So, I'm sure that this topic has already been discussed hundreds of times, but... What's the way to actually LEARN tenses? English is my second language, but nowadays most of my content online comes in English, a bunch of my friends are natives, etc. So, as a result, I've acquired quite a sufficient vocabulary and a decent overall understanding of what I am trying to say (I'm definitely not proficient, but quite aight I would say).
But when it comes to tenses, well, let's say the situation is quite different. I tend to use them intuitively, and even tho they're mostly correct, there are two main problems:
- Gun to my head, I wouldn't be able to explain to you why I have used a certain tense.
- They're certainly not perfect, since I don't have a clear understanding of what type of situation (?) each tense is supposed to convey.
Would appreciate any advice!
Here's the thing. You could theoretically go through all of the functions of each of the 12 tenses in English and memorise every single situation they are used in to fully understand, but like, why?? That isn't how native speakers learn. I grew up in England and I sure as hell couldn't tell you every single function of the present continuous.
If you've been learning them intuitively, then you should keep at it. It's the best way by a mile.
Most native speakers also just use tense intuitively, I doubt many could ever break down why they use them and when. What in particular have you been having trouble with?
Well, that's something that I would consider to be my goal as well. But to achieve this kind of proficiency, I really need to get a grasp on my basics. So, I guess I'm just looking for the most consistent way to learn + test my knowledge of tenses.
I presume you've already had a look at the available resources online, if you can't find any which fit what you're looking for then maybe you need to find some in person/one to one tutoring?
Though it might pay to know that many native speakers completely flaunt grammar rules all the time, so a scientific level of accuracy may not make you a more natural speaker if that's your ultimate goal. Are you reading and consuming plenty of media?
You must just practice more until you get it. More sophisticated tenses require higher levels.
Here's a guide of each tense and when to use them (https://english.lingolia.com/en/grammar/tenses/overview). Honestly, I didn't even realise we had so many. If you have any questions about them I'm happy to try and answer them for you
A Comprehensive Grammar by Quirk breaks it down nicely. The link given by u/MysteriousButterfree contains essentially the same info, but the book has several good schemes
The plain tenses (I do, did, will do) are just saying something happened/happens in the present, past, or future
The -ing tenses are something that was going on while something else happened. To me -ing has the sense of the action being ongoing or continuous.
The has/have/had tenses are saying something was complete but no other information about it. Nothing about how many times or when or it might still be going right now. So this is talking about something being finished or completed at the time of something else. This is like putting an action into the past of another action:
English also has "modal verbs", this is the can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, dare, etc. These show senses of obligation and speculation or likelihood/probability.
There's other tenses and stuff too, but this is the main stuff. I'm working on learning French myself and the main thing I keep in mind is to figure out the pattern or vibe of things and not just memorize tables.
EHHHH well if I had had a gun pointing at my head I couldn't even talk my own language. LUL
What is your first language? I would assume that tenses are the same even if conjugation is different, right?
It's Russian. The thing is, we actually only have 3 tenses (Past, Present, Future) plus aspect (Perfective/Imperfective, I believe).
So, our system is quite different, and there's no 100% correlation of tenses, which means that they are translated using the context around them.
Technically English only has three tenses too (even more technically we can say there's only two, since there is no true future tense, only auxiliary verbs used to refer to a future time, but that's not really important).
There are four aspects (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous) that can be applied to each of the three basic times (past, present, future), which gives us 12 verb forms people might refer to as "tenses".
Well, in English you use the present simple or continuous to express future events.
This new classification is stupid. That aspect classification is literally taken from Slavic languages, and makes some sense, but not that much as you think (aspect is a property of the noun itself in Slavic languages).
That "only 3 tenses" is even more stupid. It implies that, for example, Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous are essentially the same, but with different aspect. While actually, Present Perfect refers to the past, while Present Perfect Continuous refers to the present. That 3 tenses system and aspect system is contradictory.
This kind of classification is inspired by a "universal grammar", but there's no such thing.
Everyone who actually speaks multiple, even closely related languages, knows there's no universal mapping even if they're close, let alone all languages from all over the world.
This is also why no one uses this new method of classification, except for academics. Because it's stupid.
BTW. You confused this new adacemic system with traditional aspect system. The new classification doesn't recognize aspects in English sense, but in also "universal " sense, including aspect such as "repetitive".
English tenses' system is really nothing alike other languages, including the closest Germanic languages.
Why don't you tell us what you really think.
Condensing what you wrote, which basically says "tenses have a literal meaning but often also convey language-specific and largely arbitrary idiomatic context, reducing the utility of classical tense labels for mapping between languages".
Sure, actually, I agree. This doesn't make it useless though, or stupid. At the moment, so far as I can tell, wading through this imperfect tense classification system is really the only way for learners to be properly introduced. The rest is experience speaking the language, especially active practice with feedback.
I haven't come across this "new classification" you're referring to but it sounds rather confusing; perhaps more intended for academic ponderings than to assist new learners of English.
No language has a similar tenses' system to English.
Yeah, try Uzbek. They have about 3 or 4 future tenses with different degrees of certainty. I will definitely do this right now vs. I will probably do this tomorrow vs I might do it someday. Or Turkish, past tenses one like This happened, I saw it with my own eyes vs Someone told me it happened. (The "told me" or "I heard" wording can be added to almost any verb with the "mis" ending.
Youglish is a good resource.
Here's an example with amodal.https://youglish.com/pronounce/%22should_have_left%22/english
You do realize that the average American couldn't, with a gun pointed to their head, explain tenses either? And that they pick tenses based more on intuition than on careful consideration?
I'm not saying everyone is like this, but most folks who can explain grammar are usually either in a profession that requires the ability to communicate with precision (lawyers, technical writers, editors, etc.) or have studied a foreign language. I'm currently quite clear on the future conditional tense, because I'm studying it right now in my target language.
Pretty much. The way I’d put it is, if you held a gun to an average native speaker’s head and asked them to explain tenses, they’d repeat something they half-remember from school that doesn’t match how they really use them at all. Someone who tried to follow that would be understood, but not sound fluent. If you called them on it (“Then why did you just use present tense to describe something in the future?”) they would never have thought about it unless they’ve tried to answer questions from a learner.
In all honesty I think the best way to learn to intuitively use the right tense at the right time is just time spent in the language, listening, reading and communicating with people. You can learn the rules, and there are loads of grammar resources available in books and online, but there will always be some exception and it's hearing them in natural speech and just speaking lots that will really develop fluency.