There is something called ( Time clauses ) which indicating the timing of the act's occurrence in the sentence or used to link Two sentences both they are in one tense or two different tenses .
These time clauses are not related to given tense but are used in all tenses. Today we will talk about these clauses at length and explain each one at a time .
These clauses are ( When – While –After – Before – As soon as )
| Example | Usage | Time clause |
| -When I was little , I was playing on the street. -The bell was ringing when I was in the bathroom. -I was cleaning the house when my mom was at work |
It comes at the beginning of the sentence or in the middle to link two sentences. |
When |
| -We went to the park after we finished shopping. -Samira remembered her bag after she arrived at the station -I felt very tired after doing a lot of exercise at the club |
It comes either at the beginning of the sentence or in the middle to link the Two verbs and indicate which verb happened first. | After |
| -I wash the dishes before I sleep. -Before you go out, you have to wear a jacket . -I went to the bank before I went to the airport. |
It comes in the beginning of the sentence or in the middle to link the Two verbs and indicate which verb happened first . |
Before |
| -As soon as I finish my duties, I'll go to visit my grandpa. -I called the doctor as soon as I felt tired . -As soon as I knew my grandmother's disease, I went to visit her . |
It used to indicate Two events that occurred right after, it can come in the first sentence or in the middle. | As soon as |
| -Sandy was studying her homework while, I was playing the piano. -Salma was in Italy While, I was graduating from college. -I was at work while my sister was at her school party. |
It used to express Two actions in progress at the same time . | While |
As mentioned earlier, These time clauses are not related to tense and can be used in all times, but we have to mention that can't be used ( Will ) to express the future after ( When – Before – After) And then we replace it with (simple present ) to indicate the future for example :
✔ They will go to the club after they do this work .
✔ They will marry after they finish equipping the apartment .
So we are at the end of today's lesson. We have reviewed many of time clauses and explained what they meaning and use of each of these with examples.