English Tenses Reference
Summary: A comprehensive guide and quick-reference table for the 12 English tenses and conditional structures, detailing their usage, formulas, and examples.
Resource: Tenses Table PDF
This reference page provides a detailed breakdown of English tenses, based on the tenses_table.pdf resource. Understanding the mechanics of tenses is essential for natural flow and grammatical accuracy in professional American English.
The Tenses Table
| Tense | Use / Function | Form / Formula | Examples (Affirmative / Negative / Interrogative) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | • Repeated actions / habits • General truths / facts • Timetables / scheduled future events |
infinitive / infinitive + s (he/she/it) |
• I work. / I don’t work. / Do I work? • He works. / He doesn’t work. / Does he work? |
| Present Progressive | • Action happening now / around now • Fixed future plans / arrangements |
be (am/are/is) + verb-ing |
• I’m working. / I’m not working. / Am I working? • He’s working. / He isn’t working. / Is he working? |
| Simple Past | • Action completed in the past at a specific time | regular: infinitive + edirregular: 2nd form |
• I worked. / I didn’t work. / Did I work? • I went. / I didn’t go. / Did I go? |
| Past Progressive | • Action in progress in the middle of another past action / specific time | was/were + verb-ing |
• I was working. / I wasn’t working. / Was I working? • He was working. / He wasn’t working. / Was he working? |
| Simple Present Perfect | • Finished action with connection to present • Action started in past, continuing now |
have/has + past participle (3rd form) |
• I have worked. / I haven’t worked. / Have I worked? • He has worked. / He hasn’t worked. / Has he worked? |
| Present Perfect Progressive | • Action began in past and just stopped / is continuing • Focuses on duration of the action |
have/has + been + verb-ing |
• I have been working. / I haven’t been working. / Have I been working? • He has been working. / He hasn’t been working. / Has he been working? |
| Simple Past Perfect | • Action completed before another action in the past | had + past participle |
• I had worked. / I hadn’t worked. / Had I worked? • He had worked. / He hadn’t worked. / Had he worked? |
| Past Perfect Progressive | • Duration of an action up to a certain point in the past | had + been + verb-ing |
• I had been working. / I hadn’t been working. / Had I been working? • He had been working. / He hadn’t been working. / Had he been working? |
| will - future | • Predictions (what you think will happen) • Spontaneous decisions / offers • Main clause in conditional type I sentences |
will + infinitive |
• I’ll work. / I won’t work. / Will I work? • He’ll work. / He won’t work. / Will he work? |
| going to - future | • Prior plans / intentions for the future • Logical predictions based on evidence |
be (am/are/is) + going to + infinitive |
• I’m going to work. / I’m not going to work. / Am I going to work? • He’s going to work. / He’s not going to work. / Is he going to work? |
| Future Progressive | • Action in progress at a specific time in the future | will + be + verb-ing |
• I’ll be working. / I won’t be working. / Will I be working? • He’ll be working. / He won’t be working. / Will he be working? |
| Future Perfect Simple | • Action that will be completed before a specific point in the future | will + have + past participle |
• I’ll have worked. / I won’t have worked. / Will I have worked? • He’ll have worked. / He won’t have worked. / Will he have worked? |
| Future Perfect Progressive | • Duration of action up to a certain point in the future | will + have + been + verb-ing |
• I’ll have been working. / I won’t have been working. / Will I have been working? • He’ll have been working. / He won’t have been working. / Will he have been working? |
| Conditional Simple | • Action that might happen • Main clause in conditional type II sentences |
would + infinitive |
• I would work. / I wouldn’t work. / Would I work? • He would work. / He wouldn’t work. / Would he work? |
| Conditional Progressive | • Action that might be in progress • Focuses on hypothetical duration |
would + be + verb-ing |
• I would be working. / I wouldn’t be working. / Would I be working? • He would be working. / He wouldn’t be working. / Would he be working? |
| Conditional Perfect | • Action that might have happened in the past • Main clause in conditional type III sentences |
would + have + past participle |
• I would have worked. / I wouldn’t have worked. / Would I have worked? • He would have worked. / He wouldn’t have worked. / Would he have worked? |
| Conditional Perfect Progressive | • Action that might have been in progress in the past | would + have + been + verb-ing |
• I would have been working. / I wouldn’t have been working. / Would I have been working? • He would have been working. / He wouldn’t have been working. / Would he have been working? |
Signal Words Guide
- Simple Present: every day, sometimes, always, often, usually, seldom, never, first… then
- Present Progressive: now, at the moment, Look!, Listen!
- Simple Past: last…, … ago, in 1990, yesterday
- Past Progressive: while
- Simple Present Perfect: just, yet, never, ever, already, so far, up to now, since, for, recently
- Present Perfect Progressive: all day, the whole day, how long, since, for
- Simple Past Perfect: already, just, never
- Past Perfect Progressive: how long, since, for
Accent and Stress Integration
When practicing these tenses in American English, pay attention to:
- Contractions: Contractions are vital in spoken American English (e.g. I’ll, I’m, won’t, wasn’t, hadn’t, wouldn’t).
- Schwa sound: Auxiliary verbs like been, have, has, was, were are often unstressed and reduce to the schwa ($\partial$) in natural speech.
Key Concepts
- [[topics/learn-english]]