The formulas of the tenses in the active

Two verbs are given below, one regular (work worked worked), the other irregular
(write wrote written), in the tenses in the active voice. The most common tenses are
marked with the plus sign (+).
+ Simple present

I / we / you / they work, write

he / she / it works, writes
+ Present continuous

I am working, am writing
he / she / it is working, is writing
we / you / they are working, are writing
+ Present perfect

I / we / you / they have worked, have written

he / she / it has worked, has written
+ Present perfect continuous

I / we / you / they have been working, have been writing

he / she / it has been working, has been writing
+ Simple past

I / he / she / it / we / you / they worked, wrote

+ Past continuous

I / he / she / it was working, was writing

we / you / they were working, were writing
Past perfect

I / he / she / it / we / you / they had worked, had written

Past perfect continuous

I / he / she / it / we / you / they had been working, had been writing

+ Simple future

I / he / she / it / we / you / they will work, will write

Future continuous

I / he / she / it / we / you / they will be working, will be writing

Future perfect

I / he / she / it / we / you / they will have worked, will have written

Future perfect continuous

I / he / she / it / we / you / they will have been working, will have been writing
The formulas of the tenses in the passive

Two verbs are given below, one regular (call called called), the other irregular
(choose chose chosen), in the tenses in the passive voice. The most common tenses
are marked with the plus sign (+). The perfect continuous tenses and the future
continuous are generally not used in the passive.
+ Simple present

I am called, am chosen
he / she / it is called, is chosen
we / you / they are called, are chosen
Present continuous

I am being called, am being chosen

he / she / it is being called, is being chosen
we / you / they are being called, are being chosen
+ Present perfect

I / we / you / they have been called, have been chosen

he / she / it has been called, has been chosen
+ Simple past

I / he / she / it was called, was chosen

we / you / they were called, were chosen
Past continuous

I / he / she / it was being called, was being chosen

we / you / they were being called, were being chosen
Past perfect

I / he / she / it / we / you / they had been called, had been chosen

+ Simple future

I / he / she / it / we / you / they will be called, will be chosen

Future perfect

I / he / she / it / we / you / they will have been called, will have been chosen
The Formulas of the Tenses in Charts
The formulas of the tenses are easier to memorize if they are arranged in a chart. The
verb TAKE is irregular (take took taken).

Active voice
Simple
Present I, we, you,
they take
he, she, it
takes
Past

took

Future

will take

Continuous
I am taking
he, she, it is
taking
we, you, they are
taking
I, he, she, it was
taking
we, you, they
were taking
will be taking

Perfect
I, we, you, they
have taken
he, she it has
taken

Perfect continuous
I, we, you, they have
been taking
he, she it has been
taking

had taken

had been taking

will have taken

will have been taking

Passive voice
Simple
Present I am taken
he, she, it is
taken
we, you, they
are taken
Past
I, he, she, it
was taken
we, you, they
were taken
Future will be taken

Continuous

Perfect

I am being taken
he, she, it is being
taken
we, you, they are
being taken
I, he, she, it was
being taken
we, you, they were
being taken

I, we, you, they

have been taken
he, she it has been
taken

Perfect
continuous

had been taken

will have been taken

tense
Simple
Present

Affirmative/Negative/Que
stion
A: He speaks.
N: He does not speak.
Q: Does he speak?

Use

Present
A: He is speaking.
Progressive N: He is not speaking.
Q: Is he speaking?

Simple Past

A: He spoke.
N: He did not speak.
Q: Did he speak?

Past
A: He was speaking.
Progressive N: He was not speaking.
Q: Was he speaking?

Present
Perfect
Simple

A: He has spoken.
N: He has not spoken.
Q: Has he spoken?

Present
A: He has been speaking.
Perfect
N: He has not been
Progressive speaking.

Q: Has he been speaking?

Past
Perfect
Simple

A: He had spoken.
N: He had not spoken.
Q: Had he spoken?

Past

A: He had been speaking.

Signal Words

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
action taking place in the
moment of speaking
action taking place only for a
limited period of time
action arranged for the future

always, every ,
never, normally,
often, seldom,
sometimes, usually
if sentences type I
(If Italk, )

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
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
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
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
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)
action taking place before a

yesterday, 2
minutes ago, in
1990, the other day,
last Friday
if sentence type II
(If I talked, )

at the moment, just,

just now, Listen!,
Look!, now, right
now

when, while, as
long as

already, ever, just,

never, not yet, so
far, till now, up to
now

all day, for 4 years,

since 1993, how
long?, the whole
week

already, just, never,

not yet, once, until
that day
if sentence type III
(If I had talked, )
for, since, the whole

Perfect
N: He had not been
Progressive speaking.

Q: Had he been speaking?

Future I
Simple

A: He will speak.
N: He will not speak.
Q: Will he speak?

Future I
Simple
(going to)

certain time in the past

sometimes interchangeable with
past perfect simple
putting emphasis on
the duration or course of an action
action in the future that cannot
be influenced
spontaneousdecision
assumption with regard to the
future

day, all day

in a year, next ,
tomorrow
If-Satz Typ I (If you
ask her, shewill
help you.)
assumption: I think,
probably, perhaps
in one year, next
week, tomorrow

A: He is going to speak.
N: He is not going to
speak.
Q: Is he going to speak?
Future I
A: He will be speaking.
Progressive N: He will not be speaking.
Q: Will he be speaking?

decision made for the future

conclusion with regard to the
future

in one year, next

week, tomorrow

Future II
Simple

action that is going on at a

certain time in the future
action that is sure to happen in
the near future
action that will befinished at a
certain time in the future
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

action that mighttake place

if sentences type II
(If I were you,
Iwould go home.)

A: He will have spoken.

N: He will not have
spoken.
Q: Will he have spoken?
Future II
A: He will have been
Progressive speaking.
N: He will not have been
speaking.
Q: Will he have been
speaking?
Conditional A: He would speak.
I Simple
N: He would not speak.
Q: Would he speak?
Conditional A: He would be speaking.
I
N: He would not be
Progressive speaking.
Q: Would he be speaking?
Conditional A: He would have spoken.
II Simple
N: He would not have
spoken.
Q: Would he have
spoken?
Conditional A: He would have been
II
speaking.
Progressive N: He would not have
been speaking.
Q: Would he have been
speaking?

action that might take place

putting emphasis on
the course / durationof the action

action that mighthave taken

place in the past

action that might have taken

place in the past
puts emphasis on
thecourse / duration of the action

by Monday, in a
week

if sentences type III

(If I had seen that,
I would have
helped.)