16-English-Tenses

1、English Tense1/To learn tenses in a systematic and logical way:There are 16 English tenses altogether, which can be classified by time difference into 4 periods：past, present, future and past future. And under each time period there are 4 action functions which define an act: indefinite, continuous,

2、 perfect and perfect continuous. 4 times 4 equals 16.For the 4 past tenses we have past indefinite, past continuous, past perfect and past perfect continuous.For the 4 present tenses we have present indefinite, present continuous, present perfect and present perfect continuous.For the 4 future tense

3、s we have future indefinite, future continuous, future perfect and future perfect continuous.For past future tenses we have past future indefinite, past future continuous, past future perfect and past future perfect continuous.So we can conclude that a tense exactly combines a time definition with a

4、n action function. A tense is established when a time definition meets an action function. 2/ To choose a tense correctly and appropriately:We can use an auxiliary verb which plays a key role to distinguish the time differences from one another; Auxiliary verbs for Past Tenses: was/were, didAuxiliar

5、y verbs for Present Tenses: am/is/are, do/doesAuxiliary verbs for Future Tenses: will/shallAuxiliary verbs for Past Future Tenses: would/should Meanwhile we evaluate the 4 action functions by converting a main verb into:Verbs for Indefinite Tenses: am/is/are, do/doesVerbs for Continuous Tenses: doin

6、gVerbs for Perfect Tenses: doneVerbs for Perfect Continuous Tenses: been doing Verbs in 4 past tenses: did, was/were doing, had done, had been doingVerbs in 4 present tenses: do/does, am/is/are doing, have/has done, have been doingVerbs in 4 future tenses: will/shall do, will/shall be doing, will/sh

7、all have done, will/shall have been doingVerbs in 4 past future tenses: would do, would be doing, would have done, would have been doing3/ Key tense elaborations:a/ Present Continuous Tense stresses an act being done currently, moreover it also describes an act whichmay be done frequently or regular

8、ly in a current period of time.I am reading the book now.I am reading the book this month.b/ Past Perfect Tense defines two past acts, one happened earlier than the other in time, while Past Perfect Continuous Tense defines another act which happened before an earlier act, and it was truly continuin

9、g till then.I had passed the GRE exam right before my graduation from university.I had kept on learning English by myself before I went to high school.c/ Present Perfect Tense defines an early act that continues until now, Present Perfect Continuous defines an early act that not only continues until

10、 now, but also its most likely to be continued. I have lived here for 10 years.I have been living here for 10 years.d/Future Perfect Tense defines an act that will definitely happen in or by a particular time in the future, and it seems more accurate than the Indefinite Future Tense. Further more th

11、e Future Perfect Continuing Tense defines an act will definitely happen in or by a particular time in the future and will likely continue. I will have completed my hands-on training before the end of next August. They will have been working in this company for 25 years by the end of 2012.e/ Past Fut

12、ure Perfect Tense either defines an act most likely to have been done which was supposed by a speaker in the past as a future prediction, or its just an important part of a Subjunctive Mood sentence in its past tense.I thought he would have arrived home because It was 10 oclock when I rang him up la

13、st night.Had the police reached the crime scene earlier, The killer would have been caught.f/ Past Future Perfect Continuous Tense defines an act most likely to have been done and will continue which was supposed by a speaker in the past as a future prediction.He admitted to his wife that he would h

14、ave been working as a secret agent for 8 years by the end of last October. Richard got plastered and told me that this year he would have been hiding 20 years from the police searching for him until this year. The Colonel noticed that he would have been serving in the Marine Corps for 18 years by last Xmas. 4/Passive voice for commonly used tenses:Past Indefinite: was/were donePast Continuous: was/were being donePast Perfect: had been doneP