The Simple Present

- Expresses a habit or often repeated action. Adverbs of frequency such as, often, seldom,
sometimes, never, etc. are used with this tense.
Examples:
She goes to work every day.
They always eat lunch together.
He rarely drinks.

- It also expresses general truths or facts that are timeless.

Examples:
Snow falls in the December in Minnesota.
Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
Leaves turn red, orange, and brown in the fall.

The Present Progressive or Continuous

be + verb + ing
- This tense is used to describe an action that is occurring right now (at this moment, today,
this year, etc.). The action has begun and is still in progress.
Examples:
She is typing a paper for her class.
He can’t talk.
He is fixing the sink right now

- The present progressive can also be used to describe an action that is occurring in the
present, but is temporary
Examples:
We are living with friends until our new house is ready. She is working in Chicago, but plans to move to
New York next year. I am going to the store. Do you need anything?

The Present Perfect

have + past participle
- The present perfect is used to talk about an event that began in the past and continues up
to the present.
Examples:
She has loved him for ten years.
They have lived in Chicago since 2000

- The present perfect is also used to talk about an event that was completed in the past, but
the specific time of the event is not important.
Examples:
I have read War and Peace before.
I have also seen the movie version, too.
He has just washed the car.
Maria has just come home.

■Present: Now (right now)

Simple Present: I walk
Present Progressive: I am walking to the store.
(The action is ongoing or is taking a while)
Present Perfect: I have walked 500 miles.
(The action has been completed)
Present Perfect Progressive: I have been walking every day before lunch.
(The action has been going for a while and may be continuing)

Present Simple
For general facts:
- This shirt costs ten dollars.
- We speak English.
For actions that happen regularly:
- I take guitar lessons on Wednesday nights.
- Sarah sometimes eats lunch in her office.

Present Continuous
For a continuous action in progress at the moment:
- I‘m currently studying biology at university.
- Bill can’t talk on the phone right now – he‘s doing his homework.
- We‘re watching TV at the moment

For future plans/arrangements:

- I‘m having lunch with Jack tomorrow.
- My sister is driving me to the airport on Saturday.
- Tim and Joanna are joining us for dinner next week.

Present Perfect
With actions that happened in the past at an unspecified time:
- I‘ve met several celebrities.
- He‘s been to Australia several times.
- We‘ve already taken the test.

With actions that began in the past and continue to the present:
- I‘ve lived in this house for five years.
- Harry has worked at the same company since 1992.
Note: Usually the verbs “lived” and “worked.” The present perfect continuous can also be used – see the next
section.

With actions that have never happened:

- I‘ve never broken a bone.
- She‘s never bought a car.
- My parents have never eaten sushi.

Present Perfect Continuous

With actions that began in the past and continue to the present:
- I‘ve been thinking a lot about the situation recently.
- Laura‘s been studying since 7 AM.
- We‘ve been waiting for you to arrive for over an hour.

Past Simple

For events that started and finished in the past:

- I worked as a research assistant from 2001 – 2003
- He called me ten minutes ago.
- We went to the Bahamas last summer.
Note: Many common verbs are irregular in the simple past

Past Continuous

For events that were in progress in the past (often when another one-time event happened): -
- Sorry I didn’t pick up the phone – I was taking a shower when you called.
- He was sleeping on the couch when I got home.
- When I saw Tina and Sam at the park earlier today, they were arguing

Past Perfect
For past events that happened BEFORE other past events:
- By the time we arrived at the train station, the train had already left.
- When I woke up, I saw that my husband had made breakfast.
- Five minutes after leaving my house, I realized I’d forgotten to lock the front door.

Past Perfect Continuous

For past actions that continued up to another point in the past:
- Before I lost my job, I had been working on some important projects. (“working” was a continuous
action until the point I lost my job)
- They had been hoping Pat would make a full recovery after the accident, but he died. (“hoping”
was a continuous action until Pat died)
- She‘d already been studying English by herself for several years by the time she started taking
classes. (“studying” English by herself was a continuous action until the time when she started classes)

Future Simple
There are two ways to form the future simple tense in English.
Use the “going to” form of the future simple tense… For plans, arrangements, and predictions:
- After I graduate from college, I’m going to study for a Masters degree.
- We’re going to move to a different city next year.
- I think the current president is going to be reelected.

Use the “will” form of the future simple tense… For promises, offers, predictions, and decisions
made in the moment of speaking:
- Promise: I‘ll call you later.
- Offer: We‘ll give you a ride home.
- Prediction: I have a feeling that this new singer will become very popular.
- Decision made in the moment: I‘ll have the spaghetti and a side order of salad.

Future Continuous
For actions that will be in progress at a time in the future:
- Don’t call me at 6, because I’ll be driving home from work.
- At 10:30 tomorrow morning, we’ll be giving a presentation in English class.
- He’ll be watching the football game tonight at 8.

Future Perfect
For actions that will be completed before a future time:
- I will have written a book before I’m 40.
- We’re late. By the time we get to the theater, the movie will have started already.
- We will have traveled to 12 different countries by 2015.

Future Perfect Continuous

For actions that will continue up to a future time:
- By the time she graduates, she will have been studying for 7 years.
- By 7 PM, I will have been working on this project for eight hours straight.
- By this time next year, they will have been living in Japan for two decades.
Note: BY and BY THE TIME are commonly used with the future perfect continuous.
■Future: Later (after now, in five minutes, tomorrow, next year)

Future: I will walk to work tomorrow.

Future Progressive: He will be walking to work every day next week.
(The action will be ongoing or will take a while)
Future Perfect: I will have walked to the store by the time you get there.
(The action will have been completed by this point in the future)
Future Perfect Progressive: By Monday, my son will have been walking for two full weeks.
(The action will have been going on for a while by this point in the future and may be
continuing)

■Past: Back then (before now, yesterday, ten minutes ago, last month)

Simple Past I walked to the store.

(The action has been completed)
Past Progressive: I was walking to the store when I saw the accident
(The action was ongoing or taking a while)

■Past Perfect: Before back then (before yesterday, before last month)
Past Perfect: I had walked to the store before I walked to the gym.
(The action was completed before another past action)

Past Perfect Progressive: I had been walking for several miles and I was tired.
(The action had been ongoing or taking a while before another past action)

Present Perfect (have or has + past participle)

The present perfect tense expresses an action that began in the past and has recently
been completed or is continuing in the present:
- The city has just agreed on a contract with the sanitation workers.
- Tony’s parents have lived in that house for twenty years.
- Lola has watched Star Trek reruns since she was a little girl.
Past Perfect (had + past participle)
The past perfect tense expresses a past action that was completed before another past
action:
- Lola had learned to dance by the time she was five.
- The class had just started when the fire bell rang.
- Bad weather had never been a problem on our vacations until last year.
Present Progressive (am, is, or are + the —ing form)
The present progressive tense expresses an action still in progress.
- I am taking an early train into the city every day this week.
- Karl is playing softball over at the field.
- The vegetables are growing rapidly.
Past Progressive (was or were + the —ing form)
The past progressive expresses an action that was in progress in the past.
- I was spending twenty dollars a week on cigarettes before I quit.
- Last week, the store was selling many items at half price.
- My friends were driving over to pick me up when the accident occurred.

Perfect tenses = have, has, or had + the past participle (verb form ending
usually in —ed) Progressive = am, is, are, was or were + present participle
(verb form ending in —ing) Perfect Progressive = have been or had been +
present participle

Examples:
- I am looking for a job.
The action occurs in the present and continues to occur, so use the present
continuous.
- I have lived in the United States for a few years.
Use the present perfect tense to show that an event or action continues from the
past into the present.
- My mother has been a big help. Use the present perfect continuous tense to
show that an event or action occurred over a period of time, or progressed, in the
past and continues into the present. - In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck
travels along the river.
Use present tense to write about the action, plot development, or literary
elements in a novel.

For example:
- I graduated from college in 2005.
Your graduation was a single event. It is completely over; although you continue to be a
graduate, the day you wore your cap and gown and received your degree is over. Use the
simple past.
- I was preparing dinner when the phone rang.
Each of the events is over. You prepared the dinner yesterday, and the phone rang
yesterday. Show that a continuing action was interrupted by using the past continuous.
- I was living in India at the time. I shopped at the outdoor markets every day.
Again, each of these events is over. You no longer live in India, and you no longer shop in the
markets. Use the past continuous tense to show that your life in India was a duration, or
period, of time. During that time you shopped at the markets.
- I had viewed the film before I read the book.
Both of these actions happened in the past. Use the past perfect tense to indicate that one
event occurred before the other.
- I had been looking for my shoes when I found his lost wallet.
Again, both of these actions are past. Use the past continuous tense to show that one
action was in progress when another event occurred.

For example:
- I will look for a job very soon.
Use the simple future tense to show that an action will occur in the future.
- I will be looking for work after the holidays.
Use the future continuous to show that an action will occur in the future, over a
period or duration of time.
- Hopefully, I will have found a job before the spring.
Use the future perfect tense to show that something will happen in the future, and
after it has happened, something else will happen. In other words, two things are
going to happen: You will find a job. It will be spring. One of these events will
happen before the other.
- I will have been looking for four months by May.
Use the future perfect continuous to show that two things will be happening in
the future. One will happen before the other, and it will have covered a duration of
time-

Simple Present: It is used to denote scientific facts, universal truths and work
done on daily basis
ASSERTIVE  She writes a letter
NEGATIVE  She does not write a letter
INTERROGATIVE  Does she write a letter?
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE ASSERTIVE  Does she not write a letter?
Present Continuous: It is used to express an action taking place at the time
of speaking.
sub + is/am/are + v1
ASSERTIVE  she is writing a letter
NEGATIVE  She is not writing a letter
INTERROGATIVE  Is she writing a letter?
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE ASSERTIVE  Is she not writing a letter?
Present Perfect: It is used to show an action that started in the past and has
just finished
sub + has/have + v3
ASSERTIVE  She has written a letter
NEGATIVE  She has not written a letter
INTERROGATIVE  Has she written a letter?
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE ASSERTIVE  Has she not written a letter?
Present Perfect Continuous: This tense shows the action which started in
the past and is still continuing.
sub + has/have + been + v1 + ing
ASSERTIVE  She has been writing a letter
NEGATIVE  She has not been writing a letter
INTERROGATIVE  Has she been writing a letter?
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE ASSERTIVE  Has she not been writing a letter?

Simple Past: Used to indicate an action completed in the past. It often occurs
with adverb of time. Sometimes it is used without an adverb of time
ASSERTIVE  She wrote a letter
NEGATIVE  She didn’t write a letter
INTERROGATIVE  Did she write a letter?
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE ASSERTIVE  Did she not write a letter?
Past Continuous: Used to denote an action going on at some time in the past
Rule: was/were + ing
ASSERTIVE  She was writing a letter
NEGATIVE  She was not writing a letter
INTERROGATIVE  Was she writing a letter?
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE ASSERTIVE  Was she not writing a letter?
Past Perfect: Used to describe an action completed before a certain moment
in the past, usually a long time ago. If two actions happened in the past, past
perfect is used to show the action that took place earlier.
Subject + had + V3
ASSERTIVE  She had written a letter.
NEGATIVE  She had not written a letter.
INTERROGATIVE  Had she written a letter?
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE ASSERTIVE  Had she not written a letter?
Past Perfect Continuous: Used to denote an action that began before a
certain point in the past and continued up to some time in past.
Subject + had been +V1 + ing +
ASSERTIVE  She had been writing a letter.
NEGATIVE  She had not been writing a letter.
INTERROGATIVE  Had she been writing a letter?
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE ASSERTIVE  Had she not been writing a letter?
Simple Future: This tense tells us about an action which has not occurred yet
and will occur after saying or in future.
Rule – Will/Shall + Verb (Ist form)
In Future Tense helping verb ‘Shall’ is used with ‘I’ and ‘We’. Helping verb ‘Will’ is
used with all others. When you are to make a commitment or warn someone or
emphasize something, use of 'will/shall' is reversed. ‘Will’ is used with ‘I’ & ‘We’ and
'shall' is used with others. In general speaking there is hardly any difference
between 'shall & will' and normally ‘Will’ is used with all
ASSERTIVE  She will write a letter.
NEGATIVE  She will not write a letter.
INTERROGATIVE  Will she write a letter?
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE ASSERTIVE  Will she not write a letter?

Future Continuous: It is used to express an ongoing or continued action in

future. We use the future continuous to talk about something that will be in
progress at or around a time in the future.
Will/Shall + Be + Verb (Ist form) + Ing
ASSERTIVE  She will be writing a letter.
NEGATIVE  She will not be writing a letter
INTERROGATIVE  Will she be writing a letter?
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE ASSERTIVE  Will she not be writing a letter?

Future Perfect: It is used to express an action which will happen/occur in future

and will be completed by a certain time in future. We use the future perfect to say
that something will be finished by a particular time in the future.
Will/Shall + Have + Verb (3rd form)
ASSERTIVE  She will have written a letter.
NEGATIVE  She will not have written a letter.
INTERROGATIVE  Will she have written a letter?
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE ASSERTIVE  Will she not have written a letter?

Future Perfect Continuous: It is used to talk about actions that will commence
at a fix time in future and will continue for some time in future. If there is no time
reference, then it is not a Future perfect continuous tense. Without continued time
reference, such sentences are Future Continuous Tense. Continued time reference
only differentiates between Future Continuous Tense and Future Perfect Continuous
Tense. The future perfect progressive emphasize the duration of an activity that will
be in progress before another time or event in the future.
Rule: Will/Shall + Have been + Verb (Ist form) + Ing
ASSERTIVE  She will have been writing a letter.
NEGATIVE  She will not have been writing a letter.
INTERROGATIVE  Will she have been writing a letter?
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE ASSERTIVE  Will she not have been writing a letter?

Present Simple
Present progressive

SIMPLE PRESENT PERFECT

PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

SIMPLE PAST
PAST progressive

SIMPLE PAST PERFECT

PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

FUTURE PROGRESSIVE

FUTURE PERFECT SIMPLE

FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
Practice
Action that happens repeatedly
I always ____ to the ice cream shop on Friday nights.
I never ____ or drink.
Facts
Whales ____ the largest marine creatures.
The sun ____ in the west and ____ in the east.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Action happening now or close to the time of speaking:
We ___ ____ in class. (sit)
It ___ ____ heavily right now. (rain)
We ___ ____ a grammar activity. (do)
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Temporary situations
I ___ _____ Chicago until I can find a better job in Milwaukee. (live)
He ___ _____ there while he’s in college. (work)
Mary ___ _____some exercises to strengthen her legs until she makes a full recovery. (do)
We ____ _____ the train to work this summer because of the road construction. (take)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Action that started in the past and lasts until now
He ___ ____ her ever since they met. (like)
They ___ ____ each other ever since they started working together. (hate)
Maria ___ ____ Ivan for almost 20 years. (know)
Igor ___ ____ familiar with that author for a long time. (be)

■Exercises
1. Chris (bake) the cake for the dinner we (cook). (The cake is baked first.)
PAST Chris _______ the cake for the dinner we ________ last weekend.
PRESENT Chris _______ the cake for the dinner we ________ tonight.
FUTURE Chris _______ the cake for the dinner we ________ on Friday.

2. Ana (drive) for ten hours straight and her back (start) to hurt. (Both are taking place over time, but the driving
starts first.)
PAST Ana _______ for ten hours straight and her back _______ to hurt.
PRESENT Ana _______ for ten hours straight and her back _______ to hurt.
FUTURE Ana _______ for ten hours straight and her back _______ to hurt.

3. Kim (bring) ten balloons to the party and he (give) one to me.
PAST Kim _______ ten balloons to the party and he _______one to me.
PRESENT Kim _______ ten balloons to the party and he _______one to me.
FUTURE Kim _______ ten balloons to the party and he _______one to me.

4. The guest speaker (begin), so the audience (grow) quiet.

PAST The guest speaker _______, so the audience _______ quiet.
PRESENT The guest speaker _______, so the audience _______ quiet.
FUTURE By eight p.m. the guest speaker _______, so the audience _______ quiet.
FACTS AND THINGS TO KNOW

■Regular Verbs Most verbs are regular verbs, so they follow the same predictable pattern. In this pattern, the
past tense adds an –ed to the base form of the verb.
I work  I worked

The perfect tenses then use that –ed form to form what is called the past participle:
I have worked I had worked She has worked

■Irregular Verbs
Some verbs, however, are irregular verbs, so their past and perfect tenses are unpredictable and have to be
memorized. Here are some common ones:
http://www.vpscience.org/materials/List-of-English-Verb-Tenses.pdf

https://carmendelmoral.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/resumen-grammar-2c2ba-bto.pdf

https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar/tenses_table.pdf

https://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/tutoring/documents/writingareahandoutrevision/
aeslandgrammar/Verb-Tenses.pdf

https://www.bbau.ac.in/Docs/FoundationCourse/TM/MPDC105/TENSES%20(1).pdf

https://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/tutoring/documents/writingareahandoutrevision/
aeslandgrammar/Verb-Tenses.pdf

https://www.bbau.ac.in/Docs/FoundationCourse/TM/MPDC105/TENSES%20(1).pdf