English tenses

englisch-hilfen.de – LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE Tense Signal words Use Form Examples Examples Examples every day affirmative negative interrogative Simple sometimes Present always • something happens repeatedly I work. I don't work. Do I work? often He works. He doesn't work. Does he work? Present usually • how often something happens I go. I don't go. Do I go? Progressive seldom He goes. He doesn't go. Does he go? never • one action follows another infinitive Simple first ... then • things in general Past now at the moment • with verbs like (to love, to he/she/it: Look! hate, to think, etc.) infinitive + s Listen! last ... • future meaning: timetables, ... ago in 1990 programmes yesterday • something is happening at the I'm working. I'm not working. Am I working? He's working. He isn't working. Is he working? same time of speaking or I'm going. I'm not going. Am I going? He's going. He isn't going. Is he going? around it I didn't work. Did I work? He didn't work. Did he work? • future meaning: when you be (am/are/is) + I didn't go. Did I go? He didn't go. Did he go? have already decided and infinitive + ing arranged to do it (a fixed plan, date) action took place in the past, regular: I worked. mostly connected with an infinitive + ed He worked. expression of time (no connection to the present) irregular: I went. (2nd column of table of irregular verbs) He went. englisch-hilfen.de – LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE

englisch-hilfen.de – LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE • an action happened in the I was working. I wasn't working. Was I working? He was working. middle of another action I was going. He was going. • someone was doing sth. at a He wasn't working. Was he working? Past certain time (in the past) - you was/were + Progressive while infinitive + ing don't know whether it was I wasn't going. Was I going? finished or not He wasn't going. Was he going? just yet never ever • you say that sth. has I have worked. I haven't worked. Have I worked? happened or is finished in the He has worked. He hasn’t worked. Has he worked? Simple already past and it has a connection to have/has + past I haven't gone. Have I gone? Present so far, participle* He hasn’t gone. Has he gone? Perfect the present *(infinitive + ed) or I have gone. • action started in the past and (3rd column of table He has gone. of irregular verbs) continues up to the present up to now, since for recently all day I have been I haven't been Have I been working. working. working? the whole day • action began in the past and He has been He hasn't been Has he been has just stopped working. working. working? Present Perfect how long have/has + been + Progressive • how long the action has been infinitive + ing happening since emphasis: length of time of an I have been going. I haven't been going. Have I been going? action He has been He hasn't been Has he been for going. going. going? englisch-hilfen.de – LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE

englisch-hilfen.de – LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE • mostly when two actions in a I had worked. I hadn't worked. Had I worked? already story are related to each had + past He hadn't worked. Had he worked? just Simple Past never other: the action which had participle* He had worked. I hadn't gone. Had I gone? Perfect already happened is put into He hadn't gone. Had he gone? Past Perfect, the other action *(infinitive + ed) or I had gone. I hadn't been Had I been into Simple Past (3rd column of table working. working? • the past of the Present Perfect of irregular verbs) He had gone. I had been working. Past Perfect how long how long something had been had + been + He had been He hadn't been Had he been Progressive since happening before something else infinitive + ing working. working. working? for happened I had been going. I hadn't been going. Had I been going? will - future • predictions about the future will + infinitive He had been He hadn't been Had he been (you think that sth will going. going. going? happen) I'll work. I won't work. Will I work? • you decide to do sth. He'll work. He won't work. Will he work? spontaneously at the time of speaking I'll go. I won't go. Will I go? • main clause in type I of the He'll go. He won't go. Will he go? Conditional sentences I'm going to I'm not going to Am I going to work. work. work? • when you have already He's going to work. going to - decided to do sth. in the future be (am/are/is) + He's not going to Is he going to future I'm going to go. work. work? • what you think what will going to + infinitive happen I'm not going to go. Am I going to go? He's going to go. He's not going to go. Is he going to go? englisch-hilfen.de – LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE

englisch-hilfen.de – LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE • An action will be in progress at I'll be working. I won't be working. Will I be working? a certain time in the future. Future This action has begun before will + be + infinitive He'll be working. He won't be working. Will he be working? Progressive the certain time. Future Perfect • Something happens because it + ing Simple I'll be going. I won't be going. Will I be going? normally happens. Future Perfect He'll be going. He won't be going. Will he be going? Progressive I won't have worked. Will I have worked? I'll have worked. Conditional sth. will already have happened will + have + past He won't have Will he have Simple before a certain time in the future participle* He'll have worked. worked? worked. *(infinitive + ed) or I won't have gone. Will I have gone? (3rd column of table I'll have gone. of irregular verbs) He'll have gone. He won't have gone. Will he have gone? I'll have been I won't have been Will I have been working. working. working? sth. will already have happened He'll have been He won't have been Will he have been before a certain time in the future working. working. working? emphasis: length of time of an will + have + been + action infinitive + ing I'll have been I won't have been Will I have been going. going? going. He'll have been He won't have been Will he have been going. going. going? I would work. I wouldn't work. Would I work? He would work. • sth. that might happen He wouldn't work. Would he work? • main clause in type II of the I would go. would + infinitive Conditional sentences I wouldn't go. Would I work? He would go. He wouldn't go. Would he work? englisch-hilfen.de – LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE

englisch-hilfen.de – LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE I would be I wouldn't be Would I be working. working. working? Conditional sth. that might happen would + be + He would be He wouldn't be Would he be Progressive infinitive + ing working. working. working? emphasis: length of time of an Conditional action I would be going. I wouldn't be going. Would I be going? Perfect He would be He wouldn't be Would he be Conditional going. going. going? Perfect Progressive I would have I wouldn't have Would I have worked. worked. worked? • sth. that might have happened would + have + past He would have He wouldn't have Would he have in the past participle* worked. worked. worked? • main clause in type III of the *(infinitive + ed) or I would have I wouldn't have Would I have Conditional sentences (3rd column of table gone. gone. gone? of irregular verbs) He would have He wouldn't have Would he have gone. gone. gone? I would have been I wouldn't have been Would I have been working. working. working? sth. that might have happened in He would have He wouldn't have Would he the past been working. have been working? been working. emphasis: length of time of an would + have + been action + infinitive + ing I would have been I wouldn't have been Would I have been going. going. going? He would have He wouldn't have Would he been going. been going. have been going? We sometimes use Continuous instead of Progressive. Some signal words can be found in more tenses. We did not list signal words in the future. Always remember what action is described. Used colours: blue → infinitive grey → irregular verbs in the Simple Past red → negation dark green → auxiliary purple → past participle orange → ending light green → signal word englisch-hilfen.de – LEARNING ENGLISH ONLINE