Cheatsheet: Tenses
Tenses
Tense map
| Tense | Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present simple | V / V-s | habits, facts, permanent states | I always walk to work. |
| Present continuous | am / is / are + V-ing | now, temporary situations | I'm working now. |
| A2Present perfect | have / has + V-ed | past events that matter now | I've never been to Rome. |
| Past simple | V-ed / irregular | finished events | I worked yesterday. |
| A2Past continuous | was / were + V-ing | in progress at a past moment | I was working at eight. |
| A2Used to | used to + V | past habits and states, over now | I used to swim when I was a child. |
| B1Past perfect | had + V-ed | before another past event | She had left before I arrived. |
| Going to | am / is / are going to + V | plans, predictions with evidence | We're going to cook tonight. |
| Present continuous for the future | am / is / are + V-ing | arrangements | I'm leaving tomorrow. |
| A2Will | will + V | decisions, offers, promises, opinions | I think it'll rain. |
| A2Present simple for the future | V / V-s | timetables | The train leaves at six. |
Simple Tenses
| Tense | Question | Statement | Negative | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helper | Subject | Verb | Subject | Helper | Verb | Subject | Helper | Verb | |||
| A2Future | Will | I | work? | I | will | work. | I | won't | work. | ||
| you | You | You | |||||||||
| he | He | He | |||||||||
| she | She | She | |||||||||
| it | It | It | |||||||||
| we | We | We | |||||||||
| they | They | They | |||||||||
| Present | Do | I | work? | I | work. | I | don't | work. | |||
| you | You | You | |||||||||
| Does | he | He | works. | He | doesn't | ||||||
| she | She | She | |||||||||
| it | It | It | |||||||||
| Do | we | We | work. | We | don't | ||||||
| they | They | They | |||||||||
| Past | Did | I | work? | I | worked. | I | didn't | work. | |||
| you | You | You | |||||||||
| he | He | He | |||||||||
| she | She | She | |||||||||
| it | It | It | |||||||||
| we | We | We | |||||||||
| they | They | They | |||||||||
Continuous Tenses
| Tense | Question | Statement | Negative | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helper | Subject | Verb | Subject | Helper | Verb | Subject | Helper | Verb | |||
| B1Future | Will | I | be working? | I | will be | working. | I | won't be | working. | ||
| you | You | You | |||||||||
| he | He | He | |||||||||
| she | She | She | |||||||||
| it | It | It | |||||||||
| we | We | We | |||||||||
| they | They | They | |||||||||
| Present | Am | I | working? | I | am | working. | I | am not | working. | ||
| Are | you | You | are | You | aren't | ||||||
| Is | he | He | is | He | isn't | ||||||
| she | She | She | |||||||||
| it | It | It | |||||||||
| Are | we | We | are | We | aren't | ||||||
| they | They | They | |||||||||
| A2Past | Was | I | working? | I | was | working. | I | wasn't | working. | ||
| Were | you | You | were | You | weren't | ||||||
| Was | he | He | was | He | wasn't | ||||||
| she | She | She | |||||||||
| it | It | It | |||||||||
| Were | we | We | were | We | weren't | ||||||
| they | They | They | |||||||||
Perfect Tenses
| Tense | Question | Statement | Negative | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helper | Subject | Verb | Subject | Helper | Verb | Subject | Helper | Verb | |||
| Present perfect | Have | I | worked? | I | have | worked. | I | haven't | worked. | ||
| you | You | You | |||||||||
| Has | he | He | has | He | hasn't | ||||||
| she | She | She | |||||||||
| it | It | It | |||||||||
| Have | we | We | have | We | haven't | ||||||
| they | They | They | |||||||||
| B1Past perfect | Had | I | worked? | I | had | worked. | I | hadn't | worked. | ||
| you | You | You | |||||||||
| he | He | He | |||||||||
| she | She | She | |||||||||
| it | It | It | |||||||||
| we | We | We | |||||||||
| they | They | They | |||||||||
Future Forms
| Point | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| am / is / are going to + V | plans and intentions; predictions with evidence | We're going to visit Granada. / Look at those clouds. It's going to rain. |
| am / is / are + V-ing | present continuous: a fixed arrangement, with a future time | I'm seeing the dentist on Friday. |
| A2will / 'll / won't + V | decisions now, offers, promises, opinions (I think) | It's cold. I'll close the window. / I think she'll win. |
| A2V / V-s | present simple: timetables | The train leaves at 6:15. |
| B1Prediction | opinion or guess (I think): will; evidence now: going to | I think it'll be a good year. / Watch out! You're going to fall. |
| B1Arrangement or intention | fixed arrangement: present continuous; intention: going to | I'm meeting Sam at 8. / I'm going to learn Italian. |
| Trap | plans take going to | I'm going to buy a car tomorrow. |
| A2Trap | will makes questions by itself | Will you come? |
Used to
| Point | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | used to + V: the same for every subject | She used to live in Rome. |
| Negative | didn't use to + V | We didn't use to have a car. |
| Question | Did + subject + use to + V | Did you use to walk to school? — Yes, I did. |
| Use | past habits and states that are over now | I used to walk to school. / We used to have a dog. |
| Past simple | a single event, or a stated time or number | I lived in Paris for two years. |
| Position | always, often and never go before used to | He always used to be late. |
| Sound | the d is silent: used to sounds like use-ta | I used to swim. |
| Trap | the affirmative keeps the d: used to | I used to play football. |
| Trap | after did and didn't the d goes: use to | I didn't use to like it. |