English Tenses Cheatsheet

Cheatsheet Content

1. Present Simple Usage: Habits, routines, facts, general truths. Form: Base verb (add -s/-es for 3rd person singular). Keywords: Always, usually, often, sometimes, never, every day/week. Examples: I work every day. She reads books. The sun rises in the East. 2. Present Continuous Usage: Actions happening now, temporary situations, future arrangements. Form: $am/is/are + verb-ing$. Keywords: Now, right now, at the moment, currently, today, tonight. Examples: I am studying English now. They are playing soccer. She is meeting her friends tonight. 3. Present Perfect Usage: Actions completed in the past with a connection to the present, experiences, duration from the past until now. Form: $have/has + past \ participle$. Keywords: Ever, never, already, yet, just, since, for, recently, lately. Examples: I have lived here for five years. She has never seen that movie. They have just finished their homework. 4. Present Perfect Continuous Usage: Actions started in the past and continuing up to the present, emphasizing duration. Form: $have/has \ been + verb-ing$. Keywords: Since, for, how long, all day/week. Examples: I have been waiting for an hour. She has been studying all morning. They have been working on the project since January. 5. Past Simple Usage: Completed actions in the past at a specific time. Form: Verb + -ed (regular), irregular forms. Keywords: Yesterday, last night/week/year, ago, in 2005. Examples: I walked to school yesterday. She ate dinner an hour ago. They visited Paris last summer. 6. Past Continuous Usage: Actions ongoing in the past, often interrupted by another past action, or two actions happening simultaneously. Form: $was/were + verb-ing$. Keywords: While, when, as, all morning/day. Examples: I was reading when he called. They were playing while she was cooking. At 8 PM, I was watching TV. 7. Past Perfect Usage: Actions completed before another action or point in the past. Form: $had + past \ participle$. Keywords: Before, after, by the time, already, until. Examples: She had finished her work before I arrived. By the time we got there, the movie had started . I had never seen such a beautiful place until then. 8. Past Perfect Continuous Usage: Actions ongoing in the past, leading up to another point or action in the past, emphasizing duration. Form: $had \ been + verb-ing$. Keywords: For, since, how long, before, by the time. Examples: He had been studying for three hours before he took a break. They had been planning the trip for months before it happened. The ground was wet because it had been raining all night. 9. Future Simple (Will) Usage: Predictions, spontaneous decisions, promises, offers. Form: $will + base \ verb$. Keywords: Tomorrow, next week/year, in the future, probably, I think, I hope. Examples: I will help you with your homework. It will rain tomorrow. I think she will win the game. 10. Future Simple (Be Going To) Usage: Plans and intentions, predictions based on present evidence. Form: $am/is/are + going \ to + base \ verb$. Keywords: Tomorrow, next week/year, soon. Examples: I am going to visit my grandparents next month. Look at those clouds! It's going to rain . She is going to start a new job. 11. Future Continuous Usage: Actions that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. Form: $will \ be + verb-ing$. Keywords: At this time tomorrow, next week, while. Examples: At 10 AM tomorrow, I will be working . They will be traveling all next week. She will be waiting for you when you arrive. 12. Future Perfect Usage: Actions that will be completed before a specific time or another action in the future. Form: $will \ have + past \ participle$. Keywords: By, by the time, before. Examples: By next year, I will have graduated . She will have finished her report by Friday. They will have eaten dinner before the show starts. 13. Future Perfect Continuous Usage: Actions that will have been ongoing up to a specific point in the future, emphasizing duration. Form: $will \ have \ been + verb-ing$. Keywords: By... for..., by the time. Examples: By next month, I will have been studying English for ten years. By the end of the day, she will have been working for eight hours. They will have been traveling for a week by the time they reach their destination. Summary Table of Tenses Tense Form Key Usage Present Simple $verb / verb-s$ Habits, facts Present Continuous $am/is/are + verb-ing$ Actions now, temporary Present Perfect $have/has + PP$ Past to present connection Present Perfect Continuous $have/has \ been + verb-ing$ Action ongoing from past Past Simple $verb-ed / irregular$ Completed past action Past Continuous $was/were + verb-ing$ Ongoing past action Past Perfect $had + PP$ Action before another past action Past Perfect Continuous $had \ been + verb-ing$ Ongoing past action before another Future Simple (will) $will + verb$ Predictions, spontaneous decisions Future Simple (going to) $am/is/are \ going \ to + verb$ Plans, evidence-based predictions Future Continuous $will \ be + verb-ing$ Action ongoing at future time Future Perfect $will \ have + PP$ Action completed by future time Future Perfect Continuous $will \ have \ been + verb-ing$ Ongoing action up to future time