Tense Fundamentals and Categories
📌 Tenses in English primarily indicate the time of an action, categorized broadly into Past, Present, and Future time periods.
⏱️ There are four types of actions: Simple (indefinite), Continuous (Progressive), Perfect, and Perfect Continuous, which combine with the three time periods to create 12 main tenses.
🗣️ Approximately 85% of spoken English utilizes the Simple or Indefinite tense form.

Present Tenses Overview (Approx. 70% of Spoken English)
⚙️ Present Simple Tense: Used for general statements, habits, and facts; structure is Subject + Base form of verb (with 's'/'es' for third-person singular).
🔄 Present Continuous Tense: Describes actions happening at the present moment or around the time of speaking; structure is Subject + be + verb-ing.
🎯 Present Perfect Tense: Used for actions that started in the past but have consequences in the present; structure is Subject + have/has + past participle.
⏳ Present Perfect Continuous Tense: Describes actions that started in the past, are ongoing, and emphasize duration up to the present; structure is Subject + have/has + been + verb-ing.

Past Tenses Overview (Approx. 20% of Spoken English)
⏪ Simple Past Tense: Used for past completed actions; structure is Subject + verb-ed (for regular verbs) or irregular past form; this is the second most used tense.
🚶 Past Continuous Tense: Describes a continuing action at a specific past moment, often interrupted by another past action; structure is Subject + was/were + verb-ing.
🔙 Past Perfect Tense: Describes an action completed before another action or event in the past; structure is Subject + had + past participle, used to establish a clear sequence.
🗓️ Past Perfect Continuous Tense: Used for ongoing, continuous actions that started in the past and continued up until another point in the past, emphasizing duration (rarely used in speech); structure is Subject + had been + verb-ing.

Future Tenses Overview
🔮 Simple Future Tense: Used for events believed to happen in the future, predictions, or spontaneous decisions; structure is Subject + will/shall + verb.
✈️ Future Continuous Tense: Indicates an action that will be ongoing over a period of time in the future; structure is Subject + will/shall + be + verb-ing.
✅ Future Perfect Tense: Used for actions that will be completed before a specific point or action in the future; structure is Subject + will + have + past participle.
⏳ Future Perfect Continuous Tense: Describes ongoing actions that will continue until a specific point in the future, emphasizing the duration up to that future point; structure is Subject + will/shall + have been + verb-ing.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ For Present Simple structure, remember the exception: when preceded by an auxiliary verb (do, can, must), the main verb stays in its original base form.
➡️ Use Present Continuous to describe temporary situations (e.g., *My mom is living in Delhi*) versus permanent situations (e.g., *My mom lives in Delhi*).
➡️ Distinguish between Past Simple (*She lost her keys*—story over) and Present Perfect (*She has lost her keys*—it's impacting her now).
➡️ Will is used for spontaneous future decisions, whereas Be Going To is used for intentions already planned or arranged.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Nov 02, 2025, 17:17 UTC