Verb Tenses

Perfect tenses, used to, and would for past habits

Introduction

At the intermediate level, you'll master the tenses that connect past and present, and learn elegant ways to describe past habits. The present perfect is one of the most important—and most misused—tenses in English.

You'll also discover the subtle difference between "used to" and "would" for past habits, and understand why English speakers choose one over the other in different contexts.

These tenses add nuance and sophistication to your speech, allowing you to express the relationship between past events and the present moment.

Themes

All Grammar (Basic) in This Chapter (16)

• Present Perfect Simple Connects past actions to the present moment
• Present Perfect vs Past Simple Choosing between these two tenses
• used to Describes past habits or states that no longer exist
• would (past habits) Describes repeated past actions (but not states)
• Present Perfect Continuous Actions that started in the past and continue now, with emphasis on duration
• Past Perfect An action completed before another past action
• Future Continuous Actions in progress at a specific time in the future
• going to vs will Choosing between two future forms
• Past Perfect in Narratives Using past perfect to show background events in stories
• be used to / get used to Being accustomed to something
• used to vs would (comparison) Detailed comparison of past habit structures
• Present Perfect Continuous Emphasizing duration of ongoing activities up to now
• Present Continuous for Future Using present continuous for planned arrangements
• used to vs would (Past Habits) Differences between past habit expressions
• Gerund vs Infinitive after verbs Which verbs take -ing, to + verb, or both
• Future Perfect (will have + past participle) Actions completed before a future time