ACTIVE

Simple Continuous Perfect Perfect Continuous

VOICE
If there is no action in a I + AM Ving I / we / they / you + HAVE
I / we / they / you +
sentence: he / she / it + IS Ving BEEN Ving
HAVE V3
I + AM we / you / they + he / she / it + HAS BEEN
he / she/ it + HAS V3
he / she / it + IS ARE Ving Ving
we / you / they + ARE 1) actions, taking Connected to the past and present. That is they describe
place now; temporary actions which started in the past and continues up to the
If there is an action in a
actions (that are going present or which were completed in the past but those
sentence:
on around now, but not results affect the present
I / we / they / you + V
at the actual moment 1) action started in the 1) to put emphasis on the
he / she / it + Vs of speaking); past and continues up to duration of an action which
1) permanent states, Helen is working the present, esp. with started in the past and contin-
facts, habits, repeated hard these days. HAVE, LIKE, KNOW, BE. ues up to the present, esp.
actions and daily routines; We use for and since; with FOR, SINCE, ALL MORN-
2) with ALWAYS (to
He works at a hotel. I haven’t seen you for ING..;
express irritation);
2) general truths and ages! She has been picking ap-
You are always for-
laws of nature; 2) recently finished ac- ples for two hours.
getting to pay the bills
The Sun goes round the 3) arranged actions tion, whose result is visible 2) action which started and
Earth. in the near future; in the present; finished in the past and lasted
She has picked a lot of for some time. The result is
3) timetables (trains, I’m seeing my friend
apples. visible in the present;
planes..) and programmes; tomorrow.
3) action, which hap- He is dirty. He has been
The plane takes off at 4) changing and de-
pened at an unstated time playing football.
7:30. veloping situations
(more and more for- in the past. The exact time 3) to express anger, annoy-
4) sports commentaries,
is not important, so it’s not ance or irritation
revives and narration; ests are disappearing
mentioned. Emphasis is Who has been reading my
Sheva kicks the ball and ..).
Present passes it. placed on the action; business papers?
More and more for-
He has broken his leg.
5) likes and dislikes. ests are disappearing
because of fires. 4) action, happened
I like watching TV. within a specific time peri-
5) NOT used for
6) give factual infor- od, which is not over at the
making predictions;
mation about permanent moment of speaking (TO-
activities; NOW, AT THE MO- DAY, THIS MORNING..).
MENT, THESE DAYS,
7) the facts that will not She has received three
AT PRESENT, TO-
change; NIGHT, NOWADAYS, tatters this morning.
8) Newspaper headlines. STILL, CURRENTLY 5) talk about past events
Used with: that have an impact in the
Not used with:
present
Believe, belong, depend, VERBS OF EMO-
know, like, love, mean, TION: appreciate, like, 6) talk about life experi-
own, remember, under- hate; ence
stand, want VERBS OF I have been to Paris.
A WEEK / MONTH / THOUGHT: believe, ALREADY, YET, JUST,
YEAR, ALWAYS, USU- forget, know, mean, ALWAYS, EVER, NEVER,
ALLY, SELDOM, SOME- think, realize, recog- SO FAR, OVER THE
TIMES, NEVER, OFTEN, nize, understand; LAST FEW DAYS, RE-
EVERY DAY.., ON MON- VERBS OF SENS- CENTLY, LATELY, IN
DAYS.., IN THE MORN- ES: appear, feel, hear, THE LAST, TODAY, THIS
ING.., AT NIGHT.. WEEK / MONTH /
see, smell, taste;
YEAR…
VERBS OF OWN-
ERSHIP: have, need, HOW LONG, FOR, SINCE, LATELY / RECENTLY
own, want
Verbs: FEEL, LIVE, WORK, TEACH.

V2 – past form of a main verb; V3 – past participle form of a main verb; Pl – plural; Sing- singular
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PRE- Perfect
Simple Continuous Perfect
SENT continuous

I am = ‘m I am looking
He/She/It is = ‘s He/She/It has looked He/She/It has been
Affirmative

We/You/They are=’re He/She/It is look- (V3) looking

ing
+

I look I/We/You/They have I/We/You/They have

He/She/It lookS We/You/They are looked (V3) been looking
We/You/They look looking

Am I ? Am I looking?
Interrogative

Is he/she/it ? Has he/she/it looked Has he/she/it been

Are we/you/they ? Is he/she/it look- (V3)? looking?
ing?
?

Do I look ? Have I/we/you/they Have I/we/you/they

DoES he/she/it look? Are we/you/they looked (V3)? been looking?
Do we/you/they look? looking?
I am NOT = ‘m NOT
He/She/It is NOT =
isn’t I am NOT looking
He/She/It has NOT He/She/It has NOT
We/You/They are
looked (V3) been looking
Negative

NOT = aren’t He/She/It is NOT

looking
-

I do NOT look = don’t

He/She/It have NOT I/We/You/They have
He/She/It doES NOT We/You/They are
looked (V3) NOT been looking
= doESn’t NOT looking
We/You/They do NOT
=don’t

V2 – past form of a main verb; V3 – past participle form of a main verb; Pl – plural; Sing- singular
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ACTIVE
Simple Continuous Perfect Perfect Continuous
VOICE

Subject (sing/pl) + V2 I / He / She / It / You Subject (sing/pl) Subject (sing/pl) + HAD

(sing) + WAS Ving + HAD V3 BEEN Ving
1) action which hap-
pened at a definite time We / You (pl) / They+ 1) action which 1) to put emphasis
in the past; WERE Ving happened before on the duration of an
another past ac- action which started
They spent their holi- 1) action which was in tion or before a and finished in the
days in Ukraine last win- progress at a stated time stated time in the
past before another
ter. in the past. We do not
past; past action or a sated
mention when the action
2) action which hap- started or finished; They had al- time in the past
pened immediately one ready reserved They had been
after the other in the They were sitting at the table when skating together for
past; the café yesterday at 3
they went to the five years before they
p.m.
First he read the mes- restaurant. entered competition.
sage than he called his 2) action which was in 2) action which 2) action which last-
boss. progress when another
finished in the ed for some time in
action interrupted it.
3) past habits or states (Past Cont. – for the ac- past and whose the past and whose
which are now finished tion in progress / longer result was visible result is visible in the
with USED TO; in the past; past;
action, Past simple – for
I used to smoke. the action which inter-Bill had injured She had been work-
Past his legs in a car ing hard that day s
rupted it / shorter one;
4) to talk about the
accident, so he she was tired.
lives of people who are He was walking when
had to use
no longer alive. he slipped on a banana FOR, SINCE, HOW
wheelchair for six
skin. LONG, BEFORE,
Monroe was an ac- month.
UNTIL.
tress. 3) 2 or more simulta-
BEFORE, AF-
neous past actions;
5) completed action TER, ALREADY,
which finished in the They were talking FOR, SINCE,
past. It can be short, while the meat was JUST, TILL /
lond, repeated cooking. UNTILL, WHEN,
He was a basketball 4) describe the atmos- BY, BY THE
player for ten years. phere, the setting,.. in TIME, NEVER...
introduction to a story
YESTERDAY, LAST
before we describe the
NIGHT.., TWO DAYS..
main events.
AGO, THEN, WHEN,
HOW LONG AGO..?, IN 5) refer to situations
1992.., BEFORE, AF- that were changing over
TER. time in the past
WHEN, WHILE, AS,
AII DAY…

The decision to use the Past Simple or Present perfect depends on how we see the event. If
we see it as related to the present, we use the Present Perfect. If we see it as completed and in the
past, we use the Past Simple.

V2 – past form of a main verb; V3 – past participle form of a main verb; Pl – plural; Sing- singular
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 Perfect
PAST Simple Continuous Perfect
continuous
I/He/She/It was I/He/She/It was He/She/It had He/She/It had been
Affirmative

We/You/They were looking looked (V3) looking

+

I/He/She/It looked (V2) We/You/They I/We/You/They had I/We/You/They had

We/You/They looked (V2) were looking looked (V3) been looking

Was I/he/she/it ?
Interrogative

Was I/he/she/it Had he/she/it Had he/she/it been

Were we/you/they ? looking? looked (V3)? looking?
?

Did I/he/she/it look? Were we/you/they Had I/we/you/they Had I/we/you/they

Did we/you/they look? looking? looked (V3)? been looking?

I/He/She/It was NOT =

wasn’t
We/You/They were NOT = I/He/She/It was I/He/She/It had I/He/She/It had
Negative

weren’t NOT looking NOT looked (V3) NOT been looking

-

I/He/She/It did NOT We/You/They We/You/They had We/You/They had

look= didn’t were NOT looking NOT looked (V3) NOT been looking
We/You/They did NOT
look = didn’t

V2 – past form of a main verb; V3 – past participle form of a main verb; Pl – plural; Sing- singular
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 ACTIVE Perfect Con-
Simple Continuous Perfect Be going to
VOICE tinuous

Subject (sing/pl) + Subject Subject Subject 1) plans/ inten-

WILL + V (sing/pl) + WILL (sing/pl) + (sing/pl) + tions or ambitions
BE Ving WILL HAVE WILL HAVE we have for the
1) in predictions
V3 BEEN Ving future;
about the future, usual- 1) action which
ly with the verbs will be in a pro- 1) action 1) to empha- I’m going to
THINK, BELIEVE, EX- gress at a stated which will be size the duration expand my com-
PECT, the expressions future time; finished be- of an action up pany.
BE SURE, BE fore a stated to a certain time
This time this 2) in predictions
AFRAID.., and the ad- future time; in the future
week I will be when there is
verbs PERHAPS,
skiing in Austria. They will By the time he evidence that
CERTAINLY, PROBA-
have fin- retires, he will something will
BLY… 2) action which
ished their have been happen in the
will be definitely
His parents think that meeting by 4 working for the near future
happen in the
he will become an p.m. this same company
future as the He is going to
artist. afternoon. for thirty years.
result of a routine win this race.
2) for on-the-spot de- or arrangement; BY, BY
cisions and offers; THE TIME, Present Con-
Shell I inform BY … FOR tinuous
BEFORE,
Since it’s your birth- the rest of the
UNTIL, BY 1)for fixed ar-
day I will pay for lunch. team? No, I’ll do
THEN… rangements in the
it. I’ll be seeing
3) actions/ events/ near future
them at the
situations which will
morning anyway. He is leaving
definitely happen in the
Future forms for an Amsterdam
future and which we 3) when we ask
cannot control; politely about in an hour.
someone’s plans Present Simple
Jill will be two years
for the near fu-
old next month. 1) Is used with a
ture.
4) promises (usually future meaning
Will you be go- when we refer to
with the verbs PROM-
ing out later? programmes or
ISE, SWEAR, GUAR-
ANTEE..) for threats/ timetables.
warnings/ requests/ The film starts
hopes (usually with I in 10 min.
hope)
TOMORROW,
I hope population THE DAY AFTER
levels will drop soon. TOMORROW,
TOMORROW, THE NEXT WEEK..,
DAY AFTER TOMOR- SOON, IN A
ROW, NEXT WEEK.., WEEK…
SOON, IN A WEEK…
NOT USED: while,
before, until, as soon
as, after, if, by the time,
as => Pres. Simple /
Pres. Pref

V2 – past form of a main verb; V3 – past participle form of a main verb; Pl – plural; Sing- singular
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FUTU- Simple Continuous Perfect Perfect
RE continuous
I/We
Affirmative

I/We I/We I/We

He/She will
He/She will be He/She will have He/She will have been
look
+

It/You/ looking It/You/ looked (V3) It/You/ looking

It/You/
They They They
They
Interrogative

Will Will I/we/he/she Will I/we /he/she Will I/we/he/she

I/we/he/she/it/ it/you/they it/you/they
?

it/ you/they have

you/they look? be looking? have looked (V3)? been looking?

I/we I/We
I/We I/We
Negative

He/She/It He/She/It
He/She/It He/She/It
You/They will We/You/They will NOT
-

NOT look = You/They will NOT You/They will NOT have been looking
won’t be looking have looked (V3)

V2 – past form of a main verb; V3 – past participle form of a main verb; Pl – plural; Sing- singular
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 PASSIVE VOICE is used:
a) When the person who carries out the action is unknown, unimportant or obvious from
the context;
b) When the action itself is more important than the person who carries it out, as in news
headlines, newspaper articles, formal notices, instructions, advertisements etc.
The Passive is used more in written English than in spoken

Passive Simple Continuous Perfect

I + AM V3 I + AM being V3 i / we / they / you + HAVE
BEEN V3
he / she / it + IS V3 he / she / it + IS being V3
he / she/ it + HAS BEEN
we / you / they + ARE we / you / they + ARE being
V3
V3 V3
Present

My car is serviced My car is being serviced now

twice a year My car has already been
serviced

I / He / She / It / You I / He / She / It + WAS being V3 Subject (sing/pl) + HAD

(sing) + WAS V3 BEEN V3
We (pl) + WERE being V3
We / You (pl) / They +
Past WERE V3
My car was being serviced when
I went to garage My car had been serviced
My car was serviced by two o’clock
last month
Will be + V3 Will Have Been V3

Future My car will be serviced __________ My car will have been ser-
tomorrow viced by monay

-ING FORM: being + V3

I insist on my car is being serviced today.

MODALS: modal + be + V3
My car must be serviced before the trip.

V2 – past form of a main verb; V3 – past participle form of a main verb; Pl – plural; Sing- singular
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