English Verb Tenses: A Comprehensive Summary
Will
We use will to talk about:
- Decisions at the time of speaking
- General Predictions
Affirmative: I / He / She / It / We .. will learn = (I / He / She / .. + will + infinitive)
Negative: I / He / She / It / We .. will not learn
Questions: Will I / He / She / It / We .. learn?
Going To
We use going to to talk about:
- Future intentions or plans when decisions are already made.
- Predictions when there is evidence that you can see now.
Affirmative:
- I am going to swim
- He / She / It is going to swim
- We / You / They are going to swim
Negative:
- I am not going to swim
- He / She / It is not going to swim
- We / You / They are not going to swim
Questions:
- Am I going to swim?
- Is He / She / It going to swim?
- Are We / You / They going to swim?
Future Continuous
We use future continuous:
- To speak of something in process at a specific time in the future.
Affirmative: I / He / She / It / We … will be listening = (I / He / She / It / We .. will be + verb + ing).
Negative: I / He / She / It / We … will not be listening.
Questions: Will I / He / She / It / We … be listening?
Future Perfect
We use future perfect:
- For talking about something that will be completed at a specific time in the future.
Affirmative: I / He / She / It / We … will have understood.
Negative: I / He / She / It / We … will not have understood.
Questions: Will I / He / She / It / We … have understood?
Present Simple
The present simple is used to talk about things that happen repeatedly. It is often used with the following adverbs of time: every day, usually, often, sometimes … (I eat every day at school.)
It is used to discuss long-term actions, or general scientific facts. (Elephants live in Africa and India.)
Present Perfect Continuous
Syntax: Subject + have / has + been (past participle of the verb to be) + infinitive verb + ing
We use this tense when we want to express the sense of continuous action that began in the past and still persists in the present or has just ended. We refer to something we’ve been doing over a period of time, for example: for two weeks, for two hours, for five minutes, since yesterday …
Present Continuous
The present continuous is used to talk about something that is happening at the moment in which we speak. (I’m writing a letter.) It is also used to talk about something happening at the moment but not necessarily when we talk. (I’m looking for a job at the moment.)
Present Perfect
Syntax: Subject + have / has + past participle of the verb
The present perfect is used to talk about something that started in the past and continues into the present. (I have been here for two hours.)
For means over. (My mother has been a teacher since 1955.) Since means since last night, yesterday. We use the present perfect to talk about experiences we’ve had in life. (Have you ever been in love?) We also use the present perfect to talk about a past action when we see the results in the present.
We use just, already and yet with the present perfect.
Past Simple
Structure: Subject + verb in past
It is used to talk of concrete action that began and ended in the past. We use it with expressions like last year, yesterday, last night … (Tomy stayed at home last night.)
We can also express a period talking about the past: for all day, for years, for thirty minutes … (Tomy talked with me for two hours.)
Past Continuous
Structure: Subject + was / were + verb + ing
Note: was / were is the past of the verb to be
We use it to talk of concrete action that began and ended in the past with the idea of a continuous duration. (I was driving along East street when I saw a fire.) (I was running when I met her.)
Past Perfect
Syntax: Subject + had + past participle of the verb
We use it to refer to an action or event in the past that happened before another action also in the past. (They could not believe what had happened.)
No matter which of the two actions is mentioned first, the past perfect makes it clear which was the previous action. (When I arrived my grandmother had already started cooking.)
Past Perfect Continuous
Syntax: Subject + had been + verb + ing
In the past perfect continuous, we use it to refer to an action or event in the past that happened before another action also in the past but with a sense of continuity. (We had been waiting for hours when the train finally arrived.)