5 Tenses = 90% of English

- Hello, lovely students,

and welcome back to English with Lucy.

I have got such an exciting video for you,

because now there are various studies, various claims,

but the general consensus

is that 90% to up to 95% of all written and spoken English

is done in just five grammar tenses.

So what are we going to do today?

We are going to go through those five grammar tenses

so that you can get that little bit closer to fluency.

We're going to improve your grammar fluency and accuracy

in the most efficient way possible.

To make your life even easier,

I have created a free PDF for you to download.

It contains all of the information

about these five grammar tenses

that make up 90%, if not 95%, of spoken and written English.

We look at them in greater detail with more examples,

and I've also included a quiz

so you can test your understanding.

If you think that that will help you,

if you'd like to get your free copy,

all you have to do is click

on the link in the description box.

You enter your name and your email address.

You sign up to my mailing list,

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Okay, let's start this amazingly efficient grammar lesson

by reviewing the English verb tenses.

So technically there are only three tenses,

the present, the past, and the future,

but we have four different aspects within these tenses.

The simple, the continuous, the perfect simple,

and the perfect continuous.

When we combine these four aspects

with the three verb tenses,

we get what we typically refer to as the 12 verb tenses.

Some people like to include the conditionals in the tenses.

I don't.

You will hear some people say there are 16 tenses.

I like to set the conditionals apart.

Let's have a look at each one really quickly

just to refresh our memories.

The present simple is used

for general truths, habits, and permanent situations.

The present continuous is used for actions happening now

or around the present moment.

The present perfect is used for past actions

with a connection to the present or for experiences.

And the present perfect continuous is used for actions

that started in the past and are ongoing up to the present.

Now the pasts.

The past simple is used to talk

about completed actions in the past.

The past continuous is used for actions

that were in progress at a specific time in the past.

The past perfect is used for actions completed

before a specific time in the past.

And the past perfect continuous is used

for actions that started in the past, continued,

and were completed before another past event.

Don't worry, we'll look at some of these in more detail.

And finally, the future.

We have the future simple,

used for actions that will happen in the future.

The future continuous,

used for actions that will be in progress

at a specific time in the future.

The future perfect, used for actions that will be completed

before a specific time in the future.

And the future perfect continuous,

used for actions that will start in the future, continue,

and be completed before another future event.

Okay, that's a lot of information to remember

and I covered it very, very briefly.

Don't worry, we're going to go deeper.

I know a lot of English learners struggle

with deciding which verb tense to use in a given situation.

Well, lucky for you, not all verb tenses are created equal.

Let's go ahead and look at this beautiful chart I made

to see which are the five most commonly used verb tenses

in both spoken and written English.

By the way, if you're curious about the numbers,

I've added links to various studies on verb tense frequency.

You can find those in the description box.

Okay, time for the big reveal.

Our most common verb tense,

making up nearly 60% of all English communication is,

drum roll, the present simple.

We then have that followed

by the past simple at close to 20%.

Then the future simple at around 8%.

So that's three tenses making nearly 88%

of the entire usage, according to certain studies.

Then we have the present perfect simple at around 6%

and present continuous at 5%.

And then we have this tiny sliver of pie

that contains the other seven verb tenses.

Now, if you're good at maths,

you'll notice that's 99% for all of those tenses.

In the title I say 90%

because I don't 100% trust those numbers.

But don't let this chart fool you.

Each and every verb tense has its time and place,

but for general day-to-day conversations,

these five are going to be your bread and butter.

So let's go ahead and see how you can start using

each of these tenses to the best of your ability.

As you just learned, the present simple makes up

a large portion of daily communication

and rightfully so, we live in the present after all.

Let's look at some of the most common uses

of the present simple.

Firstly, we use it to talk about facts and statements

that are always true.

Most people prefer to shop online.

Or, the supermarket is busy on Saturday mornings.

We also use it for statements that are true in the present.

You are my best friend, Jasmine.

Or, I can't bake to save my life. Look at this cake.

You can just show a really rubbish cake.

And we also use it for routine actions

or habits in the present,

often used with an adverb of frequency.

Do you always bike to work?

Or, I never see her in yoga class these days.

We use it to refer to scheduled events in the future.

Carmine's holiday officially starts on the 5th of October.

Or, my stag do kicks off at 10:00 PM at Boots and Brews.

And the last one I'll mention today,

we use it to give directions or instructions.

Mix the flour and water together to create a thick paste.

Or, to get to the bookshop,

walk down to the corner and take a left.

As you can probably tell from our examples,

these kinds of statements and questions

make up a large portion of our daily conversations,

so it's no wonder why the present simple topped our list.

Next up, we have the past simple.

Of course, this is the second most used verb tense

because we use it to talk

about completed actions in the past.

And we sure do love to talk about the past.

Look at a news article or pick up your favourite book.

Most of them rely heavily on the past simple tense.

Let's go ahead and look at some uses

of this very versatile tense.

It's commonly used to describe actions

that occurred at a specific time in the past.

I visited Greece last summer with my girlfriend.

It's also used to narrate a series of past events.

Yolanda woke up, brushed her teeth,

and headed off to the office.

It's used to express habitual

or repeated actions in the past.

Every morning, Ben watered his plants and fed his dog.

And number four,

it's used to discuss past states or conditions.

We were so tired after our long hike yesterday.

Alright, next up we have the future simple tense.

Let's start with spontaneous decisions.

For example, I'm pretty hungry. I will order some food.

Predictions.

The weather forecast says it will rain tomorrow.

Promises.

I will get to the office 20 minutes early

to get everything set up.

Offers.

Mom will be happy to help you with your project

if you need it.

And requests.

Will you pass me the salt?

Got it?

Good, because it's time to move on from the future simple

and talk about the present perfect simple.

Don't let its long and slightly confusing name fool you.

It's actually quite an easy tense to master.

We use it to talk about unfinished states or actions

that started in the past.

He's been in his new position for about two weeks.

We use it to talk about completed actions

with relevance to the present.

My dad has just pulled up to the house.

We use it for life events and experiences.

They have travelled around Asia and most of Europe.

And we use it for actions or events

at an unspecified time in the past.

Yeah, we've tried that recipe. See, not so bad.

Now let's move on to our last verb tense of the day

so you can get out there

and start showing off your grammar skills.

The present continuous.

We use it to talk about a few different situations,

like describing things happening right now.

Debra is whipping up some delicious banana pancakes.

We use it to talk about activities that are not permanent.

I'm giving this workout plan a shot for a month

to see how it makes me feel.

We use it for discussing plans or events

that will happen in the future.

Mark isn't going to that conference next month.

He changed his mind.

We use it for actions happening around a specific time.

I'm working this morning, but I'll be free this afternoon.

And we use it for describing things

that are gradually changing or improving.

The city is slowly becoming more eco-friendly

with new recycling programmes and bike lanes.

Right, that about does it for me.

As I said before,

if you want to know a little bit more information,

more information about the structure, negatives, questions,

download the PDF.

All of the information is there

with more examples and a quiz to test your understanding.

It's a really good grammar tenses test.

In this PDF, I also talk about the structure

and formation of these tenses.

So if you want to practise that, make sure you download it.

I really hope you enjoyed today's lesson.

I hope you learned something.

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I will see you soon for another lesson. Bye.

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