Tense Table

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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 Iworking?

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?

I worked.

Use

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?

Form

every day
sometimes
always
Simple
Presentoften
usually
seldom
never
first ... then
now

Present
Progressive

at the moment
Look!
Listen!

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

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

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

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anaction happened in the middle
of another action
Past
Progressive

while

I was working.

you say that sth. has happened or
is finished in the past and it has a
connection to the present

have/has + past
participle*

He was working.

He wasn't working.

Was he working?

I was going.

I wasn'tgoing.

Was I going?

He wasn't going.

Was he going?

I have worked.

Ihaven'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 have been
working.

was/were +
Infinitive + -ing

Was I working?

He was going.

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

Iwasn't 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 I been going?

He has been
going.

He hasn't been
going.

just
yet
never
ever
Simple
Present
Perfect

already
so far,
up to now,

action started in the past and
continues up to thepresent

*(infinitive + -ed) or
(3rd column of table
of irregular verbs)

since
for
recently
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?

never

Past PerfectProgressive

since
for

how long something had been
happening before something else
happened

had + been +
Infinitive + ing

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

going to - future

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

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

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

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?

I hadn't been
working.

Had I been
working?

He had been
working.

He hadn't been
working.

Had he been...