100 English Tense Rules: Simple to Advanced Grammar Guide

how many English tense rules do you know 10 20 50 if you know the 100 t0 rules in this video your English is incredible

we're going to start with the basic rules go through them quickly and then look at the advanced English grammar

rules for English tenses let's start with the present simple and the basic uses we can use the present simple for

facts pandas live in China also for truths it is good to be kind and for descriptions that are true now I have

gray hair the man in this picture might say also for present habits are there things which you just find yourself

doing again and again for example I always check my phone when I wake up for present routines use the present simple

that's something that happens at the same time over and over again for example I brush my teeth every morning

and for timet use the present simple if you're looking at this timetable and you want to describe it you could say a bus

departs every 8 minutes on Saturdays but now let's look at the advanced uses of the present simple you can use the

present simple to describe future time in subordinate clauses look at the example give me a call when you leave

this is what the man in the picture is probably saying to The woman there are two Clauses here give me a call is the

first clause and when you leave is the second Clause when you leave is describing a situation in the future now

we don't use other words to indicate the future here such as will or going to it's just a subordinate clause where we

have the subordinator when followed by you leave present simple so this can be used to indicate future

time also instructions without an imperative for example here you're telling someone how to perhaps make some

bread or a cake you could say this first you add milk then you mix in some flour you're making it slightly less direct

the imperative is more of a demand rather than simply sharing with someone so you could prefer to use the present

simple here you could also use the present simple to make correspondence more formal instead of saying I am

writing to you make it even more formal by using the simple form we write to advise you of our new range of cars the

present simple is also used in permanent situations the River Nile flows into the medit radian C it's always happened it's

always going to happen it's permanent use the present simple and with State verbs we use the

present simple for instance in this video here you can see uh castle if someone is looking from the position

where the video is taken they might say I see a castle in the distance now let's move on to the

present continuous starting again with the basic uses a basic use of the present

continuous is to indicate present activities look at this baby what is this baby doing right now the baby is

sleeping this is not something that just happens in a moment this has probably happened for many hours before and will

continue afterwards it's an activity in progress the baby is sleeping for activities close to the

present time we will use the present continuous as well people are getting excited about the band's

reunion now that might not mean right now it could be around now before and after but the general situation is

around now so use the present continuous the present continuous is used for repeated

actions this girl plays the piano over and over and over again so use the present continuous to emphasize that

it's a repeated action she is practicing the tune until she gets it right one activity then then the same activity

then the same activity over and over again for future Arrangements we might use the present continuous they are

meeting outside the cafe at 700 p.m. it was planned before and now we're describing this Arrangement by using the

present continuous but there are Advanced uses of the present continuous too temporary situations can use the

present continuous I am staying at a hotel at the moment but next week I'll move into an apartment so to emphasize

the fact that staying at a hotel is temporary use the present

continuous also for changes in general the amount of traffic on the roads is constantly increasing so to indicate A

change is happening in something particularly with words such as increase or decrease use the present

continuous the present continuous can be used for an activity that is usually imp progress at a particular

time this lady is walking her dog and she says this I'm usually walking the dog when the rest of my family wake

up let's UNP pick this her family wakes up at a particular time every day and she is doing the same activity every day

at exactly the same time that her family wake up so it's kind of like a routine but the routine is for an activity to be

in progress at a particular time if we are talking about behavior that

people have in the present we will often use the continuous form with the verb to be I am being you are being you're being

you're being too loud keep quiet means the present behavior is too loud so use the present continuous to

describe it in that way now let's look at differences between the present simple and the

present continuous and when you would choose between the two firstly physical

feelings either can be used in most situations I feel unwell I'm feeling unwell are both possible in this

situation the historical present is when we describe a story that happened in the past but use present tenses to make the

listener or reader feel closer to it but which tenses would we use well if we're giving background information we're

likely to use the present continuous here's what happened it's raining hard people are running to get

undercover so this is not the actual story this is just what's happening in the background around it and the present

continuous can be used if we using the historical present but if we're using uh simple forms we're trying to make

progress in the story so I run into a shop the shopkeeper asks me why I'm here I tell him one after the other after the

other so if we're trying to make progress in time in the story the present simple would be preferred if

we're using the historical present what about using here or there with present

situations usually we'd use the simple here here is the key to the house there comes the bus not there is coming the

bus but just there comes the bus and if you're showing annoyance of bad habits you could use either form

she's always leaving the lights on present continuous he constantly snores in bed present

simple have you received an invitation to an event such as a wedding often we'll use this form are to or is to the

verb to be in the simple form followed by to and this is useful for official announcements we are to get married next

year the R2 Form B followed by two makes it more official if you want to show emphasis on

something then you can use the simple tenses with do I do enjoy watching TV here you need to stress the word do or

in the continuous form stress am I am trying my best however you can stress any word you want in a sentence to draw

attention to it and you could find out more about any of these tenses on my course perfect

English grammar there's a link in the description below if you're interested let's move on to the past simple and the

past continuous then first of all the past simple and looking at the basic uses the past simple is predominantly

used for finished actions I applied for the vacancy or for finished States I was nervous while I waited for the response

it's a state it's how the person felt at that time and for past facts the company I wanted to work for was the best in the

world world it was true in the past we don't know if it's true now but because it was a fact in the past we use the

past simple also past descriptions look at this well-dressed man he might say this I was well-dressed on the day of

the interview the past simple describes how he looked at that time and if with past

habits use the past simple again when I didn't have a job I always applied for new vacancies on Mondays it was the same

every Monday we can use the past simple we may also be able to use used to or would for some situations when we

describe past habits but the past simple is also commonly used let's look at the past continuous

basic uses before we go on to Advanced uses the past continuous is used for finished activities in this picture I

was driving to the interview verb to be then the ing form of the main verb if you have the longer of two past actions

or if you're interrupting a long action use the past continuous I was waiting for the interview to begin when the door

opened or if you're giving background to a story use the past continuous people were talking in the room while I was

waiting for the interview to begin it wasn't the main part of the story people talking in the room was just something

happening around the story so use the past continuous to show that it's background

information what about the differences between the past simple or continuous let's move on to the advanced uses where

we choose between them if you're talking about a past idea that is no longer true you will you normally use the simple

form for example in the past some scientists believe that the world was flat but most scientists now believe it

is round so usually the past simple is used here if you are trying to get the sense across that it was a a temporary

or an activity for a particular reason you might choose the past continuous but the past simple is far more common here

if you're trying to link past events together in the sequence the past simple is what you need in the experiment you

can see below they added water then they mixed it with salt and finally they boiled the solution past simple in a

sequence if you're describing events happening at the same time in the past you could use the continuous form 500

years ago men were trading in marketplaces while women were bringing up children these things were happening

at the same time men were trading in marketplaces women were bringing up children not one followed by the other

but two events side by side happening together at the same time for situations that feel more

permanent about the past use the simple form I lived in Mumbai for the whole of my childhood it felt permanent to this

person because it was the whole of their childhood so they used the past simple but if it's a temporary situation in the

past it's common to use the continuous form I was staying in a hotel while I was looking for a permanent place to

live this is similar to what happens in all tenses permanent goes with simple temporary goes with continuous if you

have a past activity that was often repeated The Continuous form would be pref preferred here and we particularly

use this with high frequency adverbs such as always I was always playing in the park in the evenings when I was

younger if you're being hypothetical even if you're talking about now or the future you can use past

tenses to show you're being hypothetical that you're not being real you're just imagining things and for this we can use

either the past simple or the past continuous depending on the sentence look at the picture do you think this

could happen to you could you travel in this rocket it's very unlikely so we would be hypothetical and use past

tenses suppose you were traveling in a rocket to the moon how would you feel here past continuous because it's

an activity we're imagining or if only I knew the answer to this difficult problem we're imagining it but we use

the past simple distancing is a Technique we use to be more polite we create distance in

time between uh us and the person listening to create more space in other words to make them feel they have more

space to respond and they're not pressured by us distance in time can be created by using past tenses instead of

present tenses we can use either the simple or the continuous but the continuous tends

to be more common when we're using verbs for mental activities I was wondering if you could ask me your map but simple

form is also possible I thought I might ask you is that okay and if we use that as the subject

of a sentence in the past it normally goes with the simple form I pass my PhD that seemed impossible a few years

ago now let's look at the rules for the present perfect the basic uses of the present perfect include this recently

completed activities for example I have just finished a lesson on past tenses it was completed

recently also for recently completed States I have seed the information I need to complete the next task so scen

here is a state verb from to C often used as a state verb uh but perhaps the most important reason why we use the

present perfect is this one speaking about the past from the context of the present people often get confused with

the present perfect they think it's a past tense but a clu is in the word present we stay in the present moment

when we use the present perfect and we talk about past situations but from the Viewpoint of now

we're looking back to them from now keeping in present time so when I say I have watched hundreds of videos on

YouTube when did I watch them in the past but what's the time period well it's up to now and including now it's

the situation I am in now this is all of my experience of watching YouTube videos that I've

collected and I possess now in my memory everything from the past up to the present present and that captures the

essence of what the present perfect is now let's look at whether you use the simple form or the continuous form and

this is where it gets more advanced firstly when we focus on an activity we usually use the continuous form I have

been writing an email let's look at the next one before we compare them together if we focus on completion of an event we

use the simple form I have written an email and now I am going to send it we're talking about the same activity

but we're focusing on different things if I say I have been writing I'm interested in the process of writing if

I say I have written an email I'm interested in in the fact that an activity took place and the activity is

complete in itself if we focus on something being permanent we normally use the simple

form for example I have owned this toy since I was a child but if we focus on something being temporary we use the

continuous form I have been wearing this hat because the sun is too hot but I will take it off this evening once again

we see how the simple goes with the permanent the temporary goes with the continuous

forms sometimes we have special phrases that have particular tens that go with them this is the with an ordinal is one

of them this is the first time I have tried chocolate ice cream if we have this is the followed by a number and

then a word like time or instance then follow it with the simple form I have tried if we're maintaining present time

whilst introducing past events either could be used have a look at the example here here's someone helping an injured

woman now perhaps the ambulance has arrived and what does he tell the people in the ambulance what if I done so far

I've helped the injured woman simple and I've been doing my best to help the injured woman continuous now the

ambulance is here see the present context how long an activity has taken until now is commonly with the

continuous form I've been trying to get your attention for ages for ages means from a time in

the past until now another area where confusion happens is when you're choosing between the past

simple and the present perfect let's look at that now the present perfect is common with already just or yet look at

the example sentences here I have already been told about the meeting I have just been to the meeting I haven't

tried the suggestions yet so is that the rule or not well there's more to the story here and if

you've learn American versions of English you may be familiar with what comes next because in some varieties of

English the past simple is common with these words I already knew about it I just went there I didn't try that yet so

sometimes the use of the present perfect or the past simple depends upon where in the world you are my version of English

is British English and that's like the top half of this page but American English sometimes is like the bottom

half commonly news reports start with the present perfect to give general information but switch to the Past

simple for more specific information look at this a criminal has been arrested in the Town Center he stole

several bags of sausages from a shop so to start general the present perfect fits because we're talking very

generally about an event and we're not being specific about the time an event happened in the past at any time in the

past having introduced the information to the reader or listener we then go in for the specific details and because

when we're being more specific we're focusing on particular activities that happen at a particular time then moving

into the past simple is quite common okay now on to the Past Perfect the past perfect tends to be more

advanced it's harder for people to learn let's look at some of the ways we use it and then compare it to uh simple and

continuous forms um the general use of the past perfect is to make it clear which event

happened first and what events are not in order for instance I was wearing a plaster because I had fallen over and

cut myself earlier in the day if you repeating events before a point in the past you'll also use the

past perfect he got top marks in the exam what happened before he had been studying every day for the previous

month so let's think about this a bit more um first of all the time of the story is he got top marks in the

exam why because of something that happened before he had been studying but the frequency was every day

it was a repeated activity that happened over and over again before this point in the past let's go back to the first

example again why did we use I had fallen over well because I fell over before I I wore

the plaster the time of the story is wearing the plaster but then we go backwards in time and to show we've gone

backwards in time use the past perfect if I said because I fell over it sounds as if it happens afterwards which isn't

correct because the past simple takes events forward but the past perfect takes events

back if you're being hypothetical about the past you can also use the past perfect if I had run faster I would have

arrived on time so by saying if I had run I'm thinking about a past event but I'm imagining what a situation could

have been like if it things had been different events immediately before another in the past would also typically

use the past perfect they had just finished preparing for the party when the first guest arrived so what's

special about this it's some something that happened immediately before another notice the events are in the correct

order here but by using the past perfect we emphasize the fact that it came before another and just before it's

something that we often do even with events in the right order reporting speech in the past will

take the past perfect in many situations what do we mean by reporting speech well well we tell we hear

something and then we tell some someone else and if it was something in the past then we'll use the past perfect when we

report it when they asked me about the preparations I told them I had been preparing all day not I prepared all

day sometimes we can use the past simple when we report but commonly we'll use the past perfect when we report

something that's already in the past if there are intentions or wishes that did not happen the past perfect is often

used to show this it's kind of another hypothetical situation I had planned to make a cake but I run out of time did it

happen no so it's hypothetical now when would we use the simple form or the continuous form there

are many reasons why but here's a summary of the key ones activities up to a point in the past could go with either

depending on the situation or which verb you're using is it a state or active verb look at the workers here perhaps

their Factory has closed down you could say this the last workers left the factory last year they had been working

there for the previous 20 years but you could equally have said they had worked there for 20

years let let's go back to a theme we've looked at before in this video temporary situations and we can use the past

perfect continuous for temporary situations up to a point in the past the crowd had been waiting to see the king

then he arrived with States up to a point in the past usually simple as we mentioned a

few moments ago the surprise party happened yesterday most of the guests had known about it for a number of

months so no is a state verb so use the simple but sometimes we have to decide whether we're using the past perfect or

the past simple here's a way to decide if the events are in time order we'll usually

use the past simple look at the lady here we opened the door got out of the car and walked into the mall that's what

she's about to do so that's the normal way that we use the past simple when events are in time

order I've shown you some exceptions to that in the uh previous points where you can use the past perfect and events are

still in order but generally when events are in time order we use the past simple but when events are not in time

order we use the past perfect we walked into the ball we had already got out of the car so the second event happened

before the first so we use the past perfect to show that the second event came first and we're not using the

normal sequence of events that we would with the past simple if you're using the past perfect

followed by a clause with a subordinator then you normally don't need to use the past perfect again

particularly with reason clauses I had left my phone at home because my mother needed it not because my mother had

needed it if we say because my mother had needed it we we're suggesting that she needed it before I'd left my phone

at home which isn't the case the two things happened at the same time so we don't use the past perfect twice here

but if it's followed by a coordinator and a clause then we will I had left my phone at home but I had brought my

laptop so here and or but or or we can use the past perfect again in the second Clause now this does not mean that we

ignore rules to do with omissions were to do with lists sometimes when we have a list we can cut out the grammar if the

grammar is repeated in a sequence look at the example below I had cooked and cleaned all morning so here the use of

and takes cleaned and applies had to the cleaned as well as had to the cooked it's what we can do in lists if there's

symmetry in the list we can cut out extra grammatical words in the second or third part of the

list let's move on to looking at future time first of all with will there are many basic uses of will

when you have expectations for the future you can use will they will be here at 6:00 p.m. they always arrive

then with certainty about the future we often use will nothing will stop the rain from falling there's a certainty in

your voice also for promises and offers I will buy you an ice cream if you do your homework it's a

promise when you give consent to people then we can use will it's saying you're allowed to do something after this point

they will let you into the country with a passport is a very common way of giving consent and using will for the

future plans made in the moment we often use will or the short form which is apostrophe LL to describe this look at

the man here he's on the phone why because someone has asked him what's the solution and he replies I'll call my

friend she'll know so when we say I'll call my friend he's deciding what to do in the moment I'll is short for I

will so when we make plans in that moment and we describe plans as we're going through the thought process use

will if you make a prediction but you don't have the physical evidence you're much more likely to use will

will here's someone's thinking about rain but they don't have evidence they just say this I think it will rain later

it can't stay sunny forever they're predicting it but they don't really have evidence so will makes more sense

here let's look at the advanced uses of will now orders use will if it's an order for the present or the future you

will obey me this man is think thinking it's an order and will emphasizes the order threats also go with Will let's

expand this sentence you will obey me or there will be consequences so will suggests the threat coming afterwards

but will is also used to refuse these orders and threats they will not or they won't obey

you unless you offer them something in return the future is also made with going to here are some basic uses of

going to when plans are already made and you're simply restating a plan you've already made now use going to why are

you picking up the phone this time I'm going to call my friend but in this case the person didn't decide on the spot

they decided before and if you do have physical evidence for a future prediction use

going to instead of will it's going to rain dark clouds are coming towards us I have evidence I have more certainty so

going to shows that extra certainty going to usually makes the future more concrete more set in stone and

fixed future Arrangements also can use going to we're going to Dallas at the weekend the

trip has been planned for weeks now sometimes you have to choose between going to or the present

continuous can we use both for future Arrangements without a change in meaning well often yes but here are some things

to be aware of firstly let's go back to restating previous decisions we'd usually use

going to here and not the present continuous what are your plans for the future I've already thought about what

to do I'm going to start a new course so here we're restating a previous decision with fixed Arrangements we

usually use the present continuous what are your plans for next week I'm starting a new course on Monday do you

see the difference between the two with a fixed arrange M I'm starting a new course on

Monday I am stating my plans but with the one before restating previous

decisions I'm restating something that I thought about and that's led to particular

action it's not so much an arrangement it's a statement of a decision so that's often how you distinguish between the

two decisions go with the uh going to and arrangements with the present continuous now there can be some overlap

going to can also be used for fixed Arrangements because they are fixed decisions as

well when we go to state verbs use going to as well don't use the present continuous what are you doing later

we're going to hear a speech not we're hearing a speech that wouldn't fit because the present continuous doesn't

normally go with State verbs unless there are other special rules there are other ways of expressing

the future too such as the future perfect and these would all be considered Advanced uses first of all

completion of something by a known future time normally we'd use the simple form here and we would say this by the

end of the year I'll have taken my eye outs examination so here we're anticipating taking the I out's

exam and it's in a time period between now and another stated time period in this case by the end of the year it

could happen at any time between those points in time now and the end of the year I'll have

taken if you're referring to an activity that's ongoing up to a point in the future particularly when you use for or

since or words like that that Express a duration of time it's common to use the future perfect continuous for example by

the end of the year I'll have been studying English for 10 years I wonder what you would say in if you put your

own experience in that place anticipating what is true without physical

evidence will have finished I want to return to Dubai they will have finished Building the tallest skyscraper in the

world by now so here this is one way in which we can use the future perfect it could

potentially be simple or continuous here depending on the context but that's one reason why we use it anticipating what

is true without physical evidence here you're just imagining it you've not seen it for yourself you're just imagining

that this will be true if you're anticipating what someone knows you can also use the future

perfect and in both of these cases the example about Dubai and the next example we're actually talking about present

time not future time at all here we're using the future perfect for present time let's look at the example to do

with the picture below you can see two cars crashing together I'm sure you will have seen the news about the crash on

the motorway it was reported on every channel yesterday so here we're referring to

knowledge that someone has in the present and more than that knowledge about something in the present that's

based on something that happened in the past a little bit like the present perfect but we use will have seen to

anticipate what we think someone knows we'll have to is a similar structure but works slightly differently

we'll have to refers to something necessary after the present time look at the example the museum is closed today

we will have to come again tomorrow so it is necessary for us to come again tomorrow something necessary

after the present time let's move on to the Future continuous now the future continuous is

made up of will the verb to be then the main verb with Ing and we use this for predicting future activities perhaps you

know that you're going to be like this person in the picture tomorrow so you need to tell other people I can't see

you tomorrow I will be working all day I'm predicting a future activity and so I use the future continuous form will be

working also for predicting future responses he'll be complaining about

that I'm sure so here I'm anticipating what the person thinks about working all day tomorrow and I think he will be

complaining about that not just once but on and on and on and on an activity that's ongoing but it's a

response also guessing activities happening now why are they working late they'll be making plans for tomorrow I

imagine I don't know it's happening but I'm guessing that this is what is happening now somewhere else where I'm

not and the future continuous will be helpful for that in this case again it's to do with present

usage okay we're nearly at the end but we have a little bit left to do yet next it's future in the

past first of all we can use would followed by infinitive for an event happening after the time in a

story here's a man who's got a clock in his bed why is that well let's look at the story and then let's think about

what it means people were celebrating that night but they would stay in bed for a

long time the next morning so the time of the story is the first part people were celebrating that

night when we use wood here we're taking the position of time in that story and Imagining the future after the point in

time of that story predicting the future from a point in time in the past in storytelling it's kind of like giving a

preview to someone when you're telling a story you're previewing the next part so people were celebrating that night but

they would stay in bed that is what is coming next in the story we can also use was going to for

plans after the time in the story for instance we ironed our suits because we were going to visit a special event

later that day it was a plan that was in the future at that particular point at the moment when we ironed our suits but

what's going to is often used in another way as well and this is for past plans that did not actually happen look at

this poor lady she has a problem what is it we were going to drive to the sea but our car broke

down we can also use the past continuous for future arrange for future in the past this is when we have

Arrangements after a time in the story similar to how we use the present continuous for Arrangements after now

the past continuous is for Arrangements after a pass point for instance they couldn't get to

sleep that night because they were meeting the king the following morning and they were nervous so the arrangement

is meeting and it was going to happen after the point of the story basically when they were trying to get to

sleep and finally conditionals conditionals use tenses in different ways for different purposes here are the

basic uses which generally include the first conditional the main reason for using the first conditional is to uh say

a condition if a condition is met there will be a present or future consequence for instance if I earn enough money I'll

buy a new car so the present simple is in the first part the condition if I earn and will is

in the second part the present or future consequence I'll buy a new car but we can sometimes use will in both Clauses

where one condition requires another condition if you will work for me I'll help you get a new

car basically you do this I'll do that two conditions at the same time where one condition depends upon another

condition moving on to more Advan uses the second conditional is for unreal situations with an imagined outcome it's

using the past simple but it's actually to do with now or perhaps in the future if I owned a car I would drive wherever

I want it do I own a car no it's unreal what would be the imagined outcome I would drive wherever I wanted

the par simple for an unreal situation to do with the present we as we've mentioned before we turn the present

into the past to make things unreal about the present the third conditional uses the past perfect again

this is for an unreal situation but this time not an unreal present situation but an unreal past

situation if I had warned the driver that another car was in the middle of the road there wouldn't have been an

accident a lastly the zero conditional here we use the present tense in both Clauses where we're simply presenting a

general cause and effect rule when you heat water to 100° Centigrade it boils it's a general rule do this and that

will always happen [Music]