Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
t Signal
Affirmative/Negative/Question Use
ense Words
Simple Present A: He speaks. action in the always,
N: He does not speak. present taking place every ,
Q: Does he speak? once, never or never,
several times normally,
facts often, seldom,
actions taking sometimes,
place one after usually
another if sentences
action set by a type I (If I
timetable or schedule talk, )
Present A: He is speaking. action taking at the
Progressive N: He is not speaking. place in the moment moment, just,
Q: Is he speaking? of speaking just now,
action taking Listen!, Look!,
place only for a limited now, right
period of time now
action arranged
for the future
Simple Past A: He spoke. action in the yesterday, 2
N: He did not speak. past taking place minutes ago,
Q: Did he speak? once, never or in 1990, the
several times other day,
actions taking last Friday
place one after if sentence
another type II (If I
action taking talked, )
place in the middle of
another action
Past A: He was speaking. action going on when, while,
Progressive N: He was not speaking. at a certain time in as long as
Q: Was he speaking? the past
actions taking
place at the same time
action in the
past that is
interrupted by another
action
Present Perfect A: He has spoken. putting already, ever,
Simple N: He has not spoken. emphasis on the just, never,
Q: Has he spoken? result not yet, so
action that is far, till now,
still going on up to now
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 Perfect A: He has been speaking. putting all day, for 4
Progressive N: He has not been speaking. emphasis on the years, since
Q: Has he been speaking? course or duration 1993, how
(not the result) long?, the
action that whole week
recently stopped or is
still going on
finished action
that influenced the
present
Past Perfect A: He had spoken. action taking already, just,
Simple N: He had not spoken. place before a certain never, not
Q: Had he spoken? time in the past yet, once,
sometimes until that day
interchangeable with if sentence
past perfect type III (If I
progressive had
putting talked, )
emphasis only on the
fact (not the duration)
Past Perfect A: He had been speaking. action taking for, since, the
Progressive N: He had not been speaking. place before a certain whole day, all
Q: Had he been speaking? time in the past day
sometimes
interchangeable with
past perfect simple
putting
emphasis on the
duration or course of
an action
Future I Simple A: He will speak. action in the in a year,
N: He will not speak. future that cannot be next ,
Q: Will he speak? influenced tomorrow
spontaneous If-Satz Typ I
decision (If you ask
assumption her, she will
with regard to the help you.)
future assumption: I
think,
probably,
perhaps
Future I Simple A: He is going to speak. decision made in one year,
(going to) N: He is not going to speak. for the future next week,
Q: Is he going to speak? conclusion with tomorrow
regard to the future
Future I A: He will be speaking. action that is in one year,
Progressive N: He will not be speaking. going on at a certain next week,
Q: Will he be speaking? time in the future tomorrow
action that is
sure to happen in the
near future
Future II A: He will have spoken. action that will by Monday,
Simple N: He will not have spoken. be finished at a in a week
Q: Will he have spoken? certain time in the
future
Future II A: He will have been speaking. action taking for , the last
Progressive N: He will not have been speaking. place before a certain couple of
Q: Will he have been speaking? time in the future hours, all day
putting long
emphasis on the
course of an action
Conditional I A: He would speak. action that if sentences
Simple N: He would not speak. might take place type II
Q: Would he speak? (If I were you,
I would go
home.)
Conditional I A: He would be speaking. action that
Progressive N: He would not be speaking. might take place
Q: Would he be speaking? putting
emphasis on the
course / duration of
the action
Conditional II A: He would have spoken. action that if sentences
Simple N: He would not have spoken. might have taken type III
Q: Would he have spoken? place in the past (If I had seen
that, I would
have
helped.)
Conditional II A: He would have been speaking. action that
Progressive N: He would not have been might have taken
speaking. place in the past
Q: Would he have been speaking? puts emphasis
on the course /
duration of the action
Basic Tenses
For past and present, there are 2 simple tenses + 6 complex tenses (using auxiliary
verbs). To these, we can add 4 "modal tenses" for the future (using modal auxiliary verbs
will/shall). This makes a total of 12 tenses in the active voice. Another 12 tenses are
available in the passive voice. So now we have 24 tenses.
24 Tenses past present future*