I.

English tenses table Structures and Usage Examples

 Used colors:"I," "you," "we," and "they" are considered plural, while "he," "she," and "it" are singular.

 Auxiliary verbs: Have (as a main verb) ,Was/Were (as part of "to be") , Had (as a main verb) ,Will/Shall (as auxiliary verbs).

Negative Form Question Form Time-Related Keywords

Tense Structure Use

Subject + base verb do not/Don't work. Do I work? Always, usually, sometimes, every day,
They work General statements, regularly, frequently, rarely, seldom, often,
Present
Simple

facts, and habits does not/doesn't Does she work? etc.

He works

Subject + am/is/are + present participle am not/Isn't/Aren't working. Am I working? Now, at the moment, currently, nowadays,
Continuou

They are working presently, this week/month/year, today, etc.

Actions happening now
Present

Is he/she/it working? Is she working?

He is working
s

Subject + have/has + past participle I have not/Haven't worked. Have I worked? Yet, already, ever, never, recently, so far, until
They have worked now, up to now, since, for, just, etc.
Completed actions with
Present
Perfect

She has not/hasn't worked. Has she

relevance to the present
He has worked worked?

Subject + have/has been + present I have not/Haven't been Have I been For, since, how long, lately, recently, all
participle Continuous actions working. working? day/week/month, etc.
Continuous

They have been working starting in the past and

Present
Perfect

continuing into the She has not/hasn't been Has she been
He has been working present working. working?

Subject + past tense verb I did not/Didn't work. Did I work? Yesterday, last week/month/year, in 1990,
They worked ago, just now, in the past, etc.
Completed actions in the
Simple

She did not/didn't work. Did she work?

past
Past

He worked

BENMEDDOUR HAOUA benmeddourprof@yahoo.com

 Subject + was/were + present participle I was not/Wasn't working. Was I working? At 6 pm, when, while, during, at that time,
Continuou They were working
Actions in progress at a etc.
She was not/wasn't working. Was she
specific time in the past
Past

He was working working?

s

Subject + had + past participle I had not/Hadn't worked. Had I worked? Before, after, by the time, until, by 2010,
They had worked An action completed already, just, etc.
Perfect

before another action in She had not/hadn't worked. Had she

Past

He had worked the past worked?

Subject + had been + present participle I had not/Hadn't been working. Had I been For, since, how long, all morning/day/week,
They had been working working? by the time, etc.
Past Perfect
Continuous

Continuous actions that She had not/hadn't been

He had been working were ongoing before
working. Had she been
another point in the past
working?

Subject + will/shall + base verb I will not/Won't work. Will I work? Tomorrow, next week/month, in 2030, soon,
They will/shall work in the future, etc.
Predictions and
Simple
Future

She will not/won't work. Will she work?

spontaneous decisions
He will/shall work

Subject + will be/shall be + present I will not/Won't be working. Will I be At 5 pm tomorrow, during, while, this time
participle working? next year, etc.
Continuous

They will/shall be working Actions in progress at a She will not/won't be working.

specific time in the
Future

Will she be
He will/shall be working future
working?

Subject + will/shall have + past participle I will not/Won't have worked. Will I have By the time, before, until, in five years, etc.
They will/shall have worked worked?
Completed actions She will not/won't have
before a specific point in
Perfect

He will/shall have worked

Future

worked. Will she have

the future
worked?

Subject + will have been + present I will not/Won't have been Will I have For, since, how long, all day, by 2040, etc.
participle working. been working?
Continuous

They will/shall have been working Ongoing actions

completed before a
Perfect
Future

She will not/won't have been Will she have

He will/shall have been working future reference point
working. been working?

BENMEDDOUR HAOUA benmeddourprof@yahoo.com

 II. Active/passive.voice.rules.table.Structures.and.Usage.Examples

Tense Active Voice Passive Voice

Subject + am/is/are + base form. Subject + is/are + past participle

Simple Present
I work on the project. The project is worked on by me.

Subject + have/has + past participle Subject + have/has been + past participle

Present Perfect
I have worked on the project. The project has been worked on by me.

Subject + am/is/are + being + past Subject + is/are being + past participle

Present participle
Continuous The project is being worked on by me.
I am working on the project.

Subject + was/were + base form Subject + was/were + past participle

Simple Past
I worked on the project. The project was worked on by me.

Subject + had + past participle Subject + had been + past participle

Past Perfect
I had worked on the project. The project had been worked on by me.

Subject + was/were + being + past Subject + was/were being + past participle

Past participle
Continuous The project was being worked on by me.
I was working on the project.

Subject + will + base form Subject + is/are going to be + base form

Future
I will work on the project. The project will be worked on by me.

Modals Subject + modal + base form Subject + modal + be + past participle

Subject + may + base form Subject + may not + be + past participle

May/ may not
I may not work on the project. The project may not be worked on by me.
Modals: represent modal auxiliary verbs

Subject + can + base form Subject + cannot + be + past participle

Can/ Cannot
I can work on the project The project can be worked on by me.

Should/ Should Subject + should + base form Subject + should + be + past participle
not
I should not work on the project. The project should not be worked on by me.

Subject + ought to + base form Subject + ought to be + base form + past participle
Ought to
I ought to work on the project. The project ought to be worked on by me.

Subject + has to/have to + base form Subject + has to/have to + be + past participle
Has to/ Have to
I have to work on the project. The project has to be worked on by me.

Subject + might + base form Subject + might not + be + past participle

Might/ Might
not
I might not work on the project. The project might not be worked on by me.

BENMEDDOUR HAOUA benmeddourprof@yahoo.com

 Subject + be supposed to + base form Subject + be supposed to be + base form + past
Be supposed to participle
I am supposed to work on the project.
The project is supposed to be worked on by me.

Had better/ Subject + had better + base form Subject + had better not + be + past participle
Had better not
I had better not work on the project The project had better not be worked on by me.

Subject + to + base form Subject + to be + past participle

Infinitive
To work on the project is essential. To be worked on the project is essential.

Subject + am/is/are + going to + base Subject + am/is/are + going to be + past participle

intentions

form
future

Going to The project is going to be worked on by me

I am going to work on the project

Used colors:To be , To have, Subject, Modals

III. Direct/ Indirect Speech rules.table.Structures.and.Usage.Examples

Tense
Tense Direct Speech Reported(Indirect) Speech
Change

Present
No change She always works in the garden. He said that she always worked in the garden.
Simple

Present past
I am working on a project. He said that he was working on a project.
Continuous continuous

Past past
She worked on the assignment. He said that she had worked on the assignment.
Simple perfect

Past past
Continuous perfect We were working together. He said that we had been working together.
continuous

Past I had worked there for three

No change He said that I had worked there for three years.
Perfect years.

Will would I will work on it later. He said that he would work on it later.

Can could I can work on the computer. He said that he could work on the computer.

Could No change He could work in those conditions. They said that he could work in those conditions.

Shall would I shall work on this task. He said that he would work on this task.

Should No change I should work on my weaknesses. He said that he should work on his weaknesses.

May might I may work from home tomorrow. He said that he might work from home tomorrow.

Might No change She might work on the project. He said that she might work on the project.

Must to had to I must work on my presentation. He said that he had to work on his presentation.

BENMEDDOUR HAOUA benmeddourprof@yahoo.com

 IV. If Clause table

If Clause Main Clause

Zero Conditional (always):If it rains, the streets flood.

Present Simple Tense Present Simple Tense

First Conditional (Present Tense or Future Tense):If it rains tomorrow, I will work from home.

Present Simple Tense Future Simple Tense (will + infinitive)

Present Simple Tense Modal Verb + infinitive

Present Simple Tense Imperative

Present Continuous Tense Future Simple Tense (will + infinitive)

Second Conditional (Present Tense or Future Tense): If it rained yesterday, I would have worked at the office.

Past Simple Tense Conditional Simple (would + infinitive)

Past Simple Tense Modal Verb + infinitive

Third Conditional (Past Tense): If it rained yesterday, I would have worked at the office.

Past Perfect Tense (had + past participle) Conditional Simple (would + infinitive)

Past Perfect Tense (had + past participle) Modal Verb + have + past participle

Mixed Conditional (Past action, present result): If I had accepted that job offer, I would be working in a different city now.

Past Perfect Tense (had + past participle) Conditional Simple (would + infinitive)

Past Perfect Tense (had + past participle) Modal Verb + infinitive

BENMEDDOUR HAOUA benmeddourprof@yahoo.com

 Summary
V. Memorize :I promise that I'll choose an English verb, then I'll put it in a sentence, and finally, I'll
memorize it as shown in the following example.

Present

 Present Simple:"I encourage all students to attend my lecture tomorrow on the importance of sustainable
energy."
 Present Continuous:"I am encouraging all students to attend my lecture tomorrow on the importance of
sustainable energy."
 Present Perfect:"I have encouraged all students to attend my lecture on the importance of sustainable
energy."
 Present Perfect Continuous:"I have been encouraging all students to attend my lecture on the importance of
sustainable energy."

Past

 Past Simple:"I encouraged all students to attend my lecture yesterday on the importance of sustainable
energy."
 Past Continuous:"I was encouraging all students to attend my lecture yesterday on the importance of
sustainable energy."
 Past Perfect:"I had encouraged all students to attend my lecture on the importance of sustainable energy."
 Past Perfect Continuous:"I had been encouraging all students to attend my lecture on the importance of
sustainable energy."

Future

 Future Simple:"I will encourage all students to attend my lecture tomorrow on the importance of
sustainable energy."
 Future Continuous:"I will be encouraging all students to attend my lecture tomorrow on the
importance of sustainable energy."
 Future Perfect:"I will have encouraged all students to attend my lecture on the importance of
sustainable energy."
 Future Perfect Continuous:"I will have been encouraging all students to attend my lecture on the
importance of sustainable energy."

Conditional

 Conditional (Zero): Subject + base verb

"I would encourage all students to attend my lecture on the importance of sustainable energy if they were
available."
 Conditional (First): Subject + will/shall + base verb
"If they come, I will encourage all students to attend my lecture on the importance of sustainable energy."
 Conditional (Second): Subject + would/should + base verb
"If they came, I would encourage all students to attend my lecture on the importance of sustainable
energy."
 Conditional (Third): Subject + would/should have + past participle
"If they had come, I would have encouraged all students to attend my lecture on the importance of
sustainable energy."
BENMEDDOUR HAOUA benmeddourprof@yahoo.com
 Passive / Active Voice

 Passive Voice:"All students are encouraged to attend my lecture tomorrow on the importance of
sustainable energy."
 Active Voice:"I encourage all students to attend my lecture tomorrow on the importance of
sustainable energy."

Direct / Indirect Speech

o Direct Speech:"I say, 'I encourage all students to attend my lecture tomorrow on the importance
of sustainable energy.'"
o Indirect Speech:"I say that I encourage all students to attend my lecture tomorrow on the
importance of sustainable energy."

Click here to practice everything related to English tenses and usage in tutorials.

Oh Allah! I entrust you with what I have read and I have studied ,Oh Allah! Bring it back to me when
I am in need of it,Oh Allah! You do whatever you wish, you are my availer and protector and the best
of aid
‫لوكِيل‬ ‫ا‬ ‫م‬‫ع‬‫ن‬
ِ
َ َْ َ ِْ‫و‬ ‫ي‬‫ب‬‫س‬ ‫ح‬
َ َ‫ت‬‫ن‬ْ َ ‫أ‬‫شا ُء قَدِي ُر َو‬ ّ ‫فرده ع‬، ُ‫ست َْو ِدعُكَ َما قَرأتُ َو َما َحفَ ْظت‬
َ َ‫ ِإنّكَ عَلى َما ت‬،ِ‫َلي ِع ْن َد حَا َجتِي ِإلَيه‬ ْ َ ‫اللَّ ُه َّم ِإنِّي أ‬

BENMEDDOUR HAOUA benmeddourprof@yahoo.com