TENSE REVIEW all tenses ACTIVE & PASSIVE

TENSE

STRUCTURE

RULE

EXAMPLES

TIME
EXPRESSIONS

Present simple

V1 / V+s
is/am/are + V3

Describes habitual actions,

facts and general truth.

* He takes the dog for a

walk every morning. The
dog is taken for a walk (by
him) every morning.
* Ill tell him the truth when
he comes. (temporals)

everyday, once a week, etc.

Frequency expressions:
never, seldom, rarely,
usually, sometimes, often,
occasionally, hardly ever,
etc.

* The chef is baking cakes

now. Cakes are being
baked (by the chef) now.
* We are taking our guest to
Eilat at present. Our
guest is being taken to Eilat
at present.
* He saved the girl from
drowning yesterday. The
girl was saved from drowning
(by him) yesterday.

Now, today, at the moment,

right now, etc.

* Father was making dinner

when the guests arrived.
Dinner was being made when
the guests arrived.
* My brothers were cleaning
their room while I was
listening to music. The
room was being cleaned (by
my brothers) while I was
listening to music.

When + past simple

,
. ,

Present
progressive

is/am/are + Ving
is/am/are + being + V3

Describes an activity that is

taking place at or around the
moment of speaking.

.
Past simple

V+ed (irregular verbs)

was/were + V3

Describes an action that

happened in the past. The
time is known.

Past
progressive

was/were + Ving
was/were + being +V3

Describes an action that was

in progress at a specific time
in the past, when something
else happened or was
happening.

.

.

yesterday, last week, a

moment ago, in 1990, etc.

While/as + past
progressive


.
Present
perfect

have/has + V3
have/has + been + V3

Describes an action that has

been completed in the past
(in most cases) and has some
relevance to the present. The
time isnt known or
unimportant. Present perfect
is also used for repeated
actions.

* Amos Oz has written this

book. This book has been
written by Amos OZ.
* She has read Harry
Potter 3 times. Harry
Potter has been read by
her 3 times.
* I have already done my
project. My project has
already been done.

for, since, yet, still,

already, just, lately,
recently, so far, before,
never, ever, often, rarely,
etc.

Describes an action that

started in the past and is still
going on at present. The
action is usually incomplete.

* I have been waiting for

the doctor for over an hour
and he still hasnt shown up.

for, since, all

day/week/month etc.

Describes an action that had

already been completed
before another action in the
past.

* By the time we arrived, he

had already sold all the
tickets. By the time we
arrived, all the tickets had
already been sold.

already, just, by the time,

before, after, when,
as soon as, etc.

Describes a continuous action

that had been going on until
another action in the past
started.

* Amos had been playing

tennis for 10 years before
he became professional.

for, since, all day, etc.

,

.

.

.

Present
perfect
progressive

have/has + been + Ving

.

.
Past perfect

had + V3
had + been + V3

)
.(
.

Past perfect
progressive

had + been + Ving

.

.

Future

will + V1
will be + V3
Is/am/are + going to +V1
is/am/are + going to
be + V3

Future
progressive

will be + Ving

Describes an action that will

happen or is going to
hahppen in the future.

Describes a continuous action

in the future.

* They will paint the room

tomorrow. The room will
be painted tomorrow.
* She is going to buy a gift
soon.A gift is going to be
bought soon.

Tomorrow, next week,

soon, etc.

* I will be staying with

friends in Paris next month.

next week/month/year,
etc.

.
Future past

would + V1
would be + V3

Describes a future action

when the main verb is in the
past. It is used mainly in
REPORTED SPEECH.

* Ann hoped she would finish

the work on time. Ann
hoped the work would be
finished on time.

Describes and action that will

have been completed before
a certain time in the future.

* By the end of the year you

will have learned all the
tenses. By the end of the
year all the tenses will have
been learned.

Future perfect

will have + V3
will have been + V3

By the end of the

week/month/year, etc.