able of English Tenses

tense Affirmative/Negative/Question Use Signal Words

always, every …,
Simple A: He speaks.  action in the present taking never, normally,
Present N: He does not speak. place regularly, never or several often, seldom,
Q: Does he speak? sometimes, usually
times if sentences type I (If
 facts I talk, …)

 actions taking place one after

another
 action set by a timetable or
schedule
Present A: He is speaking. at the moment, just,
Progressive N: He is not speaking.  action taking place in the moment just now, Listen!,
Q: Is he speaking? of speaking Look!, now, right now

 action taking place only for a

Simple Past A: He spoke.
N: He did not speak.
Q: Did he speak?
Past A: He was speaking.
Progressive N: He was not speaking.
Q: Was he speaking?
Present A: He has spoken.
Perfect N: He has not spoken.
Simple Q: Has he spoken?
limited period of time
 action arranged for the future
yesterday, 2 minutes
 action in the past taking place once, ago, in 1990, the other
never or several times day, last Friday
if sentence type II (If
 actions taking place one after I talked, …)
another
 action taking place in the middle of
another action
while, as long as
 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
already, ever, just,
 putting emphasis on the result never, not yet, so far,
 action that is still going on till now, up to now

 action that stopped recently

 finished action that has an influence
 on the present
 action that has taken place once,
never or several times before the
moment of speaking
Present A: He has been speaking. all day, for 4 years,
Perfect N: He has not been speaking.  putting emphasis on the course or since 1993, how
Progressive Q: Has he been speaking? duration (not the result) long?, the whole week

 action that recently stopped or is

still going on
 finished action that influenced the
present
Past A: He had spoken. already, just, never,
Perfect N: He had not spoken.  action taking place before a certain not yet, once, until
Simple Q: Had he spoken? time in the past that day
if sentence type III (If
 sometimes interchangeable with I had talked, …)
past perfect progressive
 putting emphasis only on
the fact (not the duration)
Past A: He had been speaking. for, since, the whole
Perfect N: He had not been speaking.  action taking place before a certain day, all day
Progressive Q: Had he been speaking? time in the past
 sometimes interchangeable with
past perfect simple
 putting emphasis on the duration
or course of an action
Future I A: He will speak. in a year, next …,
Simple N: He will not speak.  action in the future that cannot be tomorrow
Q: Will he speak? influenced If-Satz Typ I (If you
ask her, she will
 spontaneous decision helpyou.)
assumption: I think,
 assumption with regard to the probably, perhaps
future
Future I A: He is going to speak. in one year, next
Simple N: He is not going to speak.  decision made for the future week, tomorrow
Q: Is he going to speak?  conclusion with regard to the future
(going to)

Future I A: He will be speaking. in one year, next

Progressive N: He will not be speaking.  action that is going on at a certain week, tomorrow
Q: Will he be speaking? time in the future

Future II A: He will have spoken.
Simple N: He will not have spoken.
Q: Will he have spoken?
Future II A: He will have been speaking.
Progressive N: He will not have been
speaking.
Q: Will he have been speaking?
Conditional A: He would speak.
I Simple N: He would not speak.
Q: Would he speak?
Conditional A: He would be speaking.
I N: He would not be speaking.
Progressive Q: Would he be speaking?
Conditional A: He would have spoken.
II Simple N: He would not have spoken.
Q: Would he have spoken?
Conditional A: He would have been speaking.
II N: He would not have been
Progressive speaking.
Q: Would he have been speaking?
 action that is sure to happen in the
near future
by Monday, in a week
 action that will be finishedat a
certain time in the future
for …, the last couple
 action taking place before a certain of hours, all day long
time in the future
 putting emphasis on the course of
an action
if sentences type II
 action that might take place (If I were you,
I would go home.)
 action that might take place
 putting emphasis on
thecourse / duration of the action
if sentences type III
 action that might have taken place (If I had seen that,
in the past Iwould have helped.)
 action that might have taken place
in the past
 puts emphasis on
the course / duration of the action