Hello ssa,

Do you know what tense this sentence is in—and more importantly, why we use it?

“I lived in London 10 years ago.”

Do you notice a difference in meaning in this sentence?

“I have lived in London for 10 years.”

Not sure? No problem!

Understanding the tenses—and the shifts in meaning they create—can feel like a mystery.

But there is some good news: English tenses often appear with certain signal words that can give you a clue about which tense is being used and what the sentence means.

Words, patterns and time expressions can all quietly guide you to the correct tense.

So if tenses ever feel like a guessing game, here’s your first cheat code: