Common Tenses

 

Tense

Signal words

Use

Form

Examples

Simple Present

·         every day

·         sometimes

·         always

·         often

·         usually

·         seldom

·         never

·         first ... then

·         something happens repeatedly

·         how often something happens

·         sequence of actions

·         things in general

·         after the following verbs (to love, to hate, to think, etc.)

·         future meaning: timetables, programmes

infinitive (he/she/it) + -s

·         I work

·         he works

·         I go

·         he goes

Present Progressive

·         now

·         at the moment

·         Look!

·         Listen!

·         something is happening at the same time of speaking or around it

·         future meaning: when you have already decided and arranged to do it (a fixed plan, date)

to be (am/are/is) + infinitive + -ing

·         I'm working

·          he's working

·          I'm going

·         he's going

Simple Past

·         last ...

·         ... ago

·         in 1990

·         yesterday

action took place in the past, mostly connected with an expression of time (no connection to the present)

·         regular: Infinitiv + -ed

·         irregular: 2nd column

·         I worked

·         he worked

·         I went

·         he went

Past Progressive

 

·         an action happened in the middle of another action

·         someone was doing sth. at a certain time (in the past) – you don't know whether it was finished or not

was/were + infinitive + -ing

·         I was working

·         he was working

·         I was going

·         he was going

Simple Present Perfect

·         yet

·         never

·         ever

·         already

·         so far,

·         up to now,

·         since, for, recently

·         you say that sth. has happened or is finished in the past and it has a connection to the present

·         action started in the past and continues up to the present

have/has + past participle (infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column)

·         I've worked

·         he's worked

·         I've gone

·         he's gone

Present Perfect Progressive

 

·         emphasis: length of time of an action

·         action began in the past and has just stopped

·         how long the action has been happening

have/has + been + infinitive + -ing

·         I've been working

·         he's been working

·         I've been going

·         he's been going

Simple Past Perfect

 

·         mostly when two actions in a story are related to each other: the action which had already happened is put into Past Perfect, the other action into Simple Past

·         the past of the Present Perfect

had + past participle (infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column)

·         I had worked

·         he had worked

·         I had gone

·         he had gone

will-future

 

·         predictions about the future (you think that sth. will happen)

·         you decide to do sth. spontaneously at the time of speaking, you haven't made a decision before

·         main clause in if clause type I

will + infinitive

·         I'll work

·         he'll work

·         I'll go

·         he'll go

going to-future

 

·         when you have already decided to do sth. in the future

·         what you think what will happen

to be (am/are/is) + going to + infinitive

·         I'm going to work

·         he's going to work

·         I'm going to go

·         he's going to go