Tense

Present simple

How to make
Verb or he/she/it + -s

Talk about facts

Habits
Schedules (trains, buses)

Every day, never,

always, usually, often

Present
continuous

Am/is/are + verb + -ing

Something is happening at the moment

Right now, at the

moment.

Present Perfect

Have/has + past
participle

Something happened in the past and you can still

see the result.

For, since, already, just,

yet, now, ever, never

Something started in the past and is still going on.

To describe that an action started in the past and

is still going on in the present. (open past)
The describe that a habit started in the past and
continuous in the present
Something that has just stopped and of which the
result is clearly present.
Something happened in the past. (closed past)

for, since, the whole

day, all day

Something happened at a certain point in the past

Something that was happening while something
else happened (combination past simple)
Something happened in the past before another
action in the past. PP for the earlier events.

While, when

Present Perfect
continuous

Have/has + been + past

participle

When is it used

Past simple

Past
continuous
Past Perfect

Verb + -ed (Regular

verbs)
Catch caught (irregular
verbs)
Was/were + verb + -ing

Had + past participle

Signals words

Yesterday, last year, in

2006, last summer

After, before, for, since

Past Perfect
continuous

Had + been + past

participle

Future

Will/shall + verb

Future

Am/is/are going to + verb

Past continuous

for, since, the whole

day, all day

Tomorrow, next week,

next summer, etc.
Tonight, soon

present continuous

Past
Past perfect
Past simple

Something began in the past and continued at a

later moment in the past.
Something that had just stopped and of which the
result is clearly visible. (explanation)
When you promise to do something (in the future
When you think something is going to happen in
the future
Plans in the (near) future
When you are sure something will happen. You
have proof or made the plan.

Present

will
Future

present perfect
present simple

be + going to