Present and past tenses

English uses different present and past tenses to show exactly when an action happens and whether it is finished, repeated or still in progress. The Present Simple describes habits and facts, while the Present Continuous describes actions happening now or around now. The Present Perfect links the past to the present (an action with a present result or an unfinished time period), and the Present Perfect Continuous stresses the duration of a recent or ongoing activity. In the past, the Past Simple states completed events, the Past Continuous sets a background action in progress, the Past Perfect shows an earlier past before another past event, and the Past Perfect Continuous shows how long something had been going on before that point. We also use 'used to' and 'would' for past habits. Time markers are the key: words like 'now', 'every day', 'since', 'for', 'already', 'yet', 'ago' and 'by the time' point to one correct tense. For example: 'By the time we arrived, the film had already started' — the Past Perfect 'had started' shows the film started before we arrived.