TenseSignal wordsUseFormExamplesaffirmativeExamplesnegativeExamplesinterrogative
Simple Present or Present Simple | every day
sometimes
always
often
usually
seldom
never
first ... then | something happens repeatedly
how often something happens
one action follows another
things in general
after the following verbs (to love, to , to think, etc.)
future meaning: timetables, programmes | infinitive he/she/it + -s | I work.
| I don't work.
| Do I work? |
He works. | He doesn't work. | Does he work? |
I go. | I don't go. | Do I go? |
He goes. | He doesn't go. | Does he go? |
Present Progressive or Present Continuous | 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 fixed plan, date) | to be (am/are/is) + infinitive + -ing | I'm working.
| I'm not working.
| Am I working? |
He's working. | He isn't working. | Is he working? |
I'm going. | I'm not going. | Am I going? |
He's going. | He isn't going. | Is he going? |
Simple Past or Past Simple | last ...
... ago
in 1990
yesterday | action took place in the past, mostly connected with an expression of time (no connection to the present) | regular: infinitive + -ed irregular: 2nd column of table of irregular verbs | I worked.
| I didn't work.
| Did I work? |
He worked.
| He didn't work. | Did he work? |
I went. | I didn't go. | Did I go? |
He went. | He didn't go. | Did he go? |
Past Progressive or Past Continuous | while | an action happened in the middle of another action
someone was doing sth. at a certain time (in the past) - you do not know whether it was finished or not | was/were + infinitive + -ing | I was working.
| I wasn't working.
| Was I working? |
He was working. | He wasn't working. | Was he working? |
I was going. | I wasn't going. | Was I going? |
He was going. | He wasn't going. | Was he going? |
Simple Present Perfect or Present Perfect | just
yet
never
ever
already
so far,
up to now,
since
for
recently | you say that sth. 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.
| I haven't worked.
| Have I worked? |
He has worked. | He hasn't worked. | Has he worked? |
I have gone. | I haven't gone. | Have I gone? |
He has gone. | He hasn't gone. | Has he gone? |
Present Perfect Progressive or Present Perfect Continuous | 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.
| I haven't been working.
| Have I been working? |
He has been working.
| He hasn't been working. | Has he been working? |
I have been going. | I haven't been going. | Have I been going? |
He has been going. | He hasn't been going. | Has he been going? |
Simple Past Perfect or Past Perfect (Simple) | already
just
never | mostly when two actions in a story are related to each other: the action which had 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 verbs) | I had worked.
| I hadn't worked.
| Had I worked? |
He had worked. | He hadn't worked. | Had he worked? |
I had gone. | I hadn't gone. | Had I gone? |
He had gone. | He hadn't gone. | Had he gone? |
Past Perfect Progressive or Past Perfect Continuous | how long
since
for
| how long something had been happening before something else happened | had + been + infinitive + ing | I had been working.
| I hadn't been working.
| Had I been working? |
He had been working. | He hadn't been working. | Had he been working? |
I had been going. | I hadn't been going. | Had I been going? |
He had been going. | He hadn't been going. | Had he been going? |
will - future | | predictions about the future (you think that sth. will happen)
you decide to do sth. spontaneously at the time of speaking, you haven't made a decision before
main clause in type I of the if clauses | will + infinitive | I'll work.
| I won't work.
| Will I work? |
He'll work. | He won't work. | Will he work? |
I'll go. | I won't go. | Will I go? |
He'll go. | He won't go. | Will he go? |
going to - future | | when you have already decided to do sth. in the future
what you think what will happen | be (am/are/is) + going to + infinitive | I'm going to work.
| I'm not going to work.
| Am I going to work? |
He's going to work.
| He's not going to work. | Is he going to work? |
I'm going to go. | I'm not going to go. | Am I going to go? |
He's going to go. | He's not going to go. | Is he going to go? |
Future Progressive or Future Continuous | | 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.
| I won't be working.
| Will I be working? |
He'll be working.
| He won't be working.
| Will he be working? |
I'll be going. | I won't be going. | Will I be going? |
He'll be going. | He won't be going. | Will he be going? |
Simple Future Perfect or 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.
| I won't have worked.
| Will I have worked? |
He'll have worked. | He won't have worked.
| Will he have worked? |
I'll have gone. | I won't have gone. | Will I have gone? |
He'll have gone. | He won't have gone. | Will he have gone? |
Future Perfect Progressive or Future Perfect Continuous | | sth. will already have happened before a certain time in the futureemphasis: length of time of an action | will + have + been + infinitive + ing | I'll have been working.
| I won't have been working.
| Will I have been working? |
He'll have been working. | He won't have been working. | Will he have been working? |
I'll have been going. | I won't have been going. | Will I have been working? |
He'll have been going. | He won't have been going. | Will he have been working? |
Conditional Simple | | sth. that might happen
main clause in type II of the if-clauses | would + infinitive | I would work.
| I wouldn't work.
| Would I work? |
He would work. | He wouldn't work.
| Would he work? |
I would go. | I wouldn't go. | Would I go? |
He would go. | He wouldn't go. | Would he go? |
Conditional Progressive or Conditional Continuous | | sth. that might happen emphasis: length of time of an action | would + be + infinitive + ing | I would be working.
| I wouldn't be working.
| Would I be working? |
He would be working. | He wouldn't be working. | Would he be working? |
I would be going. | I wouldn't be going. | Would I be going? |
He would be going. | He wouldn't be going. | Would he be going? |
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.
| I wouldn't have worked.
| Would I have worked? |
He would have worked. | He wouldn't have worked.
| Would he have worked? |
I would have gone. | I wouldn't have gone. | Would I have gone? |
He would have gone. | He wouldn't have gone. | Would I have gone? |
Conditional Perfect Progressive or Conditional Perfect Continuous | | 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.
| I wouldn't have been working.
| Would I have been working? |
He would have been going. | He wouldn't have been going. | Would he have been working? |
I would have been going. | I wouldn't have been going. | Would I have been going? |
He would have been going. | He wouldn't have been going. | Would he have been going? |