Table of English Tenses with example
Table of English
Tenses
tense
|
Affirmative/Negative/Question
|
Use
|
Signal Words
|
Simple Present
|
A: He
speaks.
N: He does not speak. Q: Does he speak? |
·
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
|
always, every …,
never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually
if sentences type I (If Italk, …) |
Present Progressive
|
A: He is speaking.
N: He is not speaking. Q: Is he speaking? |
·
action taking place in the
moment of speaking
·
action taking place only for a limited
period of time
·
action arranged for the future
|
at the moment, just, just
now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now
|
Simple Past
|
A: He spoke.
N: He did not speak. Q: Did he speak? |
·
action in the past taking place once, never or
several times
·
actions taking place one after another
·
action taking place in the middle of
another action
|
yesterday, 2 minutes ago,
in 1990, the other day, last Friday
if sentence type II (If I talked, …) |
Past Progressive
|
A: He was speaking.
N: He was not speaking. Q: Was he speaking? |
·
action going onat a
certain time in the past
·
actions taking place at the same time
·
action in the past that is interrupted
by another action
|
when, while, as long as
|
Present Perfect Simple
|
A: He has spoken.
N: He has not spoken. Q: Has he spoken? |
·
putting emphasis on the result
·
action that is still going on
·
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
|
already, ever, just,
never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now
|
Present Perfect Progressive
|
A: He has been speaking.
N: He has not been speaking. Q: Has he been speaking? |
·
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
|
all day, for 4 years,
since 1993, how long?, the whole week
|
Past Perfect Simple
|
A: He had spoken.
N: He had not spoken. Q: Had he spoken? |
·
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)
|
already, just, never, not
yet, once, until that day
if sentence type III (If I had talked, …) |
Past Perfect Progressive
|
A: He had been speaking.
N: He had not been speaking. Q: Had he been speaking? |
·
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
|
for, since, the whole day,
all day
|
Future I Simple
|
A: He will speak.
N: He will not speak. Q: Will he speak? |
·
action in the future that cannot be
influenced
·
spontaneousdecision
·
assumption with regard to the future
|
in a year, next …,
tomorrow
If-Satz Typ I (If you ask her, she will helpyou.) assumption: I think, probably, perhaps |
Future I Simple
(going to)
|
A: He is going to speak.
N: He is not going to speak. Q: Is he going to speak? |
·
decision made for the future
·
conclusion with regard to the future
|
in one year, next week,
tomorrow
|
Future I Progressive
|
A: He will be speaking.
N: He will not be speaking. Q: Will he be speaking? |
·
action that isgoing
on at a certain time in
the future
·
action that is sure to happen in the
near future
|
in one year, next week,
tomorrow
|
Future II Simple
|
A: He will have spoken.
N: He will not have spoken. Q: Will he have spoken? |
·
action that will be finished at a certain time in the future
|
by Monday, in a week
|
Future II Progressive
|
A: He will have been speaking.
N: He will not have been speaking. Q: Will he have been speaking? |
·
action taking place before a certain
time in the future
·
putting emphasis on the course of an action
|
for …, the last
couple of hours, all day long
|
Conditional I Simple
|
A: He would speak.
N: He would not speak. Q: Would he speak? |
·
action thatmight take place
|
if sentences type II
(If I were you, Iwould gohome.) |
Conditional I Progressive
|
A: He would be speaking.
N: He would not be speaking. Q: Would he be speaking? |
·
action that might take place
·
putting emphasis on the course /duration of the action
|
|
Conditional II Simple
|
A: He would have spoken.
N: He would not have spoken. Q: Would he have spoken? |
·
action thatmight have taken place in the past
|
if sentences type III
(If I had seen that, I would have helped.) |
Conditional II Progressive
|
A: He would have been speaking.
N: He would not have been speaking. Q: Would he have been speaking? |
·
action that might have taken place in
the past
·
puts emphasis on the course /duration of the action
|
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