Simple TensesA1–A2

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Past, present and future simple: do or does, did and will make questions and negatives, and the main verb stays in its base form. Once a helper appears, the main verb loses -s and -ed: She doesn't like tea. Did he go?

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CheatsheetA1–A2

Tense	Question			Statement			Negative
Tense	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.
	Do	you		You		work.	You	don't
	Does	he		He		works.	He	doesn't
		she		She			She
		it		It			It
	Do	we		We		work.	We	don't
	Do	they		They		work.	They	don't

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

OverviewA1

Each simple tense has a helper verb: will for the future, do / does for the present, did for the past.

In questions the helper goes before the subject; in negatives it takes not: don't, doesn't, didn't, won't.
After every helper the main verb is in the base form: Does she work? / She didn't work.
Present and past statements have no helper: the verb itself takes -s (he, she, it) or -ed.
will and did are the same for every person; only the present changes with he, she, it.
be has its own forms: am / is / are, was / were. See To be.

Present simple: formA1–A2

Subject	Verb	Example
I / you / we / they	V	I live in Madrid.
he / she / it	V-s	She lives in Madrid.
singular noun	V-s	My brother lives in Madrid.
plural noun	V	My parents live in Madrid.

A short answer repeats the helper: Do you like tea? — Yes, I do. / No, I don't.
A wh-word goes first: wh-word + do / does + subject + verb. Where does he live?
A2When who or what is the subject, the verb follows directly, with -s: Who lives here?
More question patterns: Questions and negatives.

Present simple: the -s endingA1–A2

Verb ending	Spelling	Examples
most verbs	+ s	work → works / read → reads
-s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z	+ es	pass → passes / wash → washes / watch → watches / fix → fixes
-o	+ es	go → goes / do → does
consonant + y	y → ies	study → studies / try → tries
vowel + y	+ s	play → plays / buy → buys
have	own form	have → has

Sound	After	Examples
/s/	voiceless sounds /p t k f θ/	stops /stɒps/ · works /wɜːks/ · laughs /lɑːfs/
/z/	voiced sounds and vowels	lives /lɪvz/ · plays /pleɪz/ · goes /ɡəʊz/
/ɪz/	/s z ʃ tʃ dʒ/	washes /ˈwɒʃɪz/ · watches /ˈwɒtʃɪz/ · uses /ˈjuːzɪz/

Three verbs change their vowel sound: does /dʌz/, says /sez/, has /hæz/.

Present simple: useA1–A2

Use	Example
Habits and routines	I get up at 7.
Facts and general truths	Water boils at 100 °C.
Permanent states	She lives in London.
Likes, dislikes, opinions	I like coffee. / I think so.
Jobs and regular activities	He teaches maths.
A2Timetables and schedules (future)	The train leaves at 6:15.
A2Instructions and directions	You turn left at the bank.

Frequency adverbs go before the main verb and after be: I often walk to work. / She is always late.
Time expressions go at the end: I swim every day. / She works late on Mondays.
A2Verbs for states take the present simple, also for now: I know the answer. / I want a coffee.
All frequency adverbs: Adverbs of frequency and manner.

Past simple: formA1–A2

be has its own past, with no helper: was / were. See To be. I was at home. / Were you there?

Every other verb has one past form for every person:

Verb type	Form	Example
regular	V-ed	I watched TV.
irregular	own form	I saw a film.

A short answer repeats the helper: Did you like it? — Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.
A wh-word goes first: wh-word + did + subject + verb. Where did they go?
A2When who or what is the subject, the verb is in the past directly: Who called you? / What happened?

Past simple: the -ed endingA1–A2

Verb ending	Spelling	Examples
most verbs	+ ed	work → worked / watch → watched / visit → visited
-e	+ d	live → lived / like → liked / arrive → arrived
consonant + y	y → ied	study → studied / try → tried
vowel + y	+ ed	play → played / stay → stayed
1 vowel + 1 consonant, one syllable	double the consonant + ed	stop → stopped / plan → planned

Sound	After	Examples
/t/	voiceless sounds /p k f s ʃ tʃ θ/	stopped /stɒpt/ · worked /wɜːkt/ · watched /wɒtʃt/
/d/	voiced sounds and vowels	lived /lɪvd/ · played /pleɪd/ · opened /ˈəʊpənd/
/ɪd/	/t d/	wanted /ˈwɒntɪd/ · needed /ˈniːdɪd/ · visited /ˈvɪzɪtɪd/

The ending adds a syllable only after /t/ and /d/: wanted has two syllables, worked has one.

Past simple: irregular verbsA1

Base verb	Past simple	Example
go	went	We went home.
have	had	I had lunch.
do	did	She did her homework.
see	saw	I saw Tom.
get	got	He got a letter.
make	made	They made a cake.
take	took	I took a taxi.
come	came	She came late.
eat	ate	We ate pizza.
buy	bought	I bought a coat.
say	said	He said hello.
write	wrote	I wrote an email.

The irregular form is only for statements; questions and negatives take did + base verb: Did you go?
More verbs: Irregular verbs table.

Past simple: useA1–A2

Use	Example
Finished actions at a stated past time	I visited Paris last year.
Past states	She was ill on Monday.
Sequences of events	I got up, had a shower and left.
A2Past habits that are over	When I was a child, I played outside every day.

Time words: yesterday, last week, in 2020, two years ago. ago comes after the period: She left two days ago.
A2Past habits also take used to: see Used to.

Future simple: formA2

Form	Structure	Example
+	will / 'll + V	I'll help you.
−	will not / won't + V	He won't come.
?	will + subject + V	Will she come?
Short answer	Yes, I will. / No, I won't.	Will you call? — Yes, I will.

Speech and messages use 'll and won't: 'll is /l/ after a vowel, /əl/ after a consonant; won't is /wəʊnt/.

Future simple: useA2

Use	Example
Decision at the moment of speaking	It's cold. I'll close the window.
Offers	I'll carry your bag.
Promises	I won't tell anyone.
Opinions and predictions (I think)	I think she'll win.

probably goes after will and before won't: It will probably rain. / It probably won't rain.
Plans and arrangements take going to or the present continuous: see Future forms.

Compare: past, present and futureA2

Past simple	Present simple	Future simple
did	do / does	will
yesterday, last week, ago	every day, usually, on Mondays	tomorrow, next week, soon
I worked yesterday.	I work every day.	I'll work tomorrow.
Did she call?	Does she call?	Will she call?
He didn't come.	He doesn't come.	He won't come.

Typical errorsA1–A2

✗	✓	Rule
She work here.	She works here.	he / she / it → V-s
He doesn't works.	He doesn't work.	helper + base verb
Where you live?	Where do you live?	questions need a helper
Did you went there?	Did you go there?	did + base verb
She didn't called.	She didn't call.	didn't + base verb
I goed home.	I went home.	go → went (irregular verb)
Did he was late?	Was he late?	be makes questions by itself
A2He will goes.	He will go.	will + base verb
A2Do you will come?	Will you come?	will makes questions by itself