Review of English tenses

This is a review of the English tenses. The table is provided to help recall the form and use of
the different English tenses studied in previous lessons.

Simple Present
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
Form

She drinks.
She does not drink.
Does she drink?
I, you we they play | he, she, it plays

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

facts

actions taking place one after another

action set by a timetable or schedule

Uses

Present Progressive
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
Form
Uses

He is reading.
He is not reading.
Is he reading?
To be (in the simple present) + verb + ing

action taking place at the moment of speaking

action arranged for the future

Simple Past

Affirmative I cried.
Negative
I did not cry
Interrogative Did I cry?
Regular verbs: Verb + ed | Irregular verbs: forms differ and should be
Form
learned by heart. This is a list of irregular verbs

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

actions taking place one after another

Uses

Past Progressive
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
Form

Uses

He was driving.
He was not driving.
Was he driving?
to be (in the simple past) + verb + ing

action going on at a certain time in the past

actions taking place at the same time

action in the past that is interrupted by another action

Present Perfect Simple

Affirmative They have slept.
Negative
They have not slept.
Interrogative Have they slept?
Have / has + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed |
Form
Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by
heart. This is a list of irregular verbs)

emphasis is on the result (not the duration)

action that started in the past & is still going on

action that stopped recently

finished action that has an influence on the present

Uses

Present Perfect Progressive

Affirmative He has been thinking.
Negative
He has not been thinking.
Interrogative Has he been thinking?
Form
have or has + been + verb + ing

Uses

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

Past Perfect Simple

Affirmative She had won.

Negative
She had not won.
Interrogative Had she won?
had + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed | Past
Form
participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by
heart. This is a list ofirregular verbs)

Uses

action taking place before a certain time in the past

sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive

putting emphasis only on the fact (not the duration)

Past Perfect Progressive

Affirmative He had been waiting.
Negative
He had not been waiting.
Interrogative Had he been waiting?
Form
had + been + verb + ing

Uses

action taking place before a certain time in the past

sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple

putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action

Future Simple

Affirmative
Negative

You will win.

You will not win.

Interrogative Will you win?

Form
will + verb

Uses

Affirmative
Negative

action in the future that cannot be influenced

spontaneous decision

assumption with regard to the future

Near Future
(going to)
He is going to watch TV.
He is not going to watch TV.

Interrogative Is he going to watch TV?

Form
to be (in the simple present) + going + to + verb

decision made for the future

conclusion with regard to the future

Uses

Future Progressive
Affirmative She will be listening to music.
Negative
She will not be listening to music.
Interrogative Will she be listening to music?
Form
will + be + verb + ing

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

action that is sure to happen in the near future

Uses

Future Perfect
Affirmative He will have spoken.
Negative
He will not have spoken.
Interrogative Will he have spoken?
will + have + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed |
Form
Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by
heart. This is a list of irregular verbs)
Uses

action that will be finished at a certain time in the future

Future Perfect Progressive

Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
Form

You will have been studying.

You will not have been studying.
Will you have been studying?
will + have + been + verb + ing

action taking place before a certain time in the future

putting emphasis on the course of an action

Uses

Conditional Simple
Affirmative We would relax.
Negative
We would not relax.
Interrogative Would we relax ?
Form
Uses

would + verb

action that might take place

Conditional Progressive
Affirmative He would be writing.
Negative
He would not be writing.
Interrogative Would he be writing?
Form
would + be + verb + ing

action that might take place

putting emphasis on the course / duration of the action

Uses

Conditional Perfect
Affirmative He would have written.
Negative
He would not have written.
Interrogative Would he have written?
would + have + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb +
Form
ed | Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be
learned by heart This is a list of irregular verbs)
Uses

action that might have taken place in the past

Conditional Perfect Progressive

Affirmative She would have been sleeping.
Negative
She would not have sleeping speaking.
Interrogative Would she have been sleeping?

Form

would + have + been + verb + ing

action that might have taken place in the past

puts emphasis on the course / duration of the action

Uses

Examples of English Tenses

English tenses
These are examples of the English tenses. The table is provided to help you recall the
different tenses studied in previous lessons.
Explanations
Action that is repeated every Friday.
Habitual action.
Facts that are believed to be true.
Generalizations
Scheduled events in the near future
Explanations

Present Simple
I visit my uncle every Friday
Cats hate mice.
The sun rises in the morning.
The plane takes off at 10 o'clock tonight
Present Progressive

Action that takes place now / at the

moment
Near future
Explanations
To talk about experiences
Past action that has the result in the
present.
Action which started in the past and
continued up to now.
Explanations
To show that something started in
the past and has continued up until
now.

I am working on my computer

To talk about an action that started

in the past and stopped recently.
To talk about an action that started
in the past and is continuing now.
Explanations
Completed action in the past.
To talk about an action that started
in the past and stopped recently.
To talk about an action that started
in the past and is continuing now.
An action taking place in the middle
of another action.
Explanations
Actions happening at the same time
in the past.
Interrupted action in the past.

The grass is wet because it has been raining all day

long.
I have been watching TV for 2 hours / since you left.

Explanations
Completed action before another
action in the past.
Explanations
To show that something started in
the past and continued up until
another action stopped it.
To show that something started in
the past and continued up until
another time in the past.

I am leaving tomorrow
Present Perfect
I have been to Italy.
She has read that book.
I have lived in this town for 12 years.
Present Perfect Progressive
He has been sleeping for the last 3 hours

Past Simple
She left yesterday.
She woke up, had a shower and left.
If I had a million dollar, I would help the poor.
She was playing when the accident occurred.
Past Progressive
He was reading a newspaper while his wife was
preparing dinner.
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
They had been playing soccer when the accident
occurred
I had been living in that town for ten years before I
moved to New York.

We use the Past Perfect Continuous

before another action in the past to
show cause and effect.
Explanations
Instant decisions
We use the simple future , when we
predict a future situation
We use the simple future with: "I
(don't) think...", "I expect...", "I am
sure...", "I wonder...", "probably".
Conditional sentence type one
Explanations
Action that will be taking place 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.

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

Future Simple
I've left the door open; I'll close it.
She'll pass the exam. She's hardworking.
It will probably rain tonight

If I have enough time, I'll watch the film.

Future Progressive
When you arrive, I'll be sleeping .
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.