TENSE

SIGNAL WORDS

USE

FORMATION

EXAMPLES

SIMPLE PRESENT

every day

sometimes

always

often

usually

seldom

never

first ... then

- habits and routines

- 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

he works

I go

he goes

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE

now

at the moment

Look!

Listen!

- something is happening at the same time of speaking or around it

- future meaning: when you have already decided and arranged to do it (a fixed plan, date)

to be (am/are/is) +

infinitive + -ing

I'm working

he's working

I'm going

he's going

SIMPLE PAST

last ...

... 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:

2nd column of table of irregular verbs

I worked

he worked

I went

he went

PAST PROGRESSIVE

- an action happened in the middle of another action

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

was/were +

infinitive + -ing

I was working

he was working

I was going

he was going

PRESENT PERFECT

yet

never

ever

already

so far,

up to now,

sometimes:

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've worked

he's worked

I've gone

he's gone

PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

like the simple form

BUT: there is more interest in the action

- action began in the past and has just stopped
- how long the action has been happening

have/has + been + infinitive + -ing

I've been working

he's been working

I've been going

he's been going

PAST PREFECT

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) oder

(3rd column of table of irregular verbs)

I

 had worked

he had worked

I had gone

he had gone

SIMPLE FUTURE

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

- you decide to do sth. spontaneously at the time of speaking, you haven't made a decision before

- main claUSE in if clause type I

will + infinitive

I'll work

he'll work

I'll go

he'll go

GOING TO FUTURE

- when you have already decided to do sth. in the future

- what you think what will happen

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

I'm going to work

he's going to work

I'm going to go

he's going to go