Picture This - The Tenses Illustrated

Present Tenses | Past Tenses | Future Tenses | Examples

The Present Tenses

Present Simple
Present Simple

Used to say what

someone usually
does

I always study English on Tuesday.

Present Progressive/Continuous
Present Progressive

Used to say what

someone is doing
now

I am studying English now

Used to show
unfinished time

I have studied English twice this week.

Present Perfect Simple

Present Perfect
Simple

Present Perfect Progressive/Continuous

Present Perfect
Progressive

Used to say how

long someone has
been doing
something.

I have been studying English for 2 years.

I have been studying English since 1997.

I studied English last Saturday.

I was studying English last Monday

when my friend rang.

I was studying English at 5pm last

Monday.

The Past Tenses

Simple Past
Simple Past

Used to show a
completed action

Past Progressive/Continuous
Past Progressive

Often used to say

when something
was being done
or what was
happening when
something else
happened

Past Perfect Simple

Past Perfect Simple

The past of have

done. Used to
say when
something was
done by.

I had done my English homework by 6.30

pm last Saturday.

I had done my English homework by the time I ate dinner last Saturday.

Past Perfect Progressive/Continuous

Past Perfect
Progressive

The past of have

been. Used to
show how long
something was
done for by a
certain time.

I'd been doing my English homework for

30 minutes when my friend rang last
Saturday.

I'd been doing my English homework for

30 minutes by 1 pm last Saturday.

The Future Tenses

The future can be indicated in several different ways in English. It is often created with the use of
auxiliaries: "She will be a student.", "She is going to drive a new car."
English can even create the future by using the simple present (used for timetables,programs
etc.), "The train arrives at 10pm" or the present progressive (used for future plans), "He is
collecting his mother from the station tonight."
Simple Future (uses will or shall or going to + base form)

Simple Future
(Some uncertainty)

Decide to do
something at the
time of speaking

I think I'll do my English homework tonight.

Simple Future
(Certain)

Have already
decided or
arranged to do
something

I am going to study English next Saturday.

Future Progressive/Continous (uses will be, shall be or going to be +-ing form)

Future Progressive (Some The English
uncertainty)
lesson should
begin at 7.30 and
end at 9.15, so
the person
should be
studying at 7.30
(but the lesson
might start late).

I will be starting my English lesson at 7.30 pm.

Future Progressive
(Certain)

I am going to be studying English when my friends

arrive at 9.00 pm.

The English
lesson begins at
7.30 and ends at
9.15, so he's
certain to be
studying when
his friend arrives
at 8.00

Future Perfect Simple (uses will have or shall have + past participle)

Future Perfect
Simple

Used to say
something will
already be
complete by a
time.

I will have already done my English homework

by the time I eat dinner on Saturday.

Future Perfect Progressive/Continuous (uses will have been or shall have been + -ing form)
Future Perfect
Progressive

Used to say how

long something
will have been
happening in the
future by a
certain time.

I will have been studying English for 30 minutes

when my friends arrive.

Active voice

Simple

Continuous

Perfect

Perfect continuous

I am taking
Present

I, we, you, they

take
he, she, it is taking

I, we, you, they have I, we, you, they have been

taken
taking

he, she, it takes we, you, they are

taking

he, she it has taken

he, she it has been taking

had taken

had been taking

will have taken

will have been taking

I, he, she, it was

taking
Past

took
we, you, they were
taking

Future will take

will be taking

Passive voice

Present

Simple

Continuous

Perfect

I am taken

I am being taken

he, she, it is taken

I, we, you, they have

he, she, it is being taken been taken

we, you, they are

taken

we, you, they are being

taken

he, she it has been taken

Perfect
continuous

I, he, she, it was

taken

I, he, she, it was being

taken

Past

had been taken

will have been taken

we, you, they were we, you, they were being

taken
taken

Future will be taken

Table of English Tenses

tense

Affirmative/Negative/Q
uestion

Use

Simple Present

A: He speaks.
N: He does not speak.
Q: Does he speak?

Present
Progressive

A: He is speaking.
N: He is not speaking.
Q: Is he speaking?

Signal
Words

action in the
present taking always,
place once,
every ,
never or
never,
several times
normally,
often,
facts
seldom,
actions taking sometimes,
place one after usually
another
if sentences
type I (If I
action set by a talk, )
timetable or
schedule

action taking
place in the
moment of
speaking

action taking
place only for a
limited period

at the
moment,
just, just
now, Listen!,
Look!, now,
right now

of time

Simple Past

A: He spoke.
N: He did not speak.
Q: Did he speak?

action
arranged for
the future

action in the
past taking
place once,
never or
several times

Past Progressive

Present Perfect
Simple

A: He was speaking.
N: He was not speaking.
Q: Was he speaking?

A: He has spoken.
N: He has not spoken.
Q: Has he spoken?

yesterday, 2
minutes ago,
in 1990, the
actions taking other day,
place one after last Friday
if sentence
another
type II (If I
action taking talked, )
place in the
middle of
another action

action going on
at a certain
time in the
past

actions taking when, while,

place at the
as long as
same time

action in the
past that is
interrupted by
another action

putting
emphasis on
the result

action that is
still going on

action that

already,
ever, just,
never, not
yet, so far,
till now, up
to now

stopped
recently

Present Perfect
Progressive

Past Perfect
Simple

A: He has been speaking.

N: He has not been
speaking.
Q: Has he been
speaking?

A: He had spoken.
N: He had not spoken.
Q: Had he spoken?

finished action
that has an
influence on
the present

action that has

taken place
once, never or
several times
before the
moment of
speaking

putting
emphasis on
the course or
duration (not
the result)

action that
recently
stopped or is
still going on

finished action
that influenced
the present

all day, for 4

years, since
1993, how
long?, the
whole week

already, just,
action taking never, not
place before a yet, once,
certain time in until that day
the past
if sentence
type III (If I
sometimes
interchangeabl had
talked, )
e with past
perfect
progressive
putting
emphasis only
on the fact (not

the duration)

Past Perfect
Progressive

Future I Simple

A: He had been speaking.

N: He had not been
speaking.
Q: Had he been
speaking?

A: He will speak.
N: He will not speak.
Q: Will he speak?

action taking
place before a
certain time in
the past

sometimes
for, since,
interchangeabl
the whole
e with past
perfect simple day, all day

putting
emphasis on
the duration or
course of an
action

action in the
future that
cannot be
influenced

Future I Simple

(going to)

Future I
Progressive

A: He is going to speak.
N: He is not going to
speak.
Q: Is he going to speak?

A: He will be speaking.
N: He will not be
speaking.
Q: Will he be speaking?

in a year,
next ,
tomorrow
If-Satz Typ I
(If you ask
her, she will
spontaneous
help you.)
decision
assumption: I
think,
assumption
with regard to probably,
the future
perhaps

decision made
for the future in one year,
next week,
conclusion with tomorrow
regard to the
future

action that is
going on at a
certain time in
the future

in one year,
next week,
tomorrow

Future II Simple

A: He will have spoken.

N: He will not have
spoken.
Q: Will he have spoken?

Future II
Progressive

A: He will have been

speaking.
N: He will not have been
speaking.
Q: Will he have been
speaking?

Conditional I
Simple

A: He would speak.
N: He would not speak.
Q: Would he speak?

Conditional I
Progressive

A: He would be speaking.
N: He would not be
speaking.
Q: Would he be
speaking?

Conditional II
Simple

A: He would have spoken.

N: He would not have
spoken.
Q: Would he have
spoken?

action that is
sure to happen
in the near
future

action that will

by Monday,
be finished at a
certain time in in a week
the future

action taking
place before a
certain time in for , the
the future
last couple of
hours, all day
putting
long
emphasis on
the course of
an action

action that
might take
place

action that
might take
place

putting
emphasis on
the course /
duration of the
action

if sentences
type II
(If I were
you, I would
go home.)

if sentences
type III
action that
(If I had seen
might have
taken place in that, I would
have
the past
helped.)

Conditional II
Progressive

A: He would have been

speaking.
N: He would not have
been speaking.
Q: Would he have been
speaking?

action that
might have
taken place in
the past

puts emphasis
on the course /
duration of the
action

English tenses

These are examples of the English tenses. The table is provided to help you recall the different
tenses studied in previous lessons. For more detailed explanations you should visit the Grammar
Study Pages and study the different tenses.
Other links related to English tenses

Tenses | Forms and Explanations

Exercises on tenses.
Explanations

Present Simple

Action that is repeated every

Friday. Habitual action.

I visit my uncle every Friday

Facts that are believed to be

true. Generalizations

Cats hate mice.

The sun rises in the morning.

Scheduled events in the near

future

The plane takes off at 10 o'clock tonight

Explanations

Present Progressive

Action that takes place now / at

I am working on my computer
the moment
Near future
Explanations

I am leaving tomorrow
Present Perfect

To talk about experiences

I have been to Italy.

Past action that has the result

in the present.

She has read that book.

Action which started in the past

I have lived in this town for 12 years.
and continued up to now.
Explanations

Present Perfect Progressive

To show that something started

in the past and has continued He has been sleeping for the last 3 hours
up until now.
To talk about an action that
The grass is wet because it has been raining all
started in the past and stopped
day long.
recently.
To talk about an action that
started in the past and is
continuing now.
Explanations
Completed action in the past.

I have been watching TV for 2 hours / since you

left.
Past Simple
She left yesterday.

To talk about an action that

started in the past and stopped She woke up, had a shower and left.
recently.
To talk about an action that
started in the past and is
continuing now.

If I had a million dollar, I would help the poor.

An action taking place in the

middle of another action.

She was playing when the accident occurred.

Explanations

Past Progressive

Actions happening at the same He was reading a newspaper while his wife was
time in the past.
preparing dinner.
Interrupted action in the past.
Explanations
Completed action before
another action in the past.
Explanations

Sh was reading a book when the light went

off, had a shower and left.
Past Perfect Simple
She had left when I arrived.
Past Perfect Progressive

To show that something started

They had been playing soccer when the
in the past and continued up
accident occurred
until another action stopped it.
To show that something started
I had been living in that town for ten years
in the past and continued up
before I moved to New York.
until another time in the past.
We use the Past Perfect
Continuous before another
action in the past to show
cause and effect.
Explanations

I was so tired. I had been working for 6 hours.

Future Simple

Instant decisions

I've left the door open; I'll close it.

We use the simple future ,

when we predict a future
situation

She'll pass the exam. She's hardworking.

We use the simple future with:

"I (don't) think...", "I expect...",
It will probably rain tonight
"I am sure...", "I wonder...",
"probably".
Conditional sentence type one If I have enough time, I'll watch the film.
Explanations

Future Progressive

Action that will be taking place

When you arrive, I'll be sleeping .
at some time in the future.
Explanations
Completed action before
another action in the past
Explanations
It is used to show that an
action will continue up until a
particular event or time in the
future.

Future Perfect
By tomorrow, I will have finished the work.
Future Perfect Progressive
She will have been working for over 8 hours
by the time her children arrive.