Tenses review

Present simple
The simple present is a verb tense which is used to show repetition, habit or
generalization.
+ - ?

Key words

Always / every day / often /once a week / neve / etc.

Good to know

She does the dishes.

He never plays soccer.

She studies English.

Past simple
Actions which happened in the past.

Key words

Yesterday /this morning / ago/ Last night /etc.

Good to know

Past tense of Be

I was Interested in the story.

They were in class yesterday.

Pronunciation of –ed past forms

I called my sister.

She wanted to play.

I kissed my girlfriend.
Present continuous

The present continuous verb tense indicates that an action or condition is happening now,
frequently, and may continue into the future.

I am Studying English right now.

I am studying at the Nariño University.

I am meeting my girlfriend tomorrow.

Good to know

We cannot use present continuous with state verbs.

Want / like / see/ agree/ look/ have / think / live

Exceptions.

I am living! / the doctor is seeing the patient/I am having lunch /I am having fun /I am loving it /
etc.

Past continuous

An action that someone was doing or an event that was happening at a particular time.

She was sleeping last night.

They were playing soccer in the park.

Good to know

We cannot use present continuous with state verbs.

Want / like / see/ agree/ look/ have / think / live

Exceptions.

I am living! / the doctor is seeing the patient/I am having lunch /I am having fun /I am loving it /
etc.
Present perfect

The present perfect is used to indicate a link between the present and the past. The time of the
action is before now but not specified, and we are often more interested in the result than in the
action itself.

I have played soccer for two hours.

I have been to Cali.

She has gone to Cali.

Key words

Yet / already / for/ since / already / Just /etc.

Uses
Past Perfect

The past perfect is formed using had + past participle. Questions are indicated by inverting the
subject and had. Negatives are made with not.

Example

Statement: You had studied English before you moved to New York.

Question: Had you studied English before you moved to New York?

Negative: You had not studied English before you moved to New York.

Uses

USE 1

Completed Action Before Something in the Past

past perfect completed action

The past perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It
can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.

Examples:

I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.

I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.

Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.

USE 2

Duration Before Something in the Past (Non-Continuous Verbs)

past perfect duration

With non-continuous verbs and some non-continuous uses of mixed verbs, we use the past
perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the
past.

Examples:

We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.

By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.
Present perfect continuous

The present perfect continuous tense (also known as the present perfect progressive tense) shows
that something started in the past and is continuing at the present time. The present perfect
continuous is formed using the construction has/have been + the present participle (root + -ing).

Example

I have been reading War and Peace for a month now.

Uses

USE 1

Duration from the Past Until Now

We use the present perfect continuous to show that something started in the past and has
continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations
which can be used with the present perfect continuous.

Examples:

They have been talking for the last hour.

What have you been doing for the last 30 minutes?

USE 2

present perfect continuous recently

You can also use the present perfect continuous WITHOUT a duration such as "for two weeks."
Without the duration, the tense has a more general meaning of "lately." We often use the words
"lately" or "recently" to emphasize this meaning.

Examples:

Recently, I have been feeling really tired.

She has been watching too much television lately.

Past perfect continuous

Uses

USE 1

Duration Before Something in the Past

We use the past perfect continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up
until another time in the past. "For five minutes" and "for two weeks" are both durations which
can be used with the past perfect continuous. Notice that this is related to the present perfect
continuous; however, the duration does not continue until now, it stops before something else in
the past.

Examples:

They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.

She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of business.

How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?

USE 2

Cause of Something in the Past

Using the past perfect continuous before another action in the past is a good way to show cause
and effect.

Examples:

Jason was tired because he had been jogging.

Sam gained weight because he had been overeating.

Used to & would to talk about past habits.

Used to

Form

Affirmative: used to + infinitive

Negative: didn’t use to + infinitive

Question: did + subject + use to

Used to is used to talk about habitual or regular actions or states in the past that are now finished.

I used to have a dog. (I had a dog in the past but I don’t have a dog now)

I used to play football every weekend but I don’t have time now.

Would

Would is also used to talk about habitual actions in the past, but not to talk about past states. It
means that you do not have to use state verbs (think, love, remember, look, have, own etc.).

When I was younger, I would cry a lot. (correct)

She would have a house in the country. (incorrect)