SUMMARY of Verb Tenses in English

Tenses
Simple
Present

Present
Progressive

Simple Past

Past
Progressive

Present
Perfect

Signal Words
every day
sometimes
always
often
usually
seldom
never
First then
now
at the moment
Look!
Listen!
last
ago
in 1990
yesterday
while
when

just
yet
never
ever
already
So far,
Up to now,
since
for
recently

Use
* Something happens repeatedly
* How often something happens
* One action follows another
* Things in general
* Future meaning: timetables,
programs

* Something is happening at the time

of speaking
* Future meaning: when you have
already decided and arranged to do it
(a fixed plan, date)
Action took place in the past, mostly
connected with an expression of time
(no connection to the present)
* An action happened in the middle of
another action
* Two or more actions were
progressing at the same time
* Someone was doing something at a
certain time (in the past) you dont
know whether it was finished or not
* You say that something 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

Form
I/You/We/They/plural
subject +
infinitive (V1)

Examples
affirmative
I work.
He works.
I go.
He goes.

Examples
negative
I dont work.
He doesnt work.
I dont go.
He doesnt go.

Examples
interrogative
Do I work?
Does he work?
Do I go?
Does he go?

Im working.
Hes working.
Im going.
Hes going.

Im not working.
He isnt working.
Im not going.
He isnt going.

Am I working?
Is he working?
Am I going?
Is he going?

I worked.
He worked.
I went.
He went.
I was working.
He was working.
They were
working.

I didnt work.
He didnt work.
I didnt go.
He didnt go.
I wasnt working.
He wasnt working.
They were not
working.

Did I work?
Did he work?
Did I go?
Did he go?
Was I working?
Was he working?
Were they working?

I have worked.
He has worked.
I have gone.
He has gone.

I havent worked.
He hasnt worked.
I havent gone.
He hasnt gone.

Have I worked?
Has I worked?
Have I gone?
Has he gone?

He/She/It/singular subject
+ infinitive + (-s/-es)

BE (am/is/are) + infinitive +
(-ing)

Regular:
Infinitive + (-d/-ed)
Irregular:
V2 e.g. go went

was/were + infinitive +
(-ing)

have/has + past participle

(V3)
Past participle (V3) =
Regular: infinitive + (-d/ed)
Irregular: e.g. go gone

Present
Perfect
Progressive

Past
Perfect

Past
Perfect
Progressive
will
Future

going to
Future

Future
Progressive

Future
Perfect
Progressive

all day
the whole day
how long
since
for
already
just
never

how long
since
for

* Action began in the past and has just

stopped/is still progressing at the time
of speaking
* How long the action has been
happening.
EMPHASIS: length of time of an action
Mostly when two actions in the past
are related to each other: the action
which happened earlier is put into
Past Perfect, and the action following
it is put into Simple Past.
How long something had been
happening before something else
happened
* Predictions about the future (you
think that something will happen)
* You decide to do something
spontaneously at the time of speaking
* When you have already decided to
do something in the future
* What you think will happen
* 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.
Something will already have happened
before a certain time in the future.
EMPHASIS: length of time of an action

have/has + been + infinitive

+ (-ing)

had + past participle (V3)

had + been + infinitive +

(-ing)

will + infinitive

BE (am/is/are) + going to
+ infinitive

will + be + infinitive + (-ing)

will + have + been +

infinitive + (-ing)

I have been
working.
He has been
working.

I havent been
working.
He hasnt been
working.

Have I been
working?
Has he been
working?

I had worked.
He had worked.
I had gone.
He had gone.

I hadnt worked.
He hadnt worked.
I hadnt gone.
He hadnt gone.

Had I worked?
Had he worked?
Had I gone?
Had he gone?

I had been working.

He had been
working.
I had been going.
He had been gong.

I hadnt been working.

He hadnt been
working.
I hadnt been going.
He hadnt been going.

Had I been working?

Had he been working?
Had I been going?
Had he been going?

I will work.
He will work.
I will go.
He will go.

I wont work.
He wont work.
I wont go.
He wont go.

Will I work?
Will he work?
Will I go?
Will he go?

Im going to work.
Hes going to work.
Im going to go.
Hes going to go.

Im not going to work.

Hes not going to
work.
Im not going to go.
Hes not going to go.

Am I going to work?
Is he going to work?
Am I going to go?
Is he going to go?

Ill be working.
Hell be working.
Ill be going.
Hell be going.

I wont be working.
He wont be
working.
I wont be going.
He wont be going.

Will I be working?
Will he be working?
Will I be going?
Will he be going?

Ill have been

working.
Hell have been
working.
Ill have been going.
Hell have been
going.

I wont have been

working.
He wont have been
working.
I wont have been
going.
He wont have been
going.

Will I have been

working?
Will he have been
working?
Will I have been
going?
Will he have been
going?