Learn All English Verb Tenses (Easiest Method)
Summary
TLDRIn this educational video, Brian Wilds explains the usage of all 12 English tenses, covering the present, past, and future in simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous forms. He provides examples to clarify each tense's application, making complex grammar concepts accessible. The video also features a personal anecdote about discovering heritage through DNA tests, adding a relatable touch to the content.
Takeaways
- π English has 12 tenses, divided into four present, four past, and four future tenses.
- π The present simple is the most common tense, used for facts, habits, and schedules.
- π₯ Present continuous is used for actions happening right now, like watching a video or speaking on camera.
- π°οΈ Present perfect is for actions from the past that describe the subject now, such as experiences or states.
- π Present perfect continuous describes ongoing actions that started in the past and continue to the present.
- 𧬠The speaker shared a personal story about discovering his heritage through DNA tests, revealing surprising results.
- π Past simple is used for actions that started and finished in the past.
- πββοΈ Past continuous provides context or background for another action in the past.
- π Past perfect is used to provide context for an action that happened before another in the past.
- π Future simple is for actions expected to occur in the future, with 'will' often shortened to 'll or 's going to.
- π Future continuous is for actions that will continue over a period in the future.
- ποΈ Future perfect is for actions that will be completed by a certain time in the future.
- π Future perfect continuous emphasizes the duration of an action that will be completed in the future.
Q & A
What are the four present tenses in English according to the video?
-The four present tenses in English are the present simple, present continuous, present perfect, and present perfect continuous.
Why is the present simple tense the most common in English?
-The present simple tense is the most common because it is used when talking about facts, habits, and schedules, which are everyday occurrences and statements.
How is the present continuous tense used in the video?
-The present continuous tense is used to describe actions that are happening right now, such as 'you are watching this video right now' or 'I am speaking on camera'.
What does the present perfect tense describe in the video?
-The present perfect tense is used to talk about an action from the past that describes the subject now, such as someone's experience or lack of experience.
Can you give an example of the present perfect continuous tense from the video?
-An example from the video is 'I have been studying Spanish for 8 years,' which emphasizes the duration of an ongoing action that started in the past and continues to the present.
What is the purpose of the past simple tense in the video?
-The past simple tense is used when talking about an action that started and finished in the past, such as 'she worked last night' or 'I lived in Chicago when I was a child'.
How does the past continuous tense provide context in the video?
-The past continuous tense is used to give context or background for another action, like 'I was studying when the phone rang' or 'he was running when he caught the ball'.
What does the past perfect tense signify in the video?
-The past perfect tense is used to provide context for another action in the past that happened before another past action, such as 'Sarah had already left by the time he got home'.
What is the future simple tense used for in the video?
-The future simple tense is used to talk about actions that are believed to happen in the future, like 'we'll call you tomorrow' or 'he'll be there by 6:00 p.m.'
How does the future continuous tense differ from the future simple tense?
-The future continuous tense is used to talk about an action that will continue over a period of time in the future, such as 'we will be eating dinner from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.', whereas the future simple tense talks about actions that will happen at a specific point in the future.
What is the purpose of the future perfect tense in the video?
-The future perfect tense is used to talk about actions that will be finished by a certain time in the future, such as 'she will have moved to a new apartment before the end of the year'.
Why is the future perfect continuous tense rarely used according to the video?
-The future perfect continuous tense is rarely used but when it is, it emphasizes the duration of an action, such as 'he will have been driving for 6 hours straight when he arrives'.
Outlines
π Introduction to English Tenses
Brian Wilds introduces the video's purpose, which is to explain all 12 English tenses. He starts with the present tenses, explaining the present simple for facts, habits, and schedules; the present continuous for actions happening now; the present perfect for past actions affecting the present; and the present perfect continuous for ongoing actions from the past to the present. He also shares a personal anecdote about discovering his heritage through DNA tests, revealing surprising results and connecting with relatives worldwide.
π Detailed Explanation of Past Tenses
The script continues with an in-depth look at the past tenses. The past simple is used for actions that started and finished in the past. The past continuous provides context or background for another past action. The past perfect is used to give context to an action that occurred before another past action. Lastly, the past perfect continuous describes an ongoing action in the past that stopped at a specific moment. Each tense is exemplified with clear examples to illustrate their usage.
π Future Tenses and Duration of Actions
The final part of the script covers the future tenses. The future simple is for actions expected to happen, with variations like 'will' and 'going to'. The future continuous is for actions that will be ongoing over a period. The future perfect is for actions that will be completed by a certain time. The future perfect continuous, rarely used, emphasizes the duration of an action up to a point in the future. The script concludes with a summary of all tenses covered and an invitation for questions or comments.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Present Tenses
π‘Present Simple
π‘Present Continuous
π‘Present Perfect
π‘Present Perfect Continuous
π‘Past Tenses
π‘Past Simple
π‘Past Continuous
π‘Past Perfect
π‘Past Perfect Continuous
π‘Future Tenses
π‘Future Simple
π‘Future Continuous
π‘Future Perfect
π‘Future Perfect Continuous
Highlights
Introduction to the 12 English tenses by Brian Wilds.
Explanation of the four present tenses: simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous.
Present simple used for facts, habits, and schedules.
Present continuous for actions happening right now.
Present perfect for actions from the past affecting the present.
Present perfect continuous for ongoing actions from the past to the present.
Personal anecdote about DNA heritage test results.
DNA test revealed surprising ethnic backgrounds.
Promotion for My Heritage DNA kits with a discount code.
Introduction to the four past tenses: simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous.
Past simple for actions that started and finished in the past.
Past continuous for actions over a period in the past, often providing context.
Past perfect for actions that occurred before another past action.
Past perfect continuous for ongoing actions that stopped at a past moment.
Introduction to the four future tenses: simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous.
Future simple for actions expected to happen.
Future continuous for actions expected to continue over time.
Future perfect for actions expected to be completed by a certain future time.
Future perfect continuous for continuous actions completed by a future time, emphasizing duration.
Completion of the explanation of all 12 English tenses.
Invitation for questions or comments from the audience.
Transcripts
hi I'm Brian wilds and in this video I'm
going to explain how to use all 12
tenses in English let's get started as
you might be aware English has four
present tenses and you're probably
familiar with the present simple as in I
study we use this tense when talking
about facts habits and schedules that is
my phone fact he studies every day habit
on weekends we play soccer schedule the
present simple is by far the most common
verb tense in English so you'll get
plenty of practice with this over time
the present continuous I am studying we
use the present continuous to describe
actions that are happening right now as
in you are watching this video right now
I am speaking on camera an airplane is
flying through the sky with this tense
the action is happening as we speak the
present perfect I have studied we use
the present perfect when talking about
how an action from the past describes
the subject now as in I have studied
English for 3 years in this sentence
have studied English is a past action
but we're using it to describe who I am
now it's my experience and we often use
the present perfect to talk about
someone's experience or lack of
experience she has eaten breakfast
already he has lived there all his life
they have never been to Mexico we're
using past experience to describe who
the subject is now and that's why this
is a present tense and finally the
present perfect continuous I have been
studying we use the present perfect
continuous to talk about an action that
started in the past and continues
nonstop into the present I have been
studying Spanish for8 years in other
words I started studying 8 years ago I
never stopped and I'm still learning now
I have been studying we often use this
tense to emphasize when an ongoing
action first started he has been
sleeping for 12 hours she has been
working two jobs since February they
have been traveling for 5 weeks okay
great work we finished all the present
tenses of English now before we move on
to the past I want to share something
fun with you guys my wife and I recently
took DNA tests to learn more about our
heritage and the results were pretty
surprising so we got our my Heritage DNA
kits in the mail today and we're going
to open them up and do the test and find
out where we're from where our families
are from Cheers Cheers all right here we
go
ready okay mix it and that's it and we
will see you guys in four to six weeks
with the
results here we
go 54% English 30.4% Irish goddess in
wels 7% Scandinavian whoa
okay 6.3% Mesoamerican and andian and
there's more cool it's almost Egyptian
1.7% Greek and South Italian maybe I had
some relatives who like went across in a
boat meser mesomeric see better
that I'm still kind of surprised I
really did not expect Mesoamerican
andian or Greek and South Italian we
also used my Heritage to find hundreds
of DNA matches and relatives from around
the world who we never even knew existed
here we go what do you think you're
going to get French French yeah Adrian
is a babe
very SC
Scandinavian Iberian you
also Irish Scottish and Welsh that's all
you got that's it it's kind of it's very
concentrated Adrien found new relatives
in Denmark Canada and France and we
might even try to meet some of them on
our next big family trip and my Heritage
is currently running a promotion if you
click the link in the description box
and use the coupon code WS you'll get
free shipping on your order and now back
to the
video okay ready to talk about the past
let's let do it and again we have four
tenses first up is the past simple I
studied this tense is very
straightforward and very common we use
it when talking about an action that
started in the past and finished in the
past for example she worked last night
in other words she started work last
night and she finished work last night
he ate eggs for breakfast he ate eggs
then he's not eating them now
I lived in Chicago when I was a child I
live there then and I don't live there
now why because an action in the past
simple is always finished in the past
great now we have the past continuous I
was studying we use the past continuous
to describe an action that continued
over a period of time in the past I was
studying but more specifically we almost
always use this t to give context or
background for another action I was
studying when the phone rang we were
living in Canada when we got engaged he
was running when he caught the ball the
past perfect I had studied this tense is
also used to provide context for another
action in the past but the past perfect
always comes beforehand Sarah had had
already left by the time he got home in
other words Sarah left before he got
home it could have been a minute before
an hour before or a year before all we
know is she had already left let's look
at two more examples I had already
booked the tickets when the concert sold
out in other words I booked the tickets
before the concert sold out we had eaten
a big lunch so we weren't hungry when we
got to the hotel in other words we ate a
big lunch before we got to the hotel so
we weren't hungry and finally the past
perfect continuous I had been studying
and again we almost always use this
tense to give context but the past
perfect continuous describes in action
that continued over time and then
stopped at the moment of another action
I had been watching TV
when the power went out I was watching I
was watching I was watching power went
out no more watching he had been eating
pizza every day when he started the diet
eating pizza eating pizza eating pizza
started the diet we had been talking
about going to France for years and
finally decided to go talking about
going talking about going talking about
going decided to go congratulations
we've now covered all the past tenses of
in English excellent work we're on to
the final stretch the future and again
we've got four tenses let's begin with
the future simple I will study we use
the future simple to talk about actions
that we believe will happen in the
future I we'll call you tomorrow we'll
bring cupcakes to the party he'll be
there by 6:00 p.m. and yes most of the
time English speakers shorten the word
will to as in I'll study you will study
he'll study etc etc and there's another
form of the future simple that you might
already be familiar with going to or
gonna as in I'm going to call you
tomorrow we're gonna bring cupcakes to
the park he's going to be there by 6:00
p.m. the will and going to forms have
the same meaning but going to or going
to is more casual the future continuous
I will be studying we use the future
continuous to talk about an action that
we believe will continue over a period
of time in the future for example we
will be eating dinner from 6:00 to 7:00
p.m. I'll be running errands all
afternoon and again we can also use
going to instead of will they're going
to be traveling all summer the baby
going to be sleeping when you arrive the
future perfect
I will have studied we use the future
perfect to talk about actions that will
be finished by a certain time in the
future for example she will have moved
to a new apartment before the end of the
year in other words here's the end of
the year and she'll move to a new
apartment sometime before that could be
a day before a week before a month
before anytime let's look at two more
examples he will have finished his
homework by the time dinner is ready so
dinner is ready and he finished his
homework sometime before that they will
have come home by the spring so spring
comes and they came home sometime before
that the action will be finished before
a given time in the future and finally
the future perfect continuous I will
have been studying so this time we're
talking about a continuous action that
will be completed at a given time in the
future he will have been driving for 6
hours straight when he arrives now
honestly English speakers rarely use
this tense but when we do it's to
emphasize the duration of an action how
long it will take we will have been
living in Los Angeles for a decade this
December she will have been working at
the company for 40 years when she she
retires and that's it we've covered all
12 tenses of English congratulations if
you have any questions or comments
please let me know and as always thanks
for watching
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