ENGLISH TENSES

Tense

Signal
words

PRESENT SIMPLE

Every day
Sometimes
Always
Often
Seldom
Usually
Never
Firstthen

PRESENT CONTINOUS

PAST SIMPLE

Now
At the
moment
Look!
Listen!

Last
ago
In 1999
yesterday

Use
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.

An action took place in the

past, mostly connected with
an expression of time (no
connection to the present)

1.

PAST CONTINOUS

PRESENT PERFECT
SIMPLE

PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

While/when

Just
Yet
Never
Ever
Already
So far
Up to now
Since
For
recently
Already
Just

An action happens
repeatedly.
How often a thing
happens.
An action follows
another.
Stative verbs.
Sense future: timetables
Sth. That happens at
the moment of
speaking.
Sense of future: When
you have decided and
planned to do sth.

2.

1.

2.

1.

Form
Infinitive
(1st column)
He/she/it
add an S
Am/is/are
+
Infinitive
+
ing
Regular:
infinitive +
-ed
Irregular: 2
column of
table of
irregular
verbs.

nd

Example
+

Example
-

Example
?

I work
He works
I go
He goes

I dont work
He doesnt work
I dont go
He doesnt go

Do I work?
Does he work?
Do I go?
Does he go?

I am going
He is going
I am working
He is working

I am not going
He isnt going
I am not working
He isnt working

Am I going?
Is he going?
Am I working?
Is he working?

I worked
He worked
I went
He went

I didnt work
He didnt work
I didnt go
He didnt go

Did I work?
Did he work?
Did I go?
Did he go?

An action happened in
the middle of another
action.
Someone doing sth. at a
certain time (in the
past) you do not know if
it was finished or not.

Was/were +
infinitive +
ing

I was working
He was working
I was going
He was going

I wasnt working
He wasnt
working
I wasnt going
He wasnt going

Was I working?
Was he working?
Was I going?
Was he going?

You say that sth. Has

happened or is finished
in the past and has
connection to the
present.
Action started in the
past and continues in
the present.

Have/has
+
Past
Participle
(3rd column)

I have worked
He has worked
I have gone
He has gone

I havent worked
He hasnt worked
I havent gone
He hasnt gone

Have I worked?
Has he worked?
Have I gone?
Has he gone?

Had
+

I had worked
He had worked

I hadnt worked
He hadnt worked

Had I worked?
Had he worked?

When two actions in a

story are related to

Never

each other.
The past of the past
simple and present
perfect simple.

Past
Participle
(3rd column)

I had gone
He had gone

I hadnt gone
He hadnt gone

Had I gone?
Had he gone?

Predictions about the

future (you are sure itll
happen)
You decide to do sth.
spontaneously at the
time of speaking.
Main clause in type I of
conditional sentences.

Will
+
Infinitive
(1st column)

I will work
He will work
I will go
He will go

I wont work
He wont work
I wont go
He wont go

Will I work?
Will he work?
Will I go?
Will he go?

When you have already

decided to do sth. in the
future.
What you think that will
happen.

Am/is/are
+
going to
+
Infinitive
(1st column)

I am going to
work
He is going to
work
I am going to go
He is going to
go

I am not going to
work
He isnt going to
work
I am not going to
go
He isnt going to
go

Am I going to
work?
Is he going to
work?
Am I going to go?
Is he going to go?

Something will already have

happened before a certain
time in the future.

Will
+
have
+
Participle
(3rd column)

I will have
worked
He will have
worked
I will have gone
He will have
gone

I wont have
worked
He wont have
worked
I wont have
gone
He wont have
gone

Will I have
worked?
Will he have
worked?
Will I have gone?
Will he have
gone?

Would
+
Infinitive
(1st column)

I would work
He would work
I would go
He would go

I wouldnt work
He wouldnt work
I wouldnt go
He wouldnt go

Would I work?
Would he work?
Would I go?
Would he go?

Would
+
have
+
Participle
(3rd column)

I would have
worked
He would have
worked
I would have
gone
He would have
gone

I wouldnt have
worked
He wouldnt have
worked
I wouldnt have
gone
He wouldnt have
gone

Would I have
worked?
Would he have
worked?
Would I have
gone?
Would he have
gone?

2.

1.

FUTURE SIMPLE

2.
3.

1.

FUTURE GOING TO

FUTURE PERFECT
SIMPLE

2.

1.

CONDITIONAL SIMPLE

2.

1.

CONDITIONAL PERFECT

2.

Something that might

happen.
Main clause in type II of
the conditional
sentences.

Something that might

have happened in the
past.
Main clause in type III of
the conditional
sentences.