Table of English Tenses

tense
Affirmative/Negative/
Question
Use
SignalWord
s
Simple
Present
A: He speaks.
N: He doesnotspeak.
Q: Does he speak?
action in thepresenttaking
place once, neverorseveral times
facts
actionstaking place oneafteranother
action set by a timetableorschedule

always,
every ,
never,
normally,
often,
seldom,
sometimes,
usually
ifsentencesty
pe I
(IfItalk, )

PresentProgre
ssive

A: He isspeaking.
N: He isnotspeaking.
Q: Is he speaking?
actiontaking place in themoment of
speaking
actiontaking place onlyfor a
limitedperiod of time
actionarrangedforthefuture


at
themoment,
just, justnow,
Listen!,
Look!, now,
rightnow

Simple Past

A: He spoke.
N: He didnotspeak.
Q: Did he speak?
action in thepasttaking place once,
neverorseveral times
actionstaking place oneafteranother
actiontaking place in themiddle of
anotheraction


yesterday, 2
minutes ago,
in 1990,
theotherday,
last Friday
ifsentencetyp
e II
(IfItalked, )

PastProgressi
ve

A: He wasspeaking.
N: He wasnotspeaking.
Q: Was he speaking?
action goingon at a certain time in
thepast
actionstaking place at thesame time
action in
thepastthatisinterruptedbyanotheracti
on






when, while,
as long as

PresentPerfec
t Simple

A: He has spoken.
N: He has notspoken.
Q: Has he spoken?
puttingemphasisonthe result
actionthatisstillgoingon
actionthatstoppedrecently
finishedactionthat has
aninfluenceonthepresent
actionthat has taken place once,
neverorseveral times
beforethemoment of speaking


already,
ever, just,
never,
notyet, so
far, tillnow,
up tonow

PastPerfect
Simple

A: He hadspoken.
N: He hadnotspoken.
Q: Had he spoken?
actiontaking place before a certain
time in thepast
sometimesinterchangeablewithpastpe
rfectprogressive
puttingemphasisonlyonthe fact (notth
eduration)


already, just,
never,
notyet, once,
untilthatday
ifsentencetyp
e III (If
I hadtalked,
)

Future I
Simple

A: He willspeak.
N: He willnotspeak.
Q: Will he speak?
action in thefuturethatcannot be
influenced
spontaneous decision
assumptionwithregardtothefuture

in a year,
next ,
tomorrow
If-SatzTyp I
(Ifyouaskher,
she willhelp
you.)
assumption: I
think,
probably,
perhaps



Future I
Simple
(goingto)

A: He isgoingtospeak.
N: He
isnotgoingtospeak.
Q: Is he goingtospeak?
decision madeforthefuture
conclusionwithregardtothefuture


in oneyear,
nextweek,
tomorrow