TENSES OF ENGLISH: a recap

TENSES  + forms	Uses + Examples	Signal words
SIMPLE PRESENT I / you / we / they learn He / she / it learns I / you / we / they don’t (do not) learn He / she doesn’t (does not) learn Do I / you / we / they learn? Does he / she / it learn? !!! No DO-support for auxiliaries! I / you / he … can’t (cannot) learn Can I / you / he … learn?  I am not / I’m not // You are not / You’re not / You aren’t… He is not; He’s not; He isn’t… Am I …?; Are you…?; Is he…? …	Habits I always get up early at 6 during the week but I sometimes sleep longer at the weekends. She goes on holiday once a week. Truths Water freezes at O° Celsius The moon goes round the earth. Stative verbs (seem; see; appear; hear; look; look like; disappear…) She looks nice. He looks like his father. It sounds interesting. They seem friendly. Future action set by a timetable e.g. The train leaves at 5. The lesson starts at 10.30. With future structures (after some conjunctions: after / as soon as / until / when … ) I’ll phone you as soon as I know. You’ll stay here until I decide otherwise.	Frequency adverbs (always; frequently; normally; often; sometimes; occasionally; rarely; hardly ever; never; …) Time phrases: every Saturday; on Mondays; at the weekends; once a day; twice a week; once every two weeks; in the morning…
PRESENT CONTINUOUS I am learning / I’m learning You / We / They are learning You’re / We’re / They’re learning He /  She / It is learning He’s / She’s / It’s learning Am I learning? Are you / we / they learning? Is he / she / it learning?	Action in progress at the time of speaking or in a more general context. The phone is ringing (now). Why don’t you pick it up? She’s studying at the moment. Let’s not disturb her! Look! She’s stealing something! Temporary action (versus permanent action / habit) She lives with her parents (habit / permanent action) but she’s living in a flat in Brussels now (temporary). I always go to work by car (habit / permanent action) but I’m going to work on foot this week (temporary).   A planned action in the future We’re going to France on holiday in August. We’re meeting friends tonight. Used to criticize someone or someone’s actions or behaviour (with always) She’s always losing her keys! He’s always interrupting me!	now / at present / currently / just now / right now Look! …  Listen! …

More?
You can find more explanations and interesting grammar videos by the British Council. 

This first video illustrates the simple present; click HERE

The second video focuses on the present continuous. Click HERE 

TENSES  + forms	Uses + Examples	Signal words
SIMPLE PAST Regular verbs Affirmative form + -ED    //  + - D if final letter is E worked / walked / listened / typed / deleted I / You / He/ She / We/ They walked !!! Pronunciation of final –ED /t / after voiceless consonants (/k/: walked; /p/: stopped; /f/: laughed …) /d/ after voiced sounds (/n/: listened; /v/: lived; /ə/: answered…) /id/ after /t/ or /d/: wanted / demanded / deleted Irregular verbs Affirmative form : see list spoke / ate / swam… I / You / He / She / We / They spoke Regular + Irregular verbs Negative form = did not (didn’t) + infinitive I / You / He …  didn’t travel / work / walk I / You / He …  didn’t speak / eat / drink But not with the auxiliaries!!! I / He / She / It was not // wasn’t You / We / They were not // weren’t I / You / He / We / They could not // couldn’t Regular + Irregular verbs Interrogative form = Did (I / you / He / …) + infinitive…? Did you buy a new car?  Yes, I did / No, I didn’t Did you see anything interesting? Yes, I did / No, I didn’t. Did they travel a lot?  Yes, they did / No, they didn’t. But not with the auxiliaries!!! Were you here last night?    Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t. Could you use that computer?   Yes, I could. / No, I couldn’t.	Simple past:  2 conditions 1: the action is finished / completed in the past 2: we know exactly when the action happened. I saw the film last night. She met her boyfriend when she was at university. They got married in 1998. They bought their house 10 years ago. It happened during the war. She worked for four years. It happened on 5th May 1998. I came back home at 2.30.	… ago    (2 days ago / three weeks ago / 10 years ago / ages ago …) last…   (last Saturday / last week / last month / last year …) in…   (in 2000 / in March 2013 / in April…) at… (at 2 o’ clock / at 2.15 pm / … ) on…  (on Monday 2nd June / … ) for… (=pendant) (for two years / for 10 months / …) during… (= pendant)  (during the war / during the holiday…) …
PAST CONTINUOUS / PAST PROGRESSIVE was + …ing    / were + …ing wasn’t (was not) + …ing   / weren’t (were not) + …ing was + S + …ing…?    / were + S + …ing…	Used to denote an action going on in the past (possibly for a certain time) until it stops, possibly being interrupted by another action  She was reading an article ( = action going on / lasting a certain amount of time) when suddenly the phone rang (= sudden action which interrupts the longer one) I was using the lawnmower when suddenly it stopped working. Used to denote an action going on while another one was also happening simultaneously. I was working in the garden while she was cooking dinner. NOTE THE DIFFERENCE TO AVOID CONFUSION What were you doing when the accident happened? I was driving my car (when the accident happened) What did you do when the accident happened? I stopped driving, got out of the car, went to see if there were victims and called an ambulance…	when while

More?
Here are more explanations and interesting grammar videos, the first three videos were made by the British Council whereas the fourth (simple past vs. past continuous) is by Mr Skypelessons. 

This first video illustrates the simple past tense (regular verbs). Click HERE

The second video deals with the irregular verbs. Click HERE

The third video illustrates how to use the past continuous tense. Click HERE

The fourth video is a lesson about the simple past versus the past continuous. Click HERE

TENSE + Forms	Uses  + examples	Signal words
PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE have + past participle has + past participle (third person singular) I / You / We / They have worked all day long. I’ve / You’ve / We’ve / They’ve worked all day long. He / She / It has worked all day long. He’s / She’s / It’s worked all day long. I / You / We / They have not worked all day long. I’ve not / You’ve not / We’ve not / They’ve not worked all day long. I / You / We / They haven’t worked all day long. He / She / It has not worked all day long. He’s / She’s / It’s not worked all day long. He / She / It hasn’t worked all day long. Have I / you / we / they worked all day long? Has he / she / it worked all day long?	An action that took place in the past, but it is not known exactly when in the past. NOTE: remember the TWO conditions for the Simple Past. Here one condition is missing, hence the use of the present perfect instead! She has watched a film. (Versus: She watched a film yesterday) She has met her friends recently. (Versus: She met her friends last week at the party) She has been to London recently. (Versus: She went to London two days ago.) Have you been to London yet? I haven’t been to London yet. I have already been to London twice. An action that began in the past but continues up to the present. NOTE: both conditions for the Simple Past are missing here; hence, the use of the Present Perfect. I’ve lived in this town for the last 15 years. She’s been a teacher for 20 years. I’ve known her since 1998. She’s worked in that firm since she stopped school.	lately, recently, just, ever, never, yet, already since, for

More?

Watch the following British Council videos pertaining to the present perfect.

1 The present perfect used to talk about experiences in the past. Click HERE 

2 The present perfect used with yet and already. Click HERE

3 The present perfect versus the simple past. Click HERE

TENSE + Forms	Uses  + examples	Signal words
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS have / has + been + …ing I have been working all night long. She’s been waiting for her boyfriend for two hours. She hasn’t been drinking lately.	An action that began in the past and continues up to the present without interruption She’s been living in this town for 20 years. An action that has just finished and still influences (negatively) the present I’ve been working all day long. (Now, I’m very tired)	since     for

More?
Here is a short explanatory video by the British Council: click HERE

TENSES + Forms	Uses  + examples	Signal words
PAST PERFECT SIMPLE had +  past participle PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS had + been + …ing	Action taking place before another at a certain time in the past. I had seen her before she disappeared. She had cooked dinner when I arrived. Action which was in progress before a second action / definite time in the past which was completed before. She had been waiting for her train for half an hour when it finally arrived. It was wet all over this morning when I got up because it had been raining all night long	since     for

More?

Watch this short explanatory video by the British Council by clicking HERE

Tenses + Forms
FUTURE SIMPLE I / You / He… will + infinitive … I / You / He…  won’t (will not) + infinitive… Will I / You / He … + infinitive …? FUTURE SIMPLE (to be going to) I’m / You’re / He’s …  going to … I’m not / She’s not / She isn’t going to Are you / Is she going to…?	Action in the future that is often predicted Spontaneous decision Suggestions; offers; requests I’ll let you know as soon as I know. (decision made at the moment of speaking) Will you close the window, please? He’ll be late again (prediction) Decision made before the time of speaking about a future action /Action already planned before the time of speaking She’s going to see her friend next week. I’m going to book a table for two for tonight.	in a week; in a year; …   tomorrow ; next month; …

More?

Watch this explanatory video by the British Council: click HERE