Tenses Present Tenses Tense Form

TENSES
Present tenses
Tense PRESENT SIMPLE (bare infinitive/verb + s)

Form I work. / He works. (affirmative)
Do you work? / Does she work? (interrogative)
We dont work. / It doesnt work. (negative)
Usage Facts about the present in general. (in general, always,
often, sometimes, every day/week/month.../at a certain
hour/on a certain day/in a certain month)
Examples I work for a big company.
The Earth revolves around the Sun.
They get up very early every morning.
Tense PRESENT CONTINUOUS (be + present participle)

Form I am reading. (affirmative)
You/We/They are running.
He/She/It is working.
Am I reading? (interrogative)
Are you/we/they running?
Is he/she/it working?
I am not/Im not reading. (negative)
You/We/They are not/arent running.
He/She/It is not/isnt working.
Usage Something is (not) happening at the moment/around the
present moment. (now, currently, at the moment, this
week...)
Examples Its raining.
Shes wearing a blue dress.
We are moving house this week.
Im waiting for you.
Future tenses
Tense FUTURE SIMPLE (will/be going to)

Form They will call soon. (affirmative)
They are going to paint the house.
Will they call soon? (interrogative)
Are they going to paint the house?
They will not/wont call soon. (negative)
They are not/arent going to paint the house.
Usage Will: predictions (often with hope/believe/think...), instant
decisions.
Be going to: predictions based on what you
see/hear/know.
(tomorrow, next Monday/week/year, in two weeks/three
years...)
Examples It will snow soon.
Its going to snow (I can see the clouds).
Tense FUTURE CONTINUOUS (will + be + present participle)

Form They will be working. (affirmative)
Will they be working? (interrogative)
They will not/wont be working. (negative)
Usage Something will (not) be happening at/around a specific
moment in the future. (this time next year, at three
oclock on Monday...)
Examples This time next week Ill be swimming in the Red Sea.
He cant come at five tomorrow because hell be finishing
his report.
Ten years from now theyll be enjoying their retirement.
Tense FUTURE PERFECT (will + have + past participle)

Form She will have finished her studies. (affirmative)
Will she have finished her studies? (interrogative)
She will not/wont have finished her studies. (negative)
Usage Something will (not) have finished by a specific moment
in the future (we dont know/its not important exactly
when). (by Tuesday/next week...)
Examples Ill have finished cooking by 5.30.
By this time next month he will have done all his
homework.
Our company will have expanded by next year.
Past/narrative tenses
Tense PAST SIMPLE (verb + ed for regular verbs)

Form She worked for a big company last year. (affirmative)
Did she work for a big company last year? (interrogative)
She did not/didnt work for a big company last year.
(negative)
Usage For past actions/states that are completed/over. We often
know exactly when they happened/finished. (yesterday,
two days/weeks...ago, last year/month/Tuesday..., on July
15, 1995...)
Examples He left his homeland in 1934.
They moved house last month.
She called me two days ago.
Tense PAST CONTINUOUS (was/were + present participle)

Form He was ironing his shirt. (affirmative)
Was he ironing his shirt? (interrogative)
He was not/wasnt ironing his shirt. (negative)
Usage For something that was in progress at a certain moment
in the past, or was happening for a certain period in the
past. To describe what someone was wearing at a certain
moment in the past.
Examples He was ironing his shirt when I entered.
They were moving house for a week.
They were wearing costumes at the party.
Tense PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE (has/have + past participle)

Form She has known him for years. (affirmative)
Has she known him for years? (interrogative)
She has not/hasnt known him for years. (negative)
Usage For events which happened in the past/recently but we
dont know/its not important exactly when. For
states/experience until now/including now. (recently,
since..., for..., so far)
Examples She has lived here since 1977. (she still lives here!)
I have read many books.
He has killed three people.
Tense PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS (has/have + been +

present participle)
Form They have been waiting for hours. (affirmative)
Have they been waiting for hours? (interrogative)
They have not/havent been waiting for hours. (negative)
Usage For something that has been happening for a certain
period of time until now/including now/ to emphasise
duration.
Examples It has been raining for weeks. (its still raining!)
Theyve been trying to reach Tom for days.
We havent been waiting that long.
Tense PAST PERFECT SIMPLE (had + past participle)

Form She had gone home. (affirmative)
Had she gone home? (interrogative)
She had not/hadnt gone home. (negative)
Usage For something that had happened before something else
in the past (we often dont know/its not important
exactly when). For states/experiences before a certain
past moment. (before, by that moment/then...)
Examples He had left by the time I arrived. (first he left & then I
arrived)1
She had bought the house before she met him.
I called her but she had already gone out.
Tense PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS (had + been + present

participle)
Form It had been raining for days. (affirmative)
Had it been raining for days? (interrogative)
It had not/hadnt been raining for days. (negative)
Usage For actions that had been happening/states that had
been lasting before a past moment. For something that
had been in progress when something else happened. To
emphasise duration.
Examples They had been shouting for hours before/when the police
came.
It hadnt been snowing for ages until we arrived there.
By the time we got there they had been sleeping for 2
days.
Other uses of tenses/ways to talk about time
Present Continuous to talk about future arrangements:
e.g. Im seeing the doctor tomorrow.
Present Simple for scheduled events in the future:
e.g. The exhibition opens at 8 tomorrow.
be about to/be due to for expected events in the (near) future:
e.g. Its about to rain soon. / Hes due to arrive in a few minutes.
Tenses in hypothetical situations: see the review
Modals.
1 For actions which happen one after another in quick succession you use PAST
SIMPLE. E.g. I got out of the car, ran across the yard, took out the keys and
unlocked the door.
NB:Bare infinitive = infinitive without TO (travel/come/run/bring)
Present participle = verb + ing (travelling/coming/running/bringing)
Past participle = third column (travelled/come/run/brought)

Tenses Present Tenses Tense Form

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Tenses Present Tenses Tense Form

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TENSES

Tense PRESENT SIMPLE (bare infinitive/verb + s)

Tense PRESENT CONTINUOUS (be + present participle)

Tense FUTURE SIMPLE (will/be going to)

Tense FUTURE CONTINUOUS (will + be + present participle)

Tense FUTURE PERFECT (will + have + past participle)

Tense PAST SIMPLE (verb + ed for regular verbs)

Tense PAST CONTINUOUS (was/were + present participle)

Tense PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE (has/have + past participle)

Tense PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS (has/have + been +

Tense PAST PERFECT SIMPLE (had + past participle)

Tense PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS (had + been + present

Other uses of tenses/ways to talk about time

Present Continuous to talk about future arrangements:

e.g. Im seeing the doctor tomorrow.

Present Simple for scheduled events in the future:

e.g. The exhibition opens at 8 tomorrow.

be about to/be due to for expected events in the (near) future:

Tenses in hypothetical situations: see the review

Present participle = verb + ing (travelling/coming/running/bringing)

Past participle = third column (travelled/come/run/brought)

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