TABLE OF ENGLISH TENSES

TENSE

FORM
A: I / You / We /
They eat
He / She / It
eats

PRESENT
SIMPLE

PRESENT
CONTINUOUS

N: I / You / We /
They don't eat
He / She / It
doesn't eat

USE

Con acciones rutinarias: I see my grandparents twice a

week.
Con hechos o verdades generales: Water boils at 100 C
Con situaciones permanentes: I work as a Walter in a
restaurant
Acciones futuras con horarios de trenes, aviones, etc. My
train leaves at 5.30
Oraciones condicionales de 1er tipo y en oraciones
temporales

Q: Do
I / You / We /
They eat?

Con
verbos
que
no
suelen
ir
en
presente
continuo: know, like, hate, want, love, need, belong,
mean, understand, remember, prefer

Does He / She /
It eat?
A: I am eating

Con acciones que ocurren en el momento de hablar: We're

studying the verbs now.
Con acciones que estn ocurriendo temporalmente: My
brother is working hard this year.

He / She / It is
eating
We / You / They
are eating
N: I am not
eating
He / She / It

Con acciones habituales que causan irritacin al hablante:

They are always complaining about the same thing
.
Con acciones futuras planeadas y confirmadas (fecha): She's
visiting the doctor tomorrow morning.

SIGNAL WORDS

Adverbios de frecuencia:
always, often, usually,
generally, seldom, never
Every day/ week/ month

Once / Twice / Three

times a week/ day /
month/ year

Now, right now

At present, at the moment,
in this moment, .
These days, this year/
month/ week, nowadays

Tonight, tomorrow, next

week / month, in a
minute, in a couple of
days

isn't eating
We / You / They
aren't eating
Q: Am I eating?
Is He / She / It
eating?
Are We / You /
They eating?
A: He watched
/ He ate
PAST
SIMPLE

PAST

N: He didn't
watch / He
didn't eat
Q: Did he
watch? / Did he
eat?
A: I / He / She /
It was eating

CONTINUOUS

* El presente continuo no se suele utilizar con los siguientes

verbos: know, like, want, hate, love, need, belong mean,
understand, believe, remember, prefer; aunque algunos de
estos verbos pueden aparecer en forma continua con un
sentido diferente

Con acciones pasadas que tuvieron lugar en un momento

determinado: We didn't watch TV last night
Narrar hechos pasados secuenciados

Normalmente, despus de las siguientes expresiones: I

wish, If only, as if, as though, would rather, would
sooner, it's time.

Para expresar una accin incompleta que estaba ocurriendo

en el pasado. (accin larga): Last week, we were working
in a science project.
Para sealar que una accin larga estaba teniendo lugar en el
pasado cuando fue interrumpida por otra breve: We were
watching TV, when suddenly the TV set broke down.
Para indicar que 2 o + acciones largas estaban ocurriendo
simultneamente en el pasado: While I was cooking
dinner, he was laying the table.
Para indicar acciones repetidas y montonas en el pasado
indicando cierta queja: The children were always
screaming.

We / You / They
were eating

N: I / He / She /
It wasn't eating

We / You / They
weren't eating

Q:

Yesterday
Last month / week..
Ago

Fechas pasadas

While

Was I / He / She
/ It eating?
Were We / You /
They eating?
A: I / You / We /
They have eaten

Para descripciones y especificaciones: People

walking, the sun was shining, the birds.

were

He / She / It has
eaten

PRESENT
PERFECT
SIMPLE

N: I / You / We /
They haven't
eaten
He / She / It
hasn't eaten

Q: have I / You /
We / They
eaten?

PRESENT
PERFECT
CONTINUOUS

Para hablar de acciones que ocurrieron en el pasado pero

llegan o tienen importancia en el presente: I have found a
wallet in the street.
Con el superlativo: She's the most intelligent person I
have ever met.
En
las
expresiones
It's the first/ second time: It's the first time I've eaten
raw fish

has He / She / It
eaten?
A: I / You / We /
They have been
eating

Tiene el mismo uso que el present perfect simple pero

resaltando la duracin de la actividad: I've been working in
this factory since 1999.

He / She / It has
been eating

Para hablar de acciones pasadas que acaban de concluir y su

resultado es evidente: Have you been frying fish?

N: I / You / We /
They haven't

Already (AF)ya
Yet (NG/INT).ya, an,
todava
Fordurante
Sincedesde
Justacabo de
This week/ month
Recently

Adverbios de frecuencia:
ever

Already (AF)ya
Yet (NG/INT).ya, an,
todava
Fordurante
Sincedesde
Justacabo de
This week/ month

been eating
He / She / It
hasn't been
eating

Q: have I / You /
We / They been
eating?

Recently

Adverbios de frecuencia:
ever

has He / She / It
been
eating?

A: He had eaten
PAST
PERFECT
SIMPLE

N: He hadn't
eaten

Q: Had he
eaten?

PAST

A: He had been
eating

PERFECT
N: He hadn't
CONTINUOUS

Para hablar de una accin pasada que ocurri antes que otra:
The school had already closed when I arrived.
En oraciones condicionales de 3er tipo
En oraciones temporales para enfatizar que una accin
pasada estaba totalmente acabada antes de comenzar otra:
He didn't go to bed until the last TV programme had
finished.
Con
I
wish
/
If
only
para lamentarnos de algo que ha ocurrido en el pasado: If
only they had stayed with us (ojal)

Already (AF)ya
Just
Until / Till
Before
As soon as

En la expresin It was the first / the second time: It

was the second time I had flown.
Para hablar de una accin pasada que ocurri antes que otra
pero poniendo nfasis e la duracin de la misma: She was
so ill because she had been eating so many chocolates.

After

For
Since

The whole day / all day

been eating
Q: Had he been
eating?

FUTURE I
SIMPLE
(WILL)

A: He
will eat
N: He won't eat
Q: Will
he
eat?

FUTURE I
SIMPLE
(GOING TO)

A: I am going to
eat

He / She / It is
going to eat

We / You / They
are going to eat
N: I am not
going to eat
He / She / It
isn't going to

Expresar certeza en el futuro: We will definitely phone her

tonight.
Predicciones: It'll be windy tomorrow.
Promesas: I'll buy you a present for your birthday.
Tomar una decisin en el momento de hablar: It's hot in
here. I'll open the windows.
Hacer un ofrecimiento: I'll carry the suitcase if you like.
Pedir algo educadamente: Will you do it for me?
En condicionales de 1er tipo: If it rains, we'll stay at
home.
Cuando sugerimos algo utilizamos SHALL: Shall we go to
the cinema tonight?
Expresar intenciones: I'm going to eat less.
Para hablar de planes futuros: They're going to build a
new bridge in autumn.
Para hacer predicciones de futuro a travs de hechos
evidentes en el presente: It's very hot today. We are
going to sweat .
Para hablar de hechos que van a ocurrir con seguridad en el
futuro: I'm going to finish Bachillerato next year.

Tomorrow
Next day/ week.

Fechas futuras

Tomorrow
Next day/ week.

Fechas futuras

eat
We / You / They
aren't going to
eat
Q: Am I going
to eat?

Is He / She / It
going to eat?

Are We / You /
They going to
eat?
A: He
will be eating
FUTURE I

N: He won't be
eating

CONTINUOUS
Q: Will
he be
eating?
FUTURE II
PERFECT
SIMPLE

A: He will have
eaten.
N: He won't
have eaten.
Q:
Will he have

Para hablar de acciones que estarn en marcha en un

momento determinado del futuro: At this time next web
we'll be flying to New York.

Para preguntar por los planes de los dems sobre todo,

cuando queremos pedir un favor: Will you be driving to
the supermarket tomorrow.

Acciones que estarn finalizadas en un momento

determinado del futuro: We'll have flown to New York by
next week.

Tomorrow
Next day/ week.

Fechas futuras

By Monday

In a week

eaten?

CONDITIONAL I
SIMPLE

CONDITIONAL
II SIMPLE

A: He would
eat.
N: He wouldn't
eat.
Q:
Would he eat?
A: He would
have eaten.
N: He wouldn't
have eaten.
Q:
Would he have
eaten?

Accin que podra ocurrir:

Condicionales de tipo II : If I were you I would study

more.

Accin que podra haber tenido lugar en el pasado

Condicionales de tipo III: If I had studied for the exam, I

would have passed it.

Conditional sentences (if)

type II

Conditional sentences (if)

type III