“COVID-19 changed / has changed / has been changing the everyday life of people” [duplicate]
A visualization of what we mean in English by the various tenses:
For the sake of presenting the information in another way:
I eat
habitually; in general.
- “I eat venison occasionally.”
as a command
- “Now, we eat!”
I am eating
at this point; at this point, continuously; at a point in the future.
“I am eating these leftovers. Would you like some?”
“I am eating lunch with John on Thursday.”
I ate
at a point in the past.
“I ate squid once.”
“I ate lunch early today.”
I was eating
at a point in the past, continuously.
- “I was eating my dinner, when the phone rang.”
I have eaten
at a point in the past; in the past in general.
- “I have eaten many different kinds of sushi.”
I have been eating
up to and including now, continuously. = I was and am eating.
- “I have been eating the bread that's on the counter, not knowing it's mouldy.”
I had eaten
before a point in the past.
- “I had eaten barbecue before, but this steak was better than any I'd ever tasted.”
I had been eating
up to and including a point in the past, continuously.
“I had been eating breakfast in bed, till I started seeing ants in my room.”
“I had already been eating for fifteen minutes by the time she showed up.”
I will eat
at a point in the future; in the future in general.
“I will eat an apple a day from now on.”
“I will eat dinner with you tomorrow if you want.”
I will be eating
up to and including a point in the future, continuously.
- “I will be eating only a little bit of this cake. You can have the rest.”
I will have eaten
before a point in the future.
- “I will have eaten by the time you get out of work, so we can't eat together.”
I will have been eating
up to and including a point in the future, continuously.
- “I will have been eating a vegetarian diet for twenty years next month.”