TENSES
Tense: The concept of tense in English is a method that we use to refer to time – past, present and future.
Tense is sometimes shown by changing the form of a verb, and sometimes by adding a helping verb. For example, be can become am, is, and are in present tense, and was and were in past tense. In English, the future is shown by adding will before the verb. For example, be becomes will be.
|
Tense |
Signal words | Use | Form | Example affirmative | Examples negative | Examples interrogative |
| Simple Present | Everyday
Sometimes Always Often Usually Seldom Never First …. then |
Something that happens
Repeatedly how often Follow another things in general with the Follow verbs (to love, to ) Hate, to think etc. |
Infinitive
he/she/it + -s |
I work.
He works. I go. He goes . |
I don’t work.
He doesn’t work. I don’t go. He doesn’t go. |
Do I work?
Does he work? Do I go? Does he go? |
| Present Progressive | now
at the moment Look ! Listen! |
Something is happening at the same time of speaking or around it
Future meaning : when you have already decided and arranged to do it (a fix plan, date) |
To be (am /are/ is) + Infinitive + ing . | I’m working.
He’s working . I’m going . He’s going. |
I’m not working.
He isn’t working. I’ m not going. He isn’t going. |
Am I working?
Is he working? Am I going? Is he going? |
| Tense | Signal words | Use | Form | Example affirmative | Examples negative | Examples interrogative |
| Simple Past | Last…
… ago in 1990 |
Action took place in the past, mostly connected with an expression of time (no connection to the present) | Regular :
Infinitive + – ed Irregular: 2. Spalte |
I worked.
He worked. I went. |
I didn’t work.
He didn’t work. I didn’t go. |
Did I work?
Did he work ? Did I go? |
| Yesterday | He went. | He didn’t go. | Did he go? | |||
| Past Progressive | While | An action happened in the middle of another action.
Someone was doing something at a certain time (in the past) – you don’t know whether it was finished or not |
Was / were + infinitive + – ing | I was working.
He was working. I was working. He was going. |
I wasn’t working.
He wasn’t working. I wasn’t going. He wasn’t going. |
Was I working?
Was he working? Was I going ? Was he going? |
| Tense | Signal words | Use | Form | Example affirmative | Examples negative | Examples interrogative |
| Simple Present Perfect | Just yet
Never ever Already so far, up to now, For recently |
You say that, has happened or is finished in the past and it has a connection to the present
Action started in the past and continues up to the present. |
Have / has + past participle*
(infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column of table of irregular verbs) |
I have worked.
He has worked. I have gone. He has gone. |
I haven’t worked.
He hasn’t worked. I haven’t gone. He hasn’t gone. |
Have I worked?
Has he worked? Have I gone? Has he gone? |
| Present Perfect
Progressive |
All day
The whole day How long Since For |
Action began in the past and has just stopped
How long the action has been happening Emphasis: length of time of an action |
Have / has + been + infinitive + -ing. | I have been working.
He has been working. I have been going. He has been working. |
I haven’t been working.
He hasn’t been working. I haven’t been going. He hasn’t been going. |
Have I been working?
Has he been working? Have I been going? Has he been going? |
| Tense | Signal words | Use | Form | Example affirmative | Examples negative | Examples interrogative |
| Simple past perfect | Already
just never |
Mostly when two actions in a story are related to each other: the action which has already happened is put into past perfect, the other action into simple past
The past of the present perfect |
Had + past participle*
*(infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column of table of irregular verb) |
I had worked.
He had worked. I had gone. He had gone. |
I hadn’t worked.
He hadn’t worked. I hadn’t gone. He hadn’t gone. |
Had I worked?
Had he worked? Had I gone? Had he gone? |
| Past Perfect Progressive | How
long since for |
How long something had been happening before something else happened | Had + been + Infinitive + ing | I had been working.
He had been working. I had been going. He had been going. |
I hadn’t been working.
H hadn’t been working. I hadn’t been going. He hadn’t been going. |
Had I been working ?
Had he been working? Had I been going? Had he been going? |
| Tense | Signal words | Use | Form | Example affirmative | Examples negative | Examples interrogative |
| Will – future | Predictions about the future (you think that sth will happen)
You decided to do sth. spontaneously at the time of speaking, you haven’t made a main clause in type I of the if clauses |
Will + infinitive | I’ll work.
He’ll work. I’ll go. He’ll go. |
I won’t work.
He won’t work. I won’t go. He won’t go. |
Will I work ?
Will he work? Will I go? Will he go? |
|
| Going to – future | When you have already decided to do. In the future
What you think what will happen |
Be (am / are / is) + going to + Infinitive | I’m going to work.
He’s going to work. I’m going to go. He’s going to go. |
I’m not going to work.
He’s not going to work. I’m not going to go. He’s not going to go. |
Am I going to work?
Is he going to work? Am I going to go? Am I going to go? Is he going to go? |
| Tense | Signal words | Use | Form | Example affirmative | Examples negative | Examples interrogative |
| Future progressive | An action will be in progress at a certain time in the future. This action has begun before the certain time.
Something happens because it normally happens. |
Will + be + infinitive + ing. | I’ll be working.
He’ll be working. I’ll be going. He’ll be going. |
I won’t be working.
He won’t be working. I won’t be going. He won’t be going. |
Will I be working?
Will he be working? Will I be going? Will be going? |
|
| Future perfect simple | Sth, will already have happened before a certain time in the future | Will + have + past participle*
*(infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column of table of irregular verbs) |
I’ll have worked.
He’ll have worked. I’ll have gone. He’ll have gone. |
I won’t have worked.
He won’t have worked. I won’t have gone. He won’t have gone. |
Will I have worked?
Will he have worked? Will I have gone? Will he have gone? |
| Tense | Signal words | Use | Form | Example affirmative | Examples negative | Examples interrogative |
| Future prefect progressive | Sth. will already have happened before a certain time in the future
Emphasis: length of time of an action |
Will + have + been + infinitive + ing | I’ll have been working.
He’ll have been working. I’ll have been going. He’ll have been going |
I won’t have been working.
He won’t have been working. I won’t have been going. He won’t have been going. |
Will I have been working?
Will he have been working? Will I have been working? Will he have been working? |
|
| Condition Simple | Sth. that might happen
Main clause in type II of the If clause. |
Would + infinitive | I would work.
He would work. I would go. He would go. |
I wouldn’t work.
He wouldn’t work. I wouldn’t go. He wouldn’t go. |
Would I work?
Would he work? Would I work? Would he work? |
|
| Conditional progressive | Sth. that might happen
Emphasis : length of time of an action |
Would + be + infinitive + ing. | I would be working.
He would be working. I would be going. He would be going . |
I wouldn’t be working.
He wouldn’t be working. I wouldn’t be going. He wouldn’t be going |
Would I be working?
Would he be working? Would I be going? Would he be going? |
| Tense | Signal words | Use | Form | Example affirmative | Examples negative | Examples interrogative |
| Conditional Perfect | Sth that might have happened in the past
(it’s too late now) Main clause in type III of the if clauses. |
Would + have + past participle*
*(infinitive + -ed ) or (3rd column of table of irregular verbs) |
I would have worked.
He would have worked. I would have gone. He would have gone. |
I wouldn’t have worked.
He wouldn’t have worked. I wouldn’t have gone. He wouldn’t have gone |
Would I have worked?
Would he have worked? Would I have gone? Would he have gone? |
|
| Conditional Perfect Progressive | Sth. that might have happened in the past
(It’s too late now.) Emphasis : length of time of an action |
Would + have + been + infinitive + ing | I would have been working.
He would have been going. I would have been going. He would have been going. |
I wouldn’t have been working.
He wouldn’t have been going. I wouldn’t have been going. He wouldn’t have been going. |
Would I have been working? Would he have been working? Would I have been going? Would he have been going? |
W sometimes use continuous instead of progressive. Some words can be found in more tenses. we did not list signal words in the future. Always remember what action is described.
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