TENSE FORM SIGNAL WORDS USE EXAMPLES NOTES

Facts Berlin is the capital city of Germany.

Generalizations Dogs are better than cats.
Universal Truths Water boils at 100 degrees Celcius.
Habits Susan often meets with her friends after school.
Routines We leave for work at 7:30 AM every morning.
Tendency Mark rarely visits his sick grandmother.
Permanent Situations I live in Boston
Events Certain to Happen My grandmother turns 100 this July.
State Verbs I like swimming.
Future Arrangements When does the plane take off?
Narrations, Instructions or
commentaries
"A man goes to visit a friend and is amazed to find him
playing chess with his dog. He watches the game in
astonishment for a while [...]"
Actions happening at the
moment of speaking
Mary is talking with her friends.
Temporary Actions I'm riding a bike to get to work because my car is broken.
Longer Actions in Progress I am training to become a professional footballer.
Future (Personal)
Arrangements and Plans
He's flying to Rome in September.
Tendencies and Trends Our country is getting richer.
Irritation or Anger Johny is always asking stupid questions!
Indefinite time before now I have already had a breakfast.
Effect on the present moment He has finished his work. (so he can now rest)
Continuation in the present Mary has worked as a teacher for over 25 years.
Actions that started in the past
and continue in the present
He has been painting the house for 5 hours. He's still painting
it
I have been working as a fireman since 1973. I still work as a
fireman
Past actions recently stopped I have been waiting for you for half an hour! I'm not waiting
anymore because you have come
Temporary Actions and
Situations
I have been living in Boston for two months.
Events in the past that are now
finished
I went to college 3 years ago.
Situation in the past I lived in New York for 10 years (I don't live there anymore).
A series of actions in the past He entered a room, lit a cigarette and smiled at the guests.
Duration in the past I was watching TV yesterday in the evening.
Interrupted actions in progress I was talking with James when the telephone rang.
While Angelica was playing tennis, the plane crashed.
Actions in progress at the
same time
The family was eating the dinner and talking.
When Bob was painting windows, Mary was working in the
kitchen.
Polite questions I was wondering if you could open the window.
I was thinking you might help me with this problem.
Irritation She was always coming late for dinner!
A completed action before
another action in the past
I had finished my homework before I went playing football.
Third conditional If we had gone by taxi, we wouldn't have been late.
Reported speech Mary said she had already seen this film.
Dissatisfaction with the Past I wish I had taken more food. I'm hungry now.
Duration of a past action up to
a certain point in the past
I had been dating Angelina for 3 years before we got married.
Showing cause of an action or
situation
I had to go on a diet because I had been eating too much
sugar.
Third conditional sentences If it hadn't been raining, we would have gone to the park.
Reported Speech She said she knew Charlie had been lying to her.
Going to It's going to rain. Look at the clouds!
Promises Promise you will never leave me!
Unplanned actions I will close the window. It's starting to rain.
Predictions based on
experience or intuition
It will rain in a moment.
It will get more difficult.
Habits (obstinate insistence,
usually habitual)
She will bit her lip if she is thinking or if she's nervous about
something.
Future actions in progress In the evening, I will be baking a birthday cake.
Guesses about the present or
the future
Beatrice will be getting married very soon.
Questions Will you be coming home before or after 10 PM?
Completion before a specified
point in the future
Before they come, we will have cleaned up the house.
Actions or situations that will
last in the future (for a
specified time)
By the next year, I will have known Monica for 30 years.
Patrick will have lived in Hong Kong for 20 years by 2012.
Certainty About the Near Past The guests will have arrived at the hotel by now. (I'm sure the
guests have arrived at the hotel)
Duration at a definite moment
in the future
Before they come, we will have been cleaning the house for 5
hours.
Cause of a future situation By this time, he will have been working for 12 hours, so he will
be very tired.
yet, never, ever, already, so
far, up to now, since, for,
recently
Subject + HAS/HAVE + Verb (past participle form) Present Perfect
Present Simple Subject + Verb (present form)
always
frequently/often
usually
seldom/rarely
nowadays
never
every week/year
sometimes
occasionally
fromtime to time
every now and then
first
all day
for 4 years
since 1993
how long?
the whole week
Subject + HAS/HAVE + BEEN + Verb (continuous form) Present Perfect Continuous
P
r
e
s
e
n
t

T
e
n
s
e
s
yesterday
last week
last month
2 minutes ago
last ....
Before ....
Subject + Verb (past form) Past Simple
now
just now
at the moment
Look!
Listen! Subject + IS/ARE + Verb (continuous form) Present Continuous
P
a
s
t

T
e
n
s
e
s
when
while
as long as
at ten o'clock last night
Subject + WAS/WERE + Verb (continuous form) Past Continuous
as if
as though
Subject + HAD + Verb (past participle form) Past Perfect
ny tomorrow / 8 o'clock
this year / month / week
next year / month / week
how long ...?
Subject + WILL HAVE BEEN + Verb (past participle form) Future Perfect Continuous
in a year
next
tomorrow
Assumption: I think,
probably, perhaps
Subject + WILL + Verb (present form) Future Simple
in one year
next week
tomorrow
Subject + WILL + BE + Verb (continuous form) Future Continuous
Remember, you should never use will to say what somebody has already arranged or decided to do in the future:
Correct: Mike is moving to New Jersey next month.
Incorrect: Mike will move to New Jersey next month.
People (especially native speakers) do not use the Past Perfect in above sentences very often. For example, they will say:
After I washed my car, I went to fill up.
Rather than:
After I had washed my car, I went to fill up.
This is because "after" and "before" tell the listener which action happened first. Still, keep in mind that it is better to use the Past Perfect, especially
in written English or when writing exams.
If you want to learn about somebody's intentions, you should always use the Future Continuous rather than the Present Simple. Using the Future
Simple implies that you want to influence somebody's decision. Questions become much more objective if formed in the Future Continuous.
Compare: Will you come home? (= I want you to come home) / Will you be coming home? (= I just want to know)
by
by the time
before
by tomorrow/7 o'clock/next
month
until/till
Subject + WILL HAVE + Verb (past participle form) Future Perfect
all day
for 4 years
since 1993
how long?
the whole week
Subject + HAD + BEEN + Verb (continuous form) Past Perfect Continuous
Negative sentences sound rather unnatural. This is probably because the answer to a question like, "Will she have been teaching for 30 years this
year?", would simply be, "No, I don't think so".
If duration of an activity (e.g. "since April", "for three hours") is unknown then the Future Continuous should be used instead of the Perfect Form.
Example: I will be taking a bath. / I will have been taking a bath .
F
u
t
u
r
e

T
e
n
s
e
s
Apart fromthe above uses, this tense is also used in:
Zero Conditional ("If it doesn't rains, I go play football.")
First Conditional ("We won't get our pocket money, if we don't pass this exam.")
In sentences after when, before, till, after, as soon as ("Before you leave, please take the keys.")
Some of the verbs used in the simple formcan also appear in the continuous form. This is typically when they have an active meaning or emphasize
change.
I'm thinking of moving to San Francisco.
I'm loving your new hairdo!
Stative (State) Verbs
There is a certain group of verbs that usually does not appear in the Continuous form. They are called Stative (State) Verbs, and if used in the
Continuous form, they have a different meaning.
Examples:
I think you look pretty today. meaning: Opinion
I'm thinking of moving to San Francisco. meaning: Act of thinking
You should not use this tense with time expressions like yesterday, a week ago, last year, etc.
I have seen it yesterday.
We have gone to Paris last year.
For and Since
Since and for are very common time expressions used with the Present Perfect Continuous.
We use for with a period of time, for example:
I have been living here for 20 years.
When talking about a starting point, we use since, for example:
I have been living here since 1960.