Verbal Tenses

Present Simple
infinitive/ infinitive+s (he/ she/ it)
 Something happens repeatedly
 Routines
 Future meaning: timetable, programmes
Signal words: every day, sometimes, always, often, usually, seldom, never, first…then, etc.
I work
Present Continuous
be (am/ is/ are) + infinitive+ing
 Something is happening now
 Future meaning: when you have already decided and arranged
to do it (plan, date…)
Signal words: now, at the moment, Listen!, Look!, etc.
I’m working

Past Simple
Infinitive+ed/ 2nd column
 Action took place in the past (no connection to the present)
Signal words: last…, …ago, in 1990, yesterday, etc.
I worked
Past Continuous
 An action happened in the middle of another was/ were + been + infinitive+ing
 Someone was doing something at a certain time (in the
past), don’t know if it’s finished or not
Signal words: while
I was working

Present Perfect Simple

 You say that something, has happened have/ has + past participle (infinitive+ed/ 3rd column)
or finished in the past and it has a
connection to the present
 Action started in the past and continues up to the present.
Signal words: just, ever, up to now, yet, already, since, never, so far, for, recently, etc.
I have worked
Present Perfect Continuous
 Action that began in the past and has just stopped have/ has + been + infinitive+ing
 How long the action has been happening
 Emphasis: the length of time of an action
Signal words: all day, the whole day, how long, since, for, etc.
I have been working

Past Perfect Simple

 When two actions in a story are related to each had + past participle (infinitive+ed/ 3rd column)
other: the action which had already happened is to
put into Past Perfect, the other into Past Simple
 The past of the Present Perfect
Signal words: already, just, never, etc.
I had worked

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Past Perfect Continuous
 How long something had been happening before something else had + been + infinitive+ing
happened
Signal words: how long, since, for, etc.
I had been working

Will – future
 Predictions about the future (you think that something will happen) will + infinitive
 You decide to do something spontaneously at the time of speaking
I will work
Going to – future
 When you have already decided to do something in the Be (am/ is/ are) + going to + infinitive
future
 What you think what will happen
I’m going to work
Future Continuous
 An action will be in progress at a certain time in the future. This action will + be + infinitive+ing
has begun before the certain time.
 Something happens because it normally happens.
I will be working

Future Perfect Simple

 Something will already have happened will + have + past participle (infinitive+ed/ 3rd column)
before a certain
time in the future
I’ll have worked
Future Perfect Continuous
 Something will already have happened before a certain time will + have + been + infinitive+ing
in the future
 Emphasis: length of time of an action
I’ll have been working

Conditional Simple
 Something that might happen would + infinitive

I would work
Conditional Continuous
 Something that might happen would + be + infinitive+ing
 Emphasis: length of time of an action
I would be working

Conditional Perfect
 Something that might have happened in would + have + past participle (infinitive+ed/ 3rd column)
the past
I would have worked
Conditional Perfect Continuous
 Something that might have happened in the past would + have + been + infinitive+ing
 Emphasis: length of time of an action
I would have been working
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