Tenses

Simple Present
Affirmative	She drinks.
Negative	She does not drink.
Interrogative	Does she drink?
Form	I, you we they play | he, she, it plays
Uses	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

Present Progressive
Affirmative	He is reading.
Negative	He is not reading.
Interrogative	Is he reading?
Form	To be (in the simple present) + verb + ing
Uses	action taking place at the moment of speaking action arranged for the future

Simple Past
Affirmative	I cried.
Negative	I did not cry
Interrogative	Did I cry?
Form	Regular verbs: Verb + ed | Irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by heart. This is a list of irregular verbs
Uses	action in the past taking place once, never or several times actions taking place one after another

Past Progressive
Affirmative	He was driving.
Negative	He was not driving.
Interrogative	Was he driving?
Form	to be (in the simple past) + verb + ing
Uses	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

Present Perfect Simple
Affirmative	They have slept.
Negative	They have not slept.
Interrogative	Have they slept?
Form	Have / has + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed | Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by heart. This is a list of irregular verbs)
Uses	emphasis is on the result (not the duration) action that started in the past & is still going on action that stopped recently finished action that has an influence on the present

Present Perfect Progressive
Affirmative	He has been thinking.
Negative	He has not been thinking.
Interrogative	Has he been thinking?
Form	have or has + been + verb + ing
Uses	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

Past Perfect Simple
Affirmative	She had won.
Negative	She had not won.
Interrogative	Had she won?
Form	had + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed | Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by heart. This is a list of irregular verbs)
Uses	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)

Past Perfect Progressive
Affirmative	He had been waiting.
Negative	He had not been waiting.
Interrogative	Had he been waiting?
Form	had + been + verb + ing
Uses	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

Future Simple
Affirmative	You will win.
Negative	You will not win.
Interrogative	Will you win?
Form	will + verb
Uses	action in the future that cannot be influenced spontaneous decision assumption with regard to the future

Near Future (going to)
Affirmative	He is going to watch TV.
Negative	He is not going to watch TV.
Interrogative	Is he going to watch TV?
Form	to be (in the simple present) + going + to + verb
Uses	decision made for the future conclusion with regard to the future

Future  Progressive
Affirmative	She will be listening to music.
Negative	She will not be listening to music.
Interrogative	Will she be listening to music?
Form	will + be + verb + ing
Uses	action that is going on at a certain time in the future action that is sure to happen in the near future

Future Perfect
Affirmative	He will have spoken.
Negative	He will not have spoken.
Interrogative	Will he have spoken?
Form	will + have + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed | Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by heart. This is a list of irregular verbs)
Uses	action that will be finished at a certain time in the future

Future Perfect Progressive
Affirmative	You will have been studying.
Negative	You will not have been studying.
Interrogative	Will you have been studying?
Form	will + have + been + verb + ing
Uses	action taking place before a certain time in the future putting emphasis on the course of an action

Conditional Simple
Affirmative	We would relax.
Negative	We would not relax.
Interrogative	Would we relax ?
Form	would + verb
Uses	action that might take place

Conditional Progressive
Affirmative	He would be writing.
Negative	He would not be writing.
Interrogative	Would he be writing?
Form	would + be + verb + ing
Uses	action that might take place putting emphasis on the course / duration of the action

Conditional Perfect
Affirmative	He would have written.
Negative	He would not have written.
Interrogative	Would he have written?
Form	would + have + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed | Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by heart This is a list of irregular verbs)
Uses	action that might have taken place in the past

Conditional Perfect Progressive
Affirmative	She would have been sleeping.
Negative	She would not have sleeping speaking.
Interrogative	Would she have been sleeping?
Form	would + have + been + verb + ing
Uses	action that might have taken place in the past puts emphasis on the course / duration of the action

Examples of English Tenses

Explanations	Present Simple
Action that is repeated every Friday. Habitual action.	I visit my uncle every Friday
Facts that are believed to be true. Generalizations	Cats hate mice. The sun rises in the morning.
Scheduled events in the near future	The plane takes off at 10 o'clock tonight

Explanations	Present Progressive
Action that takes place now / at the moment	I am working on my computer
Near future	I am leaving tomorrow

Explanations	Present Perfect
To talk about experiences	I have been to Italy.
Past action that has the result in the present.	She has read that book.
Action which started in the past and continued up to now.	I have lived in this town for 12 years.

Explanations	Present Perfect Progressive
To show that something started in the past and has continued up until now.	He has been sleeping for the last 3 hours
To talk about an action that started in the past and stopped recently.	The grass is wet because it has been raining all day long.
To talk about an action that started in the past and is continuing now.	I have been watching TV for 2 hours / since you left.

Explanations	Past Simple
Completed action in the past.	She left yesterday.
To talk about an action that started in the past and stopped recently.	She woke up, had a shower and left.
To talk about an action that started in the past and is continuing now.	If I had a million dollar, I would help the poor.
An action taking place in the middle of another action.	She was playing when the accident occurred.

Explanations	Past Progressive
Actions happening at the same time in the past.	He was reading a newspaper while his wife was preparing dinner.
Interrupted action in the past.	Sh was reading a book when the light went off, had a shower and left.

Explanations	Past Perfect Simple
Completed action before another action in the past.	She had left when I arrived.

Explanations	Past Perfect Progressive
To show that something started in the past and continued up until another action stopped it.	They had been playing soccer when the accident occurred
To show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past.	I had been living in that town for ten years before I moved to New York.
We use the Past Perfect Continuous before another action in the past to show cause and effect.	I was so tired. I had been working for 6 hours.

Explanations	Future  Simple
Instant decisions	I've left the door open; I'll close it.
We use the simple future , when we predict a future situation	She'll pass the exam. She's hardworking.
We use the simple future with: "I (don't) think...", "I expect...", "I am sure...", "I wonder...", "probably".	It will probably rain tonight
Conditional sentence type one	If I have enough time, I'll watch the film.

Explanations	Future Progressive
Action that will be taking place at some time in the future.	When you arrive, I'll be sleeping .

Explanations	Future Perfect
Completed action before another action in the past	By tomorrow, I will have finished the work.

Explanations	Future Perfect Progressive
It is used to show that an action will continue up until a particular event or time in the future.	She will have been working for over 8 hours by the time her children arrive.