verb tenses in english past present future past simple present simple future simple i studied english i study english i will study english past perfect present perfect future perfect i had studied english i have studied english i will have studied english past continuous present continuous future continuous i was studying english i am studying english i will be studying english past perfect continuous present perfect continuous future perfect continuous i had been studying english i have been studying english i will have been studying english present simple tense form affirmative to be subject plus am is or are he
is a doctor verbs subject plus verb i like tea negative subject plus m is or are plus not he is not a doctor subject plus don't or doesn't plus verb i don't like t interrogative am is or are plus subject is he a doctor do or does plus subject plus verb do you like tea usage example general truth the sun rises in the east habits i play badminton every tuesday future timetables our train leaves at 9 00 a.m future after when or until i won't go out until it stops raining permanent situations he works in
a bank for newspaper headlines man enters space with non-progressive i believe that you are innocent when telling stories suddenly the window opens and a masked man enters for giving directions and instructions first of all you break the eggs and whisk with sugar time expressions this evening at 11 a.m when until as soon as twice a month every tuesday sometimes present continuous tense form affirmative subject plus am is or are plus verb ing she is cooking negative subject plus am is or are plus not plus verb ing she is not cooking interrogative am is or are
plus subject plus verb in is she cooking usage example time expressions action happening now jim is watching television at the moment now at the moment currently temporary situations i am staying with a friend for a few days at the moment these days for a few days annoying habits that child is always crying for no good reason always forever constantly changing situations her health is improving by leaps and bounds little by little gradually definite future plans i am taking my french class on tuesday tonight later this weekend present perfect tense form affirmative subject plus have or
has plus principle i have tried sushi before negative subject plus have or has plus not plus past participle i have not tried sushi before interrogative have or has plus subject plus past participle have you tried sushi before things you have done in your life i have been to england number of times you have done something i have been to paris three times recently completed actions which are important now i have already lost situations that started in the past and are still true i have known james for four or five years john has just missed the
bus since 2004 adverb just already yet for since never ever present perfect continuous tense form affirmative subject plus have or has plus been plus present participle they have been learning english for two years negative subject plus have or has plus not plus been plus present participle they have not been learning english for years interrogative have or has plus subject plus been plus present participle have they been learning english for years usage long actions that started in the past and continue until now i have been living in ireland for almost four years recent actions that have
clear evidence or results now her eyes are red because she has been crying all evening typically used for shorter more temporary situations past simple tense form affirmative to be subject plus was or were he was there verbs subject plus v2 i bought two tickets yesterday negative subject plus was or were plus not he was not there subject plus did not plus v i did not buy any ticket yesterday interrogative was or were plus subject was he there did plus subject plus verb did you buy any ticket yesterday usage example completed action in the past i
saw a ghost last friday a series of completed actions in the past i finished work walked to the beach and found a nice place to swim habits in the past when i was young i watched lots of television after school every day with non-progressive he had a small cottage in the woods action in the past stories she sat down and ordered a coffee time expressions yesterday ago last month last week last year in 2003 past continuous tense form affirmative subject plus was or were plus verb and ing she was cooking all morning negative subject plus
was or were plus not plus verb and ing she was not sleeping when he came home interrogative was or were plus subject plus verb and ing was she sleeping when he came home usage example interrupted action in the past they were waiting for the train when i spoke to them parallel actions i was studying when my mother was watching tv story background while i was driving to work yesterday past habit i was always cooking when i got home from school specific time as an interruption last night at 6 pm i was eating dinner emphasis of
length of action i was working in the garden all day arrangement in the past i was upset because i was leaving there that morning a series of parallel actions when i came to school the school bell was ringing many students were running toward the garden teachers were going out from classrooms time expressions when while constantly at that time in those days all morning for hours always past perfect tense form affirmative subject plus had plus past participle he had finished the test when the bell rang negative subject plus had plus not plus past participle he had
not finished the test when the bell rang interrogative had plus subject plus past participle had he finished the test when the bell rang usage example action finished before another past action john had gone out when his wife arrived in the office action that happened before a specific time in the past julia had never been to an opera before last night action started in the past and continued up to a given time in the past we had owned that car for 10 years before it broke down cause and effect combine with past simple i got stuck
in traffic because there had been an accident emphasize the result of an activity in the past i had been to london twice by the time i got a job in new york time expressions already yet for since just after before until past perfect continuous tense form affirmative subject plus had plus ben plus verb ing they had been playing tennis negative subject plus had plus not plus ben plus verb ing they had not been playing tennis interrogative had plus subject plus ben plus verb ing had they been playing tennis usage express a past action that already
started and continued up to another action or time in the past the boys had been playing soccer for about an hour when it started to rain emphasize the duration of an activity in the past richard needed a holiday because he had been working hard for six months express the cause of something in the past he was tired because he had been jogging time expressions when before by the time for since future simple tense form affirmative subject plus will or shall plus verb i will go to thailand negative subject plus will or shall plus not plus
verb i will not go to thailand interrogative will or shall plus subject plus verb will you go to thailand usage example for actions decided at the moment of speech i have a toothache i will take medicine for unplanned future actions winter will come soon with conditional time and purpose clauses when i arrive at home i will call you for unpreventable actions in future summer will come soon for offering ordering threatening i am afraid we will get wet for thoughts predictions sureness fears about the future i promise i will not tell anyone your secret time expressions
tomorrow soon later next week in two weeks or a month next year later the day after tomorrow future continuous tense form affirmative subject plus will plus b plus verb ing i will be singing in the concert tomorrow negative plus will plus not plus b plus verb ing i will not be singing in the concert tomorrow interrogative will plus subject plus b plus verb ing will you be singing in the concert tomorrow usage example interrupted actions in the future when you come tomorrow they will be playing tennis actions in progress at a specific time in the
future at 12 o'clock tomorrow we will be having lunch at school parallel actions or series of parallel actions in the future he will be watching tv and she will be cooking dinner to ask a question politely about the future will you be bringing your friend to the party tonight emphasis on future plans and intentions he will be coming to visit us next week atmosphere in the future when i arrive at the party everybody will be celebrating will be dancing others will be talking refer to actions that are happening now and expected to continue sometime in
the future combined with still unfortunately sea levels will still be rising in 20 years time expressions next week at 5 pm tomorrow next time next week in the future at this time next friday next year at this time tomorrow [Music] you
