ENGLISH II – TIME TENSES – TIME EXPRESSIONS

Time Expressions and Tenses

Here is a quick overview of time expressions used with specific tenses
including examples and explanations.

Days of the Week

Days of the week can be used with most tenses in English. Notice that
all days of the week are capitalized:

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Examples:

I'll see you next Sunday.

We had a meeting last Thursday.

Jennifer has her programming course on Wednesday.

When speaking about an action that is repeated EVERY Saturday,

Monday, etc., use the day of the week, add 's' and use either the
present simple to speak about present routines or the past simple to
discuss past habits. Do not use with the continuous, perfect, or perfect
continuous forms. 

Mondays

Tuesdays

Wednesdays

Thursdays

Fridays

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Saturdays

Sundays

Examples: 

We have our class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

I used to play tennis on Saturdays.

The Weekend
British English: at the weekend OR at weekends (in general)

American English: on the weekend OR on weekends (in general)

Use the present simple to speak about habits on the weekend. 'On the
weekend' is also used with the future and past tenses to speak about
the next or last weekend.

I play tennis at weekends.

She visits her mother on the weekend.

We're going to the beach on the weekend. (next weekend)

They visited Chicago on the weekend. (last weekend)

Times of the Day

Use the following time expressions to express things that happen
during the day. These expressions can be used with the past, present,
and future forms. 

in the morning

in the afternoon

in the evening

at night

Make sure to note that we say 'at night' NOT 'in the night'

They do the cleaning in the morning.

He goes to bed late at night.

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We'll do the homework in the evening.

She had a drink in the evening before she went to bed.

Time Expressions to Use With the Present Simple

Use 'every' with segments of time such as every day, month, year, every
two months, etc.

She travels to Las Vegas every year.

Jack tries to exercise every day.

Here is how to use adverbs of frequency (usually, sometimes, often,

etc.):

They sometimes play golf.

She rarely smokes.

Time Expressions to Use With the Present Continuous

Use 'now,' 'at the moment,' 'right now,' or 'today' with the present
continuous to speak about what is happening at the present moment.

Tom is watching TV now.

I'm working on the Smith project today.

Jane is doing her homework at the moment.

Time Expressions Often Used in the Past

Use 'last' when speaking about the previous week, month or year

They went on holiday last month.

Use 'yesterday' when speaking about the previous day. Use 'the day
before yesterday' to speak about two days earlier. 

I visited my best friend yesterday.

They had math class the day before yesterday.

Use 'ago' when speaking about X days, weeks, months, years before.
NOTE: 'ago' follows the number of days, weeks, etc.

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We flew to Cleveland three weeks ago.

The class started twenty minutes ago. 

Use 'in' with specific years or months with past, present, and future
tenses.

She graduated in 1976.

We'll see each other in April. 

Use 'when' with a past time clause.

I played tennis every day when I was a teenager.

Time Expressions Used in the Future

Use 'next' to speak about the next week, month, or year.

We are going to visit our friends in Chicago next week.

I'll have some time off next month. 

Use 'tomorrow' for the next day.

He'll be at the meeting tomorrow.

Use 'in X weeks, days, years' time with the future continuous to
express what you will be doing at a specific time in the future.

We will be swimming in a crystal blue sea in two weeks' time.

Use 'by (date)' form with the future perfect to express what you will
have done up to that point in time.

I will have finished the report by April 15.

Use 'by the time + time clause ' with the future perfect to express what
will have happened up to a specific action in the future.

She will have bought a new home by the time he arrives.

Guide for Mixed Tense Exercises

 
Part 1: The Basics
 

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                Learning the basics of forming a verb tense is usually easy, and so is using that tense by
itself.  However, when the tenses are mixed together in grammar or writing, there can be a lot of
confusion. 

Here are some tips to remember:

1.              Look for the use of time words.   A chart is given below.

2.              Remember the purpose(s) of each tense.

3.        Look at the context.    There may not be any time words in the sentence, but the surrounding
sentences will give a clue as to what should come next. 

Tense Time words Examples

Simple Every day, month, week, year; George jogs three miles every
present always; sometimes; never; day.
frequently
Mary always has salad for lunch.

I sometimes go to New York City.

Simple past Yesterday; # years, weeks, months, Tom went to Los Angeles
days, hours ago; in (past year); last yesterday.
(month, week, year)
Charles Lindbergh flew to Paris in
1927.

Simple Tomorrow; in (future year, month, Mary will go to Hawaii in two

future week); on (future day); next weeks.
(month, week, year, name of day);
Ed will drive to Toronto next
# days, months, weeks, years from
Saturday.
now; this month, week, afternoon,
year; someday George will paint his house six
days from now.

Present Now; right now; at this moment You are reading sentences about
Progressive verb tenses right now.

Many students are taking calculus

this semester.

Future At this time tomorrow At this time tomorrow, I will be

progressive cleaning my house.

Present For; since; yet; never; always; so Sam has visited Hawaii many
Perfect far; # times; many times; lately; times.
recently; already
Paul has been here for six hours.

Yoko has known Mary since 1994.

I have already written a letter to

the president.

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Present For; since; lately; recently Rita has been jogging for two
perfect hours.
progressive

Part 2: Time Clauses

 

Some verb tenses often work with time clauses. 

Sentences with time clauses have two parts:

1.              The clause with the time word

2.        The main clause

Remember the following tips:

       The part with the time word is  always dependent.   

       Most time words work with more than one tense.

       In the present, past, and future perfect progressive tenses, for is not always necessary, but it is
frequently used. 

       *Before and after do not require the use of the past perfect, but it is possible.

Time Clause Patterns

 
Time Time clause Main clause tense Examples
word tense

While Past Simple past (short While Anna was sleeping, a

progressive action) plane flew over her house.

Past While George was frying fish,

progressive (action Rita was peeling potatoes.
at same time)

Present Future progressive While Anna is

progressive working tomorrow, her
sister will be painting the living
room.

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Before Simple Simple future Before Karen leaves for work,

present she will roller-skate around her
house three times.

Simple past Simple past or past Before Karen left for work,

perfect* she (had) roller-skated around
her house three times.

After Simple Simple future After Karen takes her

present motorcycle to the mechanic,
he will take a look at it.

Simple past Simple past After Karen took [had taken]  her

or past motorcycle to the mechanic,
perfect* she drove to work in a rented
car.

When Simple Simple future When John finishes this

present semester, he will take a trip to
France.

Simple past Simple past When the sun rose, John got up.

Past progressive When the pizza arrived,

John was checking his e-mail.

Past perfect When John’s friend came to pick

him up,
he had already checked his
answering machine for
messages.

Past perfect When John got home, his

progressive brother had been surfing the
web for five hours.

Until Simple Simple future Until Mary finishes her scuba-

present diving course, she won’t
take the advanced diving class.

Simple past Past perfect Until Mary lost $50,000 in Las

Vegas, she hadn’t realized that
she had a gambling problem.

As soon Simple Simple future As soon as I get home, I will

as present take a nap.

Simple past Simple past As soon as I got home, I took a

nap.

Wheneve Simple Simple present Whenever Sam goes to Canada,

r present he always visits Niagara Falls.

The first Simple past Simple past The first time that
time Ingrid visited New York,
she went to the Empire State

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Building.

The last Simple past Simple past The last time that
time Nancy played hockey,
she scored three goals.

The next Simple Simple future The next time I buy new

time present sneakers, I will walk around in
them first.

By the Simple Future perfect By the time the plane arrives,

time present we will have completed the
crossword puzzle.

Simple past Past perfect By the time John finished his

essay, most of the class had left.

Since Simple past Present perfect Tom has been unhappy since his

(time) team lost  the championship.

 
Part 3: Other Uses
 

                Some time words may go with more than one tense.    In this case, meaning and context
become especially important.  The time given is relative to the present moment—it may be
present, past, or future, depending on when the event happened, is happening, or will happen.    

The story below will demonstrate this.  Present time is in bold type, like this.   Future time is in
italics, like this.  Past time is in normal type.

Theresa’s Day
 
                Today is Saturday.  Theresa had been sleeping for eight hours when the doorbell rang.  She
got up to answer the door, but no one was there.  The sound of the doorbell had also woken up
Maria, Theresa’s roommate.  Because neither of them could go back to sleep, they decided to have
breakfast.  While Theresa was making breakfast, Maria was taking a shower.  While they were
eating their breakfast, they heard a loud crash from outside.   They ran to the window and looked
outside.  Their friend, Tom, had been skateboarding, but he had lost control of his skateboard and
crashed into the garbage cans.  Theresa and Maria ran outside to see how Tom was.  He had a few
scrapes and bruises, and he was wearing a banana peel and broken eggshells on his head.  Theresa
and Maria gave him some antiseptic and bandages.  They wanted him to go to the nurse, but he
said he was all right.

                After that, Theresa and Maria went back inside, finished their breakfast and watched a
tape.     Now it is 12:00, and Theresa is eating lunch.   She is eating a salad.  Lately, she has been
trying to eat more leafy green vegetables.  Everyone tells her this will make her healthier, but it’s
not easy for her because it’s hard to for her to find leafy green vegetables that she likes.     She will
be doing many things this afternoon and evening.   At 1:30, she will go to the swimming pool and
swim some laps.  She practices swimming four times a week because she is on the swim team. She
has been on the swim team for two years. When she finishes swimming, she will take a shower and

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get ready for her evening.   First, she will eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant.   Next, she plans to
watch Citizen Kane with Maria, Tom, and Ed, Tom’s brother.   By the time the movie ends, they will
have seen it sixteen times.   After the movie, they will go to a local dance club.   By midnight, they
will have been dancing for three hours.   At 3 a.m., Theresa and Maria will come home and go to
sleep.   Tomorrow will be less busy.

Theresa’s Day

Time Main and non-time clause(s) Time clause

12:00 a.m.- Today is Saturday.
11:59 p.m.

1 a.m-9 a.m. Theresa had been sleeping for eight

hours.

9 a.m. (When) the doorbell

rang.

9:01 a.m. Theresa got out of bed to answer the

door, but there was no one there.

9:15 a.m-9: 30 She was making breakfast (While) her roommate

a.m. was taking a shower.

9:31 a.m.-9: 45 (While) they were eating

a.m. their breakfast

9:45 a.m. They heard a loud crash from outside.

Before 9:45 Their friend, Tom, had been

a.m. skateboarding

9:45 a.m. (But) he had lost control of his

skateboard and crashed into the garbage
cans.

9:46:00 a.m. They ran to the window and looked

outside.

9:46:30 a.m. Theresa and Maria ran outside to see

how Tom was.

9:47 a.m. He had a few scrapes and bruises, and he

was wearing a banana peel and broken
eggshells on his head.

9:50 a.m. Theresa and Maria gave him some

antiseptic and bandages.

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9:55 a.m. They wanted him to go to the nurse, but

he said he was all right.

10:00-11:59 After that, Theresa and Maria went back

inside, finished their breakfast, and
watched a tape.

12 p.m. Theresa is eating lunch.

She is eating a salad.

Before now Lately, she has been trying to eat more

and up to the leafy green vegetables. 
present
moment

General truth Everyone tells her this will make her

with a future healthier, but it’s not easy for her
prediction because it’s hard for her to find leafy
green vegetables that she likes.

1 p.m. – 12 She will be doing many things this

a.m. afternoon and evening.

1:30 p.m. At 1:30, she will go to the swimming pool

and swim some laps.

Habit She practices swimming four times a

week because she is on the swim team.

Situation that She has been on the swim team for two
began in the years.
past and
continues to
the present
moment

3:00-4:30 p.m. She will take a shower and get ready for (when) she finishes
her evening swimming

6:00 p.m. She will eat dinner at a Chinese

restaurant.

7:00-8:30 She plans to watch Citizen Kane with

Maria, Tom, and Ed, Tom’s brother.

They will have seen the movie sixteen (by the time) it ends.
times

9:00 They will go to a local dance club.

12 a.m. By midnight, they will have been dancing

for three hours.

3 a.m. Theresa and Maria will come home and

go to sleep.

Tomorrow Tomorrow will be less busy.

ENGLISH II – TIME TENSES – TIME EXPRESSIONS CJBLANCOR - UTS CARACAS

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Written by Dale Egan,  ELRC tutor

ENGLISH II – TIME TENSES – TIME EXPRESSIONS CJBLANCOR - UTS CARACAS