| Meaning |
Time
Indicators |
Present |
Past |
Future |
| A habitual repeated
action |
every day, every other
day, often, frequently
never, sometimes, as a rule,
regularly, always |
They go to the
seaside every summer.
She seldom reads in the evening |
They visited picture
gallery every day last summer |
I don't think it will
rain often this month.
She will help you with grammar
twice a week |
| The manifestation of the
fact itself |
present-now, nowadays,
at the present time
past-yesterday, the day before
yesterday ,a year ago, last year
future-tomorrow, the day after
tomorrow, next year, tonight, soon |
Nowadays people eat a
lot |
We met her at the
station yesterday |
They will meet soon.
|
|
An action going on at the present
moment/with the verbs not used in the Progressive/.
|
The verbs of sense
perception and mental activity :to see, to hear, to understand, to
realize, to smell.... |
I hear somebody
knocking. Open the door |
She felt well at 5. |
You will see me
approaching the house at 6 |
| Universal truth |
|
Light travels more
quickly than sound.
Water boils at 100 degrees |
|
|
| A succession of the past
action |
|
|
He put on his coat,
took the umbrella and left the house |
|
| An action in the very
near future |
tomorrow, the day after
tomorrow, soon, in a day, next morning.. |
Tomorrow I leave for
London.
His brother arrives in two days
|
|
|
| An action that points
out the beginning of another action |
since ,when, before +
Clause |
|
The children were
playing when Nick came |
|
|
A future action in the adverbial
clauses of time and real condition
|
when, till, until, as
soon as, if, unless + Clause |
Our granny will visit
us when the weather improves |
|
|
