How to make sentences in English. How to “build” sentences in English and understand all tense forms

Greetings, dear reader.

I am sure that if I ask you how the word order in a sentence in English differs from its Russian counterpart, you will not be able to really tell me. Well, maybe some of you. Therefore, today I will organize all your knowledge into shelves, tables and diagrams.

What is the main difference

To make everything clear, just like for children, let’s look at simple examples right away. Everyone starts with this, both adults in various courses and children in 2nd grade.

If in Russian we can do whatever we want with a sentence, then in English this will be difficult. For example:

The cat climbed a tree.
A cat climbed a tree.

But look what happens if we do something similar with the English version:

The cat broke the window. - The cat broke the window.
The window broke the cat. - The cat broke the window.

You see, the difference is significant and, to some extent, comical. And the reason is that in the English language the order of words is fixed, and changes are oh so involuntary!

How to write a proposal correctly

The standard word order for a simple sentence is:

1. The subject comes first.
2. It is followed by a predicate.
3. After this comes the addition.
4. And finally, the circumstance.

Let's look at examples:

Mother is a doctor.- Mom is a doctor.

Mother - this is the subject; the one who performs the main action. It comes first.
Is - this is a predicate. It always comes after the subject.
Doctor - this is an addition.

Let's look at some more examples.

I (subject) like (predicate) coffee (addition) in the morning (circumstance). - I love coffee in the morning.

We (subject) do (predicate) the job (addition) well (circumstance). - We do a good job.

We bought a beautiful car last week . - Last week we bought a beautiful car.
I have a concert tomorrow evening - Tomorrow evening I have a concert.

What to do with time indicators?- you ask. To which I will answer: they can stand like at first, so at the end offers.

I (subject) drink(predicate) coffee (addition) in the morning (time indicator). - I drink coffee in the morning.

In the morning (time indicator) I (subject) go (predicate) jogging (addition). - In the mornings I go for a run.

To help you remember this rule better, I have a table for you that will help you quickly refresh your knowledge at any time.

What to do with questions

For those who are already in 5th grade, the most common mistake incorrect formation becomes. (follow the link to find out more about everything)

The word order in a question sentence depends on the type of sentence you are faced with. If the question is general, that is, it requires only a “yes” or “no” answer, then the words will go in the following order:

1. Auxiliary verb (for example, Is, Are, Do, Did, Does, Was, Were, Has, Have, Will, etc.).
2. Next comes the subject.
3. It is followed by the main verb.
4. After which all other parts of the sentence are used.

Is (auxiliary) John (subject) a student (addition)? - Is John a student?

Do (auxiliary) you (subject) drink (main verb) water (addition) in the morning (time circumstance)? - Do you drink water in the morning?

Was (auxiliary) he (subject) reading (main verb) a book (addition) last evening (time circumstance)? - Did he read a book last night?

But there are also special questions in the language that require complete answers. The only difference in this case is that a question word also appears before the auxiliary verb ( what, when, who, whom, where, which, whose).

What (question word) were (auxiliary) you (subject) doing (main verb) lastevening (time circumstance)? - What did you do last night?

Who did you call yesterday? - Who did you call yesterday?

When did you see her for the last time? - When was the last time you saw her?

To remember the information much better, here is a diagram for you that I hope will help you master the rule faster.

Well, my dears, the only thing I have left to tell you is exercises and even more English. Only with constant practice and constant improvement of the language can you achieve good results. After all, we are still at the very beginning of the journey, which can become your starting point into the wonderful world of English speech.

I am sure that many of you would be interested in receiving even more useful information and topics for taking next steps. That's why I created a subscription to my blog's newsletter, where I share the most relevant and useful information. Subscribe and improve day by day.

Until we meet again, my dears.

How often in exams, in various tests, we are faced with the need to correctly compose a phrase from a set of words. If in Russian it makes almost no difference whether you start a sentence with a subject or a predicate, then in English there are certain principles, the observance of which is mandatory. A correctly organized structure of an utterance is the key to competent speech.

From the first days of learning English, you need to remember the strict sentence structure and word order. A clear sequence makes it easier to understand and hear speech. In written language, language is presented not as a set of words, but as a structured statement.

Word order in an English sentence

Believe me, having mastered the basics of interaction between the members of a sentence, you can confidently say that soon you will be able to speak. Yes, at first with simple phrases of two or three words, but gradually expand your vocabulary and diversify your speech. So, the rules of construction:

Subject + predicate + object + adverbial

Subject + predicate + object + adverbal modifier

The boy showed the mark-book yesterday. (The boy showed the diary yesterday)

subject tale additional circumstances

Well, that's not all. One phrase may contain several circumstances or additions. How to put everything in its place not only from the lexical side, but also from the grammatical side? Let's look at an example:

• The construction of sentences in English is based on the fact that if there are several additions, then they alternate as follows:

indirect add. (to whom?) + direct (what) + with preposition (to whom?)

She wrote her friend a letter. But: She wrote a letter to her friend. — She wrote a letter to her friend. = She wrote a letter to her friend. (there is no grammatical difference in Russian)

As can be seen from the example, if an indirect object is without a preposition, then it precedes the direct one, and if a preposition is used, it comes after it.

• According to the word order in an English sentence, circumstances are arranged like this:

mode of action (goal, reason) (how?) + place (where? where?) + time (when?)

He was running quickly to his house at 6 o’clock yesterday. — He ran home quickly at 6 o'clock yesterday.

If there is a need to logically highlight a circumstance of place or time, then it can be brought to the fore.

In Moscow he visited many museums last year. — In Moscow he visited many museums last year.
Last year he visited many museums in Moscow. — Last year he visited many museums in Moscow.

• There is also such a member of the sentence as definition. This free bird always stands in front of the word to which it refers. Sometimes one definition is not enough to fully characterize a subject, so it is necessary to use several. How, what and where to put?

1. Article or possessive pronoun(or noun in Possessive Case), numerals + adjectives: my beautiful yellow hat , Tom's ugly big old Italian hunting boots, the first difficult examination question.
2. Adjectives in the following order: Emotional attitude → fact: a nice sunny day - a beautiful sunny day.
3. Facts, if there are several of them, are arranged in the following sequence: size → age → color → where from → from what. You won’t necessarily find all the characteristics in a sentence, these can be two or three adjectives (adjectives are most often used as definitions), which means that if you skip one of the elements of the diagram, you put everything in in the right order. Let's look at examples: a nice small black plastic bag, a new black plastic bag.

A famous Scottish poet was born in 1750. - characterizes the subject - emotion. coloring + where from (Famous poet born in 1750)

So, when faced with the question, how to make sentences in English, look at every word. First of all, it is necessary to find the main members (who performs the action, what, or on what, then what happens, the action itself) and put them in first place. Then, the minor members are in accordance with the scheme.

But I would also really like to note questions that are not exactly a violation, but a slight change in order. Thus, the subject and predicate firmly hold their places and do not give them up to anyone, just like the adverbial and complement. But, an interrogative sentence can begin with auxiliary verb, modal or from a special word.

Did he lives in Minsk? — Did he live in Minsk?

Do do you have a computer? - You have a computer?

Can will you take me to the museum? -Can you take me to the museum?

What kind of book are you reading now? - What book are you reading now?

Cases of violation of direct word order in an English sentence

Of course, not without difficulties! The above scheme most likely works for 80% of affirmative statements. But there are some features that are worth remembering.

A grammatical phenomenon such as inversion , turns everything upside down. What it is? In cases where the structure of a sentence in English is broken, the reverse order of the subject and predicate is noted. But there is a certain, limited set of such situations.

1. In units of speech with turnover there is / there are The subject comes after the predicate.

There is a round table in the middle of the room. — There is a round table in the middle of the room.

2. If the phrase begins from direct speech (with “”), and indirect follows it, the subject also changes places with the verb.

“I haven’t painted for ages”, said my friend. “I haven’t painted for ages,” said my friend.

3. In statements starting with "here", but only on condition that the subject is expressed by a noun. But, if in its place after here a pronoun is used, then the direct order is preserved.

Here are the gloves you are looking for. - These are the gloves you are looking for.

Here comes our teacher. - Here comes our teacher.

BUT: Here it is. - Here it is. Here he comes. - Here he comes.

4. If a sentence begins with adverbs or conjunctions such as never (never), rarely (rarely), little (little), in vain (in vain), scarcely (barely), not only (not only), hardly (barely), then there is an inversion. Most often, disruption of order is used to add emotional coloring to a statement, and these words, which are brought to the fore, strengthen and emphasize the meaning.

In vain doesshedye her hair — She dyes her hair in vain.

Never in his life has hegone abroad. — He had never traveled abroad in his life.

Seldom can he come to see us. “He can rarely visit us.”

5. In short remarks, for example, such as So did I, Neither do I (And I too).

Every morning I take a shower. - So do I. - I take a shower every morning. And me too.

She didn't read this book. — Neither did I. — She didn’t read this book. And me too.

Basically, in syntactic constructions everything is very specific. Having many rules and just as many exceptions, constructing statements is not difficult if you strictly follow the instructions. So, remember that composing sentences in English strictly follows a pattern. Follow it, and then you will succeed!

To ensure that your oral and written English speech was as competent as possible, it is necessary not only to know a large number of words in this language, but also be able to arrange them into sentences, structure everything in such a way that your thoughts and message are clear to your interlocutors. Sentences are the basis of any text, so the ability to arrange them according to all the rules is very important for high-quality language proficiency.

Elements of an English sentence

A sentence consists of several members, but only two are constant - the subject and the predicate. They are also called principal members. Each member of an English sentence has its own place - the word order, unlike the Russian language, is strictly one. By breaking it, English phrase will lose all meaning.

Subject

The subject is in the form of a common case noun (as in the dictionary) in any number, in the form of a personal pronoun with a nominative case, as well as a numeral, infinitive and gerund. The subject always comes before the predicate and usually at the beginning of the sentence.

For nouns, the article may change or be completely absent - it all depends on what object or person is implied in the sentence.

Mouseare afraid of cat- The mouse is afraid of the cat;

Iam fond of music- I'm into music;

Fouris believed to be an unlucky number in Japan - It is believed that four - unlucky number in Japan;

To helpyou are my choice- Helping you is my choice;

Reading togood book raises my mood- Reading a good book lifts my mood.

Table of personal pronouns that can act as subjects:

Sometimes indefinite and negative pronouns can become the subject:

Predicate

The predicate is the main component of a sentence. With its help, we understand what time the described event is associated with. The predicate is placed after the subject - that is, in second place. It happens the following types: verb (the Verbal Predicate) and nominal ( the Nominal Predicate).

Verb predicatestands in personal form and serves as a determinant of action.

Example:

This manstudiesSpanish- This man is learning Spanish;

Samwill moveto another country- Sam will move to another country.

Wehave to stoplistening music- We must stop listening to music;

Juliacan runfaster- Julia can run faster;

Shestarted dancing- She started dancing;

A teacherfinished introducinghimself- The teacher finished introducing himself.

Nominal predicateshows the characteristics of an object or living creature. It cannot denote actions and consists of two components - a linking verb and a nominal part. The nominal part may consist of various parts speech: nouns, pronouns, numerals, adjectives, infinitives, gerunds and participles.

Example:

Shewas a teacher- She was a teacher;

The cupis yours- The cup is yours;

This girlis nineteen- This girl is 19 years old;

The wallis black- The wall is black;

Him missionwas to helpshe has to cope with everything- His mission was to help her cope with everything;

Her greatest wishis flying- Her greatest desire is to fly;

The pastais boiled- The pasta is cooked.

The predicate can be formed not only from one verb, but also from two:

• Main verb . Denotes the action performed by the second main member. For example:He runs- He is running.
• Auxiliary . Distinguishes between times. If the tense form requires the presence of such a verb, then omitting it from the sentence is unacceptable. ForPresent Simple it will be do/does, For Past Perfect - had, and for Future Continuous - will be.

All those members of the sentence that are called minor will be listed below. Their task is to explain the main members of the sentence or other minor ones. Their peculiarity is that even without them the sentence will have a clear meaning, since these words do not form a grammatical center in it.

Addition

The object is placed after the predicate and is expressed by a noun and a pronoun. Such words answer any case questions, excluding the nominative. There are two types of additions:

• Direct object . Answers the questions accusative case“who?”, “what?”;
• Indirect addition . Answers other questions: “what?”, “what?”, “to whom?” etc.

There are times when there are two objects in one sentence. In such cases, we first put the direct, and then the indirect.

Example:

I seea boy- I see a boy;

He is readinga magazine to the friend- He is reading a magazine to a friend;

I playthe computer game with him- I play computer game with him.

Circumstance

This member of the sentence answers the questions “where?”, “why”, “when”, etc. and can denote place, time, image or cause of action. It is attached to the predicate and takes place either at the beginning of the sentence or at the end. Expressed by an adverb or a noun with a preposition.

Example:

My black dog lieson the window- My black dog is lying on the window;

TodayI saw her with my sister- Yesterday I saw her with my sister.

Definition

This member of the sentence answers the questions “which one?” and “whose?” and describes the properties of the words before which it is placed (subject and object). The participle attribute is usually placed after these members of the sentence. The definition can be used in the form of different parts of speech: adjective, participle and participial phrase, numeral, noun in possessive case, personal pronoun in the objective case and others.

Example:

Yesterday I had astrongtoothache- Yesterday I had a severe toothache;

Where are the goodsbought at the auction yesterday ? - Where are the goods bought yesterday at the auction?;

Her office is on thefirstfloor- Her office is on the first floor;

Sam founda lady'shat in the street- Sam found a woman’s hat on the street;

There isn'tanywater left in the cup- There is no water left in the cup.

Structure and word order in a sentence in English

In Russian, the order of words in a sentence is exempt from rules, and the meaning of phrases does not change from rearranging members. In English, things are stricter about this: words can appear in two orders: direct and reverse. For clarity, let's look at a simple example:

I love you- I love you = I love you = I love you.

This phrase has three possible translations into Russian.

Note that in English there are three types of sentences, and each of them has its own order of members:

• Affirmative;
• Interrogative;
• Negative.

Constructing an affirmative sentence in English

This type of sentence has a direct order of members. It should look like this: first - the subject, then the predicate, and only then the complement with the circumstance. Sometimes, as mentioned above, the adverbial clause may occupy the beginning of a sentence. Don't forget that sometimes an auxiliary verb is added to the main verb, which is also part of the predicate - so the order will still remain straight.

Example:

Today I bought a dog set to my son - Today I bought my son a dog;

We'll go home after working- We will go home after work;

I have no idea how to learn to play the piano - I have no idea how to learn to play the piano.

Constructing a negative sentence in English

In such sentences, as in the previous version, the word order will be direct. But in order to mark this negation, we add the particle “not" (Not). This particle is necessarily adjacent to the auxiliary verb, which is required in such cases.

Example:

My girlfriend will not visit me in two days - My girlfriend will not visit me in two days;

Sam will not be there- Sam won't be there;

She is not reading at the moment - She is not reading at the moment;

I was not aware of the situation in Ukraine - I didn’t know about the situation in Ukraine;

I haven’t done homework today yet - Today I haven’t done my homework yet.

Constructing an interrogative sentence in English

In Russian, sentences with questions differ from statements only in the intonation with which the speaker pronounces them. In the English version of the interrogative sentence, a different word order is used - reverse. In it, the subject and predicate change places. But only part of the predicate is placed at the beginning - an auxiliary verb, the presence of which is mandatory here. The main verb is still located after the subject, like all other words. The only exception is that the circumstance cannot come at the beginning here.

Example:

Do you like this music?- Do you like this music?;

Have you been to Japan?- Have you been to Japan?

Sometimes such phrases include a question word - in this case, we put it at the beginning.

Example:

What do you think about our teacher? - What do you think about our teacher?;

When did he move to Russia?- When did he move to Russia?

There are also sentences with a question called a dividing question - and in this case you will have to abandon the standard, “correct” structuring. A sentence with a dividing question is created as follows: first - an affirmative or negative sentence, and then - a short question.

Example:

She is rather beautiful, isn’t she? - She's quite beautiful, isn't she?;

He studies Spanish, doesn't he? - He's studying Spanish, isn't he?

Constructing short answers in English

In Russian speech, we can briefly answer “Yes” or “No” to many questions. We are studying foreign language in exactly the same way has such an opportunity, but with one difference - here you cannot answer simply “Yes” or “No”, since such a wording of the answer may seem unfriendly. Therefore, English people who want to give a short answer to a question add the subject and auxiliary verb used in the question.

Example:

ㄧ Has he visited the Kremlin?- Did he visit the Kremlin?

ㄧ Yes, he has- Yes;

ㄧ Do they work in the college?- Do they work at the college?

ㄧ No, they don't- No.

If the question asked of you contains the pronoun “you”, it is asked to you personally. The answer to such a question should be from yourself, and not from “you”.

Example:

ㄧ Do you like summer?- Do you like summer?

ㄧ Yes, I do- Yes.

ㄧ Will you write me?-Will you write to me?

ㄧ No, I won't- No.

Creating literate phrases in English is like a constructor - you just need to insert the necessary parts of the sentence. Try to formulate coherent texts in the target language more often, but not only in writing, but also orally, communicating with native speakers of the language you need or with people who, like you, are studying it.

Dima behaved well yesterday.

Yesterday Dima behaved well.

Dima behaved well yesterday.

Dima behaved well yesterday.

Dima behaved well yesterday.

Dima behaved well yesterday.

No matter how we say these sentences and in what order we put the words in them, their meaning will not change. With this example we want to show the difference between the construction of Russian and English sentences. After all, it is in the latter that such variations are impossible. This is due to the fact that the English language lacks endings, and in order not to lose the meaning that the speaker wants to convey, English philologists have established rules for composing sentences in English. They are quite clear and require strict adherence.

Let's consider the features of constructing affirmative sentences.

We have two spelling options. The first option looks like this:

subject-predicate-object-adverbial

She doesn’t bake herself as a rule. Her boyfriend does it for her.

(She doesn't do the baking herself. Her boyfriend does)

He likes this book very much.

(He really likes this book.)

They will bring this book tomorrow.

(They will bring this book tomorrow)

The second option is written like this:

adverbial-subject-predicate-object

As a rule she doesn’t bake herself. Her boyfriend does it for her.

(She usually doesn't do the baking herself. Her boyfriend does.)

Yesterday Kevin met his classmates at the airport.

(Yesterday Kevin met his classmates at the airport.)

If we talk about interrogative sentences, it is worth noting that they also have character traits writing.

In our article we will learn how general and special questions are composed.

More about interrogative sentences:
Interrogative sentences in English

We construct a general question according to this scheme:

verb-subject- addition-adverbial

Will she be at the restaurant after 2?

(Will she be at the restaurant after two?)

Did you bring that book to the library?

(Did you bring that book to the library?)

As a rule, we put “question-word” as the first word in interrogative sentences ( who, whom, where, why, what, which, when, whose, how, how much).

In second place we put the auxiliary verb ( am, is, are, does, did, do, will, shall, would, have, has, can, could, must, may, might, ought, need, should.) It is followed by the subject, semantic verb, and other words.

How do you feel today?

(How do you feel today?)

How much sugar does she take in her coffee?

(How much sugar does she add to her coffee?)

Here we have given the basic schemes for constructing sentences in English. But, there are some exceptions to the rules and deviations from the given schemes. We invite you to learn about all these features at our school and receive detailed information on this topic.

More significant success in constructing sentences in English will bring you the desire to think in English, and not just translate sentences from Russian. Watching films or your favorite English TV series without translation and with subtitles will also be useful. Firstly, it will bring not only the opportunity to learn, but also spend time with pleasure. Secondly, visual memory will consolidate the textual accompaniment of the film, and you can always rewind the film and read unfamiliar phrases or words. The usefulness of American TV series also lies in the fact that they use significant amount slang sentences, exclamations and modern sayings that you will naturally need for everyday speech.

Our dear students, the entire Native English School team congratulates you on the upcoming Easter, wishes you sincerity from those around you, bright smiles, success in your work, peace in your family and in your heart! See you! =)

And now we will look at the basics of composing simple sentences to express past, present and future tenses using examples.

Construction of sentences in the Simple group

Affirmative sentences

Let's start with the Present Simple. All affirmative sentences are constructed according to the following scheme:

1. "I'm in in this example is subject. It should not be confused with the complement, since the subject performs the action, and the action is performed on the complement. Moreover, in Russian the order of words is not important to us, because it is already clear who is performing the action. We can freely say: “I eat the cake.” But in English you won’t be able to construct a sentence like this, since the one who performs the action must come first, otherwise they will simply laugh at you when you say: “The cake is eating me.” Even in the passive voice, such a phrase will sound very strange.
2. In second place should be the predicate, which expresses the action itself. In the Russian language, there are often sentences with an incomplete grammatical basis, where there is no subject or predicate, or both are absent. In the latter case we are dealing with impersonal offer: "It's dark." In English there must always be a subject and a predicate. So, if there is no verb in a Russian sentence, then it will definitely appear in English. Let's take for example one-part sentence, in which there is no predicate: “The telephone is on the table.” To translate it correctly, we will need to use the verb “to be”, which will connect the subject with the predicate. As a result, the phrase will literally be translated as: “The phone is on the table.”
3. In third place were the secondary members of the proposal for a certain rule: first comes the direct object (answers the question “who?”, “what?”, “whom?”), then the indirect one (answers the same questions, but with the prepositions “with whom?”, “to whom?”, etc. .d.). This rule is not always observed and is not strict.

As in Russian, English verbs are modified depending on the person. The main changes occur in the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), where the suffix “s” or “es” is added to the predicate. As a result, we get the sentence: “He goes to school.”

Negative sentences

In addition to affirmation, there is also negation, the diagram of which looks like this:

In this scheme, all the same components are found, except for the linking verb “do” and the particle “not”, which is equivalent to the negative particle “not” in Russian. What is an auxiliary verb and why is it needed? Unlike the Russian language, where we simply put the particle “not” before the verb, in English there must be an auxiliary verb before the particle “not”. It is different for each tense, and in the case of the Present Simple it will be in the form of either “do” or “does” depending on the number and person of the subject. Example: “She does not go to school.”

Interrogative sentences

So, we have considered the affirmation, the negation, and we are left with a question, the formation of which also requires an auxiliary verb:

So, we have discussed with you the basic principles of constructing various types of sentences in Present Simple. Past Simple and Future Simple are constructed in a similar way, the main differences will be in the form of the auxiliary verb.

Constructing sentences in the Future Simple

Statement

The scheme for constructing a statement in the simple future tense (Future Simple) is as follows:

The auxiliary verb will indicates that the action takes place in the future tense, and the phrase will be translated as: “I will go to school.”

Negation

Negation is constructed using the already familiar particle “not” and the auxiliary verb “will”.

Question

Any question begins with an auxiliary verb, so when constructing a question we simply put will in first place.

Past Simple

Statement

When constructing a statement in the past tense of the Simple group, there is a small peculiarity: the suffix “ed” is added to the verb.

I specifically omitted the example with school because it uses an irregular verb. Most verbs form the simple past tense by adding the suffix “ed” to the stem (cook - cooked), but there are about 470 verbs, according to the Oxford Dictionary, that form the past tense according to their own canons. Our verb “go” also falls into their number, which will change its form to “went”: “I went to school.”

Negation

Negation in the simple past tense is constructed similarly to the Present Simple, with the only difference being that the form of the auxiliary verb “do” takes on the past form “did”.

Question

The question is also constructed by analogy with the Present Simple. We only change the form of the auxiliary verb to the past.

So we studied the construction of sentences in the entire Simple group. The main thing is to remember the patterns for all three types (affirmation, negation and question), not to forget how the word forms of verbs in the 3rd person singular change, and to memorize the main irregular verbs in order to achieve automaticity in speech.

Construction of sentences in the Continuous group

In the Continuous group there is always an auxiliary verb “to be”, the change in form of which will tell us when the action occurs: yesterday, now or tomorrow. In this group there is also always the participle I, similar to active participle In russian language. The participle itself is constructed by adding the suffix “ing” to the verb (go - going).

Statement

Let's not deviate from the structure and consider the formation of time in the Present Continuous.

The forms of the verb “to be” change depending on the person, and here the matter is not limited to changes only in the 3rd person singular. You just need to remember the forms.

In the past tense, the auxiliary verb changes its form to “was” or were” depending on the person and number.

The sentence construction scheme in the Past Continuous will be as follows:

The future tense in this group is formed without any changes, we simply put the future tense verb “will” before the auxiliary “to be”:

Denial and question

The construction of negation and question follows the general scheme for constructing sentences: when negating, we put “not” after the auxiliary verb, and when asking a question, we put the auxiliary verb in first place.

To construct the past form, you need to change the form of the auxiliary verb to “had”.

To build a future form, we additionally put “will”.

Denial and question

Negation and question are constructed in a classical way: the particle not after had (in negation), had in first place (in question).

Denial and question

Negation	Question
I have not been going.	Have I been going to school?

These sentences are given for the sake of example only; in practice, you are unlikely to find yourself in a situation where you will need to express yourself in the Perfect Continuous. It will be much easier and faster to construct a phrase from the Simple and Continuous groups.

Simplified table of formation of all types of sentences in all tenses

For those who are encountering tenses for the first time, this article may seem a little chaotic, so as a result, I offer you a ready-made table with the formation of sentences in all tenses to make it easier for you to see the whole picture. You can use it as a cheat sheet in the initial stages of studying temporary structures. The table is taken from the Pikabu resource.

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