3 Answers

  1. The simplest thing I've seen so far is a 12 – block sign. mnemoniceducation.com

    It is considered that there are three basic tenses in English (past-present-future), each of which has four forms: Simple (an action that occurs at a certain moment), Continuous (an action that continues for some time), Perfect (a completed action that led to some subsequent events) and Perfect Continuous (an action that continues, but ends at a certain point in time). The explanation is confusing, but that's how the British explain it.

    For myself, I have always referred to these definitions as:

    Simple: x

    Continuous: ->

    Perfect: x ->

    P.Cont: -> x

    Each of the 12 tenses corresponds to a specific verb form (V1, V2, V3: ride-rode-ridden), supplemented by auxiliary and modal verbs. Schematically, it looks like this somewhere:

    Past Simple (V2), Present Simple (V1), F. Simple (shall/will + V1)

    Past Cont. (was/were + V1 + ing), Present Cont. (is/am/are + V1 + ing), F. Cont. (will + be + V1 +ing)

    Past Perfect (had + V3), Present Perfect (have/has + V3), F. Perfect (shall/will + have + V3)

    Past P. Cont. (had + been + V1 + ing), Present P. Cont. (have/has + been + V1 + ing), Future P. Cont. (shall/will + have + been + V1 + ing)

    Again the same thing on singing (to sing):

    Simple: sang – sing(s) – will sing

    Cont.: was singing – is singing – will be singing

    Perfect: had sang – has sang – will have sang

    P. Cont.: had been singing – has been singing – will have been singing

    And a little story to fix:

    In 2006 Madonna sang this song for the first time. Since then, she was singing it on every tour. She even has sang it at President's birthday party this week. Next year she will have been singing that hit for a decade.

  2. If you are learning English for the purpose of chatting, that is, you do not need theory, then all these terms like past perfect continuous in my opinion only complicate life. It is much more effective to remember using the example of a cake:

    • “I (often) eat cake ” = I (often) eat cake.

    • “I am eating cake” = I am eating cake

    • “I will eat cake (at the wedding)” = I will eat cake (at the wedding)

    -“I will be eating cake (in an hour)” = I will be eating cake (in an hour)

    • “I ate cake” = I ate cake

    • “(The fire happened so far) I ate cake” – (The fire happened while) I was eating cake

    • “I ate a cake (there was a case)” – I have eaten cake.

    • “(I'm worried because before swimming) Я съем торт” = (I'm worried because before swimming) I will have eaten cake.

    • “(Judging by the schedule) I will have been eating cake for two hours before tea is served” = (According to the schedule) I will have been eating cake for two hours before tea is served.

    • “I would eat cake” = I would eat cake

    • “(If it wasn't for the fire) I would be eating cake right now” = (If it wasn't for the fire) I would be eating cake right now

    • “(If it wasn't for the fire) I would have eaten cake for dessert” = (If it wasn't for the fire) I would have eaten cake for dessert

    • “(If it wasn't for the fire) I would have been eating cake while waiting for you” = (If it wasn't for the fire) I would have been eating cake while waiting for you.

  3. Alternatively, try to draw parallels with Russian. Sometimes it works.

    Lomonosov in Russian grammar (1755) counted 10 tense forms of the verb (section 268):

    1 present: shaking;

    6 past ones:

    past indefinite (cf. Past Simple): shaking;

    past single occurrence: shook;

    a long time ago (cf. plusquamperfect) the first: shook;

    the second thing that happened a long time ago: I used to shake;

    long-ago third century: there was a quake;

    past perfect (cf. perfect): I shook it out;

    3 future projects:

    the future is uncertain (cf. English Future simple): I will shake;

    One-time future: I'll shake it up;

    the future is perfect (cf. Future Perfect): I'll shake it out.

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