Hi.

Tenses. What is a tense?

A tense is the form of a verb. Let’s take the verb “walk”.

Tom is walking. ‘Is walking’ is a tense: a form or a formula. Two words: is + walking. It’s called the Present Continuous.

Tom walked through the park this morning. “Walked” – again, it’s another form of the verb ‘walk’. It’s called the Past Simple.

Tom had been walking in the park for 10 minutes when he met an old friend. “Had been walking” is another form (or formula). It consists of 3 words: had+been+walking. It’s called the Past perfect continuous.

So, what is a tense? A verb form.

The question is: when do we need to use and which form?

In other words: How do you know which tense you need in a sentence?

Well, first of all, you need to understand the concept of the ‘time-marker’.

The time-marker is a word, a phrase or a clause that sets the time of the sentence or context.

Let me show you a couple of sentences, and I want you to focus on and identify the time markers. Identify: tell me the time-marker in the sentence.

1) John flew to London yesterday morning. What is the time-marker? ‘Yesterday morning’. Correct.

2) I was driving towards Madrid when I saw an accident. What is the time-marker? ‘When I saw an accident.’ Great. This is a complete clause – like another sentence inside a sentence. A clause.

3) I have seen this film recently. What is the time-marker? ‘Recently’. Well done.

4) I will visit my dad on Monday. What is the time-marker? ‘On Monday.’ And so on.

The key idea of a sentence is not the tense but the time-markers. The time-markers manipulate the verb forms – the tenses.

Let’s take a look at a very simple example:

There is Tom, and there is his work. A lot of hard work. Let’s apply some time-markers.

THESE DAYS:
Tom works a lot these days.

NOW:
Tom is working too much now.

RECENTLY (in the last few days or weeks):
Tom has been working a lot recently.

YESTERDAY:
Tom worked a lot yesterday.

ALL DAY YESTERDAY:
Tom was working a lot all day yesterday.

TOMORROW:
Tom will work a lot tomorrow.

UNTIL MIDNIGHT TOMORROW:
Tom will be working hard until midnight tomorrow.

80 HOURS BY THE END OF THE WEEK:
Tom will have worked 80 yours by the end of the week.

Etc.

As you can see, the time idea (the time-marker) changes and affects the form of the verb. So, do NOT learn tenses, but understand the time-markers.

In order to do that, you have to understand the English time concept …

Here we go:

When you look at a time-marker, you will have to decide if it is

1) Past
2) Non-past i.e. present OR future
3) Past AND Non-past (past and the present moment in one idea)

Here are some examples, and I want you decide which of the 3 categories the time-marker falls into:

yesterday – past
at the moment – non-past (present)
tomorrow – non-past (future)
in 3 weeks – non-past (future)
since last Monday – past and non-past because the present moment is included in the time period
5 years ago – past
for 5 years – it can be past, past and non-past (the last 5 years until now) or non-past (future): for 5 years sometime in the future
for 5 years now – past and non-past
last week – past
this week – it can be past and non-past (from Monday until this present moment) or non-past (future time: the second half of the week, after this present moment)

Good.

You have learnt 2 things about a sentence so far:

1) the time marker manipulates the tense (the verb form), so the time marker is the key
2) time markers may refer to 3 different times: past, non-past and past and non-past. (Non-past can be defined as present or future.)

When you’ve identified the time marker and the time it refers to, there are 2 sets of dilemmas you have to think about.

1) Is there a continuous meaning – a ‘non-stop action’ meaning – in the verb?
2) Is there a perfect meaning – an earlier time/later time meaning – in the time marker?

Let’s look at the latter one – the second one.

Here are some time-markers, and I want you to decide whether or not you feel a perfect meaning, you know: an earlier time.

How do you know if there is a perfect meaning? The time-marker will show it. (I’ve put the verbs in the base form now so you can focus solely on the time-markers.)

1) (walk) yesterday
No perfect meaning. Yesterday is the exact day of the action.

2) (travel) for 8 hours when I fell asleep
There is a perfect meaning here: there was a travelling for 8 hours, and then I fell asleep. Earlier action, later action.

3) (greet my friends) tomorrow night
No perfect meaning here: tomorrow night is the exact time of the action.

4) (cook the pasta) before the guests come
There is a perfect meaning in ‘before’. I’ll cook the pasta, and then the guests will arrive. Earlier action, later action.

Now, let’s look at the other dilemma: is there a continuous meaning?

A non-stop, long action feeling? An inside-the-action feeling. Or, is the action communicated as a complete, finished, ready activity?

How do you know? Well, you have to look at the time-marker and the verb, and you’ll have a feeling about it. Let’s look at it through some examples:

1) (drink coffee) all day long yesterday
It’s definitely continuous. I was drinking coffee all day long yesterday.

2) (visit my dad) tomorrow
Is there a continuous meaning here or just that it will be done? Well, there is no continuous meaning here: I will visit my dad tomorrow.

3) (record a video) at the moment
It is continuous. I’m recording a video at the moment. I’m in the middle of the action.

4) (edit 5 videos) recently
Recently: in the last few days or weeks. Is it about one long, continuous action, or about 5 completed actions – 5 ready videos? 5 completed actions. The meaning is not continuous: I’ve edited 5 videos recently.

5) (edit videos) in the past 4 weeks
Do you feel it continuous? A job that I do all the time? (editing videos) in the past 4 weeks? Yes. There is a continuous feel. Editing and editing and editing in the last 4 weeks. I’ve been editing videos in the past 4 weeks.

Cool.

In the upcoming videos, we’re going to look at 120 sentences. You’ll have to:

1) find and identify the time-markers;
2) decide what time they refer to: past, non-past (present or future) or past and non-past (i.e. past and present in one idea);
3) decide if there is a continuous meaning (a continuous, in-the-middle-of-the-action feel);
4) decide if there is a perfect meaning (an earlier time/earlier action – later action meaning).

Ready? Then go to the next video.