Table of English Tenses

Language Guide German + Dictionary for iPhone and iPod-Touch (made by ego4u)

tense Affirmative/Negative/Question Use Signal Words

always, every ,
action in the present
Simple A: He speaks. never, normally,
Present N: He does not speak. taking place once, never or often, seldom,
Q: Does he speak? several times sometimes, usually
if sentences type I (If
facts
I talk, )
actions taking place one
after another
action set by a timetable
or schedule
Present A: He is speaking. action taking place in at the moment, just,
Progressive N: He is not speaking. just now, Listen!,
Q: Is he speaking? the moment of speaking Look!, now, right now
action taking place only
for a limited period of time
action arranged for the
future
Simple Past A: He spoke. yesterday, 2 minutes
action in the past taking
N: He did not speak. ago, in 1990, the
Q: Did he speak? place once, never or several other day, last Friday
times if sentence type II (If
I talked, )
actions taking place one
after another
action taking place in the
middle of another action
Past A: He was speaking. action going on at a when, while, as long
Progressive N: He was not speaking. as
Q: Was he speaking? certain time in the past
actions taking place at
the same time
action in the past that is
interrupted by another action
Present A: He has spoken. already, ever, just,
putting emphasis on
Perfect N: He has not spoken. never, not yet, so far,
Simple Q: Has he spoken? the result till now, up to now
action that is still going on
action that stopped
recently
finished action that has
an influence on the present
action that has taken
place once, never or several
times before the moment of
speaking
Present A: He has been speaking. putting emphasis on all day, for 4 years,
Perfect N: He has not been speaking. since 1993, how
Progressive Q: Has he been speaking? long?, the whole
the course or duration (not
week
the result)
action that recently
stopped or is still going on
finished action that
influenced the present
Past A: He had spoken. action taking place before already, just, never,
Perfect N: He had not spoken. not yet, once, until
Simple Q: Had he spoken? a certain time in the past that day
sometimes if sentence type III (If
I had talked, )
interchangeable with past
perfect progressive
putting emphasis only on
the fact (not the duration)
Past A: He had been speaking. action taking place before for, since, the whole
Perfect N: He had not been speaking. day, all day
Progressive Q: Had he been speaking? a certain time in the past
sometimes
interchangeable with past
perfect simple
putting emphasis on
the duration or course of an
action
Future I A: He will speak. in a year, next ,
action in the future that
Simple N: He will not speak. tomorrow
Q: Will he speak? cannot be influenced If-Satz Typ I (If you
spontaneous decision ask her, shewill
help you.)
assumption with regard to assumption: I think,
the future probably, perhaps

Future I A: He is going to speak. decision made for the in one year, next
Simple N: He is not going to speak. week, tomorrow
Q: Is he going to speak? future
(going to) conclusion with regard to
the future
Future I A: He will be speaking. in one year, next
action that is going on at
Progressive N: He will not be speaking. week, tomorrow
Q: Will he be speaking? a certain time in the future
action that is sure to
happen in the near future
Future II A: He will have spoken. action that will by Monday, in a
Simple N: He will not have spoken. week
Q: Will he have spoken? be finished at a certain time in
the future
Future II A: He will have been speaking. action taking place before for , the last
Progressive N: He will not have been couple of hours, all
speaking. a certain time in the future day long
Q: Will he have been speaking? putting emphasis on
the course of an action
Conditional A: He would speak. action that might take if sentences type II
I Simple N: He would not speak. (If I were you,
Q: Would he speak? place I would go home.)
Conditional A: He would be speaking. action that might take
I N: He would not be speaking.
Progressive Q: Would he be speaking? place
 putting emphasis on
the course / duration of the
action
Conditional A: He would have spoken. if sentences type III
action that might have
II Simple N: He would not have spoken. (If I had seen that,
Q: Would he have spoken? taken place in the past I would have
helped.)
Conditional A: He would have been action that might have
II speaking.
Progressive N: He would not have been taken place in the past
speaking. puts emphasis on
Q: Would he have been
the course / duration of the
speaking?
action