An Overview of the English Tenses – Active for Elementary School

SIMPLE FUTURE FUTURE CONTINUOUS

- tomorrow – next week– in two days - all weekend next week – at six o’clock tomorrow - next summer

+ Affirmative - Negative + Affirmative - Negative

I will write I will not write I will be writing I will not be writing
you will write you will not write you will be writing you will not be writing
he will write he will not write he will be writing he will not be writing
she will write she will not write she will be writing she will not be writing
it will write it will not write it will be writing it will not be writing
we will write we will not write we will be writing we will not be writing
you will write you will not write you will be writing you will not be writing
they will write they will not write they will be writing they will not be writing
? Interrogative +/- Short answers ? Interrogative +/- Short answers
will I write Yes, I will. / No, I won’t. will I be writing Yes, I will. / No, I won’t.
will you write Yes, you will. / No, you won’t. will you be writing Yes, you will. / No, you won’t.
will he write Yes, he will. / No, he won’t. will he be writing Yes, he will. / No, he won’t.
will she write Yes, she will. / No, she won’t. will she be writing Yes, she will. / No, she won’t.
will it write Yes, it will. / No, it won’t. will it be writing Yes, it will. / No, it won’t.
will we write Yes, we will. / No, we won’t. will we be writing Yes, we will. / No, we won’t.
will you write Yes, you will. / No, you won’t. will you be writing Yes, you will. / No, you won’t.
will they write Yes, they will. / No, they won’t. will they be writing Yes, they will. / No, they won’t.

SIMPLE PRESENT PRESENT CONTINUOUS

- always – usually – regularly - often – sometimes – seldom / rarely – now – at the moment – at this moment – at present - this minute –
– never - every day – every week – every Monday – on Mondays Look! – Listen!
– on/at weekends *** state verbs *** scheduled future - these days ***always *** future plans and arrangements

+ Affirmative - Negative + Affirmative - Negative

I write I don’t write I am writing I am not writing
you write you don’t write you are writing you are not writing
he writes he doesn’t write he is writing he is not writing
she writes she doesn’t write she is writing she is not writing
it writes it doesn’t write it is writing it is not writing
we write we don’t write we are writing we are not writing
you write you don’t write you are writing you are not writing
they write they don’t write they are writing they are not writing
? Interrogative +/- Short answers ? Interrogative +/- Short answers
do I write Yes, I do. / No, I don’t. am I writing Yes, I am. / No, I’m not.
do you write Yes, you do. / No, you don’t. are you writing Yes, you are. / No, you aren’t.
does he write Yes, he does. / No, he doesn’t. is he writing Yes, he is. / No, he isn’t.
does she write Yes, she does. / No, she doesn’t. is she writing Yes, she is. / No, she isn’t.
does it write Yes, it does. / No, it doesn’t. is it writing Yes, it is. / No, it isn’t.
do we write Yes, we do. / No, we don’t. are we writing Yes, we are. / No, we aren’t.
do you write Yes, you do. / No, you don’t. are you writing Yes, you are. / No, you aren’t.
do they write Yes, they do. / No, they don’t. are they writing Yes, they are. / No, they aren’t.

SIMPLE PAST PAST CONTINUOUS

- yesterday – last Monday - last week – last month – last summer - while
– last year – in 2001 – three days ago - when
- for two hours yesterday – all day yesterday

+ Affirmative - Negative + Affirmative - Negative

I wrote I didn’t write I was writing I was not writing
you wrote you didn’t write you were writing you were not writing
he wrote he didn’t write he was writing he was not writing
she wrote she didn’t write she was writing she was not writing
it wrote it didn’t write it was writing it was not writing
we wrote we didn’t write we were writing we were not writing
you wrote you didn’t write you were writing you were not writing
they wrote they didn’t write they were writing they were not writing
? Interrogative +/- Short answers ? Interrogative +/- Short answers
did I write Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t. was I writing Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.
did you write Yes, you did. / No, you didn’t. were you writing Yes, you were. / No, you
did he write Yes, he did. / No, he didn’t. was he writing weren’t.
did she write Yes, she did. / No, she didn’t. was she writing Yes, he was. / No, he wasn’t.
did it write Yes, it did. / No, it didn’t. was it writing Yes, she was. / No, she wasn’t.
did we write Yes, we did. / No, we didn’t. were we writing Yes, it was. / No, it wasn’t.
did you write Yes, you did. / No, you didn’t. were you writing Yes, we were. / No, we weren’t.
did they write Yes, they did. / No, they didn’t. were they writing Yes, you were. / No, you
weren’t.
Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t.

PRESENT PERFECT PAST PERFECT

- / - already – just- ever – never – already – not yet – lately - recently - before – after
- since 2001 – for two weeks - I wish – If only - …
- today, this week

+ Affirmative - Negative + Affirmative - Negative

I have written I have not written I had written I had not written
you have written you have not written you had written you had not written
he has written he has not written he had written he had not written
she has written she has not written she had written she had not written
it has written it has not written it had written it had not written
we have written we have not written we had written we had not written
you have written you have not written you had written you had not written
they have written they have not written they had written they had not written
? Interrogative +/- Short answers ? Interrogative +/- Short answers
have I written Yes, I have. / No, I haven’t. had I written Yes, I had. / No, I hadn’t.
have you written Yes, you have. / No, you haven’t. had you written Yes, you had. / No, you hadn’t.
has he written Yes, he has. / No, he hasn’t. had he written Yes, he had. / No, he hadn’t.
has she written Yes, she has. / No, she hasn’t. had she written Yes, she had. / No, she hadn’t.
has it written Yes, it has. / No, it hasn’t. had it written Yes, it had. / No, it hadn’t.
have we written Yes, we have. / No, we haven’t. had we written Yes, we had. / No, we hadn’t.
have you written Yes, you have. / No, you haven’t. had you written Yes, you had. / No, you hadn’t.
have they written Yes, they have. / No, they had they written Yes, they had. / No, they hadn’t.
haven’t.