THE ENGLISH TENSES

1. Present Tense Simple

FORM

a. Affirmative: Subject + Verb1

He
She + Verb1 + - S/-ES
It

Example:
I write a letter. *It barks.
You go to school. We learn the lesson.
*He sings a song. You eat a banana.
*She drinks a cup of tea. They live in a house.

b. Interrogative: Do + Subject (I, you, we, they) + Verb1 ?

Does + Subject (he, she, it) + Verb1 ?

Example:
Do I write? *Does it bark?
Do you go? Do we learn?
*Does he sing? Do you eat?
*Does she drink? Do they live?

c. Negative: Subject ( I, you, we, they) + do + not/ dont + Verb1

Subject (he, she, it) + does + not/doesnt + verb1

Example:
I do not / dont write. *It does not / doesnt bark.
You do not / dont go. We do not / dont learn.
*He does not / doesnt sing. You do not / dont eat.
*She does not / doesnt drink. They do not / dont live.

Present simple is used with the following words:

always, often, usually, frequently, generally, normally, occasionally, ordinarily,

regularly, sometimes, from time to time, every day / week / month / year , every
other day, every once in a while, once a day / week / month / year, twice a day / week/
month / year, three times a day / week / month / year, rarely, seldom, ever, never,
as a rule.

1
 USE
- we use the present simple to talk about routines and permanent situations
e.g. He watches TV every evening.
She sometimes rides her bike to school.
- we also use the present simple to talk about general statements of truth.
e.g. The sun rises in the east.
Water boils at 100 degrees.

2. Present Tense Continuous

FORM

a. Affirmative: Subject + Verb to be (present) + Verb1 + -ing

The Verb to be(present): I am *He is We are

You are *She is You are
*It is They are

Example:
I am writing a letter. It is barking.
You are going to school. We are eating a banana.
He is singing a song. You are living in a house.
She is drinking a cup of tea. They are learning a lesson.

b. Interrogative: to be + Subject + Verb1 + -ing ?

Example:
Am I writing? Is it barking?
Are you going? Are we learning?
Is he singing? Are you eating?
Is she drinking? Are they living?

c. Negative : Subject + to be + not + Verb 1 + - ing

Example:
I am not writing. It is not / isnt barking
You are not / arent going. We are not / arent learning.
He is not / isnt singing. You are not /arent eating.
She is not / isnt drinking They are not / arent living.

Present tense continuous is used with the following words:

now, right now, at the moment, this week/month/year/summer/weekend, today, tonight etc.

2
 USE
- we use the present continuous to talk about activities which are happening at the
time of speaking.
e.g. He is sitting in the garden right now.
- we also use the present continuous to talk about temporary situations
e.g. They are not playing tennis.

3. Present Perfect Simple

FORM

a. Affirmative: Subject + have + Verb 3 ( if it is an irregular verb)

has Verb + -ed (if it is a regular verb)
Example:
I have written. *It has barked.
You have gone. We have learned.
*He has sung. You have eaten.
*She has drunk. They have lived in a house.

b. Interrogative: Have + Subject + Verb 3 / -ed ?

Has
Example:
Have I written? *Has it barked?
Have you gone? Have we learned?
*Has he sung? Have you eaten?
*Has she drunk? Have they lived?

c. Negative: Subject + have + not + verb 3 / -ed

has
Example:
I have not / havent written.
You have not / havent gone.
*He has not / hasnt sung.
*She has not / hasnt drunk.
*It has not / hasnt barked
We have not /havent learned.
You have not / havent eaten.
They have not / havent lived

Present perfect simple is used with the following words:

lately, recently, today, this morning / afternoon / evening / week / month / year, so
far, how long, yet, already, for years / months / weeks, etc. for ages, for such a long
time, since last week / 1998 / I was born.

3
 USE
- we use the present perfect simple to talk about events which have recently occurred.
e.g. We have just eaten.
- We use the present perfect to express actions which happened at an unstated time.
e.g. He has sold his car. (When? We dont know)
- we also use the present perfect to express actions which started in the past and are
still going on.
e.g. She has worked in this office for two years. (She still works there)

4. Present Perfect Continuous

FORM

a. Affirmative: Subject + have + been + Verb1 + -ing

has

Example:
I have been writing. *It has been barking.
You have been going. We have been learning.
*He has been singing. You have been eating.
*She has been drinking. They have been living.

b. Interrogative: Have + Subject + been + Verb1 + -ing ?

Has

Example:
Have I been writing ? *Has it been barking?
Have you been going? Have we been learning?
*Has he been singing? Have you been eating?
*Has she been drinking? Have they been living?

c. Negative: Subject + have + not + been + Verb1 + -ing

has

Example:
I have not been writing.
You have not been going.
*He has not been singing.
*She has not been drinking.
*It has not been barking.
We have not been learning.
You have not been eating.
They have not been living.

Present perfect continuous is used with the following words:

for, since, how long

4
 USE
- we use the present perfect continuous tense with for and since to emphasise the
duration of an event which started in the past and is still continuing.
e.g. I have been working in London for a month.
She has been living here since last November.
- we use this tense to describe an action in the past which has contributed to a
situation in the present.
e.g. She is exhausted. She has been filming non-stop.

5. Past Tense Simple

FORM

a. Affirmative: Subject + Verb2 / -ed

Example:
I wrote a letter. It barked.
You went to school. We learned the lesson.
He sang a song. You ate a banana.
She drank a cup of tea. They lived in a house.

b. Interrogative: Did + Subject + Verb1 ?

Example:
Did I write a letter? Did it bark?
Did you go to school? Did we learn?
Did he sing? Did you eat?
Did she drink? Did they live?

c. Negative: Subject + did + not / didnt + Verb1

Example:
I did not/didnt write a letter. It did not/didnt bark.
You did not/didnt go to school. We did not/didnt learn.
He did not/didnt sing. You did not/didnt eat.
She did not/didnt drink. They did not/didnt live.

Past simple is used with the following words:

yesterday, last week / month / year, a few hours / minutes / days / weeks / months /
years ago, a long time ago, in 1992, on October 26 th, at the turn of the century, during
the war, once, once upon a time, the other day.

5
 USE
- we use the past tense simple to talk about complete events or actions in the past.
e.g. We saw the Himalayas for the first time.
- we use this tense to talk about events which occurred at a definite point of time in
the past.
e.g. He sold his car three days ago.

6. Past Tense Continuous

FORM

a. Affirmative: Subject + was + Verb1 + -ing

were

Example:
I was writing a letter.
You were going
He was singing
She was drinking.
b. Interrogative:
It was barking.
We were learning
You were eating
They were living
.
Was + Subject + Verb1 + -ing ?
Were

Example
Was I writing? Was it barking?
Were you going? Were we learning?
Was he singing? Were you eating?
Was she drinking? Were they living in a house?

c. Negative: Subject + was + not + Verb1 + -ing

were

Example:
I was not/wasnt writing.
You were not/werent going.
He was not/wasnt singing.
She was not/wasnt drinking.
It was not/wasnt barking.
We were not/werent barking.
You were not/werent eating.
They were not/werent living.

Past continuous is used with the following words:

while, when, from until, at the same time, all day / night / the week / month / year,
etc.

6
 USE
- we use the past continuous tense to express an action that was in progress at a
stated time in the past.
e.g. At eight oclock last night she was reading a book.
- past continuous is used to express a past action which was in progress when another
action interrupted it.(We use past continuous for the interrupted action and past simple
for the action which interrupts it.)
e.g. He was painting the bedroom when suddenly he fell off the ladder.
- past continuous is used to express two or more actions which were happening at the
same time in the past (simultaneous actions)
e.g. They were dancing while he was playing the guitar.

7. Past Perfect Simple

FORM

a. Affirmative: Subject + had + Verb3 / -ed

Example:
I had written a letter. It had barked
You had gone to school. We had learned a poem.
He had sung a song. You had eaten a banana.
She had drunk a cup of tea. They had lived in a house.

b. Interrogative: Had + Subject + Verb3 / -ed ?

Example:
Had I written a letter? Had it barked?
Had you gone to school? Had we learned?
Had he sung a song? Had you eaten?
Had she drunk a cup of tea? Had they lived in a house?

c. Negative: Subject + had + not + Verb3 /-ed

Example:
I had not/hadnt written.
You had not/hadnt gone.
He had not/hadnt sung.
She had not/hadnt drunk.
It had not/hadnt barked.
We had not/hadnt learned.
You had not/hadnt eaten.
They had not/hadnt lived.

Past perfect simple is used with the following words:

for years / months / weeks, for two / three / four days / weeks / months / years, for
ages, for a long time, since, ever since, before, long before, when, as soon as by the
time, just.

7
 USE
- we use the past perfect tense to talk about events which happened before other
events in the past or before a stated past time.
e.g. She had already left when I got home.
She had arrived by 8 oclock.

8. Past Perfect Continuous

FORM

a. Affirmative: Subject + had + been + Verb1 + -ing

Example:
I had been writing. It had been barking
You had been going. We had been learning.
He had been singing. You had been eating.
She had been drinking. They had been living.
.

b. Interrogative: Had + Subject + been + Verb1 + -ing ?

Example:
Had I been writing? Had it been barking?
Had you been going? Had we been learning?
Had he been singing? Had you been eating?
Had she been drinking? Had they been living?

c. Negative: Subject + had + not + been +Verb1 + -ing

Example:
I had not/hadnt been writing.
You had not/hadnt been going.
He had not/hadnt been singing.
She had not/hadnt been drinking.
It had not/hadnt been barking.
We had not/hadnt been learning.
You had not/hadnt been eating.
They had not/hadnt been living.

Past perfect simple is used with the following words:

since, for

USE
- we use past perfect continuous to express an action continuing up to a specific time
in the past
e.g. He had been waiting for an hour before she arrived.
- we use this tense to express a continuous past action which had visible results or
effects in the past.
e.g. She was tired. She had been cleaning the house all morning.

8
 9. Future Tense Simple

FORM

a. Affirmative: Subject + shall + Verb1

will

Example:
I *shall/will write a letter. It will bark.
You will go to school. We will learn a lesson
He will sing a song. You will eat a banana.
She will drink a cup of tea. They will live in a house.

b. Interrogative: Shall + Subject + Verb1 ?

Will

Example:
*Shall I write? Will it bark?
Will you go? Will we learn?
Will he sing? Will you eat?
Will she drink? Will they live in a house?

c. Negative: Subject + shall + not + Verb1

will

Example:
*I shall not/shant write. It will not/wont bark.
You will not/wont go. We will not/wont learn.
He will not/wont sing. You will not/wont eat.
She will not/wont drink. They will not/wont live in a house.

Future tense simple is used with the following words:

tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, next Monday / week / month / year, in a weeks
time, soon, shortly.

USE
- we use the future tense to talk about future things we are not sure about or we
havent decided yet
e.g. I will probably buy a car.
- this tense is used to express hopes, fears, threats, on-the-spot decisions, promises,
warnings, predictions etc. especially with: expect, hope, believe, Im afraid, Im sure,
I know, I think, probably etc.
e.g. I think it will be sunny tomorrow.

9
 10. Future tense continuous

FORM
a. Affirmative: Subject + will be + Verb1 + -ing

Example:
I will be writing. It will be barking.
You will be going. We will be learning.
He will be singing. You will be eating.
She will be drinking. They will be living.

b. Interrogative: Will + Subject + be + verb1 + - ing?

Example:
Will I be writing? Will it be barking?
Will you be going? Will we be learning?
Will he be singing? Will you be eating?
Will she be drinking? Will they be living?

c. Negative: Subject + will not/ wont be + Verb1 + -ing

Example:
I will not be writing. It will not be barking.
You will not be going. We will not be learning.
He will not be singing. You will not be eating .
She will not be drinking. They will not be living.

Future tense continuous is used with the following words:

At this time tomorrow/ next year, at noon next Sunday etc.

USE
- future tense continuous is used to express an action in progress at a particular time in
the future.
e.g. I will be eating my dinner at seven oclock tomorrow.

11. Future perfect simple

FORM
a. Affirmative:
Example:
I will have written.
You will have gone.
He will have sung.
She will have drunk.
Subject + will + have + verb3/ -ed
It will have barked.
We will have learned.
You will have eaten.
They will have lived.

10
b. Interrogative: Will + subject + have + verb3/ -ed

Example:
Will I have written? Will it have barked?
Will you have gone? Will we have learned?
Will he have sung? Will you have eaten?
Will she have drunk? Will they have lived?

c. Negative: Subject + will not/wont + have + verb3/ -ed

Example:
I will not have written. It will not have barked.
You will not have gone. We will not have learned.
He will not have sung. You will not have eaten.
She will not have drunk. They will not have lived.

Future perfect simple is used with the following words:

By ten oclock tonight, by this time tomorrow, by next week, by the end of the
century, by then

USE
- we use future perfect simple to express a future action completed before a particular
point in the future.
e.g. By the end of this century people will have discovered new sources of food.
- we use this tense to express a future action completed before another future action
occurs.
e.g. By the time the elections begin, the candidates will have organised election
campaigns.

12. Future perfect continuous

FORM
a. Affirmative: Subject + will have been + verb 1 + -ing

Example:
I will have been writing It will have been barking
You will have been going We will have been learning
He will have been singing. You will have been eating
She will have been drinking They will have been living.

b. Interrogative: Will + Subject + have been + verb 1 + -ing?

11
Example:
Will I have been writing? Will it have been barking?
Will you have been gong? Will we have been learning?
Will he have been singing? Will you have been eating?
Will she have been drinking? Will they have been living?

c. Negative: Subject + will not/ wont have been + verb 1 + -ing

Example:
I will not have been writing
You will not have been going
He will not have been singing.
She will not have been drinking
It will not have been barking
We will not have been learning
You will not have been eating
They will not have been living.

Future perfect continuous tense is used with the following words:

By the time/by next year..for (several) minutes/hours/years etc.

USE
- future perfect continuous is used to express a future action in progress up to a certain
future time.
e.g. By the time the TV programme ends, she will have been watching television for
three hours.
By next year she will have been living in London for ten years.

Prof. Felicia Holho

12
 LIST OF IRREGULAR VERBS
GROUP I.
Verbs with no change

burst burst burst a izbucni, a crpa, a nvli

cost cost cost a costa
cut cut cut a tia
hit hit hit a lovi
hurt hurt hurt a rni
let let let a lsa
put put put a pune
set set set a pune, a aeza
shut shut shut a nchide
split split split a despica
spread spread spread a (se) nchide, a se rspndi

GROUP II.
Verbs with one change

beat beat beaten a bate

become became become a deveni
bend bent bent a (se) ndoi
bind bound bound a lega
bleed bled bled a sngera
bring brought brought a aduce
build built built a construi
burn burnt burnt a arde
burned burned
buy bought bought a cumpra
catch caught caught a prinde
come came come a veni
creep crept crept a se tr, a (se) furia
deal dealt dealt a trata, a se ocupa de
dig dug dug a spa
dream dreamt dreamt a visa
dreamed dreamed
feed fed fed a hrni
feel felt felt a (se) simi
fight fought fought a (se) lupta
find found found a gsi
get got got a primi, a obine
gotten (Am.)
hang hung hung a atrna
have had had a avea
hear heard heard a auzi
hold held held a ine

13
keep kept kept a ine, a pstra
kneel knelt knelt a ngenunchea
lay laid laid a pune, a aeza
lead led led a conduce
leap leapt leapt a sri
leaped leaped
learn learnt learnt a nva
learned learned
leave left left a pleca, a lsa
lend lent lent a da cu mprumut
light lit lit a aprinde
lighted lighted
lose lost lost a pierde
make made made a face
mean meant meant a nsemna
meet met met a (se) ntlni
pay paid paid a plti
read read read a citi
run ran run a fugi
say said said a spune
seek sought sought a cerceta, a cuta
sell sold sold a vinde
send sent sent a trimite
shine shone shone a strluci
shoot shot shot a mpuca
sit sat sat a edea
sleep slept slept a dormi
smell smelt smelt a mirosi
smelled smelled
speed sped sped a grbi, a accelera
speeded speeded
spell spelt spelt a ortografia
spelled spelled
spend spent spent a cheltui, a petrece
spit spat spat a scuipa
stand stood stood a sta (n picioare)
stick stuck stuck a lipi
sting stung stung a nepa
sweep swept swept a mtura
swing swung swung a legna
teach taught taught a nva (pe altul), a preda
tell told told a spune, a povesti
think thought thought a se gndi
understand understood understood a nelege
weep wept wept a plnge
win won won a ctiga
wind wound wound a rsuci

14
 GROUP III.
Verbs with two changes

awake awoke awoken a se trezi

awaked
be was/were been a fi
bear bore bore a purta, a suporta
born a nate
begin began begun a ncepe
bite bit bitten a muca
blow blew blown a sufla
break broke broken a (se) sparge
choose chose chosen a alege
dive dove dived a se scufunda
dived
do did done a face
draw drew drawn a desena
drink drank drunk a bea
drive drove driven a conduce, a ofa
eat ate eaten a mnca
fall fell fallen a cdea
fly flew flown a zbura
forbid forbade forbidden a interzice
forget forgot forgotten a uita
forgive forgave forgiven a ierta
freeze froze frozen a nghea
give gave given a da
go went gone a merge
grow grew grown a crete
hide hid hidden a (se) ascunde
know knew known a ti
lie lay lain a zcea, a se afla
mow mowed mown a cosi
mowed
prove proved proven a dovedi
ride rode ridden a clri
ring rang rung a suna
rise rose risen a rsri, a se ridica
saw sawed sawn a tia cu fierstrul
sawed
see saw seen a vedea
sew sewed sewn a coase
sewed
shake shook shaken a scutura
show showed shown a arta
showed

15
shrink shrank shrunk a intra la ap
shrunk shrunken a se scoroji
sing sang sung a cnta
sink sank sunk a (se) scufunda
sow sowed sown a semna, a sdi
sowed
speak spoke spoken a vorbi
steal stole stolen a fura
strike struck struck a lovi
stricken
swear swore sworn a jura
swim swam swum a nota
take took taken a lua
tear tore torn a rupe, a sfia
throw threw thrown a arunca
wake woke waken a trezi
wear wore worn a purta
withdraw withdrew withdrawn a (se) retrage
write wrote written a scrie

Prof. Felicia Holho

16