PAST AND PRESENT

We experience time differently as our attitude towards an issue shapes our

perception of it: events that we deem to be unimportant are pushed further from the
‘now’ as it could be very well seen in the case of Past Simple and Present Perfect.
Both speak of the things that happened in the past, but if the said event is

Teach them important enough for the ‘now’ point, it will become the present event ( Present
Perfect). Similar can be observed in Ukrainian and Russian.

not the timeline,

but their NO TRUE FUTURE “TENSE”
experience of it Historically there was no Future Tense. It explains the analytical
and slightly mismatched way of construing it: originally, both
‘shall’ and ‘will’ were used and auxiliary words. Therefore, it’s the
wisest to hold off explaining the Future as a tense, but rather a
verb model “modal + notional verb”
 WHAT EXPERIENCE?
 The facts that are either 100 % true or false
 Equivalent of a “must” – 100 % of probability
 Highly unemotional
 Signals a routine

Simple
EXAMPLES
 Next Monday he is at the office ( a must)
 I go to school everyday. (routine)
 The washing machine doesn’t work. (I don’t care, it’s not my
machine.)
 WHAT EXPERIENCE
 Highly emotional
 A break in the routine
 Smth is in the progress of happening

Continuous
EXAMPLES
 The washing machine is not working ( and I am stressed, emotion)
 The washing machine is not working ( currently, but it will)
 Usually I go to work by car, but I am taking walks these days (а break in the
routine)
 He is flirting with her constantly. ( emotion)
 WHAT EXPERIENCE?
 Relevant result or no result at all.
 Absence of experience or its presence
 Subjective experience ( it’s not a fact)

Perfect
 I haven’t visited him yet. (I can change it, it is not a fact)
 I have spilled coffee on my jacked ( I have to change it now)
 Have you taken any meds? ( it’s relevant now)
 But I HAVE seen him there ! (the person believes smth to be true )
 WHAT EXPERIENCE
 Relevant result or no result at all.
 Absence of experience or its presence
 Subjective experience ( it’s not a fact)
 Highly emotional

Perfect
 A break in the routine
 Smth is in the progress of happening

Continuous EXAMPLE
 Oh, I see you have been cleaning ( the person didn’t before that)
 He had been lying to her all those years ( emotional)
 I have been keeping up the good habits and there is no result
( absence of the result and emotions)