Present tenses overview

THE PRESENT SIMPLE AND THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS

The present simple is used to talk about This is always true.
permanent situations, regular occurrences,
things that are always true, repeated actions,
and ongoing states.

This is a temporary situation.

The present continuous is used to refer
to temporary situations, repeated actions
around the present moment, and ongoing
actions in the present moment.

PRESENT TENSE QUESTIONS

Present simple
questions with “be”
are formed differently
from other verbs. The form of “be” comes “Do” or “does” is added
before the subject. before the subject.

Present continuous
questions are always
formed in the same way.
The form of “be” comes
before the subject.

COMMON MISTAKES USING “S” IN THE PRESENT SIMPLE

“-s” is never added to the base form of the AFFIRMATIVE

verb when asking a question or making a
negative sentence, even in the third person An “-s” is added to the base
form in affirmative sentences.
singular (“he,” “she,” or “it”).

The base form without an “-s” is only

used for “I,” “you,” “we,” and “they.”

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The present simple and present continuous are used in See also:
different situations. There are different ways to form Present simple 1 Present continuous 4
Forming questions 34 Infinitives and participles 51
questions and negatives with these tenses.

This is a repeated action.

This is a continuing state.

This is a repeated action happening

around the present moment.

This is an ongoing action

in the present moment.

PRESENT TENSE NEGATIVES

Present simple
negatives with
“be” are formed
differently from “Not” is added after “Do not” or “does not” is added
the form of “be.” between the subject and main verb.
other verbs.

Present continuous
negatives are always
formed in the same way.
“Not” is added after
the form of “be.”

QUESTION NEGATIVE
The verb always goes in its The base form is used
base form in questions. in the negative.

“-s” or “-es” are not added to the “-s” or “-es” are not added to the
main verb when asking a question. main verb in negative sentences.

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 Imperatives
Imperatives are used to give commands or to make See also:
requests. They can also be used to give warnings Types of verbs 49 Suggestions and advice 59
Indefinite pronouns 79
or directions.

IMPERATIVES An exclamation mark is used if the imperative is urgent.

Imperatives are formed using
the base form of the verb
(the infinitive without “to”).

The base form of the

verb “to stop.”

FURTHER EXAMPLES

NEGATIVE IMPERATIVES
“Do not” or “don’t”
can be added before
the verb to make an
imperative negative.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

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 SUBJECTS WITH IMPERATIVES
An imperative sentence does not
usually have a subject, but sometimes
a noun or a pronoun is used to make
it clear who is being talked to.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

For emphasis “you” can be The subject can also

used in an imperative clause. be placed at the end.

POLITE REQUESTS
Imperatives in English
can be considered rude.
Words can be added to
make them more polite. “Please” can be placed before the imperative
verb to make a request more polite.

“Just” can go before “Please” can also be placed “Do” can go before the imperative
the imperative. at the end of the sentence. verb to make a request more formal.

MAKING SUGGESTIONS WITH “LET’S”

“Let’s” can be used to make Base form.
a suggestion for an activity
that includes the speaker.

“Not” goes after “let’s” to form the negative.

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 Past tenses overview
PAST TENSES
The past simple refers to a single, The present perfect simple refers to an unfinished action
completed action in the past. or series of actions that started in the past, or past actions
that still have a consequence in the present moment.

This is a completed action Eve is still in London, so it is still

in the past that is now over. relevant to the present moment.

The past continuous refers to a continuing The present perfect continuous refers to a continuing
action in the past. activity in the past that still has a consequence in the
present moment.

At that moment, he was in the This is a consequence

process of washing his car. in the present moment.

PAST SIMPLE AND PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE

The past simple is used to refer to single, The present perfect simple is used to
completed actions or events in the past. refer to actions or events in the past that
These no longer have a consequence in are unfinished, or still have consequences
the present moment. in the present moment.

The essay is finished, so The essay is unfinished, so the

the past simple is used. present perfect simple is used.

This is no longer relevant to the present The keys are still lost in the present moment,
moment, because the keys were found. so the present perfect simple is used.

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There are eight different ways to talk about the past See also:
in English. The differences between the past simple Past simple 7 Present perfect simple 11
Infinitives and participles 51
and the present perfect simple are particularly important.

The past perfect simple refers to an action or event that “Used to” and “Would” are used to talk about
took place before another action or event in the past. repeated actions in the past that no longer happen.

The past perfect continuous refers to a continuing “Used to” can also be used to refer to a fixed state at
action or event that was taking place before another some indefinite time in the past that is no longer true.
action or event that happened in the past.

“Live” is a state, so
“would” can’t be used.

KEY LANGUAGE NARRATIVE TENSES

Narrative tenses are types of past tense that are used when telling a story.
The past continuous is used to set the scene. The past simple describes actions in the story.
The past perfect is used to talk about things that happened before the beginning of the story.

PAST CONTINUOUS

PAST PERFECT PAST SIMPLE

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 Future overview
THE FUTURE
The present simple can be used to talk about The simple future is the most common form
events that are timetabled or scheduled to used to refer to an event in the future.
take place in the future.

The present continuous can The future continuous describes an event that will be
be used to talk about future in progress at a given time in the future. The event will
arrangements and plans. start before the stated time and may continue after it.

“GOING TO” AND “WILL”

English uses both “going to” and “will” to talk about the future. They can sometimes have a
very similar meaning, but there are certain situations where they mean different things.

“Will” is used to This is a prediction

make predictions without firm evidence.
that aren’t based on
present evidence.

“Going to” is used when

there is evidence in the
present moment to
support a prediction.

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English uses different constructions to talk about the See also:
future. These are mostly formed with the auxiliary The future with “going to” 17
The future with “will” 18
verb “will” or a form of “be” with “going to.”

The future perfect is used to predict when The future in the past describes thoughts about the
an action or event will be finished. This tense future that someone had at some point in the past.
looks back from an imagined time in the future. There are three ways to form this construction.

“Am going to” becomes

“was going to.”
“Will” becomes
“would.”

The future perfect continuous is used to predict

the eventual duration of an activity. This tense
looks back from the endpoint of the action.

“Am starting” becomes

“was starting.”

This decision was not

planned in advance.
“Will” is used when
a decision is made
at the time of speaking.

This decision has already been planned.

“Going to” is used

when talking about
a decision that has
already been made.

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