English Tenses and Grammar: Quick Reference
English Tenses and Grammar
Present Simple
An action that happens repeatedly – I work, She Works, You don’t/doesn’t, Do they work? Clues: Programs and schedules.
Present Continuous
Is happening while we are talking – I’m working, He is, They are, Are you? Clues: Now, At the moment, Look!, Listen!
Present Perfect Simple
When something has happened in the past but has a consequence in the present – I have worked, he has worked, she hasn’t, Have you? Clues: Just, Yet, Ever, Already, So far, Up to now, Since, For, Recently.
Present Perfect Continuous
An action from the past that has just finished – I have been working, He has been working, She hasn’t, You haven’t, Have they been working? Clues: All day, The whole day, How long, Since, For.
Past Simple
Actions done and finished in the past – I worked, You didn’t work, Did they work? Clues: Last.., …ago, in 1990, yesterday.
Past Continuous
An action that happened in the middle of another – I was working, You weren’t, Was she working? Clues: While.
Past Perfect Simple
When two actions in a story are related, the first is conjugated in Past Perfect and the second in Present Perfect – I had worked, He hadn’t worked, Had you worked? Clues: Already, just, ever, for.
Past Perfect Continuous
Something had happened before another action happened – I had been working, He hadn’t been working, Had you been? Clues: How long, since, for.
Future Simple (Will + infinitive)
Predictions about the future – I will work, He won’t work, Will you?
Be going to
For plans – I’m going to work, He isn’t going to, Are you going to?
Future Continuous (will be + v.ing)
An action in progress at some point in the future. I’ll be working, He won’t be working, Will you be?
Future Perfect Simple (Will have + participle)
Something that will have started before something happens – I’ll have worked, He won’t have worked, Will you have worked?
Future Perfect Continuous (will have been +v.ing)
Something will have happened before a certain moment in the future – I’ll have been working, He won’t have been working, Will you have been working?
Zero Conditional (If + present simple, present simple)
Sure to happen – If you heat water at 100 degrees, it boils.
Conditional Type 1 (If + present simple + will + infinitive)
Something that may happen – If you come, I will be happy.
Conditional Type 2 (If + past simple + would + infinitive)
Something probably won’t happen – If I won the lottery, I would buy a house.
Conditional Type 3 (If + past perfect + would have + participle)
A past thing that you can no longer change – If I had won the lottery, I would have bought a house.
Superlatives
Compares with something in general. Ex: Marta is the eldest of the four sisters. Alice is the most beautiful person in the class.
Comparatives
Compare two things or people. Ex: Alice is more beautiful than Ona. His cat is larger than my dog.
Relative Clauses
Who, which, where, when, whose (non-defining, between commas info. Replaceable) (defining, without commas, necessary info).
Direct and Indirect Speech
Now (then), today, tonight (that day, night), tomorrow (the following day), yesterday (the previous day), last night (the previous night), next week (the following week), last week (the previous week), a month ago (a month before), here (there), this these (that those), my (his, her).