Friday, April 20, 2012

English tenses for JSC/SSC/HSC Exam


English tenses


Tense
Signal words
Use
Form
Examples
affirmative
Examples
negative
Examples
interrogative
every day

sometimes

always

often

usually

seldom

never

first ... then
something happens repeatedly

how often something happens

one action follows another

things in general

with the following verbs (to love, to hate, to think, etc.)

future meaning: timetables, programmes
infinitive he/she/it + -s
I work.
I don't work.
Do I work?
He works.
He doesn't work.
Does he work?
I go.
I don't go.
Do I go?
He goes.
He doesn't go.
Does he go?
now

at the moment

Look!

Listen!
something is happening at the same time of speaking or around it

future meaning: when you have already decided and arranged to do it (a fixed plan, date)
to be (am/are/is) + infinitive + -ing
I'm working.
I'm not working.
Am I working?
He's working.
He isn't working.
Is he working?
I'm going.
I'm not going.
Am I going?
He's going.
He isn't going.
Is he going?
last ...

... ago

in 1990

yesterday
action took place in the past, mostly connected with an expression of time (no connection to the present)
regular:
infinitive + -ed irregular:
2nd column of table of irregular verbs
I worked.
I didn't work.
Did I work?
He worked.
He didn't work.
Did he work?
I went.
I didn't go.
Did I go?
He went.
He didn't go.
Did he go?
while
an action happened in the middle of another action

someone was doing sth. at a certain time (in the past) - you do not know whether it was finished or not
was/were + infinitive + -ing
I was working.
I wasn't working.
Was I working?
He was working.
He wasn't working.
Was he working?
I was going.
I wasn't going.
Was I going?
He was going.
He wasn't going.
Was he going?
just

yet

never

ever

already

so far,

up to now,

since

for

recently
you say that sth. has happened or is finished in the past and it has a connection to the present

action started in the past and continues up to the present
have/has + past participle*

*(infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column of table of irregular verbs)
I have worked.
I haven't worked.
Have I worked?
He has worked.
He hasn't worked.
Has he worked?
I have gone.
I haven't gone.
Have I gone?
He has gone.
He hasn't gone.
Has he gone?
all day

the whole day

how long

since

for
action began in the past and has just stopped

how long the action has been happening

emphasis: length of time of an action
have/has + been + infinitive + -ing
I have been working.
I haven't been working.
Have I been working?
He has been working.
He hasn't been working.
Has he been working?
I have been going.
I haven't been going.
Have I been going?
He has been going.
He hasn't been going.
Has he been going?
already

just

never
mostly when two actions in a story are related to each other: the action which had already happened is put into Past Perfect, the other action into Simple Past

the past of the Present Perfect
had + past participle*

*(infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column of table of irregular verbs)
I had worked.
I hadn't worked.
Had I worked?
He had worked.
He hadn't worked.
Had he worked?
I had gone.
I hadn't gone.
Had I gone?
He had gone.
He hadn't gone.
Had he gone?
how long

since

for
how long something had been happening before something else happened
had + been + infinitive + ing
I had been working.
I hadn't been working.
Had I been working?
He had been working.
He hadn't been working.
Had he been working?
I had been going.
I hadn't been going.
Had I been going?
He had been going.
He hadn't been going.
Had he been going?

predictions about the future (you think that sth. will happen)

you decide to do sth. spontaneously at the time of speaking, you haven't made a decision before

main clause in type I of the if clauses
will + infinitive
I'll work.
I won't work.
Will I work?
He'll work.
He won't work.
Will he work?
I'll go.
I won't go.
Will I go?
He'll go.
He won't go.
Will he go?

when you have already decided to do sth. in the future

what you think what will happen
be (am/are/is) + going to + infinitive
I'm going to work.
I'm not going to work.
Am I going to work?
He's going to work.
He's not going to work.
Is he going to work?
I'm going to go.
I'm not going to go.
Am I going to go?
He's going to go.
He's not going to go.
Is he going to go?

An action will be in progress at a certain time in the future. This action has begun before the certain time.

Something happens because it normally happens.
will + be + infinitive + ing
I'll be working.
I won't be working.
Will I be working?
He'll be working.
He won't be working.
Will he be working?
I'll be going.
I won't be going.
Will I be going?
He'll be going.
He won't be going.
Will he be going?

sth. will already have happened before a certain time in the future
will + have + past participle*

*(infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column of table of irregular verbs)
I'll have worked.
I won't have worked.
Will I have worked?
He'll have worked.
He won't have worked.
Will he have worked?
I'll have gone.
I won't have gone.
Will I have gone?
He'll have gone.
He won't have gone.
Will he have gone?

sth. will already have happened before a certain time in the future


emphasis: length of time of an action
will + have + been + infinitive + ing
I'll have been working.
I won't have been working.
Will I have been working?
He'll have been working.
He won't have been working.
Will he have been working?
I'll have been going.
I won't have been going.
Will I have been working?
He'll have been going.
He won't have been going.
Will he have been working?

sth. that might happen

main clause in type II of the Conditional sentences
would + infinitive
I would work.
I wouldn't
work.
Would I
work?
He would work.
He wouldn't work.
Would he
work?
I would go.
I wouldn't go.
Would I go?
He would go.
He wouldn't
go.
Would he
go?
Conditional Progressive
or
Conditional
Continuous

sth. that might happen

emphasis: length of time of an action
would + be + infinitive + ing
I would be working.
I wouldn't be working.
Would I be working?
He would be working.
He wouldn't be working.
Would he be working?
I would be going.
I wouldn't be going.
Would I be going?
He would be going.
He wouldn't be going.
Would he be going?

sth. that might have happened in the past
(It's too late now.)

main clause in type III of the if clauses
would + have + past participle*

*(infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column of table of irregular verbs)
I would have worked.
I wouldn't have worked.
Would I have worked?
He would have worked.
He wouldn't have worked.
Would he have worked?
I would have gone.
I wouldn't have gone.
Would I have gone?
He would have gone.
He wouldn't have gone.
Would I have gone?
Conditional Perfect
Progressive
or
Conditional
Perfect
Continuous

sth. that might have happened in the past
(It's too late now.)

emphasis: length of time of an action
would + have + been + infinitive + ing
I would have been working.
I wouldn't have been working.
Would I have been working?
He would
have been going.
He wouldn't have been going.
Would he
have been working?
I would have been going.
I wouldn't have been going.
Would I have been going?
He would have been going.
He wouldn't have been going.
Would he
have been going?

We sometimes use Continuous instead of Progressive. Some signal words can be found in more tenses. We did not list signal words in the future tenses as there are no definite ones. Always remember what action is described.


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