TENSES + forms
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Uses + Examples
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Signal words
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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…? …
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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.
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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…
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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?
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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!
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now / at present / currently / just
now / right now
Look! … Listen! …
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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
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Uses + Examples
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Signal words
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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.
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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.
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… 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…)
…
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PAST
CONTINUOUS / PAST PROGRESSIVE
was + …ing / were + …ing
wasn’t (was not) + …ing / weren’t (were not) + …ing
was + S + …ing…? / were + S + …ing…
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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…
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when
while
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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
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Uses + examples
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Signal words
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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?
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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.
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lately, recently, just, ever,
never, yet, already
since, for
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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
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Uses + examples
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Signal words
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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.
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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)
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since for
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More?
Here is a short explanatory video by the British Council: click HERE
TENSES +
Forms
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Uses + examples
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Signal words
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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
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since for
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More?
Watch this short explanatory video by the British Council by clicking HERE
Tenses +
Forms
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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…?
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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.
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in a week;
in a year; …
tomorrow ;
next month; …
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More?
Watch this explanatory video by the British Council: click HERE
