TENSES OVERVIEW

PRESENT SIMPLE - used for facts - used for habits - scheduled future e. g. There's no God. e. g. We (do/don't) pray from time to time, though. e. g. The mass starts at 8 pm tonight. e. g. Is anyone talking e. g. I'm not talking with e. g. We're visiting God

PRESENT CONTINUOUS - used for sthg happening right now with God? - used for sthg happening around the present moment God this week. - personal (future) arrangements or plans this weekend.

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE - used for sthg finished without knowing when exactly it happened e. g. We have seen God. (We've just/already/never seen Him.) We haven't seen God. (We haven't /ever/seen Him yet.) - used for sthg unfinished that started in the past and is going on at the moment of speaking e. g. They've been on good terms with God since the day they were born.* They haven't been on good terms for ages.* (* the verb TO BE has only the PPS form!) She's had that rosary since her 18th birthday. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS - used for sthg finished that went on for a while e. g. We have been praying. (That's why we have these Bibles in our hands.) - used for sthg unfinished that started in the past and is still going on, and is likely to continue e. g. They've been praying ever since the accident. - used for sthg that repeated or lasted over a period of time (recently, lately, in the past week, etc.) e. g. We've been doing a lot of praying this week. PAST SIMPLE - used for sthg finished and you should know when it happened e. g. There was nobody in church yesterday. PAST CONTINUOUS - used for sthg finished that lasted over a period of time a) either two parallel past actions/states e. g. They were kneeling and godknowswhatelse.

praying

and

doing

b) or one longer action/state interrupted by a short past action/state (in PAST SIMPLE) e. g. I was being really bored when I caught sight of the priest. PAST PERFECT SIMPLE - used for sthg that happened before sthg else in the past e. g. Before they actually showed up, we'd already sung a couple of psalms.

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS - used for sthg that happened before sthg else in the past (you insist on its duration!) e. g. They'd been singing for hours before the wedding party finally showed up. FUTURE SIMPLE ('WILL') - used for future facts e. g. There will always be atheists and believers. - used for spontaneous decisions e. g. I will not go down on my knees and pray! - used for prediction based on your opinion e. g. It seems (to me) (It's likely, I think/believe/'m sure/know that the ceremony will last forever. - SHALL* - used mostly in questions e. g. Shall I try and reach God for you? (=polite request!) - used normally with I and WE: e. g. Shall we pray? (=invitation!)

FUTURE!

- I REFUSE TO SAY IT CAN BE USED TO EXPRESS

GOING TO FUTURE - used for future plans e. g. They're going to have a white wedding, with the wedding vows and everything. - used for prediction based on evidence e. g. We are never going to agree. I'm a non-believer and you, well... a Bible person. FUTURE CONTINUOUS - used for a future action/state in duration at a certain moment in the future e. g. In twenty years' time I will be probably thinking about God and dying.

FUTURE PERFECT SIMPLE - used for a future action/state that will be over before a certain moment in the future e. g. In twenty years' time I will have spent the best years of my life as an atheist. By the moment I die, God will have given birth to a lot of new non-believers. I honestly hope that by 2080 I won't have become a believer.