ENGLISH TENSES In a nutshell
PRESENT SIMPLE & PRESENT CONTINUOUS Pronoun + V(-s) I speak English very well. He wants to speak English, too. DO/DOES + pronoun + V? Do you know him? Does she play the guitar? Pron. + DO/DOES+not+V I do not (don t) understand him very well. He does not (doesn t) practice every day. Pronoun + to be + V+ing I am walking to school. She is writing a letter. To be + pronoun + V+ing? Are you watching something important now? Is he helping you at the moment? Pronoun + to be + not +V+ing I am not doing anything important right now. She is not (isn t) tidying her room now.
PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS Pron.+have/has+V3 (-ed) I have already solved the problem. She has just left the room. Have/has+pron.+V3(-ed)? Have you ever listened to this CD? Has he learnt the poem? Pron+have/has+not+V3(-ed) We have not (haven t) made the cake yet. It has not (hasn t) rained for a long time. Pron.+have/has+been+V+ing We have been reading for two hours. He has been watching the match for half an hour. Have/Has+pron.+been+V+ing Have they been walking for long? Has it been snowing the whole night? Pron.+have/has+not+been+V+ING We haven t been skiing since last year. She hasn t been telling the whole story.
PAST TENSE SIMPLE & PAST TENSE CONTINUOUS Pron.+ V2(-ed) I won an important competition two weeks ago. She wanted to find out the truth. DID + Pron. + V? Did you follow him yesterday? What did he choose? Pron. + did + not + V They did not (didn t) know where to go. You did not (didn t) do anything to help them. Pron.+was/were+V-ing She was running in the park when I met her. We were arguing when you came in. Was/Were+pron. +V-ing? What were you doing when I phoned you the other day? Was he paying attention? Pron.+was/were+not+V-ing They were not (weren t) working when I entered the room. He was not (wasn t) playing chess.
PAST PERFECT SIMPLE &PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS Pron.+ had + V3 (-ed) They had found it in the kitchen. She had liked it before the incident. Had + pronoun + V3 (-ed)? Had he solved the exercise? Had you helped him? Pronoun + had not + V 3 (-ed) We had not (hadn t) waited for them. You had not (hadn t) forgotten about it. Pron.+ had+been+v-ing We had been jogging the whole morning. He had been playing the violin for an hour. Had + pron.+been+ V-ing? Had she been reading the magazine? Had you been knitting? Pron.+had not+been+v-ing They had not (hadn t) been listening to me. He had not (hadn t) been playing in the courtyard with the others.
FUTURE SIMPLE & FUTURE CONTINUOUS Pron. +shall/will + V I shall (I ll) follow you everywhere. She will (she ll) understand. Will/Shall + pron. + V? Will you go to the market tomorrow? Shall we visit the Science Museum? Pron. + will/shall not + V We shall not (shan t) pay her a visit at the weekend. She will not (won t ) make such a mistake again. Pron.+shall/wil+be+V-ing We shall be telling jokes this time tomorrow. They ll be flying home this time next week. Shall/Will+pron.+be+V-ing? Shall we be making a snow man? Will you be helping me? Pron.+shall/will +be+v ing I shall not (shan t) be listening to music. You will not (won t) be skydiving.
FUTURE PERFECT SIMPLE & FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS Pron.+shall/will+have +V3 (-ed) She will have written her composition by eleven o clock. Tomorrow we shall have been on holiday for one month. Shall/Will + pron. + have + V3 (-ed) Will he have arrived at the railway station in time? Shall we have found out the answer to his problem? Pron+shall/will not+v3 (-ed) They will not (won t) have finished the book by the end of February. I shall not (shan t) have come back home by 12 o clock. Pron.+shall/will+have+been+V-ing She will have been singing for half an hour when her mother comes here. I shall have been listening to music for a while by this time tomorrow. Shall/Will+pron+have+been+V-ing? Shall we have been sledging this time tomorrow? Will you have been dancing this time next week? Pron.+shall/will not+ have been+v-ing They will not (won t) have been spending their leave here. Nick will not (won t) have been driving.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU Prof. Monica Caruntu