The present tenses in English are used: to talk about the present to talk about the future to talk

alk about the past when we are telling a story in spoken English or when we are summarising a book, film, play etc. There are four present tense forms in English:

Present simple:
Present continuous: Present perfect: Present perfect continuous: We use these forms:

I work
I am working I have worked I have been working

to talk about the present: He works at McDonalds. He has worked there for three months now. He is working at McDonalds. He has been working there for three months now. London is the capital of Britain. to talk about the future: The next train leaves this evening at 1700 hours. Ill phone you when I get home. Hes meeting Peter in town this afternoon. Ill come home as soon as I have finished work. You will be tired out after you have been working all night. We can use the present tenses to talk about the past...

1. We use the present simple:

to talk about something happening regularly in the present: The children come home from school at about four. We often see your brother at work. to talk about something happening continually in the present: They live next door to us. He works for the Post Office. to talk about things which are generally true: Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. The Nile is the longest river in Africa.

2. We use the present continuous:

to show that something in the present is temporary: We are living in a rented flat at present. My wife usually goes in to the office, but she is working at home today. for something happening regularly in the present before and after a given time:

Im usually getting ready for work at eight oclock. When I see George hes always reading his newspaper. for something happening before and after the moment of speaking: I cant hear you. Im listening to my iPod. Be quiet. The children are sleeping.

3. We use modal verbs

to talk about the present when we are not sure of something: I dont know where Henry is. He might be playing tennis. W hos knocking at the door? I dont know. It could be the police.

The past tense in English is used: to talk about the past to talk about hypotheses things that are imagined rather than true. for politeness There are four past tense forms in English:

Past simple:
Past continuous: Past perfect: Past perfect continuous: We use these forms:

I worked
I was working I had worked I had been working

to talk about the past: He worked at McDonalds. He had worked there since July.. He was working at McDonalds. He had been working since July. to refer to the present or future in conditions: He could get a new job if he really tried. If Jack was playing they would probably win. and hypotheses: It might be dangerous. Suppose they got lost. I would always help someone who really needed help. and wishes: I wish it wasnt so cold. In conditions, hypotheses and wishes, if we want to talk about the past, we always use the past perfect: I would have helped him if he had asked. It was very dangerous, What if you had got lost? I wish I hadnt spent so much money last month.

We can use the past forms to talk about the present in a few polite expressions: Excuse me, I was wondering if this was the train for York. I just hoped you would be able to help me.

We use the past simple: when we are talking about an event that happened at a particular time in the past We arrived home before dark The film started at seven thirty. when we are talking about something that continued for some time in the past Everybody worked hard through the winter. We stayed with our friends in London. When we are talking about something that happened several times in the past we use the past simple: Most evenings we stayed at home and watched DVDs. Sometimes they went out for a meal. or used to Most evenings we used to stay at home and watch DVDs. We used to go for a swim every morning. ... or would Most evenings he would take the dog for a walk. They would often visit friends in Europe. WARNING: We do not normally use would with stative verbs. We use the past continuous: when we are talking about something which happened before and after a given time in the past It was just after ten. I was watching the news on TV. At half-time we were losing 1-0. when we are talking about something happening before and after another action in the past: He broke his leg when he was playing rugby. She saw Jim as he was driving away.

2 The past in the past

When we are looking back from a point in the past to something earlier in the past we use the past perfect: Helen suddenly remembered she had left her keys in the car. When we had done all our shopping we caught the bus home. They wanted to buy a new computer, but they hadnt saved enough money. They

would have bought a new computer if they had saved enough money.

3 The past and the present:

We use the present perfect: when we are talking about the effects in the present of something that happened in the past: I cant open the door. Ive left my keys in the car. Jenny has found a new job. She works in a supermarket now. When we are talking about something that started in the past and still goes on: We have lived here since 2007. (and we still live here) I have been working at the university for over ten years.

4 The future in the past

When we talk about the future from a time in the past we use: would as the past tense of will He thought he would buy one the next day. Everyone was excited. The party would be fun. was/were going to John was going to drive and Mary was going to follow on her bicycle. It was Friday. We were going to set off the next day. the past continuous: It was September. Mary was starting school the next week. We were very busy. The shop was opening in two weeks time.