Tenses and sequence of tenses

English (Précis and Composition) · Grammar · Verbs and tenses. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

Test this topic free All English (Précis and Composition) topics

The idea

Every tense question hides a time clue. Find the clue first, then choose the tense that matches it. A finished time (yesterday, last year, in 1947) takes the simple past. A period that runs up to now (since 2015, for ten years, yet, already) takes the present perfect.

When one sentence has two past actions, the earlier one takes the past perfect (had + past participle) and the later one the simple past. An action that was in progress when another happened takes the past continuous.

Keep the tenses consistent. If the main verb is in the past, the verbs that depend on it normally move into a past form as well.

Rules to remember

Simple past for a finished time: yesterday, ago, last week, in 2010.
Present perfect (has/have + past participle) with since, for, already, yet, just, so far.
since + starting point (since Monday); for + length of time (for three days).
Past perfect (had + past participle) for the earlier of two past actions, often with by the time, before, after.
Simple present for facts, habits and fixed timetables: The sun rises in the east; The flight leaves at six.
Hardly / Scarcely + had + subject + past participle ... when; No sooner had + subject + past participle ... than.
After a past reporting verb (said, told), the verb in the reported clause moves one step back into the past.

Common mistake

Using the present perfect with a finished time, as in 'I have met him yesterday'. A finished time word needs the simple past: 'I met him yesterday'.

Worked example

Choose the verb: Since the new road opened in 2020, traffic in the old town ____ sharply. (fell / has fallen / had fallen / falls)

The clue is 'since' + a starting point (2020), so the period runs from then up to now.
A period that runs up to now needs the present perfect: has + past participle.
'fell' needs a finished time, 'had fallen' needs a later past action, and 'falls' states a habit, so none of them fits.

Answer: has fallen

Ask about this

Type what you are stuck on. The helper finds the explanation, worked examples and the notes to read, free and instant.

Read the full notes

Keep going

Subject-verb agreement →Take a English (Précis and Composition) test