Down with the signs! How to learn English Times
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Tenses in English are traditionally considered one of the most difficult topics in learning. They are strongly associated with memorizing long obscure tables and remembering non-obvious rules. In fact, everything is not so. We tell you how to quickly master tenses and their aspects in order to start speaking English without stumbling.
First things first
First, in English three times: past, present and future (some linguists even reduce their number to two, not recognizing the right of the future to be considered a separate tense). But each time has four aspects, which is why there is a misconception about the "twelve times."Secondly, of the twelve aspect-temporal forms, the most frequently used (about 80%) are only five– Present Simple, Present Continuous, past simple, Present Perfect and Future Simple. At first, it is enough to remember only them, the rest will finish their studies as needed (and practice).
Thirdly, when studying these aspect-temporal forms, it is important not to memorize the tablets, but understand the logic their education, to learn in English to perceive the position of events in time.
We learn aspects
So, for each of the three tenses in English, there are four aspects. Let's deal with them.Simple is used in the case when no additional clarifying time factors are required: you just need to report some event without going into details. Also use it whenever we are talking about something permanent, and you can stick words into a sentence usually, often, never, always, sometimes, every (hour, Monday, winter, week, year). If you say She speaks 3 foreign languages , you mean her permanent characteristic, and not that she speaks all three right now.
Continuous recognized by the auxiliary verb to be and the end -ing and is used when an action is "in progress" at the time in question. It emphasizes that we are talking about something that has already begun, but has not yet been completed (has not been / will not be completed). I'm eating bread means I'm sitting with my mouth full right now; when she called I was eating bread shows why it was problematic for me to answer at the time of the call. Please note that Continuous in English focuses more on the incompleteness of the process than the imperfect verbs of the Russian language: the neutral sentence "I studied at the university", becoming I was studying at University, will tell the interlocutor that you have not finished it.
Perfect contains an auxiliary verb to have and implies the completion of the action - did, played, earned, ate, caught up. If you can insert something like “already”, “just now” or “finally” into a sentence, use Perfect. Our son has learned how to read- Our son could not read before, he studied, achieved results and now he can.
Perfect Continuous(here is also to have, and to be With -ing) raises the most questions among Russian-speaking students. This aspect describes events that have happened, are happening, or are about to happen during a particular period of time. What is the difference between Perfect Continuous and just Continuous? Continuous is used when it is important that the event occurs at the moment described, but when it started does not matter. Perfect Continuous - when this period of time needs to be emphasized: "at the moment in question, this is already happening so much." I was studying at University when I met my wife- Continuous, because I say at what point I met my wife, and the main thing is, and not the term of study. I have been studying at University for five years- Perfect Continuous: here the emphasis is on the period of study. Please note that we are talking about training that has not yet ended or has just ended; if your diploma has been on the shelf for a year, use the Simple aspect ( I studied at University for five years), since it is a fait accompli.
Five main tenses
present simple is used when we are talking about a regular, constant, typical action that is not tied to the moment of speech:I live in Paris - I live in Paris (I live in Paris "always, constantly".)
Present Continuous shows that the action is happening right now, at the moment of speech / writing (in Russian, verbs of motion have a similar form - I fly, I go, etc.):
The doctor is performing an operation now - The doctor is now performing an operation (he does this at the time of the speech of the one who reports).
The winter is coming - winter is approaching not in predictions, but right now, something must be done urgently, panic!
Present Perfect used when an action has completed (there is a result) but the time has not ended, or when that action has consequences in the present tense:
I have seen him today - I saw him today. (the action has already ended, but “today” has not yet ended; earlier in Russian, the word “just now” was used for “today in the past tense”).
Be careful – I have washed the floor. “Careful: I washed the floor, and it is – right now – slippery.
Our son has learned how to read - the son has learned and now knows how to read.
We have known each other since school - literally translated as "we got to know each other at school and have known each other since."
past simple is used to express an action that happened at a certain time in the past, while this time has already ended or does not matter:
I saw him yesterday. – I saw him yesterday (this day is already over).
Leo Tolstoy learned to read at the age of five - the great writer hardly reads now, and it doesn't matter.
Future Simple is becoming rarer, and some of our methodologists believe that it does not belong in the list of the five most demanded times. Now it should be used to indicate a decision made at the moment of speech, or an expected event that has just become known:
We will take a taxi. – Let's go by taxi (showing a decision to do something in the future, made now).
The phone rang: I'll take it.
You are playing volleyball, the ball is flying: I'll get it!
You have finished talking on the phone and inform those present: He'll be there.
Where did shall go?
with shape shall In the future, something interesting happened. If earlier it was used for the first person singular and plural (I, we) in all meanings of the Future Simple, now you rarely see it anywhere. Will completely replaced it, making life easier for language learners.
However, there is a special meaning in which only shall when you offer to help someone. And it must be a question, and always in the first person.
Shall I close the window? You look cold. - Shall I close the window? It looks like you are cold.
A couple of life hacks
- While the situation with the Future Simple settles down, and you still do not feel very confident in English, just use the construction with be going to for the future tense. If earlier it meant a certain plan that has already been developed, but has not yet begun to be implemented ( My car is too old, I'm going to buy a new one), but now it is admissible almost always ( The solar eclipse is going to happen next August).
- If you know all the aspects, but can't figure out which one to use in a particular case, Simple is your choice. All other aspects apply when it is important to emphasize the time factor; if you are asking a similar question, then this factor does not matter.
What's next?
The five aspect-temporal forms presented above are enough to start communicating. But for a complete English speech, of course, need to know and all the rest. Actually, you yourself will feel the need for them when you master our “basic five”. What to do?If you need to learn all tenses right now (for example, an exam is coming) - there is nothing better than individual lessons aimed specifically at learning tenses. Gather your strength and move on.
If you just want to know well English language- practice! Chat, read, watch movies without translation. If you have learned the five basic forms and understand the logic of building tenses, all other forms will not be difficult. You yourself will not notice how you start using them - without even knowing how they are correctly named in the textbook. The main thing is to learn to think in English, to intuitively feel English time.
The most global problem which absolutely all people who study a language face is a misunderstanding of English tenses.
Having disassembled one time, it seems that everything is clear and simple. But as soon as you start the next one, “porridge” appears in your head. And there are as many as 12 tenses in the English language. And the more you learn, the more all your knowledge gets mixed up in your head, after which it is forgotten. Why is this happening? How easy is it to remember tenses in English?
In this article, you will learn what mistakes people can't learn English tenses in any way, and how to put them on the shelves in your head.
How to learn tenses in English?
So what are the most common mistakes people make?
Mistake #1: Taking all the time at once
Remember the tablet in school textbooks that contained all 12 tenses at once? She had short description each time and scheme of education. When looking at her, her eyes widened, and it was not clear at what time to start. The teachers tried to make out as much as possible in the lesson. As a result, many could not use any of them.
Some people want to learn a language quickly. Because of this, they do not begin to deal with each time separately, but take several at once. For example, all tenses of the Simple group are taught at once: Present Simple (Present Simple), Past Simple (Past Simple), Future Simple (Future Simple).
As a result, it turns out that all these times are mixed in the head. And so in conversation English man most often uses either one tense - the present, or he tries to use everything, but constantly makes mistakes.
Bonus: Do you have "porridge" from English times in your head? Find out in Moscow how easy it is understand the times.
Recommendation: You need to start learning tenses from simple to complex. You don't have to jump right into difficult times. For example, if you start studying Present Perfect right away, you won’t understand this time for sure.
You need to start from the very basics. It is best to deal with the verb to be and auxiliary verbs before studying tenses, as they will help you better understand further information. Then, starting with tenses, start with the easiest, for example, c Present Simple.
You should not take several times at once. It is better to work with high quality, understand and learn how to use one time than to briefly go over three and not remember anything.
Parsing each time:
- Look at the situations in which we use this time.
- See how time is formed.
- Find out which words are often used with this tense and can help you quickly identify it.
- Learn how to compose negative sentences, that is, when you want to say: "I do not ...".
- Learn how to ask questions at this time.
All this information will let you know when to use time and how to build all kinds of sentences with it.
Mistake #2: Cramming the rules instead of trying to understand them
Many people believe that the only way to learn something is by rote learning. After all, this is how we studied at school and university. But what will give you the fact that you can retell all the uses of Present Simple tense?
In addition, memorized information does not remain in our head for a long time. That is why we sat down to prepare for the exam 3 days before it, so as not to have time to forget everything that we learned.
For example, when considering cases use Present Simple, just understand in what situations you can use time.
Let's take the first use of this tense: we use it when we talk about activities that we do regularly. Think about what you do regularly? Coming to work for car, take your child to kindergarten, study English or go to the gym? It is in all these situations that you need to use the Present Simple.
You may not remember how verbatim the rule sounds. The main thing is that you understand when you need to use this time..
Mistake #3: Not understanding the difference between tenses
Sometimes a person knows all the uses of tenses, but cannot understand the difference between them. Therefore, he has no understanding of when to use what time.
This is due to the fact that in English tenses are divided into simple, long and complete. There is no such division in Russian. Therefore, such a logic of division of times seems to us incomprehensible.
Take the sentence: "I read a book." Depending on what exactly you want to say, you can use two tenses: Past Simple and Past Continuous.
You must clearly understand their difference in order to convey your thoughts to the interlocutor. If you say this as an ordinary fact: yesterday I cleaned, watched TV shows, walked, read a book, then we use the Past Simple tense.
If you want to show the duration of this action: yesterday I was reading a book all day and did not have time to clean up, then you need Past Continuous time.
Be clear about situations in which you can use one tense and which you can use another, and how they differ from each other. This will allow you to express your thoughts correctly. And you definitely will not get into a situation where you wanted to convey one meaning to the interlocutor, but he understood it differently.
Mistake #4: Not practicing past tenses in conversation
Some people thoroughly understand the theory and understand everything perfectly. But they can’t make a sentence when talking at the right time.
Imagine that you want to learn how to fly an airplane. You have read all the tutorials, you know what to press and how. Can you say that you know how to fly an airplane? Of course not.
Also with English. You won't be able to use tenses that you know in conversation unless you practice them.
You have to practice every little piece of theory by making your own sentences. How to do it with 3 easy steps, read this article.
Mistake No. 5: Compose sentences "in Russian"
Often people try to literally translate a thought from Russian into English. But each language has its own characteristics.
For example, in Russian, we can rearrange the words in a sentence as we like, and this will not be a mistake. In English, however, there is a strict word order that we must adhere to. We cannot rearrange words or put an auxiliary verb at the end of a sentence, because that would be wrong.
Recommendation: Learn to think in English instead of translating sentences in your mind from Russian. This will allow you to express your thoughts correctly, beautifully and quickly. How to learn to think, you can see.
Mistake #6: Not making every piece perfect
All people want to speak English quickly and beautifully, like native speakers. But not everyone succeeds. Why? Having composed 3-5 sentences in the new time that passes, the person thinks that he has now mastered it. But this is not enough.
Imagine that you are learning to swim. After swimming 5 meters, you can say that you can swim. But to learn how to swim fast and for long distances, you need to keep practicing. Also with English.
Recommendation: Don't limit yourself to making a few sentences. Make up sentences until you feel that you can do it easily, without thinking at all where to put what. In the head, not a scheme for the formation of a sentence should arise, but the sentence itself is already in English.
Also make sure that you pronounce sentences with the same speed and intonation as you would say it in Russian. After all, we do not speak in life, pronouncing every word in a sentence. These exercises will allow you to speak English like your first language.
Now you know what mistakes prevent people from learning English tenses. Avoid them and you can sort out all 12 tenses in your head.
Write in the comments below what problems you encounter when learning English tenses?
Tenses are the basis of English grammar. There are as many as 12 forms of time, and if you take into account the active and passive voice, then all 26! Moreover, not every person can apply all forms correctly and use them when appropriate.
The very first present tense is fairly easy to master. It practically does not differ from Russian. But as soon as it comes to passive voices, interrogative sentences, the form of Perfect Continuous, which is extremely unusual for us, then a nightmarish confusion appears in the head.
But still, there are several ways to master these "recalcitrant" times and them once and for all.
In English schools for beginners, verbs are often taught at once, in three forms. That is, when passing through the Indefinite section, they immediately pass through its future, past and present form. To do this, you need to memorize simple verbs, auxiliary, and sometimes use irregular verbs. If we add here the passive voice, then the head will simply explode from such a mess.
Therefore, learn all tenses from simple to complex. First, understand the most commonly used verb "to be" and its forms. Then start slowly disassembling simple form verb or Simple, as well as its three tenses. It is worth noting that the Simple form is basic and all the rest are formed from it. For example:
I play - Present Simple
I am playing - Present Continuous
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I have played - Present Perfect
I have been playing - Present Perfect Continuous
You can see the pattern that in each variant the main words are "I" and "play". In simple present form, there is no need to use auxiliary verbs. Therefore, training should always begin with it.
You can memorize all the uses of Past Perfect Passive, but you still won't be able to use them in a conversation or a letter. After all, before you learn the rule, you need to understand it. Let's analyze each time using the examples that were shown above (I play).
The first option is simple indefinite time. That is, the action takes place in general now, but it does not have exact time limits: I play, I work, I love, etc.
Present Continuous talks about what we are doing at the moment: I am playing (now), I am working (at the moment), etc.
*See how convenient it is to use tenses in English. To apply the Continuous form in Russian, you should add "at the moment" or "now". In English, just add the verb am/are/is and the ending –ing.
The third form of Perfect means a completed action: I have played or finished playing, that is, I have already finished the game. In Russian it is quite difficult to use this form, so we just add "already" or the prefix "s-" (played, did, caught).
The Perfect Continuous form is the most difficult to understand. It means an action that has lasted and continues to last. Imagine walking up to a friend sweaty from the soccer field and saying, "I've been playing soccer all day!" (I have been playing football the whole day!). You played in the past tense, but the game is still going on and you need to return to the field.
These times in English for beginners are the basis. Then you can make out the past and future form, active / passive voice, participial phrases, etc. But all this is secondary and will definitely come to you if you understand the rules, and do not just memorize them.
In American English, the most commonly used form is simple (Simple) and continuous (Continuous). Therefore, try to use them in conversation as often as possible. Also a great option would be to make a foreign friend in social network to exchange thoughts with him, talk about the culture of his country, news, etc.
Please note that at first you will not be able to apply English for Beginners tenses. Offers will be given to you with high difficulty. But with each new phrase, it will become easier and easier for you. You will not even notice how you will scatter to the right and to the left past perfect Passive or Future Continuous Active.
Understand, repeat or learn tenses in English? Yes, you are joking! It's almost like a Chinese letter! In fact, no, and we know a few secrets on how to easily and quickly learn and remember English tenses (table attached).
It is the times that become the very main brake that prevents you from easily and simply learning this most beautiful and most popular language in the world. Sit back, because now we will tell you how to quickly and easily learn and remember verb tenses in English.
Method 1: how to quickly learn verb tenses in English
Students are confused from the very beginning, believing that there are 100500 tenses in English. In fact, English also has 3 tenses: present (Present), past (Past) and future (Future). Later, as soon as you master these basics, you will need to impose the rest of the knowledge on the existing foundation.
Now is the time to learn that all verbs denoting actions in English can be divided into ongoing and non-continuous (i.e. continuous and non-continuous).
How to distinguish between them: if an action occurs, has occurred or will occur within a certain period of time, then it is continuous (long or long). For example, Kolya was sleeping, Lena was doing her homework, Artem was reading a book.
If the sentence contains the following constructions, use Continuous - a long time:
- at the moment
- from 5 to 7,
- the whole day,
- when he came and so on.
It applies when it comes to about an unfinished process, action that was done, is being done or will be done in a specific period of time.
Group Times Indefinite or Simple are used to denote an action that occurs regularly, every day, and its exact moment is unknown. It is characterized by words-indicators: usually, twice, a week, on Sundays, often, sometimes, never, in summer, hardly, ever etc. These words state the fact that an action is taking place.
When talking about completed action, use Perfect if the sentence contains phrases:
- already,
- just,
- recently,
- lately, etc.
These indicator words testify about the presence of a result by a certain moment: something happened now or yesterday by 5 o'clock, or will be ready by tomorrow morning.
Now we define whether it is important for understanding the meaning by what point in time this action will be completed. Thanks to this, we will understand whether we use perfect tense or not (Perfect or non-Perfect). It's time to bring together all the signs of action we have identified. So we get a complete definition of the available time. For example, Past Continuous Perfect.
Perfect Continuous group times real life are practically not used. However, in order to pass the test and understand literary language Still, it doesn't hurt to study them. For example: In April I'll have been working on the book for 10 months. In Russian, it will sound something like this: in April it will be 10 months since I started work on the book.
Method 2: how to quickly learn English tenses (table)
There is another way if nothing happened with the previous one. There is nothing easier than learning the table of tenses in English.
This table shows all the signs of action. Comparing one sign with another, it will not be difficult for you to determine what time has appeared before you.
When learning tenses, you will need to learn forms auxiliary verbs and verbal words that serve in the formation of a particular tense. And be sure to learn the table with irregular verbs!
And if there is still not enough time to prepare for the English test or test, do not be shy - contact the student assistance service. Service specialists know everything about times, if not more, and they certainly know how to help you. And to broaden your horizons or just keep abreast of student life, subscribe to our telegram channel.
And here is a video on how to quickly and easily learn the time in English:
The main difficulty of the English language is a large number of tenses and the difficulty of memorizing them. Sometimes even the British themselves confuse this or that time and pronounce them incorrectly. But if you systematize all the information about them, then remembering them will be much easier. If you do, then having a good vocabulary you will be able to speak English fluently.
In order to be able to freely use tenses as tools of your speech, you need to logically understand what they are for, why there are so many of them. To do this, you need to know how to use them. That is, compare them with how we speak Russian. In fact, English is much simpler than Russian in terms of composition and content, and knowledge about it is much easier to systematize. Since in English there are not as many endings, suffixes and prefixes as in ours. They compensate for this with different verbs and their forms. As in Russian, there is a past, present and future. Only there is still a division into simple, completed and long, as well as completed long in each of the tenses. Simple - simple time is what is done in general, always, every day. As in Russian: I taught, I teach, I will teach.
Try to remember the times and understand the difference between them. Then your English will become brighter, richer, and it will become easier for you to understand people and speak it.
