English

Tense

Signal words

Examples
affirmative

Examples
negative

Examples
interrogative

I work.

I don't work.

Do I work?

Infinitive

He works.

He doesn't work.

Does he work?

he/she/it + -s

I go.

I don't go.

Do I go?

He goes.

He doesn't go.

Does he go?

I'm working.

I'm not working.

Am I working?

He's working.

He isn't working.

Ishe working?

I'm going.

I'm not going.

Am I going?

He's going.

He isn't going.

Is he going?

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.

Use

He didn't go.

Did he go?

Form

every day

something happens repeatedly
sometimes
how often something happens
always
oneaction follows another
Simple
Present

often
things in general
usually
seldom
never

with the following verbs (to love, to
hate, to think, etc.)
future meaning: timetables,
programmes

first ... then
now

Present
Progressive

at the moment
Look!
Listen!

something is happening at the
same time of speaking or around it
future meaning: when you have
already decided andarranged to
do it (a fixed plan, date)

to be (am/are/is) +
Infinitive + ing

last ...

Simple
Past

... ago
in 1990
yesterday

action took place in the past,
mostly connected with an
expression of time (no connection
to the present)

regular:
Infinitive + -ed
irregular:
2. Spalte


I was working.

Past
Progressive

while

Was I working?

He was working.

Hewasn't working.

Was he working?

I was going.

I wasn'tgoing.

Was I going?

He was going.

He wasn't going.

Was he going?

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?

I haven't been
working.

Have I beenworking?

He has been
working.

He hasn't been
working.

Has he been
working?

I have been going.

was/were +
someone was doing sth. at a
Infinitive + -ing
certain time (in the past) - you
don't know whether it was finished
or not

I wasn't working.

I have been
working.

an action happened in the middle
of another action

I haven't been going. Have I been going?

He hasbeen
going.

He hasn't been
going.

just
yet
never
ever
Simple
Present
Perfect

already
so far,
up to now,

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)

since
forrecently
all day
the whole day
Present Perfect
Progressive

how long
since
for

action began in the past and has
just stopped
how long the action has been
happening
emphasis: length of time of an
action

have/has + been +
Infinitive + -ing



Has he been
going?


how long
Past Perfect
Progressive

since
for

will - future

going to - future

when you havealready decided to
do sth. in the future
what you think what will happen

be (am/are/is) +
going to + Infinitive

Had I gone?

He hadn't gone.

Had he gone?

I hadn't been
working.

Had I been
working?

He had been
working.

He hadn't been
working.

Had he been
working?

I hadn't been going.

Had I been going?

He hadn't been
going.

Had he been
going?

I won'twork.

Will I work?

He'll work.

will + Infinitive
you decide to do sth.
spontaneously at the time of
speaking, you haven't made a main
clause in type I of the if clauses

I hadn't gone.

I'll work.

predictions about the future (you
think that sth will happen)

I had gone.

I had been going.

had + been +
Infinitive + ing

Had he
worked?

He won't work.

Will he...