Select the Right Tense when Talking English

I’ve additionally seen summaries claiming that English has 24 tenses (12 lively kinds and 12 passive kinds). It’s worrying.

It turns into a complete lot simpler to decide on the right tense when talking English for those who give attention to the tense points that are most typical in spoken English. 

For my part, you need to compartmentalise the next 4 tense points in your thoughts in order that they’re able to be retrieved once you communicate English:

Mastering these 4 points will enable you to deal with typical getting-to-know-you conversations, in addition to describe life experiences and discuss your profession to this point.

One other group of tense points to name upon in particular conditions

You can too compartmentalise one other group of tense points in your thoughts which you’ll name upon in particular conditions. These tenses are:

• Previous steady
• Current steady 
• Future easy 
• Previous excellent

Mentally storing this second group of tenses points is only non-compulsory. I respect that the current steady is required to convey up non permanent occasions which can be occurring across the time of talking. Nevertheless, I’ve written fairly extensively in regards to the risks of academics overexposing college students to each the current easy and current steady tenses on the identical time or successively based on the grammatical syllabus. 

A lot of my Polish learners of English have a behavior of overusing the current steady tense. Savvy English language syllabus writers ought to keep away from the instructing of the current steady till a pupil has absolutely internalised the current easy, i.e. after a few years of research and publicity.

As for the previous steady, it’s widespread to make use of it in the beginning of a narrative:

Yesterday, as I was driving to work, …

The previous steady additionally exhibits that one thing continued over an extended time frame:

Everybody was dancing, simply having a very good time actually.

Concerning will, it’s helpful for making future predictions and selections in the mean time of talking (together with sudden requests, guarantees and affords):

I believe the Republicans will win the subsequent election (prediction).

Don’t fear – I’ll enable you to along with your homework (a choice in the mean time of talking – a promise).

Feasibly, I may have included the future easy in Group 1 as a result of it’s definitely on a par with the current excellent steady when it comes to how usually it crops up in dialog between native audio system.

As for all the opposite tense points you’ve encountered in your English courses and in grammar workbooks, they’re not often utilized in spoken English. Frankly, I can’t keep in mind the final time I used the future excellent, future steady and future excellent steady tense points. 

Methods to make use of the right tense when talking English

It would appear to be a tall order to have the ability to routinely select the right tense when talking English. Once you’re in full conversational move, the very last thing in your thoughts might be English tenses. Nevertheless, I imagine there are a number of ‘methods’ you’ll be able to deploy to pick the right tense when talking.

1. Deal with compartmentalisation

Earlier on, I wrote about storing 4 key tense points in your thoughts. I’d prefer to confer with this course of because the compartmentalisation of tenses. Let me clarify.

A typical dictionary definition of compartmentalise is:

to separate one thing into components and never enable these components to combine collectively.

Visualise the human mind and 4 cabinets on one aspect of the mind. Think about that the current excellent, previous easy, current easy and current excellent steady are mendacity to 1 aspect of the mind on their very own particular person cabinets.

On the opposite aspect of every shelf, we now want so as to add a number of phrases to summarise the important thing makes use of of the tenses. Listed here are the cabinets, with the tenses and key phrases summarising the makes use of of the tenses:

Simply to clarify the key phrases then:

Current excellent

1. Unfinished motion (since/for/right this moment) – We use the current excellent once we wish to speak about unfinished actions or states or habits which commenced previously and proceed as much as the current time. The phrases ‘since’ or ‘for’ usually characteristic closely. When the time frame remains to be persevering with, loads of different time phrases and phrases come into play, equivalent to right this moment, this week, this month and this yr:

I’ve identified David since 1994

I’ve lived in Poland for 5 years

I’ve visitied 5 nations up to now this yr

2. Introduce life experiences – For occasions and actions which occurred throughout an individual’s life. In distinction to the previous easy tense, we don’t say when the expertise occurred:

I’ve been to Berlin fairly a number of occasions

Consider it or not, I’ve by no means been snowboarding

3. A completed motion with a consequence within the current – We frequently use the current excellent to speak about one thing that occurred within the current previous. This completed motion should be true, or the results of the motion or occasion should be felt within the current time:

I’ve misplaced my pockets = I’m desperately trying to find it

John’s harm his again = It nonetheless hurts 

I’ve missed my flight  (the outcomes of this occasion are far-reaching – to not point out the emotional affect and the necessity to reorganise one’s plans within the close to future)

Previous easy

1. Completed motion (yesterday, final month, in 2019) – Completed actions with a completed time reference:

The primary time I visited Poland was in 2005

2. ‘Particulars of stories’ – Though you could have launched a life expertise or motion with the current excellent easy tense, any particulars that observe needs to be within the previous easy:

I’ve been on vacation. I went to Spain for a number of weeks

Current easy

1. Roughly everlasting conditions – We use the current easy tense to explain conditions which can be anticipated to final (i.e. conditions that or kind of everlasting):

I can’t stand hip-hop music

Jenny works in a financial institution

2. Common actions and habits – With the assistance of adverbs of frequency (equivalent to ‘normally’, ‘usually’ and ‘typically’), in addition to expressions equivalent to ‘twice every week’ or ‘each day’, the current easy describes habits and actions we do frequently:

I’m going to music faculty each day

I typically drink espresso

Do you smoke?

Current excellent steady

1. Unfinished actions – previous, current and future – Used to explain unfinished actions which commenced previously, proceed to the current and are anticipated to proceed into the longer term. Typically in response to questions starting ‘How lengthy …’, we regularly use for and since:

How lengthy have you ever been studying Polish?

I’ve been ready for John to return house for hours

I’ve been residing in Gdańsk for 4 years

2. Non permanent habits or conditions – The motion started previously and continues to the current. In contrast to the primary use, there’s no emphasis on ‘how lengthy’ a state of affairs or behavior lasts. As a substitute, we use phrases like currently and lately:

I’ve been listening to lots of jazz music currently

David’s been residing together with his dad whereas he searches for a flat

3. Actions which have lately stopped – Actions which have lately stopped and have an apparent consequence within the current. In different phrases, we will usually really feel, hear or see this consequence. It’s additionally vital to say that the motion is likely to be unfinished:

I’m exhausted – I’ve been figuring out

It’s so sizzling – I’ve been operating

As already talked about, visualisation is essential in the case of compartmentalisation and the 2 units of cabinets. If you wish to select the right tense when talking English, you might want to visualise these cabinets and their contents. 

After all, the appropriate aspect of every shelf may comprise much more key phrases and data pertaining to the principles of a sure tense. Nevertheless, the thought of compartmentalisation is to prioritise. 

2. Create a psychological reference to time markers

In the same vein to the compartmentalisation and key phrases which summarise the primary makes use of of tenses in 1 above, it’s a prudent transfer to contemplate time markers which can be typically used with particular tenses.

As soon as once more, compartmentalisation is the secret. So, let’s transfer to the opposite aspect of the mind. The intention is to visualise one other set of cabinets with the 4 tenses on one aspect, and their related time markers on the opposite:

As you could have observed, I haven’t added the entire attainable variations of every time marker. For example, with the previous easy tense, final week needs to be sufficient of a set off so that you can produce final month and final yr and many others. General, minimise and prioritise as a lot as attainable with the knowledge in your ‘cabinets’. 

After all, memorisation comes into play. Nevertheless, don’t overlook that you simply’ll must fall again on visualisation when you might want to retrieve a tense when in full conversational move. If it helps, use colors, daring font and italics to create the best situations for visualization/reminiscence retrieval to happen.

Once you’re talking English, and have only a cut up second to suppose and formulate a sentence in your thoughts, let these time markers set off the tense you might want to use.

It’s very helpful that point expressions related to the previous easy can go earlier than the primary verb (went):

… So, final week, I went right down to Brighton for the primary time in years

Therefore, the time marker final week ought to do nothing else however be the set off for ‘I went …’.

It’s the same case with the adverbs of frequency related with the current easy:

I usually assist my dad clear up his backyard when it’s overgrown

Therefore, as quickly as you utter a phrase like usually, you actually have a fraction of a second to visualise the cabinets and retrieve the current easy type of the verb (assist). 

Admittedly, issues change into just a little extra sophisticated with time markers that should go after the primary verb. That is the case for a lot of time expressions related to the current excellent, for instance, many occasions and but. In such circumstances, I imagine that recommendation level quantity 4 beneath will enable you to.

3. Numbers matter

In my top quality with new college students, I fairly often introduce two of the large weapons in tandem – the current excellent and previous easy. The aim of the category is to get college students speaking about their life experiences. These life experiences needs to be launched within the current excellent tense. The position of the previous easy is to fill in all of the exact particulars in regards to the expertise.

For instance:

I’ve been to Berlin fairly a number of occasions  (current excellent)

The primary time I went there was on a faculty journey. I was 14 years outdated

We travelled to Berlin all the way in which from my house city in central England by coach

The final time I visited Berlin was again in 2013. I went with a good friend from Łódź 

On the subject of selecting the right tense when talking about life experiences, I encourage my college students to suppose when it comes to a quantity sample – 1, 2, 2, 2.

Therefore, you could possibly assign the number one to the current excellent tense as a result of it introduces a life expertise. The quantity 2 represents all the small print within the previous easy tense.

The 1-2-2-2 sample is just not tough to recall or visualise in any approach. Be sure to are ‘in contact’ with it once you’re talking about life experiences. In the event you discover you’re mixing up the 2 tenses, 1-2-2-2 will enable you to ‘reset’.

There’s nothing improper with tagging on and memorising key phrases that will help you ‘reset’:

1 – introduce / what number of occasions 

2 – particulars / completed

Are there another combos of tenses which encourage the adoption of a quantity sample to assist one retrieve the appropriate tense when in full conversational move?

Off the highest of my head, you could possibly apply the identical 1-2-2-2 sample when telling a narrative utilizing each the previous steady and previous easy tenses. 

One use of the previous steady is to supply the background of a narrative. To set the scene, so to talk. After offering the context for the story, swap to the previous easy to explain the primary occasions:

1 – previous steady

2 – previous easy

2 – previous easy

2 – previous easy

Instance:

I was hanging out the washing on the road yesterday once I heard this huge bang. I shortly ran round to the entrance of the home when, lo and behold, I noticed a small Fiat the wrong way up on the bend…

All in all, fundamental quantity patterns equivalent to 1-2-2-2 may also help you to organise your storytelling and select the right tense when talking English.

4. Personalisation and familiarisation

After I picked up the Serbian language round 10 years in the past, I largely relied on updating a Phrase-Phrase Desk. On one aspect of the column, I added Serbian phrases and phrases which I got here throughout on an on a regular basis foundation. In the appropriate hand column, I added true sentences about myself, life experiences and opinions about something and the whole lot. After all, all of those sentences contained the goal phrase or phrase.

I frequently learn by all of those personalised sentences and located that they have been floating round my thoughts whereas I used to be talking Serbian. For my part, the very essence of fluency is with the ability to routinely retrieve complete sentences, and even phrases and collocations these sentences include, when talking a second language. 

Shifting on to picking the right tense when talking English, I believe there’s loads to be mentioned for writing personalised sentences for among the tenses I’ve already written about on this publish.

Ten sentences is just not sufficient. With a view to change into accustomed to a tense, attempt to jot down at the very least 25 sentences. Let me begin you off with the current excellent based mostly by myself life experiences: 

I’ve been to Berlin 4 or 5 occasions

I’ve by no means been snowboarding

I’ve been to the Crucible Sheffield as soon as to see the World Snooker Championship

Last Ideas on Choosing the Right Tense when Talking English

I’ve described above some helpful methods that will help you select the right tense when talking English. 

These methods are main items of a really giant puzzle. You continue to must pay attention and skim loads to allow tenses and their related time markers to subconsciously ‘sink in’. 

My remaining message is – don’t underestimate the personalisation aspect of language acquisition. Learn by level 4 above once more.