English tenses

The English tenses

The English tenses demonstrate the time of actions centered around the subject of the sentence.

Present tenses in English are: Present Simple, Present Continuous, Present Perfect Simple, and Present Perfect Continuous.

Past tenses in English are: Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect Simple, Past Perfect Continuous.

Future tenses in English are: Future Simple, Future Continuous, Future Perfect Simple, Future Perfect Continuous.

English tenses

Tenses demonstrate the time of actions centered around the subject of the sentence. These actions are called verbs and change according to tenses.

Future tenses

There are four Future tenses:

• Future Simple ('with Will' and 'with Going to')
• Future Continuous
• Future Perfect Simple
• Future Perfect Continuous

Future Perfect Simple is used for:

• an action that will continue up until a point in the future
• an action that finishes just before another time or action in the future

Some adverbs used with Past Perfect Continuous for future actions:

• for
• since
• next week
• next month
• next year

Structure:

Will + Subject + Have Been + Verb-ING

e.g. How long will they be working on that project next week?

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + Won’t Have Been + Verb-ING

e.g. They won’t have been working on that project for two years next week.

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + Will Have Been + Verb-ING

e.g. They will have been working on that project for two years next week.

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Form of verb 'to be':

Form of verb 'to have':

Future Perfect Simple is used for:

• an action that will be finished by a particular time in the future
• an action that starts before and continues up to another action or time in the future
• an action that will finish before a certain time in the future, but it is not known exactly when

Adverb used with Future Continuous:

• tomorrow (e.g. tomorrow by 7)

Structure:

Will + Subject + Have + Past Participle?

e.g. Will you have met your colleague by this time tomorrow?

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + Won’t Have + Past Participle

e.g. I won’t have met my friend form United States by this time tomorrow.

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + Will Have + Past Participle

e.g. I will have met my friend form United States by this time tomorrow.

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Form of verb 'to be':

Form of verb 'to have':

Future Continuous is used:

• for an action that is likely to happen in the future and continue for an expected length of time
• for an action that will be in progress at some point in the future
• for action verbs (e.g. running)
• for predictions about future events

Adverb used with Future Continuous:

• tomorrow (e.g. tomorrow at 5 o'clock)

Structure:

Will + Subject + Be +Verb-ING?

e.g. Will you be having fun at the party?

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + Won’t Be + Verb-ING

e.g. He won’t be having fun at the party.

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + Will Be + Verb-ING

e.g. You will be having fun at the party.

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Form of verb 'to be':

Form of verb 'to have':

Future Simple is used:

• to predict an event in the future
• to invite
• to give orders
• to express willingness
• for actions that have not yet occurred but that will occur at a future date

"Going to"

'Going to' Future is used:

• to talk about our future intentions and plans
• for commands

Some adverbs used with 'Going to' Future:

• later
• tonight
• tomorrow
• next week
• next month
• next year

Structure:

BE + Subject + going to + Infinitive Form of Verb?

e.g. Are you going to read the whole book over the weekend?

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + BE not + going to + Infinitive Form of Verb

e.g. He isn't going to spend his vacation in Hawaii.

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + BE (am/is/are) + going to + Infinitive Form of Verb

e.g. She’s going to be a professional dancer when she grows up.

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Form of verb 'to be':

Form of verb 'to have':

"Will"

Future Simple with 'will'' is used:

• to predict the future
• for something with absolute certainty
• when we're talking about a decision at the moment of speaking
• promises, requests, refusals, offers
• future facts

Some adverbs used with Future Simple:

• tomorrow
• next week
• next month
• next year

Structure:

Will + Subject + V1(First Form of Verb)?

e.g. Will you see Mary when she comes back from Denmark?

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + Won’t (will not) + V1(First Form of Verb)

e.g. You won’t see Mary when she comes back from Denmark.

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + Will + V1(First Form of Verb)

e.g. I will see Mary when she comes back from Denmark.

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Form of verb 'to be':

Form of verb 'to have':

Past tenses

There are four Past tenses:

• Past Simple
• Past Continuous
• Past Perfect Simple
• Past Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect Continuous is used:

• for an action that started in the past and continued up to another point in the past
• to show cause and effect

Some adverbs used with Past Perfect Continuous:

• since (e.g. since yesterday)
• for (e.g. for 10 years, for 6 months)

Structure:

Had + Subject + been Verb-ING?

e.g. How long had they been living in London before moving here?

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + hadn’t been/had not been + Verb-ING

e.g. I was tired because I hadn't been sleeping.

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + had been + Verb-ING

e.g. They had been talking for over an hour before I arrived.

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Form of verb 'to be':

Form of verb 'to have':

Past Perfect Simple is used for:

• an action that began in the past and is still going on at the moment of speaking
• an action that continued before and after another action
• a change of mind
• an action happening repeatedly in the past

The Past Perfect tense is not normally used alone. It is used to denote the earlier of two past actions. We use Past Simple for the latter action.

Some adverbs used with Past Perfect Simple:

• already, before, ever, never
• once, twice, yet
• just, up to then
• for, since

Structure:

Had + Subject + Past Participle?

e.g. Had they met Sarah before the party?

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + hadn’t (had not) + Past Participle

e.g. They hadn’t met Julia before the party.

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + had + Past Participle

e.g. They had already met Julia before the party.

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Form of verb 'to be':

Form of verb 'to have':

Continuous

Past Continuous is used for:

• an action that happened before another action in the past
• an action that started in the past and continued up to a given time in the past
• an action done several times up to a point in the past and continued to do after that point
• an action that happened in the past but is important at the time of reporting

Some adverbs used with Past Continuous:

• always, only, never, ever, still, just

Structure:

Was/ were + Verb-ING?

e.g. Were you studying when she called?

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + wasn’t (was not)/ weren’t (were not) + Verb-ING

e.g. You were not studying when she called.

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + was/ were + Verb-ING

e.g. You were studying when she called.

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Form of verb 'to be':

Form of verb 'to have':

Past simple expresses:

• an action that happened in the past and has no connection with the present
• an action that happened once in the past
• an action that happened regularly in the past
• an action that was true for some time in the past
• an event or action that already occurred
• an action that is finite - has both a starting and a stopping point

Some adverbs used with Past Simple:

• yesterday
• last month, last year
• ago (e.g. two days ago)
• in (e.g. in 1997)
• never, always, seldom, often, frequently, occasionally, once, twice

Interogative form

Structure:

Did + subject + Base Form of the Verb?

e.g. Where did you meet her?

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + did not/didn’t + Base Form of the Verb

e.g. They didn’t like my food.

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + Verb in Past Simple (2nd form)

e.g. They lived in Spain three years ago.

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Form of verb 'to be':

Form of verb 'to have':

Present tenses

There are four Present tenses:

• Present Simple
• Present Continuous
• Present Perfect
• Present Perfect Continuous

Perfect Continuous

Present Perfect Continuous is used:

• to describe an action that started in the past and has continued up to the present
• to describe an action that has just finished

Some adverbs used with Present Perfect Continuous:

• always
• only
• never
• ever
• still
• just

Structure:

Have/ has + Subject + been Verb-ING?

e.g. How long has he been learning German?

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + haven’t/hasn’t been + Verb-ING

e.g. She hasn’t been playing tennis for a long time.

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + have/ has been + Verb-ING

e.g. They have been learning French for two years.

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Form of verb 'to be':

Form of verb 'to have':

Perfect Simple

Present Perfect is used for:

• an action that occurred at a time which is indefinite and has its effect on the subject
• an action that occurred many times and has the possibility to occur in the present/future
• an action that began in the past and is still going on in the present

Some adverbs used with Present Perfect:

• just
• already
• yet
• for
• never/ever
• up to now

Structure:

Have/ has +Subject+ Past Participle?

e.g. Has she finished the letter?

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + haven’t (have not)/ hasn’t (has not) + Past Participle

e.g. She hasn’t finished the letter.

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + have/ has + Past Participle (3rd Form of the Verb)

e.g. She has finished the letter.

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Form of verb 'to be':

Form of verb 'to have':

Cotinuous

Present Continuous is used to indicate the ongoing time (now).

Some adverbs used with Present Continuous:

• now, right now
• at this moment
• at the moment
• continually
• perpetually
• this year
• this season
• forever

Structure:

BE + Subject + Verb-ING?

Are you eating now?

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + BE not + Verb-ING

e.g. You are not eating now.

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Structure:

Subject + BE (am/is/are) + Verb-ING

e.g. You are eating now.

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Form of verb 'to be':

Form of verb 'to have':

Simple

Present Simple is used for:

• habits
• general truths
• repeated actions of events
• fixed arrangements/timetables
• feelings/opinions/beliefs
• instructions.

Some adverbs used with Present Simple:

• always
• usually
• seldom
• never
• sometimes
• often
• frequently, generally
• habitually, occasionally
• once, twice

Interrogative form

Structure:

Do + Subject (I, You, We, They)+ V1 (First Form of Verb)?

Does + Subject (He, She, It)+V1 (First Form of Verb)?

e.g. Where does he work?

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Negative form

Structure:

Subject (I, You, We, They) + do not / don’t + V1 (First Form of Verb)

Subject (He, She, It) + does not / doesn’t + V1 (First Form of Verb)

e.g. He doesn’t work in a bank.

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Form of word "to be":

Form of word "to have":

Affirmative form

Structure:

Subject (I, You, We, They) + V1(First Form of Verb)

e.g. I usually go jogging at weekends.

Subject (He, She, It)+ V1(First Form of Verb) + s/es

e.g. She writes every day.

Examples

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Form of verb "to be":

Form of verb "to have":