Tensed about tenses?

It is common for every student of the English language to get cold feet at the mention of tenses. Tenses are important as they tell us if a particular action always happens, is happening, will be happening, etc. Pay attention to “when” the action happens, and you would master tenses in no time!

Let’s take the verb “drink.”

Suppose your colleague walks into your room and remarks that you drink too much coffee. If you habitually drink two cups of coffee everyday, you would say, “I drink two cups of coffee everyday.” (Simple Present)

At that moment, your phone rings. It’s your mother asking what you are doing at the moment. You would say, “I am drinking coffee.”(Present continuous)

Later, your secretary wants to know why there is no coffee in the flask. You would say, “I have drunk the whole flask of coffee.”(Present perfect)

Your secretary remarks that you should stop drinking coffee. You would say, “I have been drinking coffee all my life. I can’t give up coffee.” (Present perfect continuous)

The secretary wants to know what happened to the bottle of wine that was a gift from your business partner. You would say, “I drank some of it and took the rest home.” (Simple Past)

Now, your secretary wants to know what you were doing when your mother called. You would say, “I was drinking coffee.” (Past continuous)

Your other colleague walks in and says, “Hey, why didn’t you call me when you had your coffee-break?” You say, “You came in late today. I had drunk all the coffee by the time you arrived.” (Past perfect)

You ask him why he is late and he says, “I had been drinking lemonade when my little daughter came running to give me a hug, and I spilled lemonade all over my shirt. I had to wash and change again.” (Past perfect continuous)

You remind him of the office party that evening. Your colleague says, “I will drink like a fish at the party.” (Simple Future)

You tell him that no drinks will be served in the party and so, “No one will be drinking this evening.” (Future continuous)

The secretary says that there is a huge supply of soft drinks in the pantry. Your colleague says, “I bet people will have already drunk all of it.” (Future perfect)