Time Clauses

These are introduced by conjunctions of time such as:

after, as, as soon as, before, no sooner than, since, the sooner, till/until, when, while

Remember that we do not use a future form, or conditional tense, in a time clause.
1. Each of the following future forms becomes a present tense when we put it in a time clause!
Future simple: You`ll be back soon. I`ll stay till then. I`ll stay till you get back.
Be going to: The parachutist is going to jump. Soon after he jumps, his parachute will open.
The present continuous, used as a future form, and the future continuous:
He`s arriving/He`ll be arriving at six but
When he arrives, he`ll tell us about the match.
Before he arrives, I`ll give the children their tea.
But the continuous tense can, of course, be used in time clauses when it indicates a continuous action:
Peter and John will be playing/are playing/are going to play tennis tonight.
While they are playing (during this time), we`ll go to the beach.
2. The future perfect changes to the present perfect, and the future perfect continuous changes to the
present perfect continuous:
I`ll have finished in the bathroom in a few minutes. The moment/As soon as I have finished, I`ll give you
a call.
3. A conditional tense changes to a past tense:
We knew that he would arrive/would be arriving about six. We knew that till he arrived nothing would be
done.
But when WHEN introduces a noun clause, it can be followed by a future or conditional tense:
He said: When will the train get in? He asked when the train would get in.
Clauses with SINCE
In clauses since is usually followed by the past tenses:
They have moved twice since they got married or Since they got married, they have moved twice.
It`s ages since I sailed/have sailed a boat.
I haven`t sailed a boat since I left college.
Clauses with AFTER
In clauses after is often followed by perfect tenses:
After/When he had rung off, I remembered
After/when you`ve finished with it, hang up.
HARDLY WHEN, NO SOONER THAN
The performance had hardly begun when the lights went out or
Hardly had the performance begun when the lights went out.
Note also: THE SOONER THE SOONER:
The sooner we start, the sooner we`ll be there.
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WHEN is used with simple tenses:

1. when one action occurs at the same time as another or in the span of another:
When it is wet, the buses are crowded.
When we lived in town, we often went to the theatre.
2. when one action follows another:
When she pressed the button, the lift stopped.
When you click on a URL, your browser sends it to a DNS server.
(We can use ONCE in place of WHEN to emphasis the completion of the first action. It often occurs
with the Present Perfect:
Once the DNS server has found the IP address, it sends it back to the browser.)
AS is used:
1. when the second action occurs before the first is finished:
As I left the house, I remembered the key.
(this implies that I remembered the key before I had completed the action of leaving the house; I was
probably still in the doorway. WHILE I was leaving would have the same meaning here, but WHEN I left
would give the impression that the act of leaving was complete and the door shut behind me.)
2. for parallel actions:
He sang as he worked.
3. For parallel developments:
As the sun rose, the fog dispersed. / As it grew darker, it became colder.
(If we used WHEN here, we would loose all idea of simultaneous progression or development.)
4. to mean WHILE (during the time that)
As he stood there, he saw two men enter the bar. (but there is no particular advantage in using AS here,
and WHILE is safer).
The past perfect can be used with BEFORE and TILL/UNTIL to emphasize the completion or
expected completion of an action.
He refused to go till he had seen all the pictures.
Before we had finished our meal, he ordered us back to work.