the action has already begun but has not yet ended. At higher levels of English, you can find an interesting use of the Present Continuous. This tense often shows extreme irritation or indignation. Imagine a situation where a wife asks her husband not to smoke in the kitchen, but he keeps doing it. Finally, she can't take it anymore and shouts: “You are always smoking in the kitchen!” Although, if you have imagination, you can see the aspect of incompleteness here as well.

Peculiarities of using the tenses of the Perfect group

While the main feature of the previous group was the duration of the action, here the focus is on the result. Unlike the simple tenses, the perfect tenses in English speak of actions that have already been done or completed at the time we speak of them. They show the connection between actions in the present and actions in the past.

The perfect tenses in English are Present Perfect, Past Perfect, and Future Perfect. They are formed using the construction “has/have/had/will have + Past Participle”. We can say that a time is in the present, past or future perfect tense depending on the time of completion.

The perfect tenses in English are among the most difficult and confusing to use. This is one of the reasons why some students avoid this tense, especially the Future Perfect. Usually, this tense is not used at the beginning levels, and students are introduced to it closer to B1.

For Russian-speaking learners, this tense is difficult because of its similarity to the simple. The main difficulties arise when they need to distinguish between the Past Simple and the Present Perfect. Other learners sincerely do not understand why the present tense is translated as the past. As we have already mentioned, the result is important here. If it is in the present tense, then it is Present, even if the action itself ended in the past.

The cherry on top is the Perfect Continuous tense. They are used for actions that

• lasted for a certain period of time in the past;
• ongoing actions from the past that continue in the present;
• ongoing actions that will continue in the future.

It sounds complicated, but it simply combines the characteristics of the two previous groups. That is, both the duration of the action and its result are important to us.