It's not so hard. :) First, present perfect and present perfect continuous are only used to describe the present situation. So we'll ignore them for now, if you don't mind. When you describe the past, the main events are in past simple. Use past continuous to set the scene for the simple actions: "I was driving to Berlin when I saw..." The simple actions need a context, and the continuous actions need something to interrupt them. Use past perfect to explain a later past event, ie. give some history to the simple action: "I couldn't get into my house. (why?) I had forgotten my keys." Yes, these all work together. It makes no sense to treat them as actions which are separate from the main story. The continuous form means the action was repeated or sustained over a period of time. For words like "been" (past participle), these can only work with another word (or even phrase). They cannot stand alone: had been, have eaten, was sunk. That's just a summary, but you really need to practise and copy good examples to be able to remember them.

Féria, The following website has some very helpful English verb tense exercises you may find useful: http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html If you would like a partner to practice with, may I suggest scheduling a trial session? Sincerely, Larry Kerns

I was at the mall (past) I am at the mall (present) Just to give you an idea.