a table of all the verb tenses in english with its uses and forms

1. VERB TENSE FORM USE TIME EXPRESSIONS
Present Simple
(Yo juego)
A I –You – We – They play // He – She – It plays
N I –You – We – They don’t play // He–She –it doesn’t play
?  Do I –You – We – They play ? // Does He – She – It play?
- Routines / habits
- Things that are always true
- Future: timetables
Adverbs of frequency
Every day
Once a month, twice a month...
Most days...
Present Continuous
(Yo estoy jugando)
To be + verb (-ing)
A  I am meeting the dentist at 7.00 (future arrangement)
N  He isn’t working this week (temporary)
?  Are you reading the newspaper? (now)
- Actions in progress now
- Temporary situations
- Future arrangements
Now
At the moment
Today
Tonight
This week.... these days...
Past Simple
(Yo jugué)
A  regular verbs – ED // irregular verbs – 2ND COLUMN
N  didn’t + inf  I didn’t go to the cinema yesterday
?  Did + subj + inf?  Did you study for the exam?
- Complete actions in the past Yesterday
Last week, last month...
In 2001... when....
Five minutes ago...
Past Continuous
(Yo estaba jugando)
(yo jugaba)
To be in the past (WAS/WERE) + verb (-ing)
A  He phoned me while I was having a shower
N  I wasn’t watching TV at 7.00
?  Were you sleeping when I came home?
- Action still in progress in a specific
point in the past (it is usually
interrupted by a sudden event)
while
Present Perfect Simple
(Yo he jugado)
(yo juego desde los 3
años)
HAVE / HAS + past participle (ED – 3rd column)
AI have sent you three emails this morning
N She hasn’t eaten anything yet
?  Have you ever been to Paris?
- Recent events without a definite
time.
- An action that began in the past and
continues in the present or has
recently finished
just, already, yet, ever, still, for,
since,
so far, in all my life, recently
this morning, this evening...
never (I have never been in NY)
Present Perfect
Continuous
(Yo he estado jugando)
HAVE / HAS + BEEN + ing
I have been living in this house for five years
- Emphasize the duration of an event
that began in the past and lasts up
to the present time
for, since, so far, in all my life...
Past Perfect Simple
(Yo había jugado)
HAD + past participle
They had already gone to bed when I arrived home
Before the train arrived, She had been in the station for 3 h
- Past event which took place before
another past event
After (past perf)– before (past sim)
Past Perfect Continuous
(Yo había estado
jugando)
HAD + BEEN + ing
I had been running all morning when you saw me
- Emphasize the duration of a past
even that took place before another
past event
for, since, so far, in all my life...

2. VERB TENSE FORM USE TIME EXPRESSIONS
Future Simple Will – won’t + infinitive
In 2050 I will be very rich. I think I will win the lottery
“The phone is ringing” , I will answer it
- General future predictions
- Spontaneous decisions
Be going to To be + going to + infinitive
You are going to fall! Be careful!
Susan is going to study medicine at university
- Prediction about an event that we
can see
- Plans / Intentions in the future
Future continuous
(Yo estaré jugando)
WILL + BE + verb (-ing)
This time next week, we’ll be eating lunch on the plane
- A situation in progress in the future
at a particular time
Future Perfect
(Yo habré jugado)
WILL + HAVE + past participle
By the time we get there, the film will have finished
- An action that will have finished in a
specific point in the future

3. 1. Put each verb in brackets into a suitable tense.
I come from a verb large family, and recently my parents ............................ (decide) that they ...........................
(spend) long enough living in an overcrowded house in Birmingham. “We ......................... (move) to the country”, my
father ........................ (announce) one evening. “I .............................. (sell) this house, and we ........................... (live)
on a farm.” So, last week we ........................ (load) all our possessions into two vans and for the last few days we
........................... (try) to organise ourselves in our new house. Yesterday, for example, my three brothers and I
............................ (start) painting the downstairs rooms. Unfortunately, while I ..................... (mix) the paint, one of
my sisters ............................ (open) the door. Nobody .......................... (tell) her that we ........................ (be) in the
room, you see. So, instead of painting the wall, we ........................... (spend) all morning cleaning the paint off the
floor. But worse things ............................. (happen) since then. This morning when I ....................... (wake up), water
............................. (drip) through the ceiling next to my bed. We .......................... (spend) today so far repairing the
roof. It’s not all bad news, though. The school in the village nearby ............................. (close down) two years ago,
and my parents ......................... (not find) another school for us yet.
I was on time for my dentist’s appointment, but the dentist was still busy with another patient, so I .................. (sit)
in the waiting room and ................................ (read) some of the old magazines lying there. While I ........................
(wonder) whether to leave and come back another day, I ....................... (notice) a magazine article about teeth. It
............................ (begin):
“How long is it since you last ...................... (go) to the dentist? .......................... (you/go) regularly every six months?
Or .................................. (you/put off) your visit for the last six years?”
Next to the article was a cartoon of a man in a dentist’s chair. The dentist said: “I’m afraid that this ...................
(hurt).” I suddenly ......................... (realise) that my tooth .................... (stop) aching. But just as I ....................
(open) the door to leave, the dentist’s door ......................... (open). “Next please”, he called. “Actually I’m not here
to see you, I ......................... (wait) for my friend”, I .......................... (shout), leaving the room as rapidly as I could.
............................... (you/ever/do) this kind of thing? Surely, I can’t be the only person who ................. (hate) the
dentist.
2. Rewrite each sentence, beginning as show so that the meaning stays the same.
a. There is a party at Mary’s house next week
Next week Mary ............................................................................................................
b. When you phoned me, it was my lunchtime
When you phoned me, I ...............................................................................................
c. I started working for this company three years ago
I’ve .................................................................................................................................
d. The arrival time of Helen’s flight is 8.00
Helen’s flight .................................................................................................................
e. Oh no! My wallet is missing!
Oh no! I’ve .....................................................................................................................
f. Jack left the office before I arrived there
When I arrived ...............................................................................................................
g. I started this job five years ago
I have .............................................................................................................................
h. Look at the black clouds! There’s rain on the way
Look at the black clouds! It ...........................................................................................