verb tenses

This is a chart of all the English verb tenses with explanations, including basic form, making negatives (not), making questions and when to use each tense.
From:  http://www.myenglishpages.com
All of the links on this chart lead to myenglishpages.com

Simple Present

Affirmative She drinks.
Negative She does not drink.
Interrogative Does she drink?
Form I, you we they play | he, she, it plays
Uses
  • action in the present taking place once, never or several times
  • facts
  • actions taking place one after another
  • action set by a timetable or schedule

Present Progressive

Affirmative He is reading.
Negative He is not reading.
Interrogative Is he reading?
Form To be (in the simple present) + verb + ing
Uses
  • action taking place at the moment of speaking
  • action arranged for the future

Simple Past

Affirmative I cried.
Negative I did not cry
Interrogative Did I cry?
Form Regular verbs: Verb + ed | Irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by heart. This is a list of irregular verbs
Uses
  • action in the past taking place once, never or several times
  • actions taking place one after another

Past Progressive

Affirmative He was driving.
Negative He was not driving.
Interrogative Was he driving?
Form to be (in the simple past) + verb + ing
Uses
  • action going on at a certain time in the past
  • actions taking place at the same time
  • action in the past that is interrupted by another action

Present Perfect Simple

Affirmative They have slept.
Negative They have not slept.
Interrogative Have they slept?
Form Have / has + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed | Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by heart. This is a list of irregular verbs)
Uses
  • emphasis is on the result (not the duration)
  • action that started in the past & is still going on
  • action that stopped recently
  • finished action that has an influence on the present

Present Perfect Progressive

Affirmative He has been thinking.
Negative He has not been thinking.
Interrogative Has he been thinking?
Form have or has + been + verb + ing
Uses
  • putting emphasis on the course or duration (not the result)
  • action that recently stopped or is still going on
  • finished action that influenced the present

Past Perfect Simple

Affirmative She had won.
Negative She had not won.
Interrogative Had she won?
Form had + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed | Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by heart. This is a list of irregular verbs)
Uses
  • action taking place before a certain time in the past
  • sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive
  • putting emphasis only on the fact (not the duration)

Past Perfect Progressive

Affirmative He had been waiting.
Negative He had not been waiting.
Interrogative Had he been waiting?
Form had + been + verb + ing
Uses
  • action taking place before a certain time in the past
  • sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple
  • putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action

Future Simple

Affirmative You will win.
Negative You will not win.
Interrogative Will you win?
Form will + verb
Uses
  • action in the future that cannot be influenced
  • spontaneous decision
  • assumption with regard to the future

Near Future (going to)

Affirmative He is going to watch TV.
Negative He is not going to watch TV.
Interrogative Is he going to watch TV?
Form to be (in the simple present) + going + to + verb
Uses
  • decision made for the future
  • conclusion with regard to the future

Future  Progressive

Affirmative She will be listening to music.
Negative She will not be listening to music.
Interrogative Will she be listening to music?
Form will + be + verb + ing
Uses
  • action that is going on at a certain time in the future
  • action that is sure to happen in the near future

Future Perfect

Affirmative He will have spoken.
Negative He will not have spoken.
Interrogative Will he have spoken?
Form will + have + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed | Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by heart. This is a list of irregular verbs)
Uses
  • action that will be finished at a certain time in the future

Future Perfect Progressive

Affirmative You will have been studying.
Negative You will not have been studying.
Interrogative Will you have been studying?
Form will + have + been + verb + ing
Uses
  • action taking place before a certain time in the future
  • putting emphasis on the course of an action

Conditional Simple

Affirmative We would relax.
Negative We would not relax.
Interrogative Would we relax ?
Form would + verb
Uses
  • action that might take place

Conditional Progressive

Affirmative He would be writing.
Negative He would not be writing.
Interrogative Would he be writing?
Form would + be + verb + ing
Uses
  • action that might take place
  • putting emphasis on the course / duration of the action

Conditional Perfect

Affirmative He would have written.
Negative He would not have written.
Interrogative Would he have written?
Form would + have + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed | Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by heart This is a list of irregular verbs)
Uses
  • action that might have taken place in the past

Conditional Perfect Progressive

Affirmative She would have been sleeping.
Negative She would not have sleeping speaking.
Interrogative Would she have been sleeping?
Form would + have + been + verb + ing
Uses
  • action that might have taken place in the past
  • puts emphasis on the course / duration of the action

Examples of English tenses

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.