ENGLISH TENSES

Affirmative/Negative/
tense Use Signal Words
Question

 action in the present taking always,

place regularly, never or every …, never,
several times normally,
A: He speaks.  facts often, seldom,
Simple Present N: He does not speak. sometimes,
Q: Does he speak?  actions taking place one usually
after another if sentences
 action set by a timetable or type I (If I
schedule talk, …)

 action taking place in the

moment of speaking at the
A: He is speaking. moment, just,
Present  action taking place only for
N: He is not speaking. just now,
Progressive a limited period of time
Q: Is he speaking? Listen!, Look!,
 action arranged for the now, right now
future

 action in the past taking yesterday, 2

place once, never or several minutes ago, in
times 1990, the
A: He spoke.
other day, last
Simple Past N: He did not speak.  actions taking place one
Friday
Q: Did he speak? after another
if sentence
 action taking place in the type II (If I
middle of another action talked, …)

 action going on at a certain

time in the past

A: He was speaking.  actions taking place at the

while, as long
Past Progressive N: He was not speaking. same time
as
Q: Was he speaking?
 action in the past that is
interrupted by another
action

 putting emphasis on the

result already, ever,
A: He has spoken. just, never, not
Present Perfect  action that is still going on
N: He has not spoken. yet, so far, till
Simple
Q: Has he spoken?  action that stopped now, up to
recently now

 finished action that has an

 influence on the present

 action that has taken place

once, never or several
times before the moment
of speaking

 putting emphasis on the

course or duration (not the
A: He has been speaking. all day, for 4
result)
N: He has not been years, since
Present Perfect
speaking.  action that recently 1993, how
Progressive
Q: Has he been stopped or is still going on long?, the
speaking? whole week
 finished action that
influenced the present

 action taking place before a

already, just,
certain time in the past
never, not yet,
A: He had spoken.  sometimes interchangeable once, until that
Past Perfect
N: He had not spoken. with past perfect day
Simple
Q: Had he spoken? progressive if sentence
type III (If I had
 putting emphasis only on
talked, …)
the fact (not the duration)

 action taking place before a

A: He had been certain time in the past
speaking.
 sometimes interchangeable for, since, the
Past Perfect N: He had not been
with past perfect simple whole day, all
Progressive speaking.
day
Q: Had he been  putting emphasis on the
speaking? duration or course of an
action

in a year,
next …,
tomorrow
 action in the future that
If-Satz Typ I (If
cannot be influenced
A: He will speak. you ask her,
Future I Simple N: He will not speak.  spontaneous decision she will help
Q: Will he speak? you.)
 assumption with regard to
assumption: I
the future
think,
probably,
perhaps

A: He is going to speak. in one year,

Future I Simple  decision made for the
N: He is not going to next week,
(going to) speak. future
tomorrow
Q: Is he going to speak?
  conclusion with regard to
the future

A: He will be speaking.  action that is going on at a

Future I N: He will not be certain time in the future in one year,
next week,
Progressive speaking.  action that is sure to tomorrow
Q: Will he be speaking? happen in the near future

A: He will have spoken.

 action that will be finished
N: He will not have by Monday, in
Future II Simple at a certain time in the
spoken. a week
future
Q: Will he have spoken?

A: He will have been

speaking.  action taking place before a for …, the last
Future II N: He will not have been certain time in the future couple of
Progressive speaking.  putting emphasis on the hours, all day
Q: Will he have been course of an action long
speaking?

if sentences
A: He would speak. type II
Conditional I
N: He would not speak.  action that might take place (If I were you, I
Simple
Q: Would he speak? would go
home.)

A: He would be
speaking.  action that might take place
Conditional I N: He would not be  putting emphasis on the
Progressive speaking. course / duration of the
Q: Would he be action
speaking?

A: He would have
if sentences
spoken.
type III
Conditional II N: He would not have  action that might have
(If I had seen
Simple spoken. taken place in the past
that, I would
Q: Would he have
have helped.)
spoken?

A: He would have been  action that might have

speaking. taken place in the past
Conditional II N: He would not have
Progressive been speaking.  puts emphasis on the
Q: Would he have been course / duration of the
speaking? action

Comprehension
Read the following text:

Generic name. Each medicine (drug) has an approved name called the generic name. A group
of medicines that have similar actions often have similar-sounding generic names. For
example, penicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin and flucloxacillin are in one group of antibiotics.

Brand name. Many medicines also have one or more brand names. This is chosen by the
company that makes it. Several companies may make the same generic medicine, each with
their own brand name. The name is often chosen to be memorable for advertising, or to be
easier to say or spell than some long generic name! For example, paracetamol is a generic
name. There are several companies that make this with brand names such as Panadol®,
Calpol®, etc.

The brand name is usually written most clearly on any packaging. However, you will always see
the generic name written somewhere on the 80 packet (often in small print). Some medicines
only have the generic name on the packet.

The colour, size, shape, etc, of brands of the same medicine may vary depending on which
company makes it. Do not be alarmed if your regular medicine seems to have changed colour
or shape. It may be that the pharmacist is getting it from a different company, or the doctor
has written the prescription in a generic way rather than using a brand name. However, the
medicine will be the same if the generic name is the same as before.

Useful information

Standardized drug suffixes:

-vir Antiviral drug Indinavir

-cillin Antibiotics Penicillin and related compounds such as

carbenicillin and oxacillin

-mab Monoclonal antibodies Trastuzumab, used in chemotherapy

-olol Beta 1 blocker Аlprenolol

-tidine H2 receptor antagonist Cimetidine, Ranitidine

-pine Ca2+ channel blocker Amlodipine, Nifedipine

-done Opioid analgesic Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, Methadone

-sone corticosteroid, anti-inflamatory Prednisolone, Prednisone

-nitrate Vasodialator Isosorbide mononitrate, Isosorbide dinitrate