1. SimpleContinuous (Progressive) Perfect Continuous (Progressive) Present Use: for facts, habits or future events with time stamp Form: present participle of verb I eat He eats etc. I walk He walks etc. Use: actions in progress at moment of speaking, ongoing or continuous Form: present of to be + V+ing I’m eating He’s drinking We’re having fun They’re walking Use: for actions just finished or finished at an unspecified time in the past but continuing to be true in the present Form: Present of to have + past participle of verb I have just eaten I have lived here for 3 years I have walked to work before Use: a continuous action within a timeframe in the present, i.e. the action continues to be true now. Form: present of to have + been + verb+ing I have been eating since 12 o’clock I have been walking for the last half hour Past Use: an action that started and finished in the past, at a specified time, or where the speaker knows all of the information Form: Past participle of verb I ate (irregular) I walked (regular) Use: for an interrupted action in the past, usually with a second verb in the past simple or while, when, as.. Form: past of to be+ V+ing I was eating when the phone rang I was walking down the road when the dog attacked me Use: for an action completed before another action in the past. Form: had + Past participle verb I had eaten before going out I had walked for hours and needed a rest Use: a continuous action interrupted by something else in the past Form: past participle to have+ been + verb+ing I had been eating when the phone rang I had been walking for 1 hour when the dog attacked me Future Use: an action that will happen in the future, pre-planned Form: will +root of verb Or, ‘going to’ +root of verb, (generally for pre-planned activity) I will eat I am going to walk to work Use: use for an interrupted action in the future or something that will occur within a specific timeframe Form: will + be + V +ing I will be eating at lunchtime I will be walking to work at that time Use: relating further actions that will be completed in the future before another action in the future Form: will + have+ past participle verb I will have eaten by the time you get here I will have already walked for one hour before I arrive Use: an action that will be in progress at a future time Form: will + have + been + V+ing I will have already been walking for some time by the time you come to meet me. English Verb Tense Summary Not frequently used

2. Past Simple Meaning and Use We use the past simple tense to talk about something that started and finished in the past. It may be used for an action that happened once in the past or repeatedly, or for something that was true for some time in the past, provided it is now finished. We often use phrases with ago for things that happened a long time ago. Example I met my wife in 1983 (happened once in the past) When I was a boy I walked a mile to school every day. (happened repeatedly in the past) They always enjoyed visiting their friends. (happened repeatedly in the past) I met my wife a long time ago. (uses ago) Timeline Form With most verbs the past tense is formed by adding -ed: Base of Veb + ed e.g. call >> called; like >> liked; want >> wanted; work >> worked But there are a lot of irregular past tenses in English. We use did to make questions with the past tense: When did you meet your wife? Where did you go for your holidays? Did she play tennis when she was younger? Did you live abroad? We use didn’t (did not) to make negatives with the past tense: They didn’t go to Spain this year. We didn’t get home until very late last night. I didn’t see you yesterday.

3. Irregular Past tense verbs InfinitiveIrregular past be begin break bring buy build choose come cost cut do draw drive eat feel find get give go have hear hold keep know leave Lead was/were began broke brought bought built chose came cost cut did drew drove ate felt found got gave went had heard held kept knew left led InfinitiveIrregular past let lie lose make mean meet pay put run say sell send set sit speak spend stand take teach tell think understand wear win write let lay lost made meant met paid put ran said sold sent set sat spoke spent stood took taught told thought understood wore Won wrote

4. Present Perfect Meaning and Use This tense is used to make a connection between the past and the present. It is a present tense even though it refers to occurrences in the past and contains the past participle of the main verb, as it stresses continuation, or possible continuation into the present. It can be used for something we have done many times in the past and continue to do, with “since” to show when something that we still do started in the past, with the adverbs “ever” or “never”, to stress the importance of something at the time of speaking, with time adverbials of recent past (just, only just, recently, so far, until now, yet). Timeline Examples I have lived in Brazil for six months (the action started at specified time in the past and continues to the present). She has lived in Liverpool all her life (non-specific on the length of time but the subject (she) is still living in Liverpool now). I’ve played the guitar ever since I was a teenager (with ever since. Subject still plays the guitar) I have worked here since I left school (with since, a period of time up to and including the present) Have you ever met George? (with ever) Yes, but I’ve never met his wife. (with negative form of ever, ”never”) Where have you been? I’ve just been out to the supermarket (with just) Scientists have recently discovered a new breed of monkey (with recently) We have just got back from our holidays (with just) Have you finished your homework yet? (with yet) No, so far I’ve only done my history (with only) Form The Present Perfect is constructed with the auxiliary verb ‘have’ and the past participle of the main verb, i.e.: I/we/you/they have + Past Participle (e.g. walked) He/she/it has Regular past participles are formed by adding ‘ed’ to the base of the verb (e.g. walk, walked). However, many verbs have irregular past participles (e.g. gone, been, seen). As they form no pattern, they simply have to be learnt. Questions are formed by placing the auxiliary before the subject; e.g.: Have you lived here long? Negative statements add ‘not’ after the auxiliary, e.g.: No. I haven’t lived here long

5. Present Perfect Continuous Meaning and Use Used to describe a continuous action within a timeframe in the present, i.e. the action started in the past but continues to be true now. It is similar to the present perfect and sometimes can be used in the same context but the main emphasis in the present perfect continuous is on expressing how long the current activity has been happening, typically for shorter periods of time to express how long that particular action has been taking place. Form Examples I have been walking for half an hour, Have you been walking for long? No. I have not been walking for very long Examples I have been walking for half an hour, Have you been walking for long? No. I have not been walking for very long Timeline FORM

6. Past Perfect Meaning and Use The past perfect is used to connect two actions in the past where one action occurs before the other. The first action applies the past perfect. Example I had eaten a big breakfast before I went to school There are 2 actions in this sentence both occurring in the past – the first, I ate a big breakfast, the second, I went to school. Both actions occurred in the past (see timeline) Timeline Form The form of the Past Perfect is made up as follows: Subject + Auxiliary had (past participle of “have”)+ past participle of the main verb Contracted forms of I had etc. are used in speech: I’d, you’d, he’d/she’d, it’d, we’d, you’d, they’d. Negative: Subject [I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they] + Auxiliary had (past participle of to have) + not + past participle of main verb Contracted forms I/you/he /she/it/we/you/they hadn’t walked or I’d, you’d, he’d,she’d, it’d, we’d, they’d not walked (2 choices for the negative form) Question form: Had + subject + main verb (past participle) ? Had he walked? Or with question word What/where/why/when/who/how + had + subject + verb (past participle) ? Past participle: basic form is to add ‘ed’ to the base form of the verb, e.g. walk – walked, clean – cleaned Irregular verbs – eat /ate, go/gone, be/ been, have/had, buy/bought, break/broken, run/run, think/thought, say/said, make/made, see/seen etc…have no rules for irregular so have to be learned.

8. The Wish/hope Chart - Subjunctive Hypothetical FormTimeFunctionExamples Wish + past simplePresent/Future Used to express that we want a situation in the present or future, that is unlikely to change, to be different I wish I spoke Italian. (I don’t speak Italian) I wish I had a big car. (I don’t have a big car) I wish I was on a beach. (I’m in the office) I wish it was the weekend. (It’s only Wednesday) Wish + past continuousPresent/Future Used to express that we want to be doing a different action in the present or future but cannot I wish I was lying on a beach now. (I’m sitting in the office) I wish it wasn’t raining. (It is raining) Wish + past perfectPast Used to express a regret or that we want a situation that we are unable to change in the past to have been different I wish I hadn’t eaten so much. (I ate a lot) I wish they’d come on holiday with us. (They didn’t come on holiday) I wish I had studied harder at school. (I was lazy at school) Wish + would+ infinitive verb Present/future Used to express annoyance, preference or dissatisfaction with a present action, where we are unlikely to be able to change the outcome of the action I wish you would stop smoking. You are smoking at the moment and it is annoying me. I wish it would stop raining. I’m impatient because it is raining and I want to go outside. I wish she’d be quiet. I am annoyed because she is speaking. I wish you weren’t leaving tomorrow. (You are leaving tomorrow HopePresent/Future Used instead of wish when you want something to happen in the future, without impatience or annoyance, generally something that you cannot influence but could happen. I hope it’s sunny tomorrow. “I wish it was sunny tomorrow” is not correct. I hope she passes her exam next week. “I wish she were passing her exam next week” is not correct. I hope the plane doesn’t crash tomorrow. “I wish the plane wouldn’t crash tomorrow” is not correct. Wish + infinitive or Wish + object +infinitive Present/future Used to mean “want” in formal situations I wish to leave now. (+ infinitive) I wish to speak to your supervisor please. (+ infinitive) I do not wish my name to appear on the list. (+ object + infinitive) I/We wish you …+ fixed expression Present/future Used with fixed expressions I wish you a happy birthday. We wish you good luck in your new job.