Overview of English Verb Tenses Usage: Present Simple Example: Present Continuous Present Progressive Usage: Example: Usage:

Past Simple Example: Usage: Past Continuous Past Progressive Example: Usage: Future Example: I worked for ten hours yesterday. past ongoing action, past interrupted action I was working on my project when you called. planned or unplanned future action I will work at the main branch next week. action that happened at an indefinite time in the past and continues to the present I have worked at the bank for three years. past action that happened before another past action. I had already worked for several years before I got married. future action that will happen before another future action I will have worked here for five years next July. past action that started in the past and general action, habitual action, general truth I work in a hospital. ongoing or temporary action Sorry, I cant talk right now. I am working. completed action or condition

Usage: Present Perfect Example:

Usage: Past Perfect Example:

Usage: Future Perfect Example: Present Perfect Usage:

Continuous Present Perfect Progressive

continues to the present Example: I have been working on that project for the last two weeks. past ongoing action that was completed before some other past action I had been sleeping at my desk when my boss fired me. future ongoing action that will occur before another action I will have been working here for ten years tomorrow, so were having a party.

Past Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Progressive

Usage:

Example:

Future Perfect Continuous Future Perfect Progressive

Usage:

Example:

Examples of English Verb Tenses Verb Tense Present Simple Present Continuous Present Progressive Past Simple Past Continuous Past Progressive Example ACTIVE I work. Example PASSIVE The work is done.

I am working.

The work is being done.

I worked. I was working. I will work.

The work was done. The work was being done.

The work will be done. The work is going to be done. The work has been done. The work had been done. The work will have been done.

Future

Im going to work. I have worked. I had worked. I will have

Present Present Past Perfect Future Perfect

worked. Present Perfect Continuous Present Perfect Progressive Past Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Progressive Future Perfect Continuous Future Present Progressive

I have been working.

I had been working.

I will have been working.

The Present Simple

We need to use the Present Simple a lot in English, so it's really important to understand it well. Many students have problems with the form (or how to make it).

Simple present tense with 'be'

The verb be is different from the other verbs in this tense. Let's look at be first: Heres the positive form (positive means a normal sentence, not a negative or a question. This is sometimes called affirmative) Positive I am you are he is she is it is we are they are Positive Short Form I'm you're he's she's it's we're they're

The Present Continuous

The present continuous (sometimes called the present progressive) tense in English is really easy to make and is the same for all verbs. We make it using thepresent simple of be + verbing:

Here is how we make the positive:

Positive I am sleeping you are sleeping he is sleeping she is sleeping it is sleeping we are sleeping they are sleeping Positive Short Form I'm sleeping you're sleeping he's sleeping she's sleeping it's sleeping we're sleeping they're sleeping

The Present Perfect Simple

To make the positive present perfect tense, use:

'have' / 'has' + the past participle Make the past participle by adding 'ed' to regular verbs (for example, 'play' becomes 'played') There are a few verbs that change their spelling when you add 'ed' (for example, 'study' becomes 'studied') We also have some completely irregular verbs

(Also, here's some help if you are not sure how to pronounce '-ed' at the end of a verb). Positive I have played Positive Short Form I've played

you have worked he has written she has walked it has rained we have travelled they have studied

you've worked he's written she's walked it's rained we've travelled they've studied

The present perfect continuous

How good are you at the Present Perfect Continuous tense? It's not a very common tense, and often it's not taught in classes, but we do use it sometimes and it's very good to know how to make it, and to recognise it when other people use it.

Luckily, it's very easy to make. Here's the positive (it's the present perfect of 'be' + verb -ing):
Positive I have been walking you have been running he has been cooking she has been swimming it has been raining we have been studying they have been sleeping Positive Short Form I've been walking you've been running he's been cooking she's been swimming it's been raining we've been studying they've been sleeping

The Past Simple

It's similar to the present simple because it has different rules for the verb 'be', which becomes 'was' or 'were': The Past Simple with 'be' Here's how to make the positive:
Positive with 'be' I was cold you were tired he was in the garden she was late it was sunny we were on holiday they were hungry

The Past Continuous

How can we make the past continuous? Firstly, check that you know how to make the past simple with 'be' (subject + was / were). Then just add verb-ing. Here's the positive form:

I was sleeping you were working he was coming she was reading 'War and Peace' it was raining we were shopping they were watching a film

The Past Perfect

We don't use the past perfect a lot in English, but it is useful, and it sounds very good if you can use it correctly. Also, it's really easy to make - just the past simple of 'have' and the past participle. The positive - make it with 'had' + the past participle (usually made by adding 'ed' to the infinitive, but a few verbs have irregular past participles): (Also, here's some help if you are not sure how to pronounce '-ed' at the end of a verb).

I had been (I'd been) You had gone (you'd gone) She had met (she'd met) He had played (he'd played) It had rained (it'd rained) We had bought (we'd bought) They had studied (they'd studied)

The short form for 'had' is 'd. (Be careful not to confuse it with 'would'. Would is followed by the infinitive - 'I'd go', whereas had is followed by the past participle - 'I'd gone').

The Past Perfect Continuous

Here's how to make the past perfect continuous. It's 'had' + been (the past participle of 'be')+ verb-ing Firstly, let's look at the positive form:

I had been living You had been going She had been sleeping He had been working It had been raining We had been studying They had been cooking

The short form is: 'd been verb-ing. Be careful, because the short form for 'would' is also 'd. However, 'would' is always followed by the infinitive, but 'had' is followed by the past participle.

The Simple Future

The simple future tense is very easy to make and is very useful Here's the positive form (it's just 'will' + infinitive):

I will meet him later (I'll ..) You will come (you'll..) It will rain tomorrow (it'll) She will be late (she'll..) He will help us later (he'll..) We will get married in September (we'll) They will cook dinner (they'll..)

The Future Continuous

The future continuous tense isn't taught very much in English classes, but in fact, English speakers use it a lot. You will sound much more natural if you master this tense. Here's how to make it: The positive (will + be + verb-ing): At 10 am tomorrow,

I will be sleeping you will be working she will be studying it will be raining he will be cooking we will be eating breakfast they will be travelling

The Future Perfect

The future perfect tense is only used in a few situations, but it's still good to know it. Here's how to make it.

The future perfect is made with the future simple of 'have' (will have) and the past participle. For regular past participles add 'ed' to the verb ('play' becomes 'played'. Here's the positive: By six pm tonight:

I will have finished this book You will have studied the English tenses She will have cooked dinner He will have arrived We will have met Julie It will have stopped raining They will have left Japan

For the short form, we change will to 'll. But, when we are speaking, we also make 'have' shorter, so it sounds like I'll've finished.

The Future Perfect Continuous

The Future Perfect Continuous Tense isn't used very much in English and it is a little complicated to make. However, at higher levels it is great to understand it, and maybe use it sometimes too. It has a very precise meaning which can be convenient.

Positive Form I will have been working You will have been sleeping She will have been studying He will have been cooking It will have been raining We will have been exercising

Positive Short Form I'll have been working You'll have been sleeping She'll have been studying He'll have been cooking It'll have been raining We'll have been exercising

They will have been travelling

They'll have been travelling

Negative Form I will not have been working You will not have been sleeping She will not have been studying He will not have been cooking It will not have been raining We will not have been exercising They will not have been travelling

Negative Short Form I won't have been working You won't have been sleeping She won't have been studying He won't have been cooking It won't have been raining We won't have been exercising They won't have been travelling