TENS E S FO R MS USE TIME PHR AS E S

(Affirmative - A/Negative - N Question - Q)

1-to talk about general truth and always, every
A: I work. permanent actions(facts): day/month/year
He/she/it works. The Earth rotates round its axis.
It rains a lot in autumn. never, often,
You/we/they work.
I speak English and French. normally,
N: I do not (don’t) work. seldom,
2-to talk about repeated,
PRES E N T

He/she/it does not (doesn’t) work_. sometimes,

customary actions:
You/we/they do not (don’t) work. He gets up at 8 o’clock every usually, twice a
morning. week/day…,
Q: Do I work? They never listen to their teacher.
Does he/she/it work_? all the time
Do you/we/they work? 3-to talk about a planned future
action (a timetable or schedule )
The train leaves at 3 tomorrow.

1-to talk about actions yesterday, 2

Regular verbs + ed : worked, played, performed in the past minutes/hours/
IN D E F I N I T E (SI M P L E )

Irregular verbs – II column: (with finished time expressions):

I met my friend yesterday. days/years ago,
went, ate
Did you go to the seaside last in 1970,
A: I worked /went. summer? the other day,
He/she/it worked/went. last
You/we/they worked/went . 2-to talk about a succession of
past actions (stories): month/year/
PAS T

He opened the door, switched on the week/ Sunday

N: I did not (didn’t) work_/go.
light and fed his cat.
He/she/it did not (didn’t) work_/go.
You/we/they did not (didn’t) work_/go.
3- to talk about an action taking
place in the middle of another
Q: Did I work_/go?
action:
Did he/she/it work_/go? He fell asleep while the teacher was
Did you/we/they work_/go? explaining new grammar rules.

1-to talk about future actions: tomorrow,

A: I/we shall*/ will work. I’ll call you tomorrow.
the day after
He/she/it will work. Mary will get a present next month.
You/they will work.
tomorrow,
2-to predict the future one of these
N: I/we shall not (shan’t) * work (with probably, I expect..., days,
will not (won’t) work. I'm sure..., (I) think..., don't next
think, I wonder..., perhaps)
He/she/it will not (won’t) work.
week/month/
I think it will rain tomorrow.
You/they will not (won’t) work. Perhaps she'll be late.
year etc.,
I don't think the exam will be very soon,
FU T U R E

difficult. in the near

Q: Shall/will I/we work?
Will he/she/it work?
future,
3- to express intention at the some day,
Will you/they work? moment of decision:
Do you like these shoes? in two
*N O T E !!! - Yes, I'll buy them. days/five
Shall is used mostly in the minutes/a
questions shall I…?/shall we…? 4-in the 1st type of month etc.
conditional sentences
In spoken
If the weather is fine, we’ll go to
English we normally use I’ll and we’ll.
the country.
TENS E S FO R M S USE TIME
(Affirmative - A/Negative - N PHR AS E S
Question - Q)
1-to talk about actions that are
happening now, at the moment of
now,
to be (am/is/are) + verb + -ing speaking:
Look! The boys are playing football. Hurry at the
up! The train is coming. moment,
A: I am (I’m) working.
He/she/is is (he’s) working. at present;
PRES E N T

2- to talk about actions that are

You/we/they are (we’re) working. happening around now, but not Look!,
exactly at the moment of speaking: Listen!
N: I am not (I’m not) working. We are studying very hard these days.
He/she/it is not (isn’t) working. We have to prepare for our exams. these days,
You/we/they/ are not (aren’t) working. this
3-to speak about what you have morning,
Q: Am I working? already arranged to do:
Is he/she/we working? -What are you doing on Saturday? today
Are you/we/they working? -I am meeting my friend at the station.
She is arriving at 8 pm.
1-to talk about a temporary action
taking place at a given moment in the
to be(was/were) + verb + -ing past:
at 6 o’clock
What were you doing at 6 o’clock yesterday,
yesterday? from 3 to 6
A: I was working.
2-two or more actions happening at
He/she/it was working. the same time in the past: On Monday,
You/we/they were working. when Mum
(pr o gr essi v e )

She was cooking dinner and her kids

were watching TV.
PAS T

N: I was not (wasn’t) working. came, while

3- action interrupted by another
He/she/it was not (wasn’t) working. shorter action in the past:
You/we/they were not (weren’t) working. I was working on computer when the
telephone rang.
CON TI N U O U S

Q: Was I working? 4- background information in a story:

Was he/she/it working? The sun was shining and the birds
were singing…
Were you/we/they working?

shall/will + be + verb +-ing 1- to talk about an action at a at 5 o’clock

particular moment in the future. tomorrow,
A: I/we shall*/will be working. The action will start before that
He/she/it will be working. this time on
moment but it will not have
You/they will be working. finished at that moment: Sunday,
I will be playing tennis at 10am when I come
N: I/we shall not (shan’t) *be working. tomorrow.
will not (won’t) be working. This time on Sunday I'll be bathing in
the sea.
When you arrive, he will be waiting for
He/she/it will not (won’t) be working.
FU T U R E

you.
You/they will not (won’t) be working.

Q : Shall/will I/we be working?

Will he/she/it be working?
Will you/they be working?
*N O T E !!!
Shall is used mostly in the questions shall
I…?/shall we…?
In spoken English we normally use I’ll
and we’ll.
TENS E S FO R MS USE TIM E
(Affirmative - A/Negative - N PH RA S E S
Question - Q)
-is always connected with the already, ever,
perfe c t

have/has +participle II present and the only thing which just, never,
- regular verbs +ed matters here is the result: the time
not yet, so
worked, asked when the action took place is of no
importance: far, till now,
-irregular verbs-III column gone, I have lost my keys. I can’t open the up to now , of
eaten door.
A: I/we/you/they have worked/gone. late, lately,
1-to talk about a completed action
He/she/it has worked/gone.
connected with the present:
recently; with
I have seen this film and I can for and since;
N: I/we/you/they have not (haven’t) worked/gone.
PRES E N T

discuss it with you now. with This is

He/she/it has not (hasn’t) worked/gone.
the first time
2-questions in the Present Perfect
Q: Have I/we/you/they worked/gone? never start with when: … this
Has he/she/it worked/gone? When did you see this film? morning/
evening,
3-with this morning/evening, today today, this
this week, this year (when the time
periods are not finished at the time week, this
of speaking): year
Have you called you mother today?

1-denotes an action completed when I

had +participle II before a certain moment in the entered, by 5
past; it is not used to denote a
- regular verbs +ed :
succession of actions (Past o’clock
worked, asked Simple): yesterday,
-irregular verbs-III column: gone, eaten She has already finished her work (with the
when he came. same
But: When I wrote the letter, I
A: I/you/we/they had worked/gone. posted it.(Past Simple – adverbs as
He/she/it had worked/gone. succession of actions) Present
PAST

By the time the police arrived ,he Perfect but in

N: I/we/you/we/they had not (hadn’t) worked/gone. had already disappeared.
He/she it had not (hadn’t) worked/gone. the past
2-with the
conjunctions(hardly/scarcely/ context); no
Q: Had I/you/we/they worked/gone? nearly/barely + when…) sooner…
Had he/she/it worked/gone? I had hardly done it when they than…
came.
No sooner had they arrived than it
started to rain.

1-denotes an action completed by this time

before a definite moment in the tomorrow, by
shall/will + have +participle II future:
She will have finished this work by 2 o’clock
2 o’clock tomorrow. tomorrow,
A : I/we shall*/will have worked/gone.
The film will have already started when you
He/she/it will have worked/gone.
You/they will have worked/gone. by the time we come .Hurry up! come back
FUT U R E

N: I/we shall not (shan’t) * have worked/gone.

*N O T E !!!
will not (won’t)
Shall is used mostly
He/she/it will not (won’t) in the questions shall I…?/shall
You/they will not (won’t) have worked/gone. we…?
In spoken English we
Q : Shall/will I/we have worked/gone? normally use I’ll and we’ll.
Will he/she/it have worked/gone?
Will you/they have worked/gone?
TENS E S FO R M S (Affirmative USE TIME
- A/Negative - N Question - Q) PHR AS E S
1-to say how long things have been for, since;
continuing up to now: How
have/has + been + verb + -ing I’ve been learning English for six
years. long…?
A: I we/you/they have been working. It’s been raining all day.
He/she/it has been working.
2-to say how we have been filling
N: I/we/you/they have not (haven’t) been working. our time (up to now)
PRE S E N T

He/she/it has not (hasn’t) been working. -Your hands are dirty.
-I’ve been painting the walls.
Q: Have I/we/you/they been working?
N O T E !!! We don’t use Present
Has he/she/it been working?
Perfect Cont. with be, know , have
and other non-progressive verbs:

How long have you had

your car? (Present Perfect)

1-denotes an action which began since, for

before a definite moment in the
had + been + verb + -ing past, continued up to that moment
and was still going on at the
A: I /we/you/they had been working. moment:
He/she/it had been working. We could not go out because it had
been raining for two hours.
PAS T

N: I/we/you/they had not (hadn’t) been working. 2-denotes an action which was no
Perf e c t co n t i n u o u s

He/she/it had not (hadn’t) been working. longer going on at a definite

moment in the past, but which had
Q: Had I/we/you/they been working? been in progress not long before:
Had he/she/it been working? The baby’s face was red and wet. He
had been crying.

1-denotes an action which will begin for

before a definite moment in the
shall/will + have + been+ verb + -ing future, will continue up to the
moment and will be going on at that
A: I/we shall/will * have been working. moment:
He/she/it will have been working. You will have been waiting for more
You/they will have been working. than two hours when her plane finally
arrives.
N: I/we shall not (shan’t)* have been working. In the fall I will have been studying
will not (won’t) here for 2 years.
He will be tired when he arrives. He
He/she/it will not (won’t) have been working. will have been travelling for 24
FUTU R E

You/they will not (won’t) have been working. hours.

Q: Shall/will I/we have been working?

Will he/she/it have been working?
Will you/they have been working?

*N O T E !!!
Shall is used mostly in the
questions shall I…?/shall we…?
In
spoken English we normally use I’ll
and we’ll.