36.1 – Tense overview
| Tense |
Affirmative/Negative/Question |
Use |
Signal Words |
|
Simple Present |
A: He speaks. N: He does not speak. Q: Does he speak? |
· action in the present taking place once, never or several times
· facts · actions taking place one after another · action set by a timetable or schedule |
always, every …, never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually if sentences type I (If I talk, …) |
| Present Continuous | A: He is speaking.
N: He is not speaking. Q: Is he speaking? |
· action taking place in the moment of speaking
· action taking place only for a limited period of time · action arranged for the future |
at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now |
| Simple Past | A: He spoke.
N: He did not speak. Q: Did he speak? |
· action in the past taking place once, never or several times
· actions taking place one after another · action taking place in the middle of another action |
yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday if sentence type II (If I talked, …) |
| Past Continuous | A: He was speaking.
N: He was not speaking. Q: Was he speaking? |
· action going on at a certain time in the past
· actions taking place at the same time · action in the past that is interrupted by another action |
when, while, as long as |
| Present Perfect Simple | A: He has spoken.
N: He has not spoken. Q: Has he spoken? |
· putting emphasis on the result
· action that is still going on · action that stopped recently · finished action that has an influence on the present · action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking |
already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now |
| Present Perfect Continuous | A: He has been speaking.
N: He has not been speaking. Q: Has he been speaking? |
· putting emphasis on the course or duration (not the result)
· action that recently stopped or is still going on · finished action that influenced the present |
all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long? the whole week |
| Past Perfect Simple | A: He had spoken.
N: He had not spoken. Q: Had he spoken? |
· action taking place before a certain time in the past
· sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive · putting emphasis only on the fact (not the duration) |
already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day
if sentence type III (If I had talked, …) |
| Past Perfect Continuous | A: He had been speaking.
N: He had not been speaking. Q: Had he been speaking? |
· action taking place before a certain time in the past
· sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple · putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action |
for, since, the whole day, all-day |
| Future I Simple | A: He will speak.
N: He will not speak. Q: Will he speak? |
· action in the future that cannot be influenced
· spontaneous decision · assumption with regard to the future |
in a year, next …, tomorrow
If-‐Satz Typ I (If you ask her, she will help you.) assumption: I think, probably, perhaps |
| Future I Simple
(going to) |
A: He is going to speak.
N: He is not going to speak. Q: Is he going to speak? |
· decision made for the future
· conclusion with regard to the future |
in one year, next week, tomorrow |
| Future I Continuous | A: He will be speaking.
N: He will not be speaking. Q: Will he be speaking? |
· action that is going on at a certain time in the future
· action that is sure to happen in the near future |
in one year, next week, tomorrow |
| Future II Simple | A: He will have spoken.
N: He will not have spoken. Q: Will he have spoken? |
· action that will be finished at a certain time in the future | by Monday, in a week |
| Future II Continuous | A: He will have been speaking. N: He will not have been speaking.
Q: Will he have been speaking? |
· action taking place before a certain time in the future
· putting emphasis on the course of an action |
for …, the last couple of hours, all day long |
| Conditional I Simple | A: He would speak.
N: He would not speak. Q: Would he speak? |
· action that might take place | if sentences type II (If I were you, I would go home.) |
| Conditional I Continuous | A: He would be speaking.
N: He would not be speaking. Q: Would he be speaking? |
· action that might take place
· putting emphasis on the course/duration of the action |
|
| Conditional II Simple | A: He would have spoken.
N: He would not have spoken. Q: Would he have spoken? |
· action that might have taken place in the past | if sentences type III (If I had seen that, I would have helped.) |
| Conditional II Continuous | A: He would have been speaking.
N: He would not have been speaking. Q: Would he have been speaking? |
· action that might have taken place in the past
· puts emphasis on the course/duration of the action |
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