There are many languages. And in most of them, the times play one of the key roles. With their help, we can determine exactly when an action occurs. Each of us is well acquainted with the times of the Russian language. There are, in all, three of them. Therefore, they do not arise special problems while studying.

In this regard, the English language gives us a more difficult task. There are as many as 16 times here. It looks intimidating. But in fact, everything is simple.

When you opened this article, you undoubtedly had only one goal in mind. understand this topic. Definitely having a little trouble with them. In this case, in this article you can get acquainted with tips that will help you once and for all to distinguish and understand the logic of English tenses.

Create certain images in your head

For correct understanding times, it is necessary to present a certain situation that will correspond to the time passage. Despite the fact that there are only 12 of them, it is quite easy to distinguish between them. Especially if you use this method.

For example, most find it difficult to distinguish between Past Simple and Past Continuous. In order to understand this situation, you need to remember that Past Simple means a single action in the past, and Past Continuous means some process in the past.

Most textbooks describe this difference very dryly. That is why there are so many questions with times.

To understand the difference, it is enough to imagine a person clapping his hands. If he only clapped once and ended there, then it's Past Simple. If the same action was long and continued until a certain point, for example, his phone rang, then this is Past Continuous. Since he was carrying out the process (clapped his hands), but then suddenly it was interrupted by another action.

This example shows the usefulness of this method very well. You can create any images. It doesn't matter what, as long as it's clear to you.

There are many useful channels that are very accessible and clearly explain English Times and English in general.

Since often the information presented there is quite restrained. Without further explanation. Although it is precisely in such explanations that beginners need. Therefore, video is the best option. The teacher explains many nuances and interacts with you in the comments, answers questions. This advice is especially suitable for those who have a very developed auditory memory.

Organize your study plan

If you think that you can learn everything in a day or a week, then you are mistaken. There are many nuances that cannot be understood in one lesson. Knowledge must come gradually.

If you start learning everything at once, without a certain order, then you will get confused very quickly.

You won't remember anything the next day. There is absolutely no point in such training. Therefore, this tip is probably one of the most important for beginners. Of course, you want to learn everything quickly and easily. You can't wait to use them properly. But don't rush.

You can take a piece of paper and write down your curriculum in detail. Indicate on which days you are engaged in the present, on which days the past or future.

It also saves time. Instead of choosing materials to study, you can simply look at the schedule and distribute the load throughout the day.

Beacon words

In English, there are certain beacon words that can tell you what time is best to use. This is the best tip for a newbie.

• For example, for Present Perfect tenses, you can select: just, already, yet.
• And by the time Present Continuous usually refer to: now, at the moment.

Most easy way learn these words - draw a table where you indicate all the times, and then add the corresponding beacon words to them.

It's convenient enough. Sometimes it's really hard to define right time. And it is the beacon words that come to the rescue. They may not always be, but their presence clearly makes the task easier. Below are the most useful and most frequent. It is desirable to consider and learn them.

Practice More

There are many resources to help you practice your English skills. They can be both paid and free. But, to be honest, you should not focus on the cost, because they have the same goal. The main desire.

Times in English language- the main component of any course of study. I know from experience how difficult they can be for some people. But without them, nowhere.

There is great amount literature on this topic, but this routine only confuses.

If you want to start learning English in order to know English or simply, for example, be able to compose questions or translate texts, then this article will be your assistant.

With the help of this article, you will understand the difference in times, it will help you stop getting confused in times, but the rules, forms of education are all easily accessible for self-study. You can also, after reading, on the basis of the principle, delve into the study of this topic.

So let's get started.

There are 4 tenses in English:
Simple.
Long.
Completed.
Long-term completed.

Each tense is divided into:
The present
Past
Future
It's simple, times are divided according to the same system in Russian. Now I will briefly describe each of the times and its distinctive properties and how to easily and quickly distinguish it from others.

1) Simple

Exactly this easy time. The easiest.

Meaning- statement of fact. Denotes a regular, usual, regular action. Facts, truths. At this time, the exact point in time is NOT defined.

In general, if you just say - it shows the usual action, someone did something, someone knows something, etc. or just a fact. So is an action that, for example, a person does every morning, or every day, or what a person did yesterday.
If the sentence contains the words - everyday, usually, never, at first, then, after, in the morning, in the evening, tomorrow, next week, next month, often, soon- then most likely this is just a simple time. You can distinguish by the presence in the offer of auxiliary verbs in negative and interrogative sentences: do, does, did, didn "t, don" t, will, shall, will not, shall not. Remember - regularity, fact, routine.

The present- the person does it now, or he does it every day (says every day, or reads a book, writes a letter, etc.).
Past- an action that happened or happened in the past. Well, or a fact from the past (wrote a letter yesterday, worked every day, worked from 90 to 95, went shopping in the evening).
Future- an action or a series of actions that will happen in the future, predictions, forecasts (I will work tomorrow, I will write a letter, I will learn a foreign language every day, I will make an essay soon).

2) Long

The process is main point time. Indicates that an action is being done, has been done or will be done certain time . Did, but didn't. If the sentence contains the words - now, at the moment, at, when, while, at 20 o "clock, tomorrow - then most likely this is long time. You can distinguish by the ing ending of the verbs. Auxiliary verbs - was, were, was not, were not, am, will be, shall be. Remember - shows that time was spent on the action.

The present- an action that a person is doing right now, he really does it and spends his time, and this is what is shown in the sentence (Working now, we are writing a letter to this moment I'm going home now).
Past- an action that happened at a certain moment in the past, or that was done at the moment when another action took place. (I was writing a letter at 7 pm; he was writing a letter when I entered the room, he had been sleeping for 4 hours).
Future- an action that will take place at a certain point in the future (I will be writing a letter at 7 pm, I will be digging the ground tomorrow from 7 to 9 am).

3) Completed

The result is the main meaning of time. Shows that action done, is there a result! If the sentence contains the words - twice, lately, recently, several times, yet, already, never, just, ever - then this is most likely the completed tense. You can distinguish by auxiliary verbs - had, has, have, shall have, will have.

Remember - there is a result, the action has ended or will end here, and this is for anyone.

The present- an action that took place in the past, but has the most direct connection with the present. Example: He has already written a letter. I explain: he did this in the past, but the result refers precisely to the present. Example: I just lost my key. I explain: what he lost was in the past, but he is talking about it now.
Past- an action that was completed before a certain point in time in the past (I wrote a letter by 7 o'clock).
Future- an action that will be completed by some specific moment in the future (I will write a letter by 7 o'clock).

4) Completed - long

Here I will advise independent study. This tense is not used in colloquial speech, and it is better to come to the study of this time after studying the times written above. Do not worry, work out the previous tenses!

So let's sum it up:

Simple time is a statement of fact.
Long time is a process.
Completed is the result.
Practice leads to perfection. Do simple tasks, guided by this article, and soon you will calmly distinguish one time from another Improve yourself! Good luck!