Tenses MDCAT notes: the twelve English tenses, signal words, perfect vs simple past, conditionals, time clauses, used to, and state verbs with examples.
Unit: Formal and Lexical Aspect of Language · Updated
The twelve tenses
Aspect
Present
Past
Future
Simple (indefinite)
He writes
He wrote
He will write
Continuous
He is writing
He was writing
He will be writing
Perfect
He has written
He had written
He will have written
Perfect continuous
He has been writing
He had been writing
He will have been writing
When to use each
Simple present: habits and general truths. Signal words: always, often, usually, every day. "Water boils at 100 °C."
Present continuous: action happening now, or a fixed future plan ("I am flying to Karachi next week").
Present perfect (has/have + V3): past action with a present result, or unfinished time. Signal words: just, already, yet, ever, never. "I have lost my key."
Present perfect continuous: action that began in the past and is still continuing, with since (point of time) or for (period). "She has been studying for three hours."
Simple past: finished action at a stated past time (yesterday, last year, ago).
Past continuous: action in progress in the past, often interrupted by a simple past. "They were playing when it started to rain."
Past perfect (had + V3): the earlier of two past actions. "After she had climbed the stairs, she collapsed."
Future perfect: completed by a future time. "By 2030 they will have finished."
Future perfect continuous: duration up to a future point. "By June I will have been teaching for ten years."
Rules that MDCAT tests often
Auxiliary + base form. After do/does/did and modals use the first form: "She didn't know", "He can go". Never "didn't knew".
Have/has/had + past participle. "Have you taken...", "would have drunk" (not drank).
Time and condition clauses about the future use the present. "When the train arrives", "Unless we start now". Not "when it will arrive".
Sequence of tenses. Keep tenses consistent: "She will finish before she goes", not "went".
State verbs (want, know, like, believe, belong) are not normally used in continuous forms: "He wants to see you".
Used to + base form for a past habit: "I used to play cricket".
Suggest that ... should (or the bare verb): "I suggest that you (should) see a doctor."
A singular subject in the simple present takes -s: "One needs only read..."
Conditionals
Type
If-clause
Main clause
Use
Zero
present
present
General truth
First
present
will + V1
Real possibility
Second
past (were)
would + V1
Imaginary present
Third
had + V3
would/could have + V3
Imaginary past
Worked examples
"She ___ in Lahore since 2019." Answer: has lived / has been living (since + continuing).
"When I reached the station, the train ___." Answer: had left (earlier past action).
"If he ___ harder, he would have passed." Answer: had worked (third conditional).
Error: "He did not went to school." Correction: did not go.
"They were close friends until they quarrelled": "have been" would be wrong, because the friendship ended in the past; use had been.
Common MDCAT traps
"Will have eaten" is future perfect, not a past tense.
Yesterday cannot go with present continuous or present perfect.
Drank (V2) vs drunk (V3): the perfect needs V3.
"Going to" and "will" both express the future.
Quick revision
Since = point of time; for = period.
Past perfect = earlier of two past actions.
If I were... I would... = second conditional.
No "will" in if/when/unless clauses about the future.