Present simple

 permanent situations
Most people access the Internet for information.
 habitual situations
I check my emails twice a day.
 in time clauses
Once you finish your work, give me a ring.
We usaually play tennis until it gets dark.
 in zero conditionals
If you use all seven letters in the board game Scrabble, you get fifty extra points.
Steam forms when water boils.

*The present simple can be used for:

 events based on a timetable or known date
The plane leaves at 09.45.
'Twelfth Night' opens on Saturday at the Arts Theatre.
 future intentions
NASA plans to send further rockets to Mars.
 definite planned events
The new pool is due to open in April.

Present continuous
 temporary situations
Iʼm living at home until I find my own flat.
 developing situations
Traffic is becoming heavier and heavier.
 events happening now
Sit still while Iʼm talking to you!
 events in the near future
Timʼs leaving for Hanover next week.

*The present continuous tense can be used for:

 imminent future events
I'm having a meeting with Charlotte at two o'clock.
 definite future arrangements
Johnny's starting school next September.

Stative verbs are not normally used in continuous tenses. The commonest of these are:

admire, be, believe, belong, consist, dislike, doubt, fit, forget, guess, hate, hear, imagine, include, keep, know,
like, love, mean, prefer, realise, recognise, remember, seem, smell, sound, suppose, taste, understand, want,
wish
She keeps talking when I'm trying to watch TV.
We wish we could be with you right now.

1
 Present perfect
This is used to talk about events or a period of time which:
 started in the past but are still true or are still continuing
We've lived here for eight years. Ellen has eaten no meat since she was six.
 happened in the past but have an effect in the present
Theyʼve cancelled tonight's concert so we'll have to do something else. I've heard from Iain again.

Present perfect continuous

This is used to emphasise the duration of a recent or ongoing event:
Lars has been talking about his own experience - does anyone share his views?
I've been learning Italian for six years.

Past simple
This is used to talk about events in the past which:
 occurred at a particular time
The Titanic sank in 1912.
I drove back from London last night.
This indicates a completed action in the past with a fixed time phrase.
 happened regularly
Matthew spent most weekends at tennis tournaments.
She burst into tears every time she heard his name.
***Note that would and used to are also used to talk about the past in this way.

Past continuous
This is used to talk about events in the past which:
 had a longer duration than another action
I was cutting up vegetables in the kitchen when I heard it on the six o'clock news.
 were temporary
Norwich were losing two-nil, with only five minutes to go.
It is also used to set the scene in a story: The sun was shining when the old man set off from the cottage.

Past perfect
This is used to talk about events which:
 happened earlier than something else
Ken sat in the dark miserably and thought about what he had said to his girlfriend.
Once I had finished my exams, I started clubbing again.
***Note that the past perfect needs to be used when it is important to show a time difference.

Past perfect continuous

This is used to emphasise the duration of a past event:
I'd been working for the same company for twelve years and it was time to move on.

2
 The future simple tense shall/will can be used
for:
 future plans
I'll give you a ring sometime.
 definite future events
Our representative will meet you at the airport.
 predictions based on general beliefs
Mass space travel will soon become possible.
 offers or promises relating to the future
I'll prepare some salads for the party.
I'll do my homework after this episode of 'The Simpsons'.
***Remember that the future simple is also used in the first conditional.

The future continuous tense is used:

 to indicate certainty, when we are thinking ahead to a certain point in the future.
Tom will be sharing an office with Fran.

The future perfect simple is used:

 to refer to events that have not yet happened but will definitely do so at a given time. This tense also
conveys the idea of completion at some point in the future.
This time next year I'll have finished my course.
Space tourism will have become a reality by 2030.

The future perfect continuous tense is used:

 to indicate duration.
At the end of June, Henry will have been working here for sixteen years.

3
f) While I was putting away the books, I found something else.
d) I was watching a horror movie.
i) When I realised that they had gone, I ran inside.

Past simple / Past continuous

The most important difference between these two tenses is the duration of an action. For example, in
example f above, the past continuous describes an action that happened over a longer time period than
the second action, which happened at a specific moment and may have interrupted the longer continuous
activity:
~~~~~-x~~~~~-
While I was putting away the books ... I found something else.
Like the present continuous tense, the past continuous is used to describe temporary situations, as in example d.
~~~~~~~~~~~-x
I was watching a movie . ... I turned off the TV.
Note that this use can be an effective way of setting the scene at the beginning of a story, as in example g.
~~~~~~~~~~-x
The others were looking at a map ... About six of them burst in.

Past simple / Past perfect

The past perfect is used for actions in the past that occur earlier than the time period that is being described, as
in example i:
When I realised they had gone, I ran inside.