VERB TENSES

PRESENT SIMPLE AND PRESENT CONTINUOUS

TENSE	SIGNAL WORDS	FORM	MAIN USES	EXAMPLES
PRESENT SIMPLE	every day sometimes always often usually never	I/you/we/they + infinitive he/she/it + infinitive + s	Talking about routines and habits	I wake up at seven every morning
			Talking about general truths and facts	London is a large city
			Instantaneous simple present	Xavi passes the ball to Villa.
			Stative verbs	I love music.
			To talk about future schedules or programs	The plane arrives at 6 pm.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS	now at the moment these days at present Look!	to be (am/are/is) + infinitive + -ing	Talking about something that is happening at the moment	I am studying verb tenses.
			A temporary action	Mary and I are learning Italian this year
			A definite plan for the near future	I’m meeting my girlfriend tonight.

PAST SIMPLE, PAST CONTINUOUS AND PAST PERFECT

TENSE	SIGNAL WORDS	FORM	MAIN USES	EXAMPLES
PAST SIMPLE	last ... ... ago in 1990 yesterday	Regular: infinitive + -ed Irregular: second column	Talking about completed actions that took place at a specific time in the past	She bought some clothes last Monday
PAST CONTINUOUS	while	was/were + infinitive + -ing	Talking about actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past	She was buying some clothes yesterday afternoon.
	When both tenses are used in the same sentence, we normally use when with the Past simple (Fernando was playing the guitar when they arrived); and while or as with the Past continuous (While/As Frenando was playing the guitar, they arrived).
PAST PERFECT SIMPLE	Already By the time Until Before After Never	Had + past participle (3rd column)	To indicate that a completed action happened before another action in the past (for which we use the past simple)	The song had stopped before I left
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS	For Since How long Before until	Had + been + infinitive + ing	How long something had been happening before something else happened	She had been looking for a new house for some time before she found one.

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE AND PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

TENSE	SIGNAL WORDS	FORM	MAIN USES	EXAMPLES
PRESENT PERFECT	just yet never ever already up to now, since for how long…?	I/you/we/they + have + past participle (third column) he/she/it + has + past participle (third column)	An action that began in the past and continues until the present.	I have lived in London for two years.
			An action that took place at an undetermined time in the past and has importance in the present.	I have already had dinner.
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS	all day the whole day how long since for	I/you/we/they + have + been + infinitive + -ing He/she/it + has + infinitive + -ing	Describing a continuous action. We are interested in the activity.	I have been doing my homework.

FUTURE SIMPLE, FUTURE PERFECT AND FUTURE CONTINUOUS.

TENSE	SIGNAL WORDS	FORM	MAIN USES	EXAMPLES
FUTURE SIMPLE	Later Next month In an hour Tomorrow In the future	Will + infinitive SIN TO	A prediction	The government will not allow this type of experiment.
			A timetable	The football match will be at 5.00
			A spontaneous decision	There is no meat left, so I will have fish for lunch.
		Present of the verb TO BE + going to + infinitive	A planned action for the future	The newspaper is going to publish the results of the experiment next week.
			An action that is about to happen	Be careful! The dog is going to bite you.
FUTURE PERFECT	By this time Next week In two months…	Will + have + past participle (3rd column)	A completed action at a certain future time	Students will have finished their homework in two hours..
FUTURE CONTINUOUS	At this time tomorrow At this time next week…	Will be + -ing	An action in progress at a certain future time	At this time tomorrow, we will be playing football.