English Grammar - The tenses

One sentence is put into different tenses. You can see how the meaning changes. The words in green are signal words. They tell you which tense you have to use. Tense Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Present Perfect Present Perfect Progressive Past Perfect Past Perfect Progressive will-future going tofuture Future Progressive Future Perfect Conditional Simple Conditional Progressive Conditional Perfect Conditional Perfect Progressive Example Explanation

I play football every week. Here you want to say that it happens regularly. I'm playing football now. Here you want to say that it is happening at the moment.

I played footballyesterday. You did it yesterday, it happened in the past. I was playing football the whole evening. I have just playedfootball. I have been playingfootball for 2 hours. I had played football before Susan came. You were doing it in the past. It's not sure whether the action was finished or not. You have just finished it. So it has a connection to the present. Maybe your clothes are dirty. You want to say how long you have been doing it. (You started in the past and it continues up to the present. The two actions are related to each other: you had finished to play football and after that the girl arrived.

I had been playing football Here you want to point out how long you had been when Susan came. doing it before the girl came. I will play football next week. I'm going to play football this afternoon. I will be playing football next Sunday. I will have played football by tomorrow. I would play football. I would be playingfootball. I would have playedfootball. I would have been playing football. This is a prediction, you can probably do something else. This is a plan you've made. You do it every Sunday (as usual) You will have done it before tomorrow. You'll probably do it. You'll probably do it. Here you concentrate more on the progress of the action. You'll probably have finished playing football at a special time in the future. Here you concentrate on the fact (football). You'll probably have finished playing football at a special time in the future. Here you concentrate on the progress of playing (football).

Negations of the sentences Tense Example

Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive

I do not play football every week. I don't play football every week. I am not playing football now. I'm not playing football now. I did not play football yesterday. I didn't play football yesterday. I was not playing football yesterday. I wasn't playing football yesterday. I have not played football. I haven't played football. I've not played football. I have not been playing football. I haven't been playing football. I've not been playing football. I had not played football. I hadn't played football. I'd not played football. I had not been playing football. I hadn't been playing football. I'd not been playing football. I will/shall not play football next week. I won't play football next week. I am not going to play football this afternoon. I'm not going to play football this afternoon. I will/shall not be playing football. I won't be playing football. I will/shall not have played football. I won't have played football. I would not play football. I'd not play football. I would not be playing football. I wouldn't be playing football. I'd not be playing football. I would not have played football. I wouldn't have played football. I'd not have played football. I would not have been playing football. I wouldn't have been playing football. I'd not have been playing football.

Present Perfect

Present Perfect Progressive

Past Perfect

Past Perfect Progressive

will-future going to-future Future Progressive Future Perfect Conditional Simple

Conditional Progressive

Conditional Perfect

Conditional Perfect Progressive

Questions Tense Simple Present Present Progressive Example Do you play football? Are you playing football?

Simple Past Past Progressive Present Perfect Present Perfect Progressive Past Perfect Past Perfect Progressive will-future going to-future Future Progressive Future Perfect Conditional Simple Conditional Progressive Conditional Perfect Conditional Perfect Progressive

Did you play football? Were you playing football? Have you played football? Have you been playing football? Had you played football? Had you been playing football? Will you play football? Are you going to play football? Will you be playing football? Will you have played football? Would you play football? Would you be playing football? Would you have played football? Would you have been playing football?

1) Yes/No questions - be
Subject and verb change their position in statement and question. statement question You are from Germany. Are you from Germany?

We always use the short answer, not only "Yes" or "No". This sounds rude. NOTE: If the answer is "Yes", we always use the long form. Example: Yes, I am. If the answer is "No", we either use the long or the contrated form (short form). Example: No, I am not - No, I'm not. Yes, Are Is Are you he Peter and John from Germany? your friend? from England? No, Yes, Yes, I I he they am. am not. 'm not. is. are.

2) Questions with question words - be

Question word Where What How Verb are is are Rest you from? your name? Pat and Sue? Answer I'm from Stuttgart. My name is Peter. They're fine.

3) Yes/No Questions and short answers - have

Auxiliary Have Have Has Do Do Does Subject you you your brother you you your brother Verb got got got have have have Rest a cat? a new car? a bike? a cat? a new car? a bike? Yes/No Yes, No, Yes, Yes, No, Yes, Subject I we he I we he Auxiliary (+ n't) have. haven't. has. do. don't. does.

4) Questions with question words - have

Question word Where Where Auxiliary have do Subject you you Verb got have Rest your ruler? your ruler? Answer I've got it in my pencil case. I have it in my pencil case.

5) Questions without question words in the Simple Present

Auxiliary Do Does Subject you Peter Verb read play Rest books? football? Yes/No Yes, No, Yes, Subject I I he Auxiliary (+ n't) do. don't. does.

6) Questions with question words in the Simple Present

Question word What When Where Auxiliary do does do Subject you your mother you Verb play go Rest on your computer? to work? Answer I play games on my computer. She goes to work at 6 o'clock. I meet them at the bus stop.

meet your friends?

7) Questions without question words in the Simple Past

Auxiliary Did Subject Max Verb play Rest football? Yes/No Yes, No, Yes, No, Subject he he I I Auxiliary (+ n't) did. didn't. did. didn't.

Did

you

watch the film yesterday?

BUT: to be Were Subject you xxx Rest in Leipzig last week? Yes/No Yes, No, Subject I I Auxiliary (+ n't) was. wasn't.

8) Questions with question words in the Simple Past

Question word What When Where BUT: Question word Where to be were Subject you xxxxx Rest yesterday? Answer I was at the cinema. Auxiliary did did did Subject you she they Verb do meet go Rest yesterday evening? her boyfriend? after the match? Answer I did my homework. She met him yesterday. They went to a caf.

9) Subject question
Question word Who Verb runs Rest to the shop? Subject Peter Verb runs Object - Place Time to the shop.

10) Object question

Question word Who Who NOTE! Subject question Who phoned John? Object question Who did John phone? Auxiliary do did Subject you Mandy Verb like? phone last Monday? Rest Answer I like my mum. Mandy phoned her uncle.

Yes/No questions - be (am, are, is)

Subject and verb change their position in statement and question. statement question You are from Germany. Are you from Germany?

We always use the short answer, not only "Yes" or "No". NOTE: If the answer is "Yes", we always use the long form. Example: Yes, I am. If the answer is "No", we either use the long or the contrated form (short form). Example: No, I am not - No, I'm not. Yes, Are Is Are you he Peter and John from Germany? your friend? from England? No, Yes, Yes, I I he they am. am not. 'm not. is. are.

Questions with question words - be (am, are, is)

Question word Where What How Verb are is are Rest you from? your name? Pat and Sue? Answer I'm from Stuttgart. My name is Peter. They're fine.

Use the same form of the auxiliary can every time regardless the subject. Questions without question words Can Can Can Can Can you you he Mandy they speak climb play read sing English? a tree? rugby? poems? nice songs? Short answer Yes, No, Yes, Yes, No, I I he she they can. can't. cannot. can. can. can't. cannot.

Questions with question words What Where When can can can Emily Frank she ride? play see the trumpet? her friends?

Answer Emily can ride a skateboard. Frank can play the trumpet in his room. She can see her friends after school.

1) Yes/No Questions and short answers - have

Auxiliary Have Have Has Do Do Does Subject you you your brother you you your brother Verb got got got have have have Rest a cat? a new car? a bike? a cat? a new car? a bike? Yes/No Yes, No, Yes, Yes, No, Yes, Subject I we he I we he Auxiliary (+ n't) have. haven't. has. do. don't. does.

2) Questions with question words - have

Question word Where Where

Auxiliary have do

Subject you you

Verb got have

Rest your ruler? your ruler?

Answer I've got it in my pencil case. I have it in my pencil case.

1) Questions without question words in the Simple Present

Auxiliary Do Does Subject you Peter Verb read play Rest books? football? Yes/No Yes, No, Yes, Subject I I he Auxiliary (+ n't) do. don't. does.

2) Questions with question words in the Simple Present

Question word What When Where Auxiliary do does do Subject you your mother you Verb play go Rest on your computer? to work? Answer I play games on my computer. She goes to work at 6 o'clock. I meet them at the bus stop.

meet your friends?

1) Questions without question words in the Simple Past

Auxiliary Did Subject Max Verb play Rest football? Yes/No Yes, No, Yes, No, Subject he he I I Auxiliary (+ n't) did. didn't. did. didn't.

Did

you

watch the film yesterday?

BUT: to be Were Subject you xxx Rest in Leipzig last week? Yes/No Yes, No, Subject I I Auxiliary (+ n't) was. wasn't.

2) Questions with question words in the Simple Past

Question word What When Where BUT: Question word Where to be were Subject you xxxxx Rest yesterday? Answer I was at the cinema. Auxiliary did did did Subject you she they Verb do meet go Rest yesterday evening? her boyfriend? after the match? Answer I did my homework. She met him yesterday. They went to a caf.

1) Subject question
Question word Who Verb runs Rest to the shop? Subject Peter Verb runs Object - Place Time to the shop.

2) Object question
Question word Who Who NOTE! Subject question Who phoned John? Object question Who did John phone? Auxiliary do did Subject you Mandy Verb like? phone last Monday? Rest Answer I like my mum. Mandy phoned her uncle.