Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Diagram of Tenses!!

English Tenses


Tense
Affirmative/Negative/Question
Use
Signal Words
Simple Present
A: He speaks.
N: He does not speak.
Q: Does he speak?
§  action in the present taking place once, never
§  or  several   times:
§  facts  actions taking place one after another
§  action set by a timetable or schedule
always, every …, never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually
if sentences type I (If I talk, …)
A: He is speaking.
N: He is not speaking.
Q: Is he speaking?
§  action taking place in the moment of
§  speaking
§  action taking place only for a limited period of
§  time  action arranged for the future
at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now
Simple Past
A: He spoke.
N: He did not speak.
Q: Did he speak?
§  action in the past taking place once, never or
§  several  times  :
§  actions taking place one after another
§  action taking place in the middle of another
§  action
yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday
if sentence type II (If I talked, …)
Past Progressive
A: He was speaking.
N: He was not speaking.
Q: Was he speaking?
§  action going on at a certain time in the past
§  actions taking place at the same time
§  action in the past that is interrupted by another
§  action
when, while, as long as
Present Perfect Simple
A: He has spoken.
N: He has not spoken.
Q: Has he spoken?
§  putting emphasis on the result
§  action that is still going on
§  action that stopped recently
§  finished action that has an influence on the present
§  action that has taken place once, never or
§  several  times  before the moment of speaking
already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now
Present Perfect Progressive
A: He has been speaking.
N: He has not been speaking.
Q: Has he been speaking?
§  putting emphasis on the course or duration
§  (not the  result)
§  action that recently stopped or is still going on
§  finished action that influenced the present
all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long?, the whole week
Past Perfect Simple
A: He had spoken.
N: He had not spoken.
Q: Had he spoken?
§  action taking place before a certain time in the
§  past  sometimes interchangeable with past
§  perfect  progressive
§  putting emphasis only on the fact (not the
§  duration)
already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day
if sentence type III (If I had talked, …)
Past Perfect Progressive
A: He had been speaking.
N: He had not been speaking.
Q: Had he been speaking?
§  action taking place before a certain time in the
§  past  sometimes interchangeable with past
§  perfect  simple
§  putting emphasis on the duration or course of
§  an  action
for, since, the whole day, all day
Future I Simple
A: He will speak.
N: He will not speak.
Q: Will he speak?
§  action in the future that cannot be influenced
§  spontaneous decision
§  assumption with regard to the future
In a year, next …, tomorrow
If- (If you ask her, she will help you.)
assumption: I think, probably, we might …, perhaps
Future I Simple
(going to)
A: He is going to speak.
N: He is not going to speak.
Q: Is he going to speak?
§  decision made for the future
§  conclusion with regard to the future
in one year, next week, tomorrow
Future I Progressive
A: He will be speaking.
N: He will not be speaking.
Q: Will he be speaking?
§  action that is going on at a certain time in the
§  future
§  action that is sure to happen in the near future
in one year, next week, tomorrow
Future II Simple
A: He will have spoken.
N: He will not have spoken.
Q: Will he have spoken?
§  action that will be finished at a certain time in
§  the  future
by Monday, in a week
Future II Progressive
A: He will have been speaking.
N: He will not have been speaking.
Q: Will he have been speaking?
§  action taking place before a certain time in the
§  future
§  putting emphasis on the course of an action
for …, the last couple of hours, all day long
Conditional I Simple
A: He would speak.
N: He would not speak.
Q: Would he speak?
§  action that might take place
If sentences type II
(If I were you, I would go home.)
Conditional I Progressive
A: He would be speaking.
N: He would not be speaking.
Q: Would he be speaking?
§  action that might take place
§  putting emphasis on the course / duration of
§  the  action
Conditional II Simple
A: He would have spoken.
N: He would not have spoken.
Q: Would he have spoken?
§  action that might have taken place in the past
If sentences type III
(If I had seen that, I would have helped.)
Conditional II Progressive
A: He would have been speaking.
N: He would not have been speaking.
Q: Would he have been speaking?
§  action that might have taken place in the past
§  puts emphasis on the course / duration of the
§  action

English Tenses and Examples!