English TESOL Tenses! Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by datamansam

Completed actions, routines or habits, give us inform­ation, or makes predic­tions

Earlier actions followed by later actions or even earlier actions!

Actions that continue over time or happening simult­­an­e­ously in the past

show duration, comple­tion, and importance

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.

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.

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’

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’

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).

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.

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.

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.

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’

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

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.

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.