How to Use Tenses

How to Use Tenses

The six tenses express time within three main categories: past, present, and future. You want
to use the tenses correctly so that you can show how one event is related to another. The following
chart shows how the tenses are related.

• Use the two present forms (simple present, present progressive) to show events that take place now.
• Use the six past forms (simple past, present perfect, past perfect, past progressive, present perfect progressive, past perfect progressive) to show events that took place before the present.
• Use the four future forms (simple future, future perfect, future progressive, future perfect
  progressive) to show events that take place in the future.

1. Use past tenses accurately. The six past tenses all indicate the past in a different way. The following chart provides examples of how to use these tenses.

Use future tenses accurately
The chart on the following chart explains the future tenses.

Don’t switch tenses in midstream.

Never shift tenses in the middle of a sentence or a paragraph because it confuses readers.This guideline is especially important if your sentence contains more than one verb. 

Incorrect: I thought I had broken the CD player when I dropped it on the floor, but it suddenly begins to play.

         

Correct: I thought I had broken the CD player when I dropped it on the floor, but it suddenly began to play!