Table of English Tenses

tense	Affirmative/Negative/Question	Use	Signal Words
Simple Present	A: He speaks. N: He does not speak. Q: Does he speak?	action in the present taking placeonce, never or several times facts actions taking place one after another action set by a timetable or schedule	always, every …, never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually if sentences type I (If Italk, …)
Present Progressive	A: He is speaking. N: He is not speaking. Q: Is he speaking?	action taking place in the moment of speaking action taking place only for a limited period of time action arranged for the future	at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now
Simple Past	A: He spoke. N: He did not speak. Q: Did he speak?	action in the past taking placeonce, never or several times actions taking place one after another action taking place in the middle of another action	yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday if sentence type II (If Italked, …)
Past Progressive	A: He was speaking. N: He was not speaking. Q: Was he speaking?	action going on at a certain time in the past actions taking place at the same time action in the past that is interrupted by another action	when, while, as long as
Present Perfect Simple	A: He has spoken. N: He has not spoken. Q: Has he spoken?	putting emphasis on the result action that is still going on action that stopped recently finished action that has an influence on the present action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking	already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now
Present Perfect Progressive	A: He has been speaking. N: He has not been speaking. Q: Has he been speaking?	putting emphasis on the course or duration (not the result) action that recently stopped or is still going on finished action that influenced the present	all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long?, the whole week
Past Perfect Simple	A: He had spoken. N: He had not spoken. Q: Had he spoken?	action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive putting emphasis only on the fact(not the duration)	already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day if sentence type III (If Ihad talked, …)
Past Perfect Progressive	A: He had been speaking. N: He had not been speaking. Q: Had he been speaking?	action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action	for, since, the whole day, all day
Future I Simple	A: He will speak. N: He will not speak. Q: Will he speak?	action in the future that cannot be influenced spontaneous decision assumption with regard to the future	in a year, next …, tomorrow If-Satz Typ I (If you ask her, she will help you.) assumption: I think, probably, perhaps
Future I Simple (going to)	A: He is going to speak. N: He is not going to speak. Q: Is he going to speak?	decision made for the future conclusion with regard to the future	in one year, next week, tomorrow
Future I Progressive	A: He will be speaking. N: He will not be speaking. Q: Will he be speaking?	action that is going on at a certain time in the future action that is sure to happen in the near future	in one year, next week, tomorrow
Future II Simple	A: He will have spoken. N: He will not have spoken. Q: Will he have spoken?	action that will be finished at a certain time in the future	by Monday, in a week
Future II Progressive	A: He will have been speaking. N: He will not have been speaking. Q: Will he have been speaking?	action taking place before a certain time in the future putting emphasis on the course of an action	for …, the last couple of hours, all day long
Conditional I Simple	A: He would speak. N: He would not speak. Q: Would he speak?	action that might take place	if sentences type II (If I were you, I would go home.)
Conditional I Progressive	A: He would be speaking. N: He would not be speaking. Q: Would he be speaking?	action that might take place putting emphasis on the course /duration of the action
Conditional II Simple	A: He would have spoken. N: He would not have spoken. Q: Would he have spoken?	action that might have taken place in the past	if sentences type III (If I had seen that, Iwould have helped.)
Conditional II Progressive	A: He would have been speaking. N: He would not have been speaking. Q: Would he have been speaking?	action that might have taken place in the past puts emphasis on the course /duration of the action

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Modern English

Modern English

a. a tendency to regularise irregular morphology (e.g. dreamt dreamed)

b. revival of the "mandative" subjunctive, probably inspired by formal US usage (we
demand that she take part in the meeting)

c. elimination of shall as a future marker in the first person

d. development of new, auxiliary-like uses of certain lexical verbs (e.g. get, want – cf.,
e.g., The way you look, you wanna / want to see a doctor soon)

e. extension of the progressive to new constructions, e.g. modal, present perfect and past

perfect passive progressive (the road would not be being built/ has not been being
built/ had not been being built before the general elections)

f. increase in the number and types of multi-word verbs (phrasal verbs, have/take/give a
ride, etc.)

g. placement of frequency adverbs before auxiliary verbs (even if no emphasis is
intended – I never have said so)

h. do-support for have (have you any money? and no, I haven't any money do you
have/ have you got any money? and no, I don't have any money/ haven't got any
money)

i. demise of the inflected form whom

j. increasing use of less instead of fewer with countable nouns (e.g. less people)

k. spread of the s-genitive to non-human nouns (the book's cover)

l. omission of the definite article in certain environments (e.g. renowned Nobel laureate
Derek Walcott)

m. "singular" they (everybody came in their car)

n. like, same as, and immediately used as conjunctions

o. a tendency towards analytical comparatives and superlatives (politer more polite)

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Types of Verbs

Before you begin the verb tense lessons, it is extremely important to understand that NOT all English verbs are the same. English verbs are divided into three groups: Normal Verbs, Non-Continuous Verbs, and Mixed Verbs.

Group I Normal Verbs

Most verbs are "Normal Verbs." These verbs are usually physical actions which you can see somebody doing. These verbs can be used in all tenses.

Normal Verbs

to run, to walk, to eat, to fly, to go, to say, to touch, etc.

Examples:

• I eat dinner every day.
• I am eating dinner now.

Group II Non-Continuous Verbs

The second group, called "Non-Continuous Verbs," is smaller. These verbs are usually things you cannot see somebody doing. These verbs are rarely used in continuous tenses. They include:

Abstract Verbs

to be, to want, to cost, to seem, to need, to care, to contain, to owe, to exist...

Possession Verbs

to possess, to own, to belong...

Emotion Verbs

to like, to love, to hate, to dislike, to fear, to envy, to mind...

Examples:

• He is needing help now. Not Correct
• He needs help now. Correct

• He is wanting a drink now. Not Correct
• He wants a drink now. Correct

Group III Mixed Verbs

The third group, called "Mixed Verbs," is the smallest group. These verbs have more than one meaning. In a way, each meaning is a unique verb. Some meanings behave like "Non-Continuous Verbs," while other meanings behave like "Normal Verbs."

Mixed Verbs

to appear, to feel, to have, to hear, to look, to see, to weigh...

List of Mixed Verbs with Examples and Definitions:

to appear:

Donna appears confused. Non-Continuous Verb
Donna seems confused.
My favorite singer is appearing at the jazz club tonight. Normal Verb
My favorite singer is giving a performance at the jazz club tonight.

to have:

I have a dollar now. Non-Continuous Verb
I possess a dollar.
I am having fun now. Normal Verb
I am experiencing fun now.

to hear:

She hears the music. Non-Continuous Verb
She hears the music with her ears.
She is hearing voices. Normal Verb
She hears something others cannot hear. She is hearing voices in her mind.

to look:

Nancy looks tired. Non-Continuous Verb
She seems tired.
Farah is looking at the pictures. Normal Verb
She is looking with her eyes.

to miss:

John misses Sally. Non-Continuous Verb
He is sad because she is not there.
Debbie is missing her favorite TV program. Normal Verb
She is not there to see her favorite program.

to see:

I see her. Non-Continuous Verb
I see her with my eyes.
I am seeing the doctor. Normal Verb
I am visiting or consulting with a doctor. (Also used with dentist and lawyer.)
I am seeing her. Normal Verb
I am having a relationship with her.
He is seeing ghosts at night. Normal Verb
He sees something others cannot see. For example ghosts, aura, a vision of the future, etc.

to smell:

The coffee smells good. Non-Continuous Verb
The coffee has a good smell.
I am smelling the flowers. Normal Verb
I am sniffing the flowers to see what their smell is like.

to taste:

The coffee tastes good. Non-Continuous Verb
The coffee has a good taste.
I am tasting the cake. Normal Verb
I am trying the cake to see what it tastes like.

to think:

He thinks the test is easy. Non-Continuous Verb
He considers the test to be easy.
She is thinking about the question. Normal Verb
She is pondering the question, going over it in her mind.

to weigh:

The table weighs a lot. Non-Continuous Verb
The table is heavy.
She is weighing herself. Normal Verb
She is determining her weight.

Some Verbs Can Be Especially Confusing:

to be:

Joe is American. Non-Continuous Verb
Joe is an American citizen.
Joe is being very American. Normal Verb
Joe is behaving like a stereotypical American.
Joe is being very rude. Normal Verb
Joe is behaving very rudely. Usually he is not rude.
Joe is being very formal. Normal Verb
Joe is behaving very formally. Usually he is not formal.

NOTICE: Only rarely is "to be" used in a continuous form. This is most commonly done when a person is temporarily behaving badly or stereotypically. It can also be used when someone's behavior is noticeably different.
to feel:

The massage feels great. Non-Continuous Verb
The massage has a pleasing feeling.
I don't feel well today. Sometimes used as Non-Continuous Verb
I am a little sick.
I am not feeling well today. Sometimes used as Normal Verb
I am a little sick.

NOTICE: The second meaning of "feel" is very flexible and there is no real difference in meaning between "I don't feel well today" and "I am not feeling well today."

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