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