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 I talk, …)
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 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	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 §  spontaneous decision §  assumption with regard to the future	In a year, next …, tomorrow If- (If you ask her, she will help you.) assumption: I think, probably, we might …, 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 is going 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 that might take place	If sentences type II (If I were you, I would go home.)
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 that might 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