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MAIN ENGLISH TENSES

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 Presentation:

Past Tenses

  • Past Simple: She visited Paris last summer.
  • Past Continuous: He was reading a book when I called.
  • Past Perfect: By the time she arrived, I had already left.

Present Tenses

  • Simple Present: They play football every weekend.
  • Present Continuous: I am writing an email right now.
  • Present Perfect: We have seen that movie before.

Future Tenses

  • Will-Future: I will call you later.
  • Be Going To: She is going to study abroad next year.
  • Present Continuous (Future Meaning): We are meeting our friends on Friday.

 

 

 

 

Tense formation

 

Past Tense formation

1. Past Simple formation

  • Affirmative: I, you...person, etc.. + verb (-ed for regular verbs) / irregular past form
    • She played football yesterday.
  • Negative: I, you...person, etc.. + did not (didn't) + base verb
    • She didn't play football yesterday.
  • Question: Did + I, you...person, etc.. + base verb?
    • Did she play football yesterday?

2. Past Continuous formation

  • Affirmative: I, you...person, etc.. + was/were + verb (-ing)
    • I was watching TV.
  • Negative: I, you...person, etc.. + was/were not + verb (-ing)
    • I wasn't watching TV.
  • Question: Was/Were + I, you...person, etc.. + verb (-ing)?
    • Was she watching TV?

3. Past Perfect formation

  • Affirmative: I, you...person, etc.. + had + past participle
    • They had finished the work before noon.
  • Negative: I, you...person, etc.. + had not (hadn't) + past participle
    • They hadn't finished the work before noon.
  • Question: Had + I, you...person, etc.. + past participle?
    • Had they finished the work before noon?

 

Present Tenses

4. Simple Present formation

  • Affirmative: I, you...person, etc.. + base verb (+s for third-person singular)
    • She eats vegetables daily.
  • Negative: I, you...person, etc.. + do/does not + base verb
    • She doesn't eat vegetables daily.
  • Question: Do/Does + I, you...person, etc.. + base verb?
    • Does she eat vegetables daily?

5. Present Continuous formation

  • Affirmative: I, you...person, etc.. + am/is/are + verb (-ing)
    • We are studying now.
  • Negative: I, you...person, etc.. + am/is/are not + verb (-ing)
    • We aren't studying now.
  • Question: Am/Is/Are + I, you...person, etc.. + verb (-ing)?
    • Are we studying now?

6. Present Perfect formation

  • Affirmative: I, you...person, etc.. + have/has + past participle
    • I have visited Italy before.
  • Negative: I, you...person, etc.. + have/has not + past participle
    • I haven't visited Italy before.
  • Question: Have/Has + I, you...person, etc.. + past participle?
    • Have you visited Italy before?


Future Tenses

7. Will-Future formation

  • Affirmative: I, you...person, etc.. + will + base verb
    • I will call you tomorrow.
  • Negative: I, you...person, etc.. + will not (won't) + base verb
    • I won't call you tomorrow.
  • Question: Will + I, you...person, etc.. + base verb?
    • Will you call me tomorrow?

8. Be Going To formation

  • Affirmative: I, you...person, etc.. + am/is/are + going to + base verb
    • She is going to travel next year.
  • Negative: I, you...person, etc.. + am/is/are not + going to + base verb
    • She isn't going to travel next year.
  • Question: Am/Is/Are + I, you...person, etc.. + going to + base verb?
    • Is she going to travel next year?

9. Present Continuous (Future Meaning) formation

  • Affirmative: I, you...person, etc.. + am/is/are + verb (-ing)
    • We are meeting our friends on Saturday.
  • Negative: I, you...person, etc.. + am/is/are not + verb (-ing)
    • We aren't meeting our friends on Saturday.
  • Question: Am/Is/Are + I, you...person, etc.. + verb (-ing)?
    • Are we meeting our friends on Saturday?

 

Spelling rules

Past Tenses

Past Simple & Past Participle (Regular Verbs)

  • Most verbs: Add -ed
    • Example: play → played, watch → watched
  • Verbs ending in -e: Add -d
    • Example: live → lived, love → loved
  • Verbs ending in -y:
    • If preceded by a consonant, change -y to -i and add -ed
      • cry → cried, study → studied
    • If preceded by a vowel, just add -ed
      • play → played, stay → stayed
  • Short verbs ending in consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC): Double the final consonant before adding -ed (except if ending in w, x, y)
    • stop → stopped, plan → planned
  • Irregular verbs: No consistent rule—each must be memorized (go → went, take → took, eat → ate, see → saw)

Past Continuous & Past Perfect

  • The auxiliary verbs changes into was/were (past continuous) and had (past perfect).
    • I was running. (continuous)
    • She had seen the film before. (perfect)


Present Tenses

Simple Present (Third-Person Singular)

  • Most verbs: Add -s
    • Example: walk → walks, read → reads
  • Verbs ending in -o, -ch, -sh, -ss, -x: Add -es
    • Example: go → goes, watch → watches, mix → mixes
  • Verbs ending in -y:
    • If preceded by a consonant, change -y to -i and add -es
      • study → studies, carry → carries
    • If preceded by a vowel, just add -s
      • play → plays, buy → buys

Present Continuous & Present Perfect

  • The auxiliary verbs am/is/are (continuous) and have/has (perfect) properly conjugated.
    • She is dancing. (continuous)
    • I have traveled to Spain. (perfect)

Future Tenses

Will-Future

  • No spelling changes! Simply use "will" before the base verb.
    • She will visit tomorrow.

Be Going To

  • Again, no spelling rules—just conjugate "be" (am/is/are) correctly.
    • They are going to buy a new car.

Present Continuous (Future Meaning)

  • Uses the same spelling rules as present continuous, but refers to a future event.
    • I am meeting her tomorrow.

 

Usage

Past Tenses

1. Past Simple

🔹 Usage: Completed actions at a specific time in the past 🔹 Situations:

  • Talking about past events (I visited Paris last summer.)
  • Narrating historical events (World War II ended in 1945.)
  • Listing past actions (I woke up, ate breakfast, and left.)

2. Past Continuous

🔹 Usage: Actions in progress at a specific past time 🔹 Situations:

  • Interrupted actions (I was reading when the phone rang.)
  • Setting a scene (The sun was shining, and birds were singing.)
  • Two simultaneous past actions (He was cooking while I was setting the table.)

3. Past Perfect

🔹 Usage: Actions completed before another past action 🔹 Situations:

  • Talking about past experiences (I had never seen a lion before I visited the zoo.)
  • Showing cause and effect (She was tired because she had worked all day.)
  • Events in storytelling (By the time they arrived, the show had already started.)

 

Present Tenses

4. Simple Present

🔹 Usage: Habits, facts, schedules 🔹 Situations:

  • General truths (Water boils at 100°C.)
  • Daily routines (She wakes up at 7 AM.)
  • Fixed schedules (The bus arrives at 6 PM.)

5. Present Continuous

🔹 Usage: Actions happening now or temporary situations 🔹 Situations:

  • Ongoing actions (She is writing an email.)
  • Temporary activities (I am staying in London this week.)
  • Future plans (I am meeting my friends tomorrow.)

6. Present Perfect

🔹 Usage: Experiences, changes, results in present 🔹 Situations:

  • Life experiences (I have traveled to Japan.)
  • Recent past events (She has just, already, ... finished her homework.)
  • Actions affecting now (I have lost my keys!)

Future Tenses

7. Will-Future

🔹 Usage: Predictions, spontaneous decisions, promises 🔹 Situations:

  • Making predictions (It will rain tomorrow.)
  • Spontaneous actions (I will answer the phone.)
  • Promises and offers (I will help you with the project.)

8. Be Going To

🔹 Usage: Future intentions and plans 🔹 Situations:

  • Planned future actions (She is going- has the intention of- to study medicine.)
  • Evidence-based predictions (Look at those clouds! It’s going to rain.)

9. Present Continuous (Future Meaning)

🔹 Usage: Definite - certain- arrangements in the near future 🔹 Situations:

  • Scheduled events (We are flying to Rome next week.)
  • Pre-arranged plans (I am meeting my boss at 10 AM.)

 

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