Tenses In English

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Present Simple Tense Present Continuous Tense Past Simple Tense Past Continuous Tense Present Perfect Tense Present Perfect Continuous Tense Past Perfect Tense Past Perfect Continuous Tense Future Tense Future Continuous Tense Future Perfect Tense Future Perfect Continuous Tense

 Simple Present - Use The Simple Present is frequently used in English. It is also called Present Simple. Have a look at the following examples: 1) repeated actions (every day, always, often, sometimes or never) My friend often draws nice posters.

Present Simple-Use

I never drink milk

2) things in general

The sun rises in the East.

3) fixed arrangements, scheduled events (e.g. timetable)

The plane flies to London every Monday.

 4) actions in the present - one follows after the other (first - then, after that) First I get up, then I have breakfast.

5) instructions Open your books at page 34.

 6) with special verbs - which are normally not used with the Present Continuous (These verbs express states, possessions, feelings etc.) be, believe, belong, hate, hear, like, love, mean, prefer, remain, realize, see, seem, smell, think, understand, want, wish I understand English.

He doesn't like fish.

Simple Present - Signal words

These words tell you what tense you have to use. For the Simple Present these are adverbs of frequency: always often usually sometimes seldom never Other phrases of time can occur, like: every day every week every year on Mondays after school

Form of the Simple Present

We use the infinitive of the verb. In the 3rd person Singular (he, she, it - or a name) we put an -s to the end of the infinitive. Infinitive - 3rd person Singular (he, she, it) infinitive + -s Affirmative sentences: I/we/you/they play football. He/she/it plays football. NOTE: he, she, it Do not forget the -s.

 Negative sentences: We use the auxiliary do. I/we/you/they do not play football. He/she/it does not play football.

NOTE: We often use short forms in negative sentences in the Simple Present: I/we/you/they don't play football. He/she/it doesn't play football.
Questions: Do I/we/you/they play football? Does he/she/it play football?

Simple Present - Spelling

Be careful with some words when using the 3rd person singular. 1) verbs ending in a sibilant [s] [z] [] [] [] [] or verbs ending in -o preceded by a consonant We add -es to the infinitive. Examples: I watch - he watches I pass - he passes I go - he goes I do - he does 2) verbs ending in -y verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a vowel (a, e, i, o, u): Add -s. Example: I play - he plays verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a consonant: Change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'. Example: I hurry - he hurries

Present Continuous-Use
The Present Continuous is used when we talk about something which is happening now. It is also called Present Continuous. Have a look at the following examples: 1) actions happening at the moment of speaking (now, at the moment) Peter is reading a book now.

Shes listening to the radio.

 2) fixed plan in the near future She is going to Basel on Saturday. 3) temporary actions His father is working in woodwork this month.

Note: We do use verbs which express states and are normally not used with the Present Continuous. Watch the difference in meaning. They love being together. (They are not together now.) They are loving being together. (They are together now.)

 4) actions happening around the moment of speaking (longer actions) My friend is preparing for his exams. 5) trends More and more people are using their computers to listen to music.

6) repeated actions which are irritating to the speaker (with always, constantly, forever) Andrew is always coming in late. (I don't like it.)

Present Continuous - Signal words

Signal words tell you what tense you have to use. In the Present Continuous these words are used in situations which happen at the time of speaking. now at the moment Look! Listen!

Form of the Present Continuous

Form of the Present Progressive/Continuous
We use a form of to be (am, are or is), the infinitive of the verb and the ending ing. to be (am, are, is) + infinitive + -ing

Affirmative sentences:
I am playing volleyball. He/she/it is playing volleyball. We/you/they are playing volleyball.

NOTE: Use am with I - is with he, she, it - and with all other pronouns are.

 Negative sentences:

I am not playing volleyball. He/she/it is not playing volleyball. We/you/they are not playing volleyball.

NOTE: We often use short forms in negative sentences in the Present Continuous. Questions:

In the Present Continuous we put the auxiliary (am, are or is) before the subject (Auxiliary - Subject - Verb - Rest). Am I playing volleyball? Is he/she/it playing volleyball? Are we/you/they playing volleyball?

Present Continuous - Spelling

Be careful with some words when adding -ing to the infinitive. 1) consonant after a short, stressed vowel at the end of the word
Double the consonant. sit he is sitting put - he is putting If the consonant is not stressed, we do not double it: benefit - benefiting (Here we stress the first 'e', not the 'i'.)
In British English we double one -l at the end of the word: travel travelling

 2) one -e at the end of the word Leave out the -e. write he is writing

take he is taking BUT: double e: add -ing see he is seeing

3) verbs ending in -ie Change 'ie' to 'y'. lie - he is lying 4) verbs ending in -c Change 'c' to 'ck'. picnic - they are picnicking

Past Simple-Use
The Simple Past is used to talk about actions or situations in the past. It is also called Simple Past. Have a look at the following examples:

1) action finished in the past (single or repeated)

I visited Berlin last week. Andrew watched TV yesterday.

2) series of completed actions in the past

First I got up, then I had breakfast.

3) together with the Past Progressive/Continuous - The Simple Past interrupted an action which was in progress in the past.
They were playing cards when the telephone rang. 1st action: Past Progressive were playing 2nd action: Simple Past rang

Simple Past - Signal words

These words tell you what tense you have to use. For the Simple Past these are expressions of time in the past.

yesterday last week a month ago in 2002

Form of the Simple Past

Form the Simple Past: - with regular verbs: infinitive + -ed - with irregular verbs: 2nd column of the table of the irregular verbs. Affirmative sentences: Use the same form of the verb every time regardless the subject.

Regular verbs:
I played football.

Irregular verbs:
I went to the supermarket.

 Negative sentences:
Use the auxiliary did (Simple Past of do) every time regardless the subject. Regular verbs: I did not (didnt) play football. Irregular verbs: I did not (didnt) go to the supermarket.

Questions:
Use the auxiliary did (Simple Past of do) every time regardless the subject. Regular verbs: Did you play football? Irregular verbs: Did I go to the supermarket?

Past Simple-Spelling
You have to know all forms of the irregular verbs very well. For the Simple Past you need the form of the verb which can be found in the 2nd column of the table of the irregular verbs. go - went - gone Add -ed with regular verbs. regular verbs infinitive + -ed. Sometimes there are exceptions in spelling when adding ed. 1) consonant after short, stressed vowel at the end of the word Double the consonant. stop stopped swap - swapped

If the consonant is not stressed, we do not double it: benefit - benefited (Here we stress the first 'e', not the 'i'.) In British English we double one -l at the end of the word: travel - travelled 2) one -e at the end of the word Add only -d. love loved save saved 3) verbs ending in -y verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a vowel (a, e, i, o, u): Add -ed. Example: I play - he played verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a consonant: Change 'y' to 'i' Then add -ed. Example: I hurry - he hurried irregular verbs 2nd column of the table of the irregular verbs.

Past Continuous-Use
The Past Progressive is used when we talk about something which was happening at a special time in the past. It is also called Past Continuous. Have a look at the following examples: 1) action was in progress at special time in the past Peter was reading a book yesterday evening.

She was listening to the radio.

 2) two actions were happening at the same time (the actions do not influence each other) Anne was writing a letter while Steve was reading the New York Times.

 3) together with the Simple Past While we were sitting at the breakfast table, the telephone rang. Note: Past Continuous: were sitting at the table Simple Past: the telephone rang. The action in the Simple Past interrupted the action in the Past Continuous. 4) repeated actions irritating the speaker (with always, constantly, forever) Andrew was always coming in late. (I don't like it.) Simple Past: Andrew always came late. (Here I don't give a comment.)

Past Continuous - Signal words

Signal words tell you what tense you have to use. In the Past Progressive we often use a period of time. A typical signal word is while. The Past Progressive is frequently used in sentences together with the Simple Past. while (In this part of the sentence we usually use Past Continuous.) While we were watching TV, Andy was surfing the internet.

 when (In this part of the sentence we usually use Simple Past. The Past Continuous is used in the other part of the sentence.) The girls were talking when the accident happened.

Form of the Past Continuous

We use a form of to be (was or were), the infinitive of the verb and the ending ing.

to be (was, were) + infinitive + -ing

Affirmative sentences: I/he/she/it was playing football. We/you/they were playing football. NOTE: Use was with I, he, she, it and were with all other pronouns. In affirmative sentences we do not use short forms in the Past Continuous.

 Negative sentences: I/he/she/it was not playing football. We/you/they were not playing football. We use short forms in the Past Continuous in negative sentences: I/he/she/it wasn't playing football. We/you/they weren't playing football.

Questions: In the Past Progressive we put the auxiliary (was or were) before the subject (Auxiliary - Subject - Verb - Rest). Was I/he/she/it playing football? Were we/you/they playing football?

Past Continuous - Spelling

Be careful with some words when adding -ing to the infinitive. 1) consonant after a short, stressed vowel at the end of the word Double the consonant. sit he was sitting put - he was putting If the consonant is not stressed, we do not double it: benefit - benefiting (Here we stress the first 'e', not the 'i'.) In British English we double one -l at the end of the word: travel - travelling

 2) one -e at the end of the word Leave out the -e. write he was writing take he was taking BUT: double e: add -ing see he was seeing

3) verbs ending in -ie Change 'ie' to 'y'. lie - he was lying

4) verbs ending in -c Change 'c' to 'ck'. picnic - he was picnicking

Present Perfect-Use
Present Perfect - Use The Present Perfect it is a combination of past and present. An actions in the past has something to do with the present. 1) Result of an action in the past is important in the present (It is not important when this action happened. When we use a specific time in the past - e.g. yesterday - then we use the Simple Past.) I have cleaned my room. (It is clean now.)

Has Peggy ever been to Tokyo? (Has Peggy been there or not?)

 2) Recently completed actions He has just played handball. (It is over now.)

3) State beginning in the past and still continuing mostly with since (point of time) or for (period of time) We have lived in Canada since 1986. (We still live there.)

4) together with lately, recently, yet I have been to London recently. (no specific point of time) He has not written the e-mail yet. (He has not done it.)

Present Perfect-Signal Words

These words tell you what tense you have to use. For the Present Perfect the following words are used frequently: just yet never already ever so far up to now recently since for

Form of the Present Perfect

We form the Present Perfect with have and the past participle (regular verbs: infinitive + -ed; irregular verbs: 3rd column of the table of the irregular verbs) have/has + past participle has: 3rd person singular (he, she, it) have: all other forms past participle: - regular verbs: infinitive + -ed - irregular verbs: 3rd column of the table of the irregular verbs.

Affirmative sentences
Regular Verbs: I/we/you/they have opened the window. He/she/it has opened the window.

Irregular verbs: I/we/you/they have gone to the supermarket. He/she/it has gone to the supermarket.

NOTE: We use has in the 3rd person singular (he, she, it).

Negative sentences
Regular verbs: I/we/you/they have not opened the window. He/she/it has not opened the window. Irregular verbs: I/we/you/they have not gone to the supermarket. He/she/it has not gone to the supermarket.

Questions
Regular verbs: Have I/we/you/they opened the window? Has he/she/it opened the window? Irregular verbs: Have I/we/you/they gone to the supermarket? Has he/she/it gone to the supermarket?

Present Perfect-Spelling
You have to know all forms of the irregular verbs very well. For the Present Perfect you need the form of the verb which can be found in the 3rd column of the table of the irregular verbs. go - went - gone Add -ed with regular verbs. Sometimes the are exceptions in spelling when adding -ed. 1) consonant after a short, stressed vowel at the end of the word Double the consonant. stop stopped swap - swapped

 We do not double the consonant if it is not stressed: benefit - benefited (Here we stress the first 'e', not the 'i'.) In Britsh English we double one -l at the end of the word: travel - travelled 2) one -e at the end of the word Leave out the -e. Add -d. love loved save saved 3) verbs ending in -y verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a vowel (a, e, i, o, u): Add -ed. play - played Change 'y' to 'i' after a consonant. Then add -ed. worry - worried

Present Perfect Continuous-Use

The Present Perfect Continuous it is a combination of past and present where actions in the past have something to do with the present. The focus is not on the result (this is the Present Perfect) but on the action itself. 1) Actions beginning in the past and still continuing (focus is on the action) - mostly with since(point of time) or for (period of time) I have been waiting for you for three hours. (It was a long time.) 2) Recently completed actions (focus is on the action) She has been watching too many videos. (It was too much time.)

Present Perfect Continues-Signal Words

There are no unambiguous signal words for the Present Perfect Continuous. We often use expressions of time with this tense. The following words/phrases can indicate that the Present Perfect Progressive should be used: all day the whole day since for Questions with how long

Form of the Present Perfect Progressive

We form the Present Perfect with have, been and the verb with the ending -ing. have/has + been + infinitive + -ing has: 3rd person singular (he, she, it) have: all other forms Affirmative sentences I/we/you/they have been playing volleyball. He/she/it has been playing volleyball. NOTE: We use has in the 3rd person singular (he, she, it).

 Negative sentences
I/we/you/they have not been playing volleyball. He/she/it has not been playing volleyball. NOTE: We use has + not in the 3rd person singular (he, she, it).

Questions
Have I/we/you/they been playing volleyball? Has he/she/its been playing volleyball? NOTE: We use has in the 3rd person singular (he, she, it).

Present Perfect Progressive - Spelling

Be careful with some words when adding -ing to the infinitive.

1) consonant after a short, stressed vowel at the end of the word

Double the consonant. sit he has been sitting put - he has been putting

If the consonant is not stressed, we do not double it: benefit - I have been benefiting (Here we stress the first 'e', not the 'i'.) In British English we double one -l at the end of the word: travel - I have been travelling

Past Perfect - Use

1) Together with the Simple Past
When two past actions are combined - the first action, which was completed before the second one began, is put into Past Perfect. Mary had read the book before she watched a film. After Amy had gone home it started to rain.

2) the past equivalent of the Present Perfect

He had played hockey.

Past Perfect-Signal words

There are no unambiguous "signal words" in the Past Perfect. We often use the Past Perfect together with the Simple Past. Watch out when two actions in the past are combined: first action (completed before the second one began): Past Perfect second action: Simple Past

Form of the Past Perfect

We form the Past Perfect with had and the past participle (regular verbs: infinitive + -ed; irregular verbs: 3rd column of the table of the irregular verbs) had + past participle We use the same form of the auxiliary had every time regardless the subject. past participle: - regular verbs: infinitive + -ed - irregular verbs: 3rd column of the table of the irregular verbs

 Affirmative sentences Regular verbs:

I/you/he/she/it/we/they had played hockey.

Irregular verbs:
I/you/he/she/it/we/they had gone home.

Negative sentences Regular verbs:

I/you/he/she/it/we/they had not played hockey.

Irregular verbs:
I/you/he/she/it/we/they had not gone home.

 Question
Regular verbs:
Had I/you/he/she/it/we/they played hockey?

Irregular verbs:
Had I/you/he/she/it/we/they gone home?

Past Perfect - Spelling

You have to know the irregular verbs when using the Past Perfect. The spelling rules are the same like in the Present Perfect.

Past Perfect Continuous

Use
How long something had been happening before something else happened

Form
had + been + infinitive + ing

Example
I had been waiting for Susan for 2 hours when she arrived.

Future Simple Use

No Plan We use the future simple tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Look at these examples: Hold on. I'll get a pen. We will see what we can do to help you. Maybe we'll stay in and watch television tonight. In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the time of speaking. We often use the future simple tense with the verb to think before it: I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow. I think I will have a holiday next year. I don't think I'll buy that car.

 Prediction

We often use the future simple tense to make a prediction about the future. Again, there is no firm plan. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples: It will rain tomorrow. People won't go to Jupiter before the 22nd century. Who do you think will get the job?

Be

When the main verb is be, we can use the future simple tense even if we have a firm plan or decision before speaking. Examples: I'll be in London tomorrow. I'm going shopping. I won't be very long. Will you be at work tomorrow?

Future Simple Tense The future simple tense is often called will, because we make the future simple tense with the modal auxiliary will. I will sing The structure of the future simple tense is: subject + auxiliary verb WILL invariable will + main verb base V1

For negative sentences in the future simple tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the future simple tense:
subject auxiliary verb main verb

+ I + You ? ? She We Will Will

will will will will you they

open finish not be not leave arrive want

the door. before me. at school tomorrow. yet. on time? dinner?

When we use the future simple tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:
I will
you will he will she will it will

I'll
you'll he'll she'll it'll

we will
they will

we'll
they'll

For negative sentences in the future simple tense, we

contract with won't, like this:

I will not you will not

he will not she will not it will not we will not

I won't you won't

he won't she won't it won't we won't

they will not

they won't

Future Continuous
The structure of the future continuous tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb WILL + auxiliary verb + BE main verb

invariable

invariable

Present participle base + ing

will

be

For negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we insert not between will and be. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future continuous tense:
subje auxiliary ct verb + I will auxiliary verb be main ver b workin g at 10am.

+ You
- She

will
will

be
no be t

lying
using

on a beach tomorrow.
the car.

- We
? Will ? Will

will
you they

no be t
be be

having

dinner at home.
TV?

playing football? watchi ng

When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and will: I will you will I'll you'll

he will she will it will

we will they will

he'll she'll it'll

we'll they'l

For spoken negative sentences in the future

continuous tense, we contract with won't, like this:

I will not you will not

he will not she will not it will not

I won't you won't

he won't she won't it won't

we will not
they will not

we won't
they won't

The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action will start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For example, tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm: At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working. past present future 4 pm At 4pm, I will be in the middle of working.

 When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:
I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow. They won't be watching TV at 9pm tonight. What will you be doing at 10pm tonight? What will you be doing when I arrive? She will not be sleeping when you telephone her. We'll be having dinner when the film starts. Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return.

Future Perfect
I will have sung The future perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and use. The future perfect tense talks about the past in the future. The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future. This is the past in the future. For example: The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When you arrive, the train will have left.

The structure of the future perfect tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb + auxiliary verb + main verb WILL HAVE

invariable

invariable

Past participle

will

have

V3

Look at these example sentences in the future perfect tense:

subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb

+ I + You - She - We ? Will ? Will

will will will will you they

have have not have not have have have

finished

by 10am.

forgotten me by then. gone left. arrived? received it? to school.

In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subject and will. Sometimes, we contract the subject, will and have all together:

I will have
you will have he will have she will have it will have we will have they will have

I'll have
you'll have he'll have she'll have it'll have we'll have they'll have

I'll've
you'll've he'll've she'll've it'll've we'll've they'll've

Look at some more examples: You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8. They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time. "Mary won't be at home when you arrive." "Really? Where will she have gone?"

You can sometimes think of the future perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of your viewpoint being in the present, it is in the future:

present perfect tense

future perfect tense

| have | done | >|

past now future past now

will | have | done | >|

future

Future Perfect Continuous

I will have been singing
We use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about a long action before some point in the future. Look at these examples: I will have been working here for ten years next week. He will be tired when he arrives. He will have been travelling for 24 hours.

The structure of the future perfect continuous tense

is:
subject + auxiliary verb WILL + auxiliary verb HAVE + auxiliary verb BE + main verb

invariable

invariable

past participl e

Present participle

will

have

been

base + ing

For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we insert not between will and have. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future perfect continuous tense:
subject

auxiliary verb will will

auxiliary verb have have

auxiliary verb been been

main verb working for four hours.

+ I + You

travelling for two days.

- She
- We ? Will ? Will

will
will you they

not have
not have have have

been
been been been

using
waiting playing
watching

the car.
long. football? TV?

When we use the future perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:

I will
you will he will she will it will we will they will

I'll
you'll he'll she'll it'll we'll they'll

For negative sentences in the future perfect

continuous tense, we contract with won't, like this:

I will not you will not he will not she will not it will not we will not I won't you won't he won't she won't it won't we won't

they will not

they won't