http://www.englishforums.com/English/EslGeneralEnglishGrammar-Questions/Forum12.htmAsk your questions on grammar and get your sentence checked. We answer lots of different types of general English grammar questions here.enXMOD (Build: 3598.39794)http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#928009Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:55:05 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:928009Bob M0http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#928009http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-928009.xmlIt depends on how you want to define "tense", at what level you want to explain things and the model you are using to explain things . At one level there are clearly only two: the present and the past. After that, as others have said, you can consider other things, call them tenses, and multiply the number. It must be said though that the idea that English has a "future tense" is a bit hard to defend under any but the most basic model. English has many ways of talking about the future, but no real "future tense".http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#925935Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:46:21 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:925935Sadeem1http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#925935http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-925935.xmland that's what i need :) you know it's a forgin language here in Saudi Arabia :) take care !!http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#925918Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:30:52 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:925918CalifJim2http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#925918http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-925918.xmlthere are 3 tenses ; past present future That is a simplified version of the tense system of English, regarded by many teachers as good enough for all practical purposes. It may be all you need to learn to master English if you're not interested in the subtleties of linguists. CJhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#925900Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:09:42 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:925900Sadeem3http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#925900http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-925900.xmlas far as i know through my studying there are 3 tenses ; past present futurehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#679449Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:05:38 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:679449CalifJim4http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#679449http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-679449.xmlPerfect progressive aspect is normally not expressed in the passive voice. Well, you would know what is normal in English, I suppose! FYI. Actual utterance of a native speaker: The economy is getting worse and worse. More and more employees have been being laid off every month. I would say that the passive perfect progressive is less commonly used than some of the other tenses, not that it's not normal. There is probably a frequency count available for all the tenses, and we could say of almost any tense that it is more likely or less likely to be used than any other given tense we might choose. The fact that there are differences in frequency of use really doesn't make the passive perfect progressive any less a tense than the...http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#679438Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:56:44 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:679438Anonymous5http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#679438http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-679438.xmlAs far as I know that there are only 24 tenses in English, but now that (CJ) you have brought up the "if we add combinations with the modals (will, would, can, could....), the number of tenses increases considerably!" I believe that way too.... as each modal if used with the 4 aspects and 2 voices, it extends the tenses to up to 32 altogether! MJhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#639703Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:46:03 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:639703Mister Micawber6http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/5/vcwgk/Post.htm#639703http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-639703.xml. HERE'S 18 that you could print out from right on line. .http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#639656Mon, 12 Jan 2009 07:53:23 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:639656Anonymous7http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#639656http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-639656.xmlHi, do you have any the 12 tenses with its description in Pdf that I can print out for my refernce? Thanks. Marcelina.http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#598395Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:598395sitifan8http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#598395http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-598395.xmlStrictly speaking there are only two tenses, but the idea of tense is usually extended to include aspect and voice. Tenses: Present, Past. Aspects: Simple, Perfect, Progressive, Perfect Progressive Voices: Active, Passive Each tense can be expressed in all four aspect possibilities, so there are 8 tenses, not considering voice. Each of these 8 can be expressed in two voices, so the total number of tenses (so far) is 16. Perfect progressive aspect is normally not expressed in the passive voice.http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#598161Fri, 08 May 2009 16:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:598161Clive9http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#598161http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-598161.xmlHi, Please read this thread from the beginning. Then, if you still have any questions, please ask them. Thank you. Clivehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#597824Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:597824Anonymous10http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#597824http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-597824.xmlhow many tenses are there in english languagehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#451226Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:451226Anonymous11http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#451226http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-451226.xmlthere are tweleve tense in english as i believe or i heardhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#425214Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:425214Ant_22212http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#425214http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-425214.xmlJackson6612: «Why would you treat my remark as an ironical one?» If you take just a brief look at the linked discussions you'll understand. The "bad" guy, engtense, took me seriously but kept resorting to sophistic arguments and various logical mistakes for which even exist special latin terms... To make wrong argumentation and wordplay over my posts more difficult I was explaining things more and more formal, more and more mathematically. Not only didn't that help but other forum haunters (very good at English) found the discussian really terrible and dumb. They agreed with my results but found my way of achieving them too complicated and unnatural, while all I was doing is point to my opponents logical errors as...http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#424464Fri, 08 May 2009 16:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:424464Jackson661213http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#424464http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-424464.xmlAnt_222 wrote: I even don't know whether I should treat your remark as ironical or not . Hi Ant, Why would you treat my remark as an ironical one?http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#424420Fri, 08 May 2009 16:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:424420Ant_22214http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#424420http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-424420.xml«What does the above sentence mean?» I was in a hurry so it got mixed in my head: «I even don't know whether I should treat your remark as ironical or not»http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#424418Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:424418Jackson661215http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/4/vcwgk/Post.htm#424418http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-424418.xmlAnt_222 wrote: I even don't know how if I should take it as an ironic note... Hi Ant, What does the above sentence mean?http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#424383Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:424383Ant_22216http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#424383http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-424383.xmlJackson6612: «This will be very enlightening.» I even don't know how if I should take it as an ironic note... Though I am gonna write it (now that I am back from a Crimea trip).http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#422833Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:422833Anonymous17http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#422833http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-422833.xmlWouldn't you say there are twelve tenses? Simple , Progressive, Perfect, Perfect Progressive - each with past, present, and future tenses - for a total of twelve? What is the difference between, for example, Future Perfect in the past and Future Perfect? Is it just the modal auxilary "would" and since that is not a true helping verb, can we consider it one of the tenses?http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#421727Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:421727Anonymous18http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#421727http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-421727.xmlit's the same in Bulgarian ....weather, time, tense - Vreme (време)http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#420270Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:420270Bokeh19http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#420270http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-420270.xmlLoojka wrote: there's one word for "tense", "time" and "weather" Same in Spanish.http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#420266Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:420266Loojka20http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#420266http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-420266.xmlJackson6612 wrote: Loojka wrote: In my mother tongue there's one word for "tense", "time" and "weather" ... just imagine how confusing that can be Hi Loojka, May I know that word? Vremehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#420254Fri, 08 May 2009 16:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:420254Yankee21http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#420254http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-420254.xmlLoojka wrote: Philip wrote: The French word for "tense" is the same as for "time". In my mother tongue there's one word for "tense", "time" and "weather"... just imagine how confusing that can be lol Let's just hope you can weather this discussion on English tenses. By the way, the Germans use the word ' Zeitform' -- a very literal translation of that would be 'time form'.http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#420253Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:420253Jackson661222http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#420253http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-420253.xmlLoojka wrote: In my mother tongue there's one word for "tense", "time" and "weather" ... just imagine how confusing that can be Hi Loojka, May I know that word?http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#420246Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:420246Loojka23http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#420246http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-420246.xmlPhilip wrote: The French word for "tense" is the same as for "time". In my mother tongue there's one word for "tense", "time" and "weather"... just imagine how confusing that can behttp://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#420066Fri, 08 May 2009 16:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:420066Jackson661224http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/3/vcwgk/Post.htm#420066http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-420066.xmlAnt_222 wrote: (...to be continued...) Hi Ant, This will be very enlightening. Kind regards, Jacksonhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#419886Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:419886Philip25http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#419886http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-419886.xmlJackson6612 wrote: CalifJim, I know you are absolutely correct but don't you feel it somewhat weird that there are only two tenses, Present and Past, in English language? Naturally when I think about the tenses in any language, I come to the conclusion that there should be at least three tenses Present, Past, and Future. The French word for "tense" is the same as for "time". As much as I agree with CJ's "aspects and voices", I would tend to agree that there must be the three "times".http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#419885Fri, 08 May 2009 16:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:419885CalifJim26http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#419885http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-419885.xmlLanguages encode meanings about time based on the psychology of time, not the mathematics of time . It will be very kind of you, if you explain the above paragraph in little more detail. I'm afraid I can't do much better than that. The main idea is that the time expressions of English (and other languages) are not based entirely on divisions of time as measured in scientific work. The psychology of time (how we think about the passage of time, different times, lengths of time, periods of time, and so on) is important in language, and the psychology of actions and states (how we think about situations: Are they states? Activities? Events? Do they happen suddenly? Over a long period?) are also important. So...http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#419813Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:419813Ant_22227http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#419813http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-419813.xmlJacksoon: You'll find a lot of interesting and stupid things here: http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t144.htm http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t494-0.htm In all my posts I tried to conciliate the mathematical and psychological visions of time. We wpould often go in rounds in that enormous thread, but there were interesting points. When I have enough time, I'll write a summary of my views on the problem. Now I'll just vsay that there an easy and natural way to define all English tenses with mathematical certainity. To people with the left cerebellar hemisphere prevailing my explanation may seem more clear because it doesn't refer to psychology, intuition and so on. I'll post it ASAP. EDIT: CJ: «There is the...http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#419806Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:419806Jackson661228http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#419806http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-419806.xmlJackson6612 wrote: CalifJim wrote: The divisions of time that you are speaking of are just that: (mathematical) divisions of time. There is the present moment - which only lasts an instant -- and is constantly changing. Then there is everything before the present moment and everything after the present moment. In this view, almost everything that happens is either in the past or in the future. The present is only an instant in time. But this is not the way that languages usually encode meanings about time. Languages encode meanings about time based on the psychology of time, not the mathematics of time . CJ Hi CJ, It will be very kind of you, if you explain the above paragraph in little more detail. Best...http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#418636Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:418636Jackson661229http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#418636http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-418636.xmlCalifJim wrote: The divisions of time that you are speaking of are just that: (mathematical) divisions of time. There is the present moment - which only lasts an instant -- and is constantly changing. Then there is everything before the present moment and everything after the present moment. In this view, almost everything that happens is either in the past or in the future. The present is only an instant in time. But this is not the way that languages usually encode meanings about time. Languages encode meanings about time based on the psychology of time, not the mathematics of time . CJ Hi CJ, It will be very kind of you, if you explain the above paragraph in little more detail. Best wishes, Jacksonhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#416198Fri, 08 May 2009 16:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:416198Anonymous30http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#416198http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-416198.xmlI assure you... all of these are tenseshttp://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#416075Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:416075Loojka31http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#416075http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-416075.xmlOnly present and past are tenses, the rest of them are NOT tenses! As CalifJim said, those are aspects and voices and I would add moods: indicative, imperative and subjunctive.http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#416057Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:416057Anonymous32http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#416057http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-416057.xmlThere are 16 tenses in english. I'll list them ... 1. Present Simple - I play 2. Present Continuous - I am playing 3. Present Perfect - I have played 4. Present Perfect Continuous - I have been playing 5. Past Simple - I played 6. Past Continuous - I was playing 7. Past Perfect - I had played 8. Past Perfect Continuous - I had been playing 9. Future Simple - I will play (including "be going to + infinitive" form) I am goint to play 10. Future Continuous - I will be playing 11. Future Perfect - I will have played 12. Future Perfect Continuous - I will have been playing 13. Future Simple in the past - I would play (including the "was/were going to + infinitive" form) 14. Future Continuous in the past - I would be bathing 15. Future...http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#350286Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:350286CalifJim33http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/2/vcwgk/Post.htm#350286http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-350286.xmlThe divisions of time that you are speaking of are just that: (mathematical) divisions of time. There is the present moment - which only lasts an instant -- and is constantly changing. Then there is everything before the present moment and everything after the present moment. In this view, almost everything that happens is either in the past or in the future. The present is only an instant in time. But this is not the way that languages usually encode meanings about time. Languages encode meanings about time based on the psychology of time, not the mathematics of time. The present and past are really the only cases where we can talk about real activities, actions, and events. Either we can see something happen in the...http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#350274Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:350274Jackson661234http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#350274http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-350274.xmlCalifJim, I know you are absolutely correct but don't you feel it somewhat weird that there are only two tenses, Present and Past, in English language? Naturally when I think about the tenses in any language, I come to the conclusion that there should be at least three tenses Present, Past, and Future.http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#350160Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:350160CalifJim35http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#350160http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-350160.xmlPlease explain the above paragraph. Thank you. will used with the 4 aspect combinations in active voice: will take, will be taking, will have taken, will have been taking. The same 4 in passive voice: will be taken, will be being taken, will have been taken, will have been being taken. so that adds 8 more tenses to the 16 previously explained. 16 + 8 = 24. ___________ If you substitute would for will in the 8 patterns shown above you'll get another 8. If you substitute could for will in the 8 patterns shown above you'll get another 8. If you substitute should for will in the 8 patterns shown above you'll get another 8. And so on. It would be very unusual to see these extra patterns called...http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#350120Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:350120Jackson661236http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#350120http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-350120.xmlEach modal can be used with the 4 aspects and 2 voices . Typically only the modal will is included in the count (I don't know why! would seems equally useful, for example, in indicating time relationships.), so this adds 8 more tenses for a total of 24 tenses . If we extend the count by including the 8 tenses which can be formed with would , we have 32 tenses in all. Please explain the above paragraph. Thank you.http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#347010Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:347010milky37http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#347010http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-347010.xmlThere are two.http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#347001Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:14:39 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:347001Jackson661238http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#347001http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-347001.xmlEach modal can be used with the 4 aspects and 2 voices . Typically only the modal will is included in the count (I don't know why! would seems equally useful, for example, in indicating time relationships.), so this adds 8 more tenses for a total of 24 tenses . If we extend the count by including the 8 tenses which can be formed with would , we have 32 tenses in all. Please explain the above paragraph. Thank you.http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#346999Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:14:40 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:346999CalifJim39http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#346999http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-346999.xmlStrictly speaking there are only two tenses, but the idea of tense is usually extended to include aspect and voice. Tenses: Present, Past. Aspects: Simple, Perfect, Progressive, Perfect Progressive Voices: Active, Passive Each tense can be expressed in all four aspect possibilities, so there are 8 tenses, not considering voice. Each of these 8 can be expressed in two voices, so the total number of tenses (so far) is 16. If we add combinations with the modals ( will, would, can, could, ... ), the number of tenses increases considerably! Each modal can be used with the 4 aspects and 2 voices. Typically only the modal will is included in the count (I don't know why! would seems equally useful, for example, in...http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#346939Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:14:40 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:346939Bird Of Paradise40http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#346939http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-346939.xmlThere are TWO tenses in English language; present and past. There is no future tense. Let me clarify it. What is tense? Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines tense as: Any of the forms of a verb that may be used to show the time of the action or state expressed by the verb. Now what is time? Time is a universal concept with three divisions: present, past and future. Now look at the forms of the verb. Each main verb in English language has six different forms. e.g. Go: 1. Go = Base form 2. go = general present 3. goes = 3rd person singular 4. went = past 5. going = presnet participle 6. gone = past participle All the above six forms refer either to present time or to past time. There is no form of the verb which can refer to future...http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#346337Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:14:40 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:346337Bldudas41http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htm#346337http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-346337.xmlI think there are only six tenses: present, preterite, future, present perfect, past perfect, future perfect.http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htmSun, 08 Feb 2009 17:14:40 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:346334Jackson661242http://www.englishforums.com/English/HowTensesEnglishLanguage/vcwgk/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-346334.xmlI was told that there are twelve tenses in English: 1: Simple Present Tense 2: Present Perfect Tense 3: Present Progressive Tense 4: Present Perfect Progressive Tense 5: Simple Past Tense 6: Past Perfect Tense 7: Past Progressive Tense 8: Past Perfect Progressive Tense 9: Simple Future Tense 10: Future Perfect Tense 11: Future Progressive Tense 12: Future Perfect Progressive Tense But I read somewhere that total number of tenses in English is six or seven. Is this true?