Direct Speech: "I on a new design today ," Marcus said.

The English tense system allows speakers to locate actions precisely along a timeline. There are three primary time frames (Past, Present, Future) and four aspects (Simple, Continuous/Progressive, Perfect, Perfect Continuous), yielding twelve standard active tenses.

Used for habitual actions, timeless facts, and general truths. (Water boils at 100°C; He wakes up at 6 AM.)