THE BASIC FORMS OF THE ENGLISH
VERB TENSES
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positive |
negative |
question |
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present simple |
subject + verb (+ s ) |
subject + do / does + not
+ verb |
(question word +) do /
does + subject + verb? |
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➤ I eat. She eats
toast. |
➤ I I don’t eat toast. |
➤ Do you eat breakfast |
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She doesn’t eat fish. |
every day? |
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When does she eat lunch? |
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present simple
with ‘be’ |
subject + am / is / are ➤ I am hungry. She is in a
cafe. |
subject +
am / is / are + not ➤ I’m not hungry. She isn’t happy. |
(question
word +) am / is / are + subject...? ➤ Is he at home? Why are you hungry? |
|
present
continu ous |
subject + am / is / are + verb-ing ➤ She’s
eating toast. They are
eating lunch now. |
subject +
am / is / are + not + verb- ing ➤ He isn’t
eating. We are not eating at home. |
(question
word +) am / is / are + subject + verb-ing? ➤ When are they eating? Is he eating now? |
|
present perfect |
subject + have / has + past participle |
subject + have / has + not
+ past participle |
(question word +) have / has + subject + past |
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|
➤
I’ve eaten breakfast. |
➤ We haven’t
eaten yet. |
participle? ➤ What have you |
|
|
He has eaten lunch. |
She hasn’t eaten the |
eaten today? |
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|
chocolate. |
Has she eaten lunch? |
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present
perfect continu ous |
subject + have / has + been + verb- ing ➤ I’ve been eating. She’s been eating biscuits all day. |
subject +
have / has + not + been + verb-ing ➤ They haven’t
been eating. He has not
been eating toast. |
(question word +) have / has +
subject + been + verb-ing? ➤ What has she been eating? Have they been eating breakfast? |
|
past simple |
subject +
past simple (verb +ed) ➤ I ate an apple. She ate some
rice. |
subject +
did + not + verb ➤ She didn’t
eat anything. They did
not eat breakfast. |
(question
word +) did + subject + verb? ➤ Did you eat the chocolate? What did they eat for lunch? |
|
past simple
with ‘be’ |
subject + was / were
➤ I was hungry. They were in a restaurant. |
subject +
was / were + not ➤ We weren’t hungry. She wasn’t at home. |
(question
word +) was / were + subject...? Why was she hungry? Were you hungry? |
|
past continu ous |
subject + was / were + verb-ing ➤ I was eating. They were
eating lunch. |
subject +
was / were + not + verb- ing ➤ You weren’t
eating. She wasn’t eating a sandwich. |
(question
word +) was / were + subject + verb- ing? ➤ Where were you eating? Was she eating an apple? |
|
past perfect |
subject +
had + past participle
➤ I had eaten. She’d eaten lunch. |
subject +
had + not + past participle
➤ We hadn’t eaten. He had not eaten an |
(question word +) had + subject
+ past participle ➤ Why had you eaten? |
|
|
|
apple. |
Had they eaten fish before? |
|
past perfect continu ous |
subject + had + been + verb-ing
➤ I had been
eating chocolate
all day. She’d been eating breakfast. |
subject +
had + not + been + verb- ing
➤ I hadn’t been eating. She hadn’t been eating an apple. |
(question word +) had + subject
+ been + verb-ing? ➤ Why had he
been eating? Had they been eating enough fruit? |
|
future simple |
subject + will +
verb
➤ I will eat later. She will eat at home. |
subject +
will + not + verb ➤ We won’t
eat anything
tonight. He will not eat fish. |
(question word +) will + subject + verb? ➤ What will you
eat for lunch? Will she eat meat? |
|
future continu ous |
subject +
will + be + verb-ing
➤ I will be eating at 8pm. She will be eating a sandwich. |
subject +
will + not + be + verb-ing
➤
They won’t be eating. He will not
be eating anything. |
(question word +) will + subject
+ be + verb- ing? ➤ What will you
be eating? Will they be eating at 6pm? |
|
future perfect |
subject + will + have + past participle
➤ I will have eaten lunch by
3 o’clock. She’ll have eaten all
the chocolate. |
subject +
will + not + have + past participle
➤
He won’t have eaten lunch yet. They will not have eaten their sandwiches. |
(question word +) will + subject
+ have + past participle?
➤ When will you have eaten? Will she have eaten dinner by nine? |
|
future perfect continu |
subject + will + have + been + verb-ing |
subject +
will + not + have + been + verb-ing |
(question word +) will + subject + have + been + verb-ing? |
|
ous |
➤ They will have been eating fruit. We’ll have been eating all day. |
➤
I won’t have been eating fish. They will not have been eating lunch. |
➤ What will she have been eating? Will you have been eating chocolate? |
