Simple
Completed actions, routines or habits, give us information, or makes predictions |
Perfect
Earlier actions followed by later actions or even earlier actions! |
Continuous
Actions that continue over time or happening simultaneously in the past |
Perfect Continuous
show duration, completion, and importance |
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Past simple:
Completed, finished actions with a specific time reference
Showing whether an action or condition occurred
Positive: You played tennis.
Question: Did you play tennis?
Negative: You didn’t play tennis. |
Past Perfect (simple):
When we’re already talking about the past but want to refer to an earlier past time
Form: had + past participle
e.g. ‘I couldn’t get in because I had forgotten my keys’
Positive: You had studied Spanish before you went to Madrid.
Question: Had you studied Spanish before you went to Madrid?
Negative: You hadn’t studied Spanish before you went to Madrid. |
Past continuous/ Past progressive:
Actions in progress at a particular time in the past, actions interrupted in the past, two actions happening simultaneously in the past
Form: was/were + verb + -ing
e.g. ‘What were you doing at 10.00 last night?’, ‘I was writing letters’ |
Past Perfect Continuous:
an action in progress in the past leading up to another past moment
Form: had + been + verb + -ing
e.g. ‘He had been cleaning the car for an hour before he stopped because of the rain’ |
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Present simple:
Routine/habitual actions or things which are generally true
Positive: You like Edinburgh.
Question: Do you like Edinburgh?
Negative: You do not like Edinburgh.
In regular verbs, this tense is formed by using the verb stem, adding -s in the third person singular (he, she, it). |
Present Perfect Tense
Past actions that are related to or continue into the present.
Formed by combining the present tense of the verb have with the past participle of the main verb.
Positive: You have visited the Prado Museum before.
Question: Have you visited the Prado Museum before?
Negative: You have not visited the Prado Museum before. |
Present continuous/ Present progressive:
Happening now or around now
Form: am/is/are + verb + -ing
Positive: You are watching TV.
Question: Are you watching TV?
Negative: You are not watching TV. |
Present Perfect Continuous:
Actions which started in the past and continue now (action verbs), recent continuous actions
Positive: You have been standing here for two hours.
Question: Have you been standing here for two hours?
Negative: You have not been standing here for two hours. |
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Future Perfect:
an action that will have already happened before a specific point in the future
Form: will + have + past participle e.g. ‘I’ll have already left by the time you arrive’ |
Future Continuous/ Future Progressive:
An action in progress at a particular time in the future
Form: will + be + verb + -ing
Positive: You’ll be cooking dinner when they arrive.
Question: Will you be cooking dinner when they arrive?
Negative: You won’t be cooking dinner when they arrive |
Future Perfect Continuous:
An action that will continue up until a certain future point
Form: will + have + been + verb + -ing
Positive: You’ll be cooking dinner when they arrive.
Question: Will you be cooking dinner when they arrive?
Negative: You won’t be cooking dinner when they arrive. |
Future Simple Tense
Describes what will happen for predictions and future projects
Often called the going to future, this form is a combination of be + going to + verb stem
Positive: You are going to see the show tonight.
Question: Are you going to see the show tonight?
Negative: You are not going to see the show tonight. |
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