SIMPLE PRESENT, SIMPLE PAST AND SIMPLE FUTURE

Simple present is used to show something that happens regularly or doesn't happen
regularly. It shows habit: He speaks
For simple past tense we want to show something that happened in the past and
finished in the past at a particular time: He spoke
To show simple future, we use the word will plus the simple form of the verb. So, will
play is used to show future tense: He will speak
PROGRESSIVE TENSES ACTION IS CONTINUING AT A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME
Present progressive shows what is happening right now. We need a be verb and an
ing: He is speaking
For past progressive, we want to show an action that was continuing at a certain time
in the past: He was speaking (when, while, as long as)
Future progressive shows something that will be happening continuously at a time in
the future: He will be speaking. (in one year, next week, tomorrow)
PRESENT PERFECT IS USED TO SHOW SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED IN THE
PAST BEFORE NOW AT A NON-SPECIFIC TIME Or something that happened regularly
in the past, lots of times, but again at non specific times. The emphasis with present
perfect is to show that something happened in the past before now. So it's related to the
present but it shows something from the past: He has spoken.
Steve has eaten sushi before.
When did he eat sushi? It was sometime before now but we don't when.

Past Perfect - action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes
interchangeable with past perfect progressive putting emphasis only on the fact (not the
duration): He had spoken.
Alan had not studied before he took the test.
What are the two actions? We want to show that in the past, before he took the test,
he had not studied.
Future perfect - action that will be finished at a certain time in the future: He will have
spoken
I will have seen the new movie six times by next weekend.
This future perfect shows me that this will happen before this time.
PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSES
Present perfect progressive shows that something started before now and has
continued and may continue even longer. Present perfect progressive is not very
different from present perfect. The emphasis is on the time that the action goes on:
He has been speaking
Past perfect progressive shows that something was happening in the past and may
have been going on before something else. He had been sleeping for ten hours. That
means that he was doing this action continuously for the duration of ten hours. The
focus is on the length of time that he did this: He had been speaking
Future perfect progressive emphasizes a continuous action in the future that lasts
continuously. We will have been studying for a month, has a similar meaning with the
future perfect, We will have studied for a month. But because it's perfect and
progressive, we're emphasizing the continuous action for some period of time: He will
have been speaking