Verb Tenses in English Grammar

Present tenses:
 simple present
 present progressive
 present perfect
 present perfect progressive
Past tenses:
 simple past
 past progressive
 past perfect
 past perfect progressive

1. SIMPLE PRESENT
It expresses facts, sequential and repeated actions and timetabled future
events.

When to use simple present

We use the simple present tense for:
 facts
Example:
Mona is a student. She studies biology.

 repeated actions and routines (signal words: every, always, often …)

Example:
On Saturdays, she works in a shop.

 a list of actions that happen one after the other

Example:
She gets home, makes a cup of tea then does her homework.

 schedules and timetables (also for the future)

Example:
Her class starts at 9 am tomorrow.

How to conjugate the simple present

 Affirmative sentences
Add -s in the 3rd person singular (he/she/it). All other forms are the same as
the infinitive of the verb.

Subject Verb Example

I/you/we/
speak They speak English.
they
he/she/it speaks She speaks French.

Watch-watches

 Negative sentences
To form negative sentences in the simple present, use
the auxiliary verbs don’t and doesn’t followed by the infinitive.

Subject Auxiliary Infinitive Example

I/you/we/
don’t You don’t speak Spanish.
they
speak
He doesn’t
he/she/it doesn’t
speak Japanese.

The full forms of don’t and doesn’t are do not and does not. We use them in
formal contexts.

 Questions
To make simple present questions, use the auxiliary verbs do and does. They
come before the subject.
Infinitiv
Auxiliary Subject Example
e
Do I/you/we/they Do you speak English?
speak
Does he/she/it Does she speak Italian?
 2. PRESENT PROGRESSIVE OR CONTINUOUS
The present progressive tense, also known as the present continuous, is
formed with the verb be + present participle (-ing form) of the main verb.

This tense talks about actions that are in progress at the time of speaking and
temporary situations. It also expresses future arrangements and plans.

When to use the English Present Progressive Tense

We use the present progressive tense to describe:

 actions that are taking place at the present moment, i.e. now
Example:
Look! James is taking a picture with another tourist.

 predetermined plans or appointments that have been made for the near
future
Example:
He is meeting his friend Brad tonight.

 actions that are only happening temporarily

Example:
James is travelling around Australia.
Brad is working there as a tour guide over the summer.

 actions that are currently happening, but not at the moment of speaking
Example:
He is staying at a youth hostel.

 situations that are changing

Example:
The town is becoming more and more popular because of its beautiful beaches.

3. PRESENT PERFECT

The present perfect tense connects the past with the present; it expresses
completed past actions and experiences that have an influence on or
connection to the present.

We use the present perfect when the exact time of the action is not important.

The present perfect is formed using the present tense of the verb have and
the past participle of the main verb.

When to use the present perfect simple

We use the present perfect simple to express:
 completed actions that have an influence on the present, usually without
a specific time marker
Example:
I have invited all her friends and family, now I’m waiting for their replies.
we don’t know when the invites were sent

 past experiences with the signal words ever and never

Examples:
She has never had a surprise party before.
Have you ever had a surprise party?

 recently completed actions (usually with the signal word just)

Example:
Ella has just sent a message.
 actions that did or did not happen up to the moment of speaking
(with already and yet)
Examples:
Has Tony replied yet?
I have already ordered food and drinks for thirty people.

 how often or how many times up to now

Example:
You have reminded her at least seven times.

 states and situations that began in the past and continue up to the
present (with the signal words for and since)
Example:
I haven’t seen him for ages.
She has wanted a surprise party for years.
I have worked in this company since 2022

Conjugation of English Present Perfect Tense

We use the present form of the auxiliary verb have and the past participle of
the main verb.

positive negative question

I have not Have I
I/you/we/they I have played/spoken
played/spoken played/spoken?
he has played/ he has not Has he
he/she/it
spoken played/spoken played/spoken?
 4. PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
The present perfect progressive, also present perfect continuous, is the tense
used for actions that began in the past and last until a present or almost present
moment.

The present perfect progressive is conjugated with the present tense of have,
the past participle of be (been) and the present participle (-ing form) of the
main verb.

When to use the present perfect progressive

The present perfect progressive expresses actions that started in the past and
are still ongoing or recently completed in the present.

1. When an action is still ongoing in the present, the present perfect

progressive:

 expresses duration (signal words: how long? for, since)

Example:
—How long have you been working at the gym?
—I’ve been working there for two weeks.
I started the job two weeks ago and still work there now

 talks about temporary situations or new habits (signal words: recently,

lately)
Example:
I’ve been trying to do more sport lately.
 2. When the action is recently completed, the
present perfect progressive:

 expresses what was happening up to the present moment; often the

effects of the action are still visible
Example:
—Why are you so out of breath?
—I’ve been playing tennis all morning.

How to conjugate the present perfect progressive

Conjugate the present perfect progressive as follows: have/has + been + -
ing form.

Affirmative Negative Question

I have been I haven’t been Have I been
I/you/we/they
speaking speaking speaking?
he has been he hasn’t been Has he been
he/she/it
speaking speaking speaking?

PAST TENSES
5. SIMPLE PAST
The simple past is the basic past tense in English grammar. It is formed by
adding -ed to the end of the verb. For questions and negative sentences, we
use the auxiliary did(n’t).

The duration of an action is unimportant in the simple past; instead, we

emphasise when an action took place.
How to use the Simple Past Tense in English Grammar
The simple past is the basic form of the past tense in English grammar, we use
it for:
 actions that happened once or repeatedly in the past
Example:
Last month a girl from China joined our class.
She was from China.
She showed us where she was from on a map.

 actions that happened one after the other in the past

Example:
She came in, introduced herself, and began to talk about her country.

 a new action interrupting an action that was already taking place,

together with the past progressive tense
Example:
While she was talking about her home town, the school bell suddenly rang.

 in the second conditional (para situaciones imaginaries, presente y

future)
Example:
If I spoke Chinese, I would like to go on holiday to China.

6. PAST PROGRESSIVE
It expresses an action that was ongoing or in progress at a specific moment in
the past.

The past progressive is formed with was/were + present participle (-ing form)
of the main verb.

When to use the past progressive tense

There are a few ways to use the past progressive tense in English grammar.
We can use it to express:
  an action that was in progress at a specific moment in the past
Example:
We were celebrating Sammy’s birthday when you called.

 two actions that were taking place at the same time (signal word: while)
Example:
Clara was pouring champagne for everyone while Sammy was blowing out the
candles on his birthday cake.

 a past action that was interrupted by a second past action

Example:
We were singing happy birthday when the phone rang.

How to conjugate the past progressive tense in English

To conjugate the past progressive tense, we use the past tense form of
the auxiliary verb be followed by the main verb in its -ing form.

Affirmative Negative Question

I / he / she /
I was speaking I was not speaking Was I speaking?
it
you / we / you were speakin you were not Were you
they g speaking speaking?

7. PAST PERFECT
It is used for actions that took place before another point in the past.

It is often used together with the simple past tense.

The past perfect is formed with the auxiliary verb had + the past participle of
the main verb.
How to use the past perfect simple
Use the past perfect simple to describe an action that took
place before another point or action in the past. The second action is
expressed in the simple past.

Example:
When Naomi arrived, the party had already started.
action 1: beginning of the party; action 2: Naomi’s arrival

The past perfect simple also appears in third conditional if-clauses. (situaciones
irreales en el pasado)
Example:
If Naomi had arrived earlier, she wouldn’t have missed the birthday cake.

How to conjugate the past perfect simple

To conjugate the past perfect tense in English, we take: had + past
participle (form 3 of the verb).

Affirmative Negative Question

all forms are I had played/ I had not Had I
the same spoken played/spoken played/spoken?

8. PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

It is used to show how long an action was in progress up to a certain point in
the past.

It is similar to the present perfect progressive tense but is used to express

past actions.

We form past perfect progressive with had been + the present participle (ing-
form) of the main verb.
When to use the past perfect progressive
Use the past perfect progressive to express:
 how long an action lasted up to a certain point or second action in the
past, usually expressed in simple past (signal words: how long, for,
since, by)
Example:
I had been expecting this news for a while.
I had been working there for over five years when the news was announced.
when + simple past for the second action

 an action that started and ended before a certain time in the past, but its
result or effect continued beyond its completion
Example:
Sales had been declining steadily and the company was now bankrupt.
action: falling sales; result: bankruptcy

How to conjugate the past perfect progressive in English

To conjugate the past perfect progressive tense in English grammar, we need
the auxiliary verbs have and been by the present participle (-ing-form) of
the main verb: had been + ing-form.

Affirmative Negative Question

I had I hadn’t been speakin Had I been speaking
been speaking g ?

Past perfect simple or past perfect progressive?

Sometimes, we can use the past perfect simple instead of the past perfect
progressive, but this alters the focus of the sentence.
The former emphasises the completion of an action, whereas the latter
focuses on its duration.

Example:
 They had hidden the poor sales figures from the other employees.
(past perfect simple) emphasises that the action is now over.

 They had been hiding the poor sales figures from the other employees.
(past perfect progressive) emphasises the repeated nature of the action over
its duration