English Tenses
There are 12 tenses in the English language (14 if you include "going to" and "used to"). This is not as stressful as many students might think, however, there are many ways us English teachers like to present these tenses.
Very often we start with the Present Simple (or Simple Present) to describe a "habitual" action or an everyday thing like "I work in a shop" or "She drinks tea".
Then we move onto Present Continuous (or Present Progressive) and start talking about things that you are doing now "at the moment" for example "I am writing this blog and you are reading it".
Once this has been mastered by students the next step is the Past Simple (or Simple Past) - only this time we talk about habitual actions in the past - "When I lived in Spain I spoke Spanish".
This is then thrown into the mix with the Past Progressive (or Past Continuous) as an interruption - "I was drinking a cup of tea when the phone rang". At this point a large proportion of students are looking longingly at the door and praying for the next break but no such luck because we have the Present Perfect ready and waiting to ambush them. And so it goes on as we labour through the Present Perfect Progressive (or Continuous) not forgetting Future Simple (or Simple Future or Future I or whatever it is called this week).
There is, of course, some merit to this procedure - it can work for new English students who need to take it one step at a time. For more advanced students lets say B2 and above it often pays dividends to group the tenses. Now here the tendancy is to put all the presents, pasts and futures together but this creates problems. Is the Present Perfect a past tense or a present tense?
Both can be argued.
So rather than deal with times i.e. past present or future, let's deal with titles and group the 12 tenses with their namesakes. Let's keep the Simples together and the Progressives, the Perfects and the Perfect Progressives and compare each of them like that. After all, the Present Simple and the Past Simple have many traits in common - it is just the time that changes and everyone can tell the difference between past and present, can't they?
Very often we start with the Present Simple (or Simple Present) to describe a "habitual" action or an everyday thing like "I work in a shop" or "She drinks tea".
Then we move onto Present Continuous (or Present Progressive) and start talking about things that you are doing now "at the moment" for example "I am writing this blog and you are reading it".
Once this has been mastered by students the next step is the Past Simple (or Simple Past) - only this time we talk about habitual actions in the past - "When I lived in Spain I spoke Spanish".
This is then thrown into the mix with the Past Progressive (or Past Continuous) as an interruption - "I was drinking a cup of tea when the phone rang". At this point a large proportion of students are looking longingly at the door and praying for the next break but no such luck because we have the Present Perfect ready and waiting to ambush them. And so it goes on as we labour through the Present Perfect Progressive (or Continuous) not forgetting Future Simple (or Simple Future or Future I or whatever it is called this week).
There is, of course, some merit to this procedure - it can work for new English students who need to take it one step at a time. For more advanced students lets say B2 and above it often pays dividends to group the tenses. Now here the tendancy is to put all the presents, pasts and futures together but this creates problems. Is the Present Perfect a past tense or a present tense?
Both can be argued.
So rather than deal with times i.e. past present or future, let's deal with titles and group the 12 tenses with their namesakes. Let's keep the Simples together and the Progressives, the Perfects and the Perfect Progressives and compare each of them like that. After all, the Present Simple and the Past Simple have many traits in common - it is just the time that changes and everyone can tell the difference between past and present, can't they?
Labels: english tenses, esl, grammar, present perfect, present progressive, present simple