Tense System Deep Dive

Form: Subject + base verb (+ s/es for 3rd person singular)

When to use:

• Habits and routines: "I drink coffee every morning."
• Permanent situations: "She lives in Tokyo."
• General truths: "Water boils at 100°C."
• Scheduled future events: "The train leaves at 9 AM."

Examples:

• I work from home. (habit)
• The sun rises in the east. (general truth)
• He plays guitar every day. (routine)

Form: Subject + am/is/are + verb-ing

When to use:

• Actions happening now: "I am writing an email."
• Temporary situations: "He is staying with friends this week."
• Future arrangements: "We are meeting tomorrow."
• Changing situations: "The weather is getting colder."

Examples:

• She is studying for her exam right now.
• They are building a new house this year.
• I am learning Spanish these days.

Form: Subject + have/has + past participle

When to use:

• Past actions with present relevance: "I have finished my work."
• Life experiences: "She has visited 20 countries."
• Actions that started in the past and continue: "We have lived here for 5 years."
• Recent actions: "He has just left."

Examples:

• I have seen that movie before.
• They have worked together since 2010.
• She has just arrived at the airport.

Form: Subject + have/has + been + verb-ing

When to use:

• Actions that started in the past and are still continuing: "I have been working here for 3 years."
• Recently finished actions with present evidence: "You look tired. Have you been running?"
• Emphasis on duration: "She has been studying all day."

Examples:

• I have been reading this book for a week.
• They have been waiting for an hour.
• It has been raining since morning.

Form: Subject + past form of verb

When to use:

• Completed actions in the past: "I visited Paris last year."
• Series of past actions: "He woke up, had breakfast, and left."
• Past habits: "I played tennis when I was young."

Examples:

• She graduated in 2020.
• They bought a new car yesterday.
• I worked at Google for 5 years.

Form: Subject + was/were + verb-ing

When to use:

• Actions in progress at a specific past time: "I was studying at 8 PM last night."
• Interrupted actions: "I was cooking when the phone rang."
• Parallel actions: "While she was reading, he was playing."

Examples:

• They were watching TV when I arrived.
• She was working on her project all afternoon.
• We were living in London in 2015.

Form: Subject + had + past participle

When to use:

• Action completed before another past action: "I had finished dinner when they arrived."
• Past experience before a past time: "She had never seen snow before she moved to Canada."

Examples:

• I had studied English before I moved to the US.
• They had already left when we got there.
• She had worked there for 10 years before she quit.

Form: Subject + had + been + verb-ing

When to use:

• Duration of an action before another past action: "I had been working for 2 hours when the power went out."
• Cause of a past situation: "The road was wet because it had been raining."

Examples:

• She had been studying for 3 hours before the exam started.
• They had been waiting for 30 minutes when the bus finally came.
• I was tired because I had been running.

Form: Subject + will + base verb

When to use:

• Predictions: "It will rain tomorrow."
• Spontaneous decisions: "I'll help you with that."
• Promises: "I will call you later."
• Future facts: "She will be 30 next year."

Examples:

• I will visit my parents next weekend.
• They will finish the project by Friday.
• She will become a doctor.

Form: Subject + will + be + verb-ing

When to use:

• Actions in progress at a future time: "I will be working at 3 PM tomorrow."
• Polite inquiries: "Will you be using the car tonight?"

Examples:

• This time next week, I will be lying on the beach.
• They will be traveling to Europe in June.
• She will be studying medicine at Harvard.

Form: Subject + will + have + past participle

When to use:

• Actions that will be completed before a future time: "I will have finished by 5 PM."
• Predictions about the past: "They will have arrived by now."

Examples:

• By next year, I will have graduated.
• She will have completed 10 years at the company by December.
• They will have finished dinner by the time we arrive.

Form: Subject + will + have + been + verb-ing

When to use:

• Duration of an action up to a future time: "By 2025, I will have been working here for 10 years."

Examples:

• By June, I will have been studying English for 5 years.
• She will have been teaching for 20 years by the time she retires.
• They will have been living in Paris for a decade next year.

Present Perfect: Focus on completion

• I have read three books this month. (Completed action)

Present Perfect Continuous: Focus on duration/activity

• I have been reading for 2 hours. (Duration emphasized)

Exercise 1: Choose the Correct Tense

1. I __________ (work) here since 2015. (Present Perfect)
2. She __________ (study) when I called her. (Past Continuous)
3. By next year, they __________ (complete) the project. (Future Perfect)
4. He __________ (play) tennis every Sunday. (Present Simple)
5. We __________ (wait) for an hour before the bus came. (Past Perfect Continuous)

Exercise 2: Transformation Practice

Change these sentences to the tense indicated:

1. I eat breakfast at 7 AM. → (Present Continuous)
2. She has finished her homework. → (Past Simple)
3. They will travel to Japan. → (Future Continuous)
4. We were watching TV. → (Past Perfect Continuous)
5. He plays football. → (Present Perfect)

Exercise 3: Error Correction

Find and correct the tense errors:

1. I am knowing him for 5 years. ❌
2. She has visited Paris last year. ❌
3. They are working here since 2010. ❌
4. I will finished by tomorrow. ❌
5. He was studied when I called. ❌