Markers in English table. English times. Tenses in English (Verb Tenses). Past Perfect and Future Perfect tense markers

The big difficulty is to get used to the fixed word order in English sentences. Everything in a sentence must be in its place, so teachers constantly remind you about the sentence construction scheme subject + predicate . And, it would seem, you are following the pattern, but if an adverb appears in a sentence, then it begins to “wander.” Sometimes, of course, you can catch “by ear” that the adverb is in the wrong place, and the sentence sounds “somehow wrong”. But it’s better to firmly know the places of adverbs in a sentence, because depending on their positions, the meaning of your statement may even change.

In this article we will talk about adverbs of time just, already, yet, still . They can occupy two positions in a sentence: in the middle(just, already, still) and at the end(yet).

JUST

Adverb of time just stands for "just now, just about" and describes an action that occurred in the recent past, but does not name the immediate moment of the action.

She "s just gone out. (BrE) / She just went out. (AmE) - She just went out.
I "ve just heard the news. (BrE) / I just heard the news. (AmE) - I just heard the news.

With tenses expressing future actions ( , ) just describes an action that will happen in the near future or is about to happen at the present moment ("just about", "already"):

The phone is ringing. I'm just answering! - The phone is ringing. I'm already answering!
He's just about to leave. - He's about to leave.

With the expression just now in the meaning "recently, some time ago" past tenses are used:

He was here just now! - He was just here!
The boys were fighting just now, but at the moment they are playing together. - The boys were just fighting, but now they are playing together.
I just saw a program about healthy food. - I just watched a program about healthy eating.

ALREADY

Already used primarily in statements and has the meaning: "already". Already used to show that an action occurred earlier than expected or a certain situation appeared earlier than expected. Already- adverb-marker of time, but it can also be found with other tenses. The place of the adverb already in a sentence is between the auxiliary and main verb, but sometimes already can come at the end of a sentence:

I have already cooked dinner. - I have cooked dinner already. - I've already prepared dinner.
We have already booked the tickets. - We have booked the tickets already. - We have already ordered tickets.

If already is put at the end, they want to express astonishment regarding the fact that the action happened earlier than the speaker expected:

You have come already! You are early today! - You've already arrived! You're early today!
I don"t believe that you"ve done the task already. - I don’t believe that you have already completed the task.

Already can be used in questions if you want to get confirmation completed action, order:

Have you already sent the letters? - Well, have you already sent the letters?
Have the children already returned from school? - Well, have the children come home from school yet?

YET

Yet considered to be the opposite already. If already used in statements, then yet - in questions and denials. In other words, if the statement contains already- in question and negation there will be yet. Place yet - at the end suggestions or questions:

Have you cooked dinner yet? -Have you already prepared dinner?
Has she booked the tickets yet? - Has she already booked tickets?
He promised to call me but he hasn't called me yet. - He promised to call me, but hasn't done it yet.
We haven't decided where to go on holiday yet. - We haven't decided where to go on holiday yet.

In negatives, yet can come after the auxiliary verb:

In questions yet they are used to find out something, to get information. Not yet is often used for a short answer ("Not yet"):

Have you congratulated Bill? - Not yet. I"ll call him right now.
- Did you congratulate Bill? - Not yet. I'll call him right now.

Has he published his book? - Not yet. He's going to do it in May.
- Has he already published his book? Not yet. He plans to do this in May.

The pair of adverbs already and yet are typical of time, but in American English you can easily find them with Past Simple.

STILL

Adverb still has the following meanings: "still", "still", "as before". Still can be used with many tenses ( , and others) and indicates that the situation remains unchanged; The process has been delayed and has not yet been completed. The adverb of time still emphasizes the duration, duration of an action.

Still is used in statements and questions. Place still- in the middle of a sentence: after the verb to be, and if the predicate is expressed by a semantic verb - after the subject before the predicate:

Are you still waiting? -Are you still waiting?
I am still angry at him. - I'm still angry at him.
She still works as a doctor. - She is still working as a doctor.
He was still excited after the trip. - He is still impressed by the trip.
They can be still discussing the problem. - They may still be discussing the problem.

To emphasize the duration of an action, still is sometimes placed before the auxiliary verb to be:

He still is ill. - He's still sick.
Jane is still looking for a job. - Jane is still looking for a job.

The adverb still can be found in negations, where it appears after the subject and expresses dissatisfaction with the protracted situation or surprise:

I still haven"t finished writing my composition. - I still won’t finish writing the essay.
He still hasn't found a new job! - He still won't find a job!

Still can be used before the infinitive. In this case, you can replace still on yet:

What will you do? - It's still (yet) to be decided.
- What will you do? - This is still to be decided.

I "ve done a lot of housework but the greatest part it still (yet) to be done. -
I have done a lot of work around the house, but most of it still needs to be done.

Very often students ask: “How do you say “already” and “yet” in English?". It is impossible to answer such a question right away, because depending on the type and meaning of the statement, you have to choose three words: already, yet and still. There is no single and universal option. Let's look at some examples to understand the difference. Imagine you are waiting for an event to start:

Have they started yet? -Have they already started?
They have already started. - They have already started.

The speech turned out to be boring and you can’t wait for it to end:

Are they still playing? -Are they still playing?
Yes, they are still playing. They have not finished yet. - Yes, they are still playing. They're not done yet.

Another situation: you can't wait for the guest to arrive:

And then you wait for your guest to finally leave:

If you are waiting for something to happen - use already or yet. If you are waiting for the action to end, use still.

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Article " English tense table"sums up a large section of English grammar called" tenses in English". There are 12 tense forms in English. As in Russian, in English there is present (Present), past (Past) and future (Future), but each of these tenses in English is divided into simple, continuous and perfect continuous. You can find the rules for using tenses in English on our website in the “Articles – English” section. Below is a table of tenses in English, which shows in a schematic form the formation of different tenses in English. You should pay attention to tense markers in English. which will help you correctly use this or that tense of the English language.

Conventions: S – subject (performer of the action), V – predicate (action/verb), + – affirmative sentence in English, - – negative sentence in English, ? – interrogative sentence in English.

Tenses in English (Table of English Tenses):

	Present Continuous
Indicates constant, regular action, well-known facts. Time markers: 1) usually, often, sometimes, always, rarely, hardly ever, never– stand before the predicate (V) 2) every day/week/year…, once/twice a week/month…- come at the end of a sentence I + S+V/V(e)s I/we/you/they work He/She/It works S + don’t/doesn’t + V 1 I/we/you/they don’t work He/She/It doesn’t work ? Do/Does +S + V 1 ? Do we/you/they work? Does he/she/it work? Where do/does +S + V 1 ? Where we/you/they work? Where does he/she/it work?	Indicates a long-term action that occurs at the moment of speech or a temporary action ( I’ m staying at the hotel ). Can be used to convey the future tense: I"m seeing my doctor on Friday. Time markers: now, at the moment (or from the context). + S +am/is/are+V ing I'm working He/She/It is working We/You/They are working - S + am not/isn’t/arent +V ing I'm not working He/She/It isn’t working We/You/They aren't working ? Am/Is/Are +S + V ing? Is he/she/it working? Are we/you/they working What am/is/are +S + V ing? What are you doing now?
Past Simple	Past Continuous
Indicates an action that happened in the past. Time markers : yesterday, last year/week/month, two days ago, in 2001( or from context). + S + V ed/ V 2 I worked He bought it yesterday - S + didn’t +V 1 I didn't work He didn’t buy it yesterday ? Did +S + V 1 ? Did you work? Did he buy it yesterday? What did +S + V 1 ? What did he buy?	Indicates a continuous action in the past that occurred at a certain point in the past. Time markers: yesterdayat 5,when you came (or from the context). + S + was/were +V ing I/He/She/It was working at 5:30 yesterday. We/You/They were working…. - S + wasn’t/weren’t +V ing I/He/She/It wasn’t working at 5:30 yesterday. We/You/They weren't working... ? Was/Were +S + V ing? Was I/he/she/it working at …. We/you/they working at….. What was/were +S + V ing? What were they doing at 5:30 yesterday?
Present Perfect	Present Perfect Continuous
Indicates a past action, the result of which is felt in the present. Time markers: never, ever, yet, since, for, before, already, just. + S + have/has +V ed/ V 3 I/We/You/They have worked/done…. He/She/It has worked/done…… - S + haven’t/hasn’t +V ed/ V 3 I/We/You/They haven’t worked/done…. He/She/It hasn’t worked/done…… ? Have/Has +S + V ed/ V 3 ? Have I/we/you/they worked/done … Has she/he/it worked/done…. What have/has +S + V ed/ V 3 ? What have you done?	Indicates an action that began in the past, lasted until the moment of speech, and may still be ongoing. Time markers: since, for. + S + have/has + been +V ing I/We/You/They have been working since morning He/She/It has been working since morning - S + haven’t/hasn’t + been +V ing I/We/You/They haven’t been working since morning He/She/It hasn’t been working since morning ? Have/Has +S + been +V ing? Have you/we/they been working… Has he/she/it been working…. What have/has +S + been + V ing ? What have you been doing since morning?
Past Perfect	Past Perfect Continuous
Indicates an action that was completed before a certain point in the past or another past action. + S + had +V ed/ V 3 I had done all work by 6 p.m. - S +hadn’t +V ed/ V 3 I hadn’t done all work by 6 p.m. ? Had +S + V ed/ V 3 ? Had you done…. What had +S + V ed/ V 3 ? What had you done by 6 p.m. yeste rday?	indicates an action that began in the past, lasted for some time and ended (or has not yet ended) before a certain point in the past. + S +had+ been +V ing - S + hadn’t + been +V ing I had been working by the time he came ? Had +S + been +V ing? Had you been working… What had +S + been + V ing….. ?
Future Simple	Future be going to...
Indicates future tense: 1. predictions for the future (without visible evidence); 2. promises, threats; 3. decisions made at the time of speech; 4. irreversible events. Markers: tomorrow, next wee k , (or from the context). + S + will +V 1 She'll be 24 next week - S + won’t (wiil +not) +V 1 It won't rain tomorrow ? Will +S + V 1 ? Will it rain tomorrow? Where will +S + V 1 ? Where will you do?	Indicates future tense: 1. predictions for the future (visible confirmation); 2. plans and intentions. + S +am/is/are + going to +V 1 It is going to rain (there are clouds in the sky) - S + am not/isn’t/aren’t + going to +V 1 I"m not going to attend that meeting ? Am/Is/Are +S + going to + V 1 ? Are you going to call him? What am/is/are +S + going to +V 1 ? What are you going to do?
Future Perfect	Future Perfect Continuous
Indicates an action that will end before a certain time or another action in the future or will continue to continue (rarely used). + S + will + have +V ed/ V 3 She’ll have worked/done…. - S +won't+have +V ed/ V 3 She won’t have worked/done … ? Will +S + have +V ed/ V 3 ? Will she have done...? What will +S + have +V ed/ V 3 ? What will you have done...?	Used to describe an action that will begin before some point in time in the future and will still be in progress at that point in time. It is used very rarely, never in oral speech. + S + will + have + been +V ing I’ll have been working…. - S +won't+have + been + V ing I have been working…. ? Will +S + have + been + V ing? Will you have been working… What will +S + have + been +V ing? What will you have been doing….?

There are 12 active tenses in the English language. For us this number seems huge, and it seems that English tenses are very difficult to understand. In fact, this is not the case, and with practice all students learn to choose the right time correctly.

But in the initial stages of learning, any way to remember the functions of tenses is useful. Whether you teach or study on your own, you will definitely need this worksheet. We advise you to use summary table of English tenses with examples at first, so as not to get lost in times.

We invite you to study and download two tables: table of formation times And English tenses table. The first clearly shows how tenses are formed in English, and the second lists all the functions of tenses with English examples. The tables are compiled from articles about that time published on the blog, so if you want to read in detail about a particular time, just enter its name into the site search.