English Verbs

Tense | Signal words | Use | Form | Examplesaffirmative | Examplesnegative | Examplesinterrogative |
SimplePresentorPresent Simple | every day sometimes always often usually seldom never first ... then | something happens repeatedly how often something happens one action follows another things in general after the following verbs (to love, to hate, to think, etc.) future meaning: timetables,programmes | infinitive he/she/it + -s | I work. | I don't work. | Do I work? |
| | | | He works. | He doesn't work. | Does he work? |
| | | | I go. | I don't go. | Do I go? |
| | | | He goes. | He doesn't go. | Does he go? |
PresentProgressive or Present Continuous | now at the moment Look! Listen! | something is happening at the same time of speaking or around it futuremeaning: when you have already decided and arranged to do it (a fixed plan, date) | to be (am/are/is) + infinitive + -ing | I'm working. | I'm not working. | Am I working? |
| | | | He's working. | He isn't working. | Is he working? |
| | | | I'm going. | I'm not going. | Am I going? |
| | | | He's going. | He isn't going. | Is he going? |
SimplePastor Past Simple | last ......agoin 1990yesterday | action took place in the past, mostly connected with an expression of time (no connection to the present) | regular: infinitive + -ed irregular:2nd column of table of irregular verbs | I worked. | I didn't work. | Did I work? |
| | | | He worked. | He didn't work. | Did he work? |
| | | | I went. | I didn't go. | Did I go? |
| | | | He went. | He didn't go. |Did he go? |
PastProgressive orPast Continuous | while | an action happened in the middle of another action someone was doing sth. at a certain time (in the past) - you do not know whether it was finished or not | was/were + infinitive + -ing | I was working. | I wasn't working. | Was I working? |
| | | | He was working. | He wasn't working. | Was he working? |
| | | | I wasgoing. | I wasn't going. | Was I going? |
| | | | He was going. | He wasn't going. | Was he going? |
SimplePresentPerfectorPresentPerfect | just yet never ever already so far, up to now, since for recently | you say that sth. has happened or is finished in the past and it has a connection to the present action started in the past and continues up to the present | have/has + past participle**(infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column of table of irregular verbs) | I have worked. | I haven't worked. | Have I worked? |
| | | | He has worked. | He hasn't worked. | Has he worked? |
| | | | I have gone. | I haven't gone. | Have I gone? |
| | | | He has gone. | He hasn't gone. | Has he gone? |
Present PerfectProgressive orPresentPerfectContinuous | all day the whole day how longsince for | action began in the past and has just stoppedhow long the action has been happeningemphasis: length of time of an action | have/has + been + infinitive + -ing | I have been working. | I haven't been working. | Have I been working? |
| | | | He has been working. | He hasn't been working. | Has he been working? |
| | | | I have been going. | I haven't been going. | Have Ibeen going? |
| | | | He has been going. | He hasn't been going. | Has he been going? |
SimplePastPerfectorPastPerfect(Simple) | already just never | mostly when two actions in a story are related to each other: the action which had already happened is put into Past Perfect, the other action into Simple Past the past of the Present Perfect | had + past participle* *(infinitive + -ed) or (3rdcolumn of table of irregular verbs) | I had worked. | I hadn't worked. | Had I worked? |
| | | | He had worked. | He hadn't worked. | Had he worked? |
| | | | I had gone. | I hadn't gone. | Had I gone? |
| | | | He had gone. | He hadn't gone. | Had he gone? |
Past Perfect Progressive orPast Perfect Continuous | how long since for | how long something had been happening before...