There are three main divisions of time:
2. Present
3. Past
4. Future
These tenses are further sub-divided into:
7. Simple
8. Progressive
9. Perfect
10. Perfect Progressive

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Verb regular form

Auxiliary verb + Subject + Verb

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Not + Verb
Facts and generalization
A dog is an animal
Habits and routines
I learn English twice a week
Permanent situations
I come from Basil
State verbs (e.g. be, have, think, know) more
I have two eggs
Fixed / official arrangement that we can't change
The course starts in April

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Verb + ing

Auxiliary verb + Subject + Verb + ing

Subject + Auxiliary verb + not + Verb + ing
Present or temporary activities
They are swimming in the sea
I'm drinking hot coffee now
Future (personal) arrangements
He is getting married this month
I'm having my first driving lesson this week

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Past participle

Auxiliary verb + Subject + Past participle

Subject + Auxiliary verb+not + Past participle
Actions which happened at an indefinite (unknown) time
before now
We have already had breakfast
I have already been to Paris
Actions in the past which have an effect on the present
moment
I have bought new shades
Someone has taken my bag
Actions which began in the past and continue in the
present
John has been a plumber for 2 years
He has been our most serious partner for so long that I
can assure you he's a very decent man

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Auxiliary verb +
Verb + ing

Auxiliary verb + Subject + Auxiliary verb +
Verb + ing

Subject + Auxiliary verb + not + Auxiliary
verb + Verb + ing
Actions that started in the past and continue in
the present
She's (=she HAS) been crying in her room for
half an hour now
We've been waiting for a good offer to buy a
car since March
Actions that have recently stopped
I've been waiting for you to come (but now
you're back!)

Subject + Verb + ed or an irregular form

Auxiliary verb + Subject + Verb

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Verb
Events in the past that are now finished (e.g. I went to
school) *
I saw two colorful fishes in the lake yesterday
Mary tried the soup but it was too hot to eat
They saw us playing football
He married a woman who lived in the same village
Situation in the past (they lived a normal life until they
won a lottery) **
I lived in New York for 10 years (I don't live there
anymore)
A series of actions in the past
He entered a room, lit a cigarette and smiled at the
guests

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Verb + ing

Auxiliary verb + Subject + Verb + ing

Subject + Auxiliary verb + not + Verb + ing
Actions in progress
1.



At 3 p.m., I was having lunch
We were all thinking about our holidays
Yesterday at this time Steven Seagal was riding a horse
Interrupted actions in progress*
2.



They were talking about her when she walked into the
room
Shannon was filling in a questionnaire when the pen ran
out of ink
John was smoking a cigarette when he saw a spider
Actions in progress at the same time in the past.
3.
1.
While Kenneth was cleaning the living room, Sam was
washing the dishes

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Past participle

Auxiliary verb + Subject + Past participle

Subject + Auxiliary verb + not + Past participle
A completed action before another activity in the past
When we arrived, the concert had already finished
It had got/gotten worse before it got better.
By the time I watched my favorite program, I had
drunk a cup of bee
By the time I got to the market, most of the stalls had
already been closed
Third conditional sentences (a) and reported speech (b)
(read more at the bottom the page)
If I hadn't taken my keys from the drawer, I would be
able to get into my house
My mum asked me whether I had visited grandma the
previous day.
Dissatisfaction with the past
I wish I had taken more food with me

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Auxiliary verb +
Verb + ing

Auxiliary verb + Subject + Auxiliary verb +
Verb + ing

Subject + Auxiliary verb + not + Auxiliary
verb + Verb + ing
Duration of a past action up to a certain point in the
past
I had been running for an hour when it started
raining
Kathy put on weight because she had been eating
too much sugar
When I saw him I knew that he had been training
Third conditional sentences (a) and reported speech
(b)
Mary said she had never been swimming so much
in one day

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Verb

Auxiliary verb + Subject + Verb

Subject + Auxiliary verb + not + Verb
Promises
I will come back at 10 p.m
I will get Mary
Unplanned actions (spontaneous decisions)
Predictions based on experience or intuition
I think he will regret his choice
When I'm 60 years old, I will be completely bald
Let's buy the snacks at the supermarket - they will
be cheaper
Habits

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Auxiliary verb +
Verb + ing

Auxiliary verb + Subject + Auxiliary verb +
Verb + ing ?

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Not + Auxiliary
verb + Verb + ing
Future actions in progress.
1.




Guesses about the present or the future.
2.


She'll be having a bath when I'm back home
Tomorrow at nine, I will be hosing off (=washing
with a hose) my car
This time next week, I will be throwing a party
I'll be watching TV when my mother arrives
They will be getting home just about now
Polite questions about somebody's intentions*.

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Auxiliary verb +
Present participle

Auxiliary verb + Subject + Auxiliary verb +
Present participle ?

Subject + Auxiliary verb + Not +Auxiliary verb
+ Present participle
Actions that will be finished before some point in
the future
They will have graduated from Cambridge by
July 2009.
I will have retired by the end of the year.
I read 40 pages a day. If I keep up the pace, I
will have read the book by Tuesday.