Present Simple

HABBITS

Form:
(+) I/ You/ We/ They + Vb. (Infinitive)
He/ She/ It
+ Vb. + -s / -es (for the
verbs ending in s/-ss/ -ch/ -sh/ -x/-z/-o)
e.g. I always drink coffee in the morning.
He watches TV every evening.

usually, always, sometimes,

from time to time,
always, never, often,
frequently, rarely, seldom,
hardly ever, every day

(-) I/ You/ We/ They + dont + Vb. (inf.)

He/ She/ It
+ doesnt + Vb. (inf)
e.g. You dont like ice-cream.
She doesnt go the cinema every month.

(?) Do + I/ you/ we/ they + Vb. (inf.)?

Does + he/ she/ it
+ Vb. (inf.)?
e.g. Where do you work?
Does it have a DVD writer?

Present Continuous
Form:

NOW

to be + Vb- ing

(+) I am
You are
He/ She/ It is
We/ You/ They are

vb-ing

Verbs not used with the continuous

form:

cost like
understand
know
believe feel smell see taste
think (=believe) I think you are
right.

have (=in general) I have a car.

(= now) I am having dinner.

e.g. I usually drink coffee but today I am drinking tea.

(-) Im not
You arent
He/ She/ It isnt
We/ You/ They arent

vb-ing

e.g. He isnt reading the newspaper, so you can take it.

(?) Am I
Are you
Is he/ she/ it
Are we/ you/ they
e.g. What are you doing?
I am reading a book.

vb-ing?

now,
at the
moment,
at present,
today,
this week

Past Simple
completed action in the past
(+)
1. Regular verbs:
I/ You/ He/ She/ It/ We/ They + Vb. ed
e.g. I worked yesterday.

yesterday,
last night/ week/ month/ year,
an hour ago, two days ago.
in 1995, when I was a child
When?

2. Irregular verbs:
I/ You/ He/ She/ It/ We/ They + Vb (F2 )
(see the list of irregular verbs!!!!)
e.g. Last week we went to the cinema.
(go-went-gone)

(-)
Regular and irregular verbs:

(?)

I/ You/ He/ She/ It / We/ They

+ didnt + Vb. (Infinitive)

Did + I/ you/ he/she/it/we/they + Vb.

(Inf.)?

e.g. I didnt work yesterday.

We didnt go to the cinema last week.

e.g. Did you work yesterday?

When did you first see John?

Past Continuous
a continuous situation/ action in the past
Form:
was/ were + Vb.-ing
(+) I was
You were
He/She/ It was
We/ They were

Regular and irregular verbs:

while,
at that moment,
yesterday at 6
oclock
when you called

vb.-ing

e.g. I was watching TV while he was sleeping.

(-) I wasnt
You werent
He/ She/ It wasnt
We/ They werent

vb.-ing

e.g. She wasnt waiting for you at that moment.

(?) Was I
Were you
Was he/ she/it
Were we/ they

vb.-ing?

e.g. What were you doing when I called you?

Present Perfect Simple

there is always a connection with now
Form:
have/has +

vb.-ed
vb. F3

(+) I/ You/ We/ They + have + vb.-ed/ vb. F3

He/ She/It
+ has + vb.-ed/ vb. F3
e.g. He has already left.
They have known each other for 10 years.
Its the first time he has driven a car.

(-) I/ You/ We/ They + havent + vb.-ed/ vb. F3

He/ She/It
+ hasnt + vb.-ed/ vb. F3
e.g. I havent finished yet.
We havent seen John this morning.

already, just, yet,

since (moment),
for (period),
never, ever,
by now, until now,
so far, recently,
in the last few days,
today, this morning,
the first/second time
How long?

(?) Have I/ you/we/they + vb.-ed/ vb. F3?

Has he/she/it + vb.-ed/ vb. F3?
e.g. Have you ever been to Spain?
How long have they known each other?

Present Perfect Continuous

- an action that is still happening; has
recently stopped or just stopped; there
is a connection with now
- actions repeated over a period of time
Form:
have/has +been + vb.-ing

How long,
for,
since

(+) I/ You/ We/ They + have been + vb.-ing

He/ She/It
+ has been + vb-ing
e.g. We have been living here since 1999. (we are still
living here)
He has been working very hard and he is tired now.
We have been going to the seaside for years.

(-) I/ You/ We/ They + havent been +vb.-ing

He/ She/It
+ hasnt been + vb.-ing
e.g. He hasnt been feeling well recently.

(?) Have I/ you/we/they + been + vb-ing?

Has he/she/it + been + vb.-ing?
e.g. How long has it been raining?
It has been raining for two hours.

Present Perfect and (2) Past

1. I have done a lot of work today.
(from the past until now) / (unfinished)
2. I did a lot of work yesterday.
(tells only about the past) / (finished)

Past Perfect
actions or things that happened before a
time in the past
Form:
Vb. +ed
had +
Vb. F3

before (that
time)
until then,
by that moment

(+) I/ You/He/ She/ It/ We/They

+ had + vb.-ed/ vb. F3
e.g. When I arrived at the party,
Paul had already gone home.

(-) I/ You/He/ She/ It/ We/They

+ hadnt + vb.-ed/ vb. F3

(?) had + I/ you/he/she/it/we/they

+ vb.-ed/ vb. F3?
e.g. Had he been there before that moment?

e.g. He was very nervous, as he hadnt driven before.

Past Perfect Continuous

Something had been happening for a
period of time before something else
happened

for (a period of
time) before
(another past
moment/action)

Form:
had been + vb-ing
(+) I/ You/ He/ She/It/ We/ They
+ had been + vb-ing
e.g. He was out of breath. He had been running.
At last the bus came. I had been waiting for 20 minutes.

(1)Present perfect continuous/

(2)Past perfect continuous

(-)I/ You/ He/ She/It/ We/ They

+ hadnt been + vb-ing

1. I hope the bus comes soon. I have been

waiting for 20 minutes. (before now)

(?) Had + I/you/he/she/it/we/they

+ been+ vb-ing?
e.g. Had the fire been burning for the
whole night before you put it down?

2. At last the bus came. I had been waiting for

20 minutes. (before the bus came)

Future Simple
1. Present Simple with a future meaning:
timetables, programs (for example for public
transport, cinemas)
e.g. The train leaves at 11:30.

2. Present Continuous what we have already

arranged to do
e.g. What are you doing this evening?
I am going to a concert.

3. (Im) going to (do)

A. have decided to do (but perhaps not
arranged to do it)

tomorrow
next month, week
tonight,
this morning

e.g. The windows are dirty.

Yes, I know. Im going to clean them later.

something is going to happen in the future

because there is a present evidence.
B.

e.g. Look at those black clouds.

Its going to rain. (the clouds are there now)

4. will / shall
a. will
- when we decide to do something at the
moment of speaking:
e.g. What would you like to drink?
Ill have an orange juice, please.

- predicting future:
e.g. Carol will pass the exam easily.

- I think Ill:
e.g. I dont think Ill go out tonight.

* probably, I expect, Im sure, I think, dont

think, I wonder + WILL
-promising to do something:
e.g. Can you return the book?
Yes, Ill give it to you this afternoon.

- asking somebody to do something:

e.g. Will you shut the door, please?

- wont when somebody/ something refuses

to do something:
e.g. The car wont start.

b. shall
-shall I? / shall we?- to ask somebodys
opinion:
e.g. Shall I shut the door? (do you want me to shut it?)
[Will you shut the door? (I want you to shut it.)]

Will / Im going to
decision now: will
Lets go somewhere. Thats a great idea.
We will take the car.
decision before: Im going to
We have decided to go to the seaside.
We are going to travel by car.

Future Continuous
Form: will be + vb.-ing
-I will be in the middle of doing something:
e.g. This time next week I will be swimming in the
Mediterranean Sea.

-complete action in the future similar to the

present continuous or the future :
e.g. What time will your friends be arriving tomorrow?

Future Perfect
Form: will have + vb-ed/ vb. (F3)
-something will already be complete:
e.g. We are late. The play will already have started by the
time we get to the theatre.

When I do/ When Ive done

-after when/while/before/after/as soon as/
until/till we use Present or Present Perfect with a future
meaning
e.g. I will phone you when I get home.
I will come as soon as Ive finished.

When/ If
- when for things which are sure to happen:
When I go shopping , Ill buy some food.

- if : things that will possibly happen:

If I go shopping I will buy some food.

After If we use Present with a future meaning