I was recently asked for some basic rules regarding how we can combine two different tenses in one sentence – for example which tenses can or cannot be used together. I’m not aware a comparison of the tenses being readily available in this way; my instinct is that with some ingenuity almost any two tenses could be used within one sentence, depending on contractions, structuring and context. But I thought it would be useful to consider how each tense might be used to combine with the other 12 basic aspects; past, present and future in the simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous, starting today with the past simple and past continuous.
To demonstrate the differences I’ve chosen to start with the clause “I walked home.” It is just an action that popped to mind, which provides a simple context without too much detail. With different verbs other ideas would certainly be possible (for example when using abstract verbs). I chose to continue expanding on the single example, rather than mix it up, otherwise this could become very expansive very quickly. (Perhaps it’s a starting point for a wealth of additional material to create a 2nd edition of The English Tenses!)
Past Tense
Past Simple
The past simple can be quite easily connected to all the other tenses, though a little more context may be needed to make some of the details clear. The most tricky situations here are the future perfect and future perfect continuous, which both require additional information to make the future perfect work in the context of a future time.
- I walked home.
- I walked home while it was raining. (+Past Continuous)
- I walked home after my classes had finished. (+Past Perfect)
- I walked home after I had been learning all day. (+Past Perfect Continuous)
- I walked home and I have unpacked my bag. (+Present Perfect)
- I walked home and I have been thinking about it ever since. (+Present Perfect Continuous)
- I walked home and now I am here. (+Present Simple)
- I walked home and now I am watching TV. (+Present Continuous)
- I walked home but I will get the bus next time. (+Future Simple)
- I walked home and I will be staying here all night. (+ Future Simple Continuous)
- I walked home and I will have walked ten miles this week if I do it again tomorrow. (+ Future Perfect)
- I walked home today and I will have been doing so every day for a month by the end of the week. (+Future Perfect Continuous)
Past Continuous
The examples for the past continuous are similar to the past simple combinations, with the key difference being that many of these focus more on the process than a complete past action. Sometimes the reason for using the past continuous will require more information (for example some of these sentences might make more sense with an interrupting action), or in some cases we need to connect the past continuous with a duration to make clear we are referring to a process carried out over a period time, as opposed to a completed action.
With the future tenses, these connections are more complicated: it can be connected in an almost unrelated way (the future simple here is like an interjection) or needs some reference to a past time to make a distinction between the past process and now (otherwise we should use the present perfect continuous).
- I was walking home.
- I was walking home when the accident happened. (+Past Simple)
- I was walking home because I had lost my bus card. (+Past Perfect)
- I was walking home because I had been sitting all day. (+Past Perfect Continuous)
- I was walking home every day but I have decided not to in future. (+Present Perfect)
- I was walking home during the summer and I have been waiting to do it again. (+Present Perfect Continuous)
- I was walking in such terrible conditions that I now need new shoes. (+Present Simple)
- I was walking home and now I am watching TV. (+Present Continuous, contrasting processes)
- I was walking home and I will tell you what I saw. (+Future Simple)
- I was walking home every day earlier this week but I will be driving home tomorrow. (+ Future Simple Continuous)
- I was walking home all last week and I will have walked thirty miles this month if I continue tomorrow. (+ Future Perfect)
- I was walking home all last week and by next week I will have been doing so every other week for year. (+Future Perfect Continuous)
I hope this helps demonstrate some of the ways to combine these tenses – if so, I aim to look at the other tenses in the same way in future!
Wonderful!
Thank you very much plus I would like to express my appreciation to you!
Wonderful….Can’t thank you enough.
brilliant effort, keep it up!
Thanks!
Excellent , Today i was looking for website for this object.
your Tutorial is very good for me.
I focusing tenses for my daily routing to make sentences.
so far, i can speak with :
simple present
past simple
present perfect
will , going to (simple future)
past continuous
simple continuous
That’s great, good luck with your progress!
This is what I was looking for! Thank you very much!
Great, glad to hear it!
Hi Phil,
Regarding the combination of the simple past and past continuous, I have a query. Often this combination is used when a shorter simple past action interrupts a longer past action (which is in the past continuous tense), such as your example of “I walked home while it was raining” or “I was walking to the station when I met John”. Under such scenarios, am I right to say that the two possible meanings are (a) the longer action in the past continuous starts before the interruption of the simple past action, continues to the point of interruption by the simple past action, and also continues for some time after the interruption of the simple past action, or (b) the longer past continuous action starts before the interruption of the simple past action and continues up to the point of interruption by the simple past action, but upon the interruption of the simple past action, the past continuous action ceases?
Also, if both (a) and (b) are correct interpretations of such a combined use of simple past + past continuous, then my next query would be if the meaning we intend to convey is (b), wouldn’t this be the same if we were to use the past perfect continuous + simple past combination (where the past perfect Con’t represents the longer action that started before and continues up to the point of interruption by the subsequent simple past action, and that the longer action ceases upon interruption by the simple past action)?
Appreciate your kind advice, thanks!
Regards,
Shizuka
Hi Shizuka,
Yes, you are correct, it can be either (a) or (b). You could use the past perfect continuous to convey that meaning of (b), but typically we use it when we’re more interested in showing the process was ongoing for a certain period of time rather than to show it was interrupted – that is to say, the past perfect continuous emphasises that it was finished at a certain time, but for the most part is used to discuss duration.
E.g.
I had been working for an hour before I was interrupted.
I was working when I was interrupted.
When we don’t have a duration, there’s not much need to use the past perfect continuous (and to be honest, it’s a tense that we use fairly rarely overall, I would say).
Phil
Hello sir,
She —————-(look) at the picture. She—————-(never see) anything beautiful in all her life.
What is the correct tenses to use please 🙂
There are no really ‘correct’ tenses there, it depends what you’re trying to convey, and what the context is!
When expressing past actions.
Which is better:
1- she looked at the picture. She had never seen anything as beautiful in her life.
or
2- She was looking at the picture. She had never seen anything as beautiful in her life.
I also wanna ask if it possible in such context to use past continuous(not simple) with past perfect.
Thanks in advance Mr. Williams
Hi,
Again, though, neither sentence is necessarily better as it depends on what you want to convey – the first says she completed the action while the second describes the process. Yes, it is possible to use the continuous with the past perfect, if we’re more interested in the ongoing action than the completion (as also demonstrated in the examples in the article above).
Phil
I want hard copy of your book
Hi Sushil,
Thanks for your interest. The English Tenses Practical Grammar Guide is available in print internationally – you can get it through this link, on Amazon, or through most book stores (they should be able to order it by its title, or ISBN 9780993180804).
Phil
Hi sir
Please give me answers of the following statements please.
I didn’t say anything until she had finished talking. (change into present perfect tense)
After she had moved out, i found her notes. ( change into present perfect interrogative)
Hi Faryal,
If you want the present perfect in these sentences they will actually present a few different options, including using future forms. Here are some choices:
I’m not saying anything until she has finished talking.
After she has moved out, will I find her notes?
Hello sir,
Can we use two simple past tenses together for example:
The birds started to cry when he left the forest.
Yes, definitely; the simple past can form complete narratives on its own without actually requiring the other tenses.