English Tense System

English Tense System


In some languages, verb tenses are not very important or do not even exist. In English, the concept of tense is very important.
In this lesson we look at the idea behind tense, how to avoid confusing tense with time, and the structure of the basic tenses, with examples using a regular verb, an irregular verb and the verb be.

What is Tense?

tense (noun): a form of a verb used to indicate the time, and sometimes the continuation or completeness, of an action in relation to the time of speaking. (From Latin tempus = time).

Tense is a method that we use in English to refer to time - past, present and future. Many languages use tenses to talk about time. Other languages have no tenses, but of course they can still talk about time, using different methods.
So, we talk about time in English with tenses. But, and this is a very big but:

• we can also talk about time without using tenses (for example, going to is a special construction to talk about the future, it is not a tense)
  
• one tense does not always talk about one time (see Tense & Time for more about this)
  

Here are some of the terms used in discussing verbs and tenses.
Mood


indicative mood expresses a simple statement of fact, which can be positive (affirmative) or negative

• I like coffee.
  
• I do not like coffee.
  

interrogative mood expresses a question

• Why do you like coffee?
  

imperative mood expresses a command

• Sit down!
  

subjunctive mood expresses what is imagined or wished or possible

• The President ordered that he attend the meeting.
  

Voice


Voice shows the relationship of the subject to the action. In the active voice, the subject does the action (cats eat mice). In the passive voice, the subject receives the action (mice are eaten by cats). Among other things, we can use voice to help us change the focus of attention.
Aspect


Aspect expresses a feature of the action related to time, such as completion or duration. Present simple and past simple tenses have no aspect, but if we wish we can stress with other tenses that:

• the action or state referred to by the verb is completed (and often still relevant), for example:
  I have emailed the report to Jane. (so now she has the report)
  (This is called perfective aspect, using perfect tenses.)
  
• the action or state referred to by the verb is in progress or continuing (that is, uncompleted), for example:
  We are eating.
  (This is called progressive aspect, using progressive [continuous] tenses.)
  

Tense & Time


It is important not to confuse the name of a verb tense with the way we use it to talk about time.
For example, a present tense does not always refer to present time:

• I hope it rains tomorrow.
  "rains" is present simple, but it refers here to future time (tomorrow)
  

Or a past tense does not always refer to past time:

• If I had some money now, I could buy it.
  "had" is past simple but it refers here to present time (now)
  

The following examples show how different tenses can be used to talk about different times.

TENSE	TIME
	past	present	future
Present Simple		I want a coffee.	I leave tomorrow.
	<table cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><tr><td align=middle width="33%">She</TD> <td align=middle width="34%">likes</TD> <td align=middle width="33%">coffee.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Present Continuous		I am having dinner.	I am taking my exam next month.
	<table cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><tr><td align=middle width="20%">They</TD> <td align=middle width="20%">are</TD> <td align=middle width="20%">living</TD> <td align=middle width="20%">in</TD> <td align=middle width="20%">London.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Present Perfect Simple	I have seen ET.	I have finished.
Present Perfect Continuous	I have been playing tennis.
	We have been working for four hours.
Past Simple	I finished one hour ago.	If she loved you now, she would marry you.	If you came tomorrow, you would see her.
Past Continuous	I was working at 2am this morning.
Past Perfect Simple	I had not eaten for 24 hours.
Past Perfect Continuous	We had been working for 3 hours.	If I had been working now, I would have missed you.	If I had been working tomorrow, I could not have agreed.
Future Simple		Hold on. I'll do it now.	I'll see you tomorrow.
Future Continuous			I will be working at 9pm tonight.
Future Perfect Simple			I will have finished by 9pm tonight.
	We will have been married for ten years next month.
Future Perfect Continuous			They may be tired when you arrive because they will have been working.
	In 30 minutes, we will have been working for four hours.