Usual or generally true → present simple
Think usually, most days or every week.
- I work from home.
- She takes the train most days.
Free cheat sheet 02 · B1 and above
English Tenses: Present, Past and Future
Understand the time, the form and the message.
You do not need to search through every tense name while you speak. Decide whether you mean a routine, now, a finished time, a link to now or a future plan.
What to use—and when
Make the choice by meaning.
Happening now → present continuous
Think right now or a temporary situation.
- I’m working from home today.
- She’s waiting for the train.
Finished time → past simple
Think yesterday, last week or a finished event.
- I worked late yesterday.
- She missed the train.
Past connected to now → present perfect
For experience, a present result or something that continues.
- I’ve lost my keys.
- I’ve lived here since 2024.
Later → choose the future meaning
Going to for an intention; present continuous for an arrangement; will often for a prediction or decision made now.
- I’m going to apply.
- I’m meeting Sam on Friday.
- I think it’ll rain.
Understand the choice
First, understand the building blocks
A tense changes more than the time. It can show whether you see an action as a fact, in progress, completed or connected to another time.
- Subject = who or what: I, you, she, the train. Base verb = the dictionary form: work, go, eat.
- Past form: worked, went, ate. Past participle: worked, gone, eaten. Regular verbs often use -ed for both; irregular verbs may have two different forms.
- Be changes with the subject and time: am / is / are → was / were. Have changes to has with he / she / it; its past form is had.
- Simple usually presents a fact, habit or event. Continuous focuses on an activity in progress. Perfect looks back from a reference point. Perfect continuous looks back at the activity and its duration.
- Time expressions are clues, not automatic rules. “Tomorrow” can appear with will, going to, a present continuous arrangement or a present simple timetable.
Understand the choice
Verb endings and contractions: the practical details
The pattern tells you which form you need. These spelling habits help you build that form correctly.
| Form | Common pattern | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| He / she / it in present simple | Usually add -s; add -es after many -s, -sh, -ch, -x and -o endings; consonant + y often becomes -ies. | work → works; watch → watches; go → goes; study → studies; play → plays |
| Regular past and past participle | Usually add -ed; after -e add -d; consonant + y often becomes -ied. | work → worked; live → lived; study → studied |
| The -ing form | Usually add -ing; often drop final silent -e; change -ie to -ying. | work → working; make → making; lie → lying |
| Doubling a final consonant | In many short stressed vowel + consonant endings, double the consonant before -ed or -ing. | stop → stopped / stopping; plan → planned / planning |
| Irregular verbs | Learn the base, past and past participle together. | go → went → gone; eat → ate → eaten; see → saw → seen |
- Useful contractions: I’m = I am; she’s working = she is working; she’s finished = she has finished; I’ve = I have; we’d left = we had left; we’d go = we would go. Read the words after the contraction to understand it.
- An apostrophe + s can also show possession: “Ana’s phone”. It is not always is or has.
- Use the base verb after does, did and will: “Does she work?”, “Did she go?”, “She will go”.
Understand the choice
Present forms: what is true, happening or connected to now
Use the same situation to notice the different message: I work here; I’m working here this week; I’ve worked here for years; I’ve been working all morning.
Present simple
Use for habits, repeated actions, general facts and many states. It does not mean that the action is happening at this exact moment.
- Positive
- subject + base verb; he / she / it + -sShe works from home.
- Negative
- subject + do / does not + base verbShe doesn’t work on Fridays.
- Question
- do / does + subject + base verb?Does she work here?
- I work from home three days a week.
- She knows the answer.
Present continuous
Use for an activity happening now or around now, a temporary situation or a developing change.
- Positive
- subject + am / is / are + verb-ingShe is working today.
- Negative
- subject + am / is / are not + verb-ingShe isn’t working today.
- Question
- am / is / are + subject + verb-ing?Is she working today?
- I’m speaking to a customer right now.
- We’re staying with friends this month.
- My English is getting clearer.
Present perfect simple
Use for past experience without a finished past time, a past event with a present result, or a state continuing until now.
- Positive
- subject + have / has + past participleShe has finished the report.
- Negative
- subject + have / has not + past participleShe hasn’t finished it yet.
- Question
- have / has + subject + past participle?Has she finished it?
- I’ve visited Italy twice.
- I’ve lost my keys, so I can’t get in.
- She has known him for ten years.
Present perfect continuous
Use to focus on an activity continuing up to now, or a recent activity whose effects you can see now. The duration or process matters.
- Positive
- subject + have / has been + verb-ingShe has been working all morning.
- Negative
- subject + have / has not been + verb-ingShe hasn’t been sleeping well.
- Question
- have / has + subject + been + verb-ing?How long has she been working?
- I’ve been studying for two hours, and I’m still studying.
- You’re out of breath. Have you been running?
Understand the choice
Past forms: finished events, background and the earlier past
Choose the point in the story you are looking from. Past perfect forms look back from a past point, rather than from now.
Past simple
Use for a finished event, a sequence of events or a repeated situation in a finished past period.
- Positive
- subject + past formShe went home.
- Negative
- subject + did not + base verbShe didn’t go home.
- Question
- did + subject + base verb?Did she go home?
- I worked late yesterday.
- We arrived, checked in and went for dinner.
- I walked to school when I was a child.
Past continuous
Use for an activity in progress at a past time, the background to a story or two ongoing activities.
- Positive
- subject + was / were + verb-ingShe was working at eight.
- Negative
- subject + was / were not + verb-ingShe wasn’t working then.
- Question
- was / were + subject + verb-ing?Was she working then?
- At eight, I was cooking dinner.
- I was walking home when it started raining.
- While I was cooking, Sam was setting the table.
Past perfect simple
Use to make it clear that one event or situation was already complete before another past point.
- Positive
- subject + had + past participleShe had left before I arrived.
- Negative
- subject + had not + past participleShe hadn’t left when I arrived.
- Question
- had + subject + past participle?Had she left before you arrived?
- By the time I arrived, the meeting had started.
- I couldn’t pay because I had left my wallet at home.
Past perfect continuous
Use to focus on how long an activity had been happening before a past point, or to explain a past situation through an earlier activity.
- Positive
- subject + had been + verb-ingShe had been working for hours.
- Negative
- subject + had not been + verb-ingShe hadn’t been sleeping well.
- Question
- had + subject + been + verb-ing?How long had she been waiting?
- We had been waiting for an hour when the bus arrived.
- He was exhausted because he had been working all night.
Understand the choice
Future choices: choose your intention first
English uses several forms for future meaning. A plan, a prediction, an arrangement and a timetable are different messages.
| Meaning | Useful form | Everyday example |
|---|---|---|
| Decision made now, offer or promise | will + base verb | I’ll answer the phone. / I’ll help you. |
| Existing intention | am / is / are going to + base verb | I’m going to practise tonight. |
| Prediction from present evidence | am / is / are going to + base verb | Look at those clouds. It’s going to rain. |
| Personal prediction or expectation | will + base verb | I think you’ll enjoy the trip. |
| Personal arrangement | present continuous | I’m meeting Ana at six tomorrow. |
| Timetable or scheduled event | present simple | The train leaves at 7:15 tomorrow. |
- These uses can overlap. “We’re going to meet tomorrow” highlights an intention; “We’re meeting tomorrow” presents it as arranged.
- A future time phrase helps your listener understand a present form used for the future.
- After when, as soon as, before, until and if, we normally use a present form for future time or conditions: “I’ll call when I arrive”, not “when I will arrive”. This is different from an indirect question: “I don’t know when she will arrive.”
Understand the choice
Four useful future patterns
These forms describe a future event, an activity in progress, completion before a deadline or duration up to a future point.
Will + base verb
Use for predictions, promises, offers and decisions made as you speak.
- Positive
- subject + will + base verbShe will call tomorrow.
- Negative
- subject + will not / won’t + base verbShe won’t call tonight.
- Question
- will + subject + base verb?Will she call tomorrow?
- I think the journey will take an hour.
- I’ll carry that for you.
Future continuous
Use for an activity that will be in progress at a particular future time.
- Positive
- subject + will be + verb-ingShe will be working at six.
- Negative
- subject + won’t be + verb-ingShe won’t be working at six.
- Question
- will + subject + be + verb-ing?Will she be working at six?
- At this time tomorrow, I’ll be flying to Manila.
- I can’t call at seven because I’ll be teaching.
Future perfect simple
Use for something completed before or by a future point.
- Positive
- subject + will have + past participleShe will have finished by six.
- Negative
- subject + won’t have + past participleShe won’t have finished by six.
- Question
- will + subject + have + past participle?Will she have finished by six?
- By Friday, I’ll have finished the report.
- By next June, we’ll have lived here for five years.
Future perfect continuous
Use to focus on how long an activity will have been happening up to a future point. This is useful, but less common in everyday conversation.
- Positive
- subject + will have been + verb-ingShe will have been working for ten hours.
- Negative
- subject + won’t have been + verb-ingShe won’t have been waiting long.
- Question
- will + subject + have been + verb-ing?How long will she have been waiting?
- By six, I’ll have been working for ten hours.
- By December, she’ll have been studying English for a year.
Understand the choice
The differences people actually get stuck on
Read each pair as two different messages, rather than one correct sentence and one incorrect sentence.
| Compare | First message | Second message |
|---|---|---|
| I work here. / I’m working here this week. | My usual job or workplace. | A temporary situation. |
| I lived here for five years. / I’ve lived here for five years. | That period of living here is finished. | I started five years ago and still live here. |
| I’ve read the book. / I’ve been reading the book. | I have completed it, in this context. | The activity matters; completion is not stated. |
| When I arrived, she left. / When I arrived, she had left. | My arrival and her departure happened around the same time, often in sequence. | Her departure happened before my arrival. |
| I’ll meet him tomorrow. / I’m meeting him tomorrow. | A decision, promise or future statement, depending on context. | A personal arrangement. |
| I’ll finish at six. / I’ll have finished by six. | Six is the expected finishing time. | The work will be complete no later than six. |
- For introduces a duration: for two years. Since introduces the starting point: since 2024.
- In “I’ve lived here for two years”, the period reaches now. In “I lived there for two years”, it is a finished period. For itself does not choose the tense.
- Already usually means earlier than expected or before now. Yet often asks whether something has happened by now, or says it has not. Still highlights continuation: “I’m still waiting.”
The quick check
Keep this beside you.
- Is this usual, happening now or finished?
- Does a past action still matter now?
- Is the future idea a plan, arrangement or prediction?
Notice the difference
A small change can change the meaning.
A routine beside a temporary change.
A finished time, then its present result.
Common slips
A useful fix for next time.
Instead ofYesterday I go shopping.
UseYesterday I went shopping.
Yesterday points to a finished past time.Instead ofI live here since 2024.
UseI’ve lived here since 2024.
The situation began then and continues now.