Tense
| Signal words
| Use
| Form
| Examples
affirmative
| Examples
negative
| Examples
interrogative
|
Simple
Present
or
Present Simple
| every day
sometimes
always
often
usually
seldom
never
first ... then
| something happens repeatedly
how often something happens
one action follows another
things in general
after the following verbs (to love, to hate, to think, etc.)
future meaning: timetables, programmes
| infinitive
he/she/it + -s
| I work.
| I don't work.
| Do I work?
|
He works.
| He doesn't work.
| Does he work?
|
I go.
| I don't go.
| Do I go?
|
He goes.
| He doesn't go.
| Does he go?
|
Present
Progressive
or
Present Continuous
| now
at the moment
Look!
Listen!
| something is happening at the same time of speaking or around it
future meaning: when you have already decided and arranged to do it (a fixed plan, date)
| to be (am/are/is) +
infinitive + -ing
| I'm working.
| I'm not working.
| Am I working?
|
He's working.
| He isn't working.
| Is he working?
|
I'm going.
| I'm not going.
| Am I going?
|
He's going.
| He isn't going.
| Is he going?
|
Simple
Past
or
Past
Simple
| last ...
... ago
in 1990
yesterday
| action took place in the past, mostly connected with an expression of time (no connection to the present)
| regular:
infinitive + -ed
irregular:
2nd column of table of irregular verbs
| I worked.
| I didn't work.
| Did I work?
|
He worked.
| He didn't work.
| Did he work?
|
I went.
| I didn't go.
| Did I go?
|
He went.
| He didn't go.
| Did he go?
|
Past
Progressive
or
Past Continuous
| while
| an action happened in the middle of another action
someone was doing sth. at a certain time (in the past) - you do not know whether it was finished or not
| was/were +
infinitive + -ing
| I was working.
| I wasn't working.
| Was I working?
|
He was working.
| He wasn't working.
| Was he working?
|
I was going.
| I wasn't going.
| Was I going?
|
He was going.
| He wasn't going.
| Was he going?
|
Simple
Present
Perfect
or
Present
Perfect
| just
yet
never
ever
already
so far,
up to now,
since
for
recently
| you say that sth. has happened or is finished in the past and it has a connection to the present
action started in the past and continues up to the present
| have/has +
past participle*
*(infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column of table of irregular verbs)
| I have worked.
| I haven't worked.
| Have I worked?
|
He has worked.
| He hasn't worked.
| Has he worked?
|
I have gone.
| I haven't gone.
| Have I gone?
|
He has gone.
| He hasn't gone.
| Has he gone?
|
Present Perfect
Progressive
or
Present
Perfect
Continuous
| all day
the whole day
how long
since
for
| action began in the past and has just stopped
how long the action has been happening
emphasis: length of time of an action
| have/has + been + infinitive + -ing
| I have been working.
| I haven't been working.
| Have I been working?
|
He has been working.
| He hasn't been working.
| Has he been working?
|
I have been going.
| I haven't been going.
| Have I been going?
|
He has been going.
| He hasn't been going.
| Has he been going?
|
Simple
Past
Perfect
or
Past
Perfect
(Simple)
| already
just
never
| mostly when two actions in a story are related to each other: the action which had already happened is put into Past Perfect, the other action into Simple Past
the past of the Present Perfect
| had + past participle*
*(infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column of table of irregular verbs)
| I had worked.
| I hadn't worked.
| Had I worked?
|
He had worked.
| He hadn't worked.
| Had he worked?
|
I had gone.
| I hadn't gone.
| Had I gone?
|
He had gone.
| He hadn't gone.
| Had he gone?
|
Past Perfect Progressive
or
Past Perfect Continuous
| how long
since
for
| how long something had been happening before something else happened
| had + been + infinitive + ing
| I had been working.
| I hadn't been working.
| Had I been working?
|
He had been working.
| He hadn't been working.
| Had he been working?
|
I had been going.
| I hadn't been going.
| Had I been going?
|
He had been going.
| He hadn't been going.
| Had he been going?
|
will - future
|
| predictions about the future (you think that sth. will happen)
you decide to do sth. spontaneously at the time of speaking, you haven't made a decision before
main clause in type I of the if clauses
| will + infinitive
| I'll work.
| I won't work.
| Will I work?
|
He'll work.
| He won't work.
| Will he work?
|
I'll go.
| I won't go.
| Will I go?
|
He'll go.
| He won't go.
| Will he go?
|
going to - future
|
| when you have already decided to do sth. in the future
what you think what will happen
| be (am/are/is) + going to + infinitive
| I'm going to work.
| I'm not going to work.
| Am I going to work?
|
He's going to work.
| He's not going to work.
| Is he going to work?
|
I'm going to go.
| I'm not going to go.
| Am I going to go?
|
He's going to go.
| He's not going to go.
| Is he going to go?
|
Future Progressive
or
Future Continuous
|
| An action will be in progress at a certain time in the future. This action has begun before the certain time.
Something happens because it normally happens.
| will + be + infinitive + ing
| I'll be working.
| I won't be working.
| Will I be working?
|
He'll be working.
| He won't be working.
| Will he be working?
|
I'll be going.
| I won't be going.
| Will I be going?
|
He'll be going.
| He won't be going.
| Will he be going?
|
Simple
Future
Perfect
or
Future Perfect
Simple
|
| sth. will already have happened before a certain time in the future
| will + have + past participle*
*(infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column of table of irregular verbs)
| I'll have worked.
| I won't have worked.
| Will I have worked?
|
He'll have worked.
| He won't have worked.
| Will he have worked?
|
I'll have gone.
| I won't have gone.
| Will I have gone?
|
He'll have gone.
| He won't have gone.
| Will he have gone?
|
Future
Perfect
Progressive
or
Future
Perfect
Continuous
|
| sth. will already have happened before a certain time in the future
emphasis: length of time of an action
| will + have + been + infinitive + ing
| I'll have been working.
| I won't have been working.
| Will I have been working?
|
He'll have been working.
| He won't have been working.
| Will he have been working?
|
I'll have been going.
| I won't have been going.
| Will I have been working?
|
He'll have been going.
| He won't have been going.
| Will he have been working?
|
Conditional
Simple
|
| sth. that might happen
main clause in type II of the Conditional sentences
| would + infinitive
| I would work.
| I wouldn't
work.
| Would I
work?
|
He would work.
| He wouldn't work.
| Would he
work?
|
I would go.
| I wouldn't go.
| Would I go?
|
He would go.
| He wouldn't
go.
| Would he
go?
|
Conditional
Progressive
or
Conditional
Continuous
|
| sth. that might happen
emphasis: length of time of an action
| would + be + infinitive + ing
| I would be working.
| I wouldn't be working.
| Would I be working?
|
He would be working.
| He wouldn't be working.
| Would he be working?
|
I would be going.
| I wouldn't be going.
| Would I be going?
|
He would be going.
| He wouldn't be going.
| Would he be going?
|
Conditional
Perfect
|
| sth. that might have happened in the past
(It's too late now.)
main clause in type III of the if clauses
| would + have + past participle*
*(infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column of table of irregular verbs)
| I would have worked.
| I wouldn't have worked.
| Would I have worked?
|
He would have worked.
| He wouldn't have worked.
| Would he have worked?
|
I would have gone.
| I wouldn't have gone.
| Would I have gone?
|
He would have gone.
| He wouldn't have gone.
| Would I have gone?
|
Conditional
Perfect
Progressive
or
Conditional
Perfect
Continuous
|
| sth. that might have happened in the past
(It's too late now.)
emphasis: length of time of an action
| would + have + been + infinitive + ing
| I would have been working.
| I wouldn't have been working.
| Would I have been working?
|
He would
have been going.
| He wouldn't have been going.
| Would he
have been working?
|
I would have been going.
| I wouldn't have been going.
| Would I have been going?
|
He would have been going.
| He wouldn't have been going.
| Would he
have been going?
|