EF56 Verb tenses - What's important and what's not.

Verb tenses in English
verbs are big problem challenge
very difficult challenging
I can't do it!!! I find it challenging, but I will keep working.

12 verb tenses - not all are important

SIMPLE - all are important
- SIMPLE PRESENT- happens everyday, regular, 
habitual, state of being, truth
"Sarah goes to school."
"I wake up early everyday."
"Dan drinks coffee."
"Giovanni plays basketball on Tuesday nights."
"Helen is very friendly."
"Dave is tall for his age."
"Attia is from Egypt."
"The earth is a sphere."

- SIMPLE PAST - one event in the past, finished now
"I finished my homework last night."
"She went swimming at the YMCA at 6:30."
"He went to bed late last night."

- SIMPLE FUTURE - one event not happened yet, future
"I will watch a scary movie tonight."
"We will take a break in three minutes."
"She is going to dance class on Friday."

PROGRESSIVE - CONTINUOUS
auxiliary verb + 'ing'
- PRESENT CONTINUOUS
"We are studying English."
"Maria is driving to Surrey."
"I am cooking making supper."

- PAST CONTINUOUS
"We were studying English yesterday."
"Maria was driving to Surrey when her car got a flat tire." -something unexpected happened
"Maria drove to Surrey."
-one event, nothing special happened

"I made supper."
"I was making supper, and you called me."
something unexpected happened

"I was watching a scary movie last night when a ghost came into the room."

past continuous when something unexpected or important happened

- FUTURE CONTINUOUS
"I will be driving my son to soccer practice tonight."
REPLACE WITH "I will drive my son to soccer practice tonight."


PERFECT - unusual in some languages
- doesn't mean 'excellent' or 'ideal'
-takes up a span of time

PRESENT PERFECT - began in the past, continues to now
"Michele has lived in Vancouver for three months."
present perfect - has lived 'lived' not past tense,
it is the participle

"She has worked at SHEC since 2012."
"Sarah has taken her kids to school."
"I have studied English since I came to Canada."
"Anny has done yoga for 10 years."
"I have been married for 26 years."

Important, but a little tricky!!!

PAST PERFECT - not often used by native speakers, substitute simple past
"Sherry had lived in Hong Kong for five years."
"Sherry lived in Hong Kong for five years."
"Dave had taken the bus until he bought a car."
"Dave took the bus until he bought a car."

FUTURE PERFECT- XXX Forget it!
"Sherry will have studied math for three hours by the time you get home." Nobody talks like that.
SUBSTITUTE simple future
"Sherry will study math for three hours by the time you get home."

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
"She has been living in Vancouver for five years."
"She has lived in Vancouver for five years."
'ing' a bit more energy, action, more vibrant, emphasizes the process or action
"Joe has been climbing mountains since he was a kid."

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS - XXXX
"She had been living in Vancouver for five years."
SUBSTITUTE PAST CONTINUOUS
"She was living in Vancouver for five years."

FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS  - XXXX
"She will have been living in Vancouver for five years."
SUBSTITUTE
"She will live in Vancouver for five years."

Focus on the major ones.



PERFECT PROGRESSIVE