Times in English seem rather complicated, but this is only at first glance. Many are frightened by the abundance of temporary forms, especially the long, completed and completed-long time, which seem to have no analogues in the Russian language.
In fact, we also have the means to:
- Expressions of extent of action:
I cooked pilaf for three hours. Past long time. Moreover, pay attention, without indicating the time it will not be clear exactly when the pilaf was being prepared. The sentence "I cooked pilaf" can be understood in such a way that I just cooked pilaf, or once I had to cook pilaf in general, or I cooked pilaf before something happened in the past. Saying in English "I was cooking a pilaf", we clearly indicate that the action took place in the past and lasted for a certain time.
- To express the completion of an action:
The first portion of pilaf was burnt. Completed present or simple past. If this action is somehow connected with the present (for example, this event just happened), it will be Present Perfect, if we just talk about some events in the past - it will be Past Simple.
- To express an action that occurred at the time of another action:
I cooked pilaf and studied English times. Long time.
- To express an action in the past that ended before another action:
I prepared pilaf and (then) went to learn English times. Elapsed completed time. Please note that in this case in Russian it is not always possible to do without a qualifying word - it is it partially, in addition to the perfect verb, that demonstrates that the action ended after another. In English, you can do without additions, the form of the verb will already indicate that the action has completed.
Many people do not take into account that in the Russian language lexicon is used mainly to convey these shades of action - the word itself, its ending, prefixes appear, in some cases the vowel changes in the root, etc. These rules are very diverse, and it’s not easy to put them together in a logical and harmonious scheme. But, in addition to lexical means, additions, indications of time can be used to convey the nature of the action. All this makes the Russian language much more complex than English.
The formation of times in the English language is much simpler and more logical. Remembering these forms is usually straightforward. It is much more difficult to determine where and what form should be used. This is what we will pay special attention to.
Times in English with examples are shown in the table below.
| Simple | Long | Completed | Completely long |
| Facts. What we do with a certain periodicity. Always used if you need to talk about a sequence of events. | Long process. As a rule, it is translated by an imperfective verb. | Perfect action. Translated by perfect verbs. | An action lasting a certain period of time and, accordingly, ending or ending at a certain moment. |
| The present | I cook a pilaf sometimes. - Sometimes I cook pilaf. | I am cooking a pilaf now. - Now I am preparing pilaf. | I have just cooked the pilaf. - I just cooked pilaf. | I have been cooking the pilaf for an hour. - I have been cooking pilaf for an hour (up to the current moment). |
| Past | I cooked the pilaf, wrote the letter and went to the shop. - I prepared pilaf, wrote a letter and went to the store. | I was cooking the pilaf yeasterday. - I cooked this pilaf yesterday (for a while). | I had cooked the pilaf by the night. - I prepared pilaf for the night (the action ends at some point in the past). | I had been cooking the pilaf for two hours when i remembered about the meeting. - I wrote an article for two hours, until I remembered the meeting. |
| Future | I will cook a pilaf tomorrow. - I will prepare pilaf tomorrow (there is no emphasis on the duration or completion of the process, we just report the fact). | I will be cooking a pilaf tomorrow. - I will cook pilaf tomorrow (for a certain time). | I will have cooked a pilaf by the meeting. - I will prepare pilaf for the meeting (that is, pilaf will be ready by this time. Literally, this proposal can be translated as "I will have pilaf ready for the meeting)." | I will have been cooking a pilaf for two hours by the time i need to go on the meeting. - I will be preparing pilaf for two hours by the time I need to go to the meeting. (This form is used very rarely and, as a rule, in book speech). |
To remember English tenses, try translating various verb forms verbatim. That is, according to this scheme:
Communion 1 - doing.
Communion 2 - done.
Thus, for a long time it sounds like this: "I am cooking" - "I am the cook."
Completed: "I have cooked" - "I have cooked."
Completely long: "I have been cooking" - "I" swept "myself to cook."
All this sounds ridiculous and ridiculous at first glance, but helps to understand the logic of the English language. It is enough to realize these rules once in order for the English times to seem simple, logical and very convenient.