Tense Affirmative/Negative/Question Use Signal Words

Simple A: He speaks.  action in the present taking always, every …, never,
Present N: He does not speak. place once, never or several times normally, often,
Q: Does he speak? seldom, sometimes,
 facts
usually
 actions taking place one after another
 action set by a timetable or schedule
 1st conditional (If I  talk,  …)

Present A: He is speaking.  action taking place in the moment of at the moment, just,
Continuous N: He is not speaking. speaking just now, Listen!,
Q: Is he speaking? Look!, now, right now
 action taking place only for a limited
period of time
 action arranged for the future

Simple A: He spoke.  action in the past taking place once, yesterday, 2 minutes
Past N: He did not speak. never or several times ago, in 1990, the other
Q: Did he speak? day, last Friday
 actions taking place one after another
 action taking place in the middle of
another action
 2nd conditional (If I  talked,  …)

Past A: He was speaking.  action going on at a certain time in the when, while, as long as
Continuous N: He was not speaking. past
Q: Was he speaking?
 actions taking place at the same time
 action in the past that is interrupted
by another action

Present A: He has spoken.  putting emphasis on the result already, ever, just,
Perfect N: He has not spoken. never, not yet, so far,
 action that is still going on
Simple Q: Has he spoken? till now, up to now
 action that stopped recently
 finished action that has an influence
on the present
 action that has taken place once,
never or several times before the
moment of speaking

Present A: He has been speaking.  putting emphasis on the course or all day, for 4 years,
Perfect N: He has not been speaking. duration (not the result) since 1993, how long?,
Continuous Q: Has he been speaking? the whole week
 action that recently stopped or is still
going on
 finished action that influenced the
present

Past A: He had spoken.  action taking place before a certain already, just, never,
Perfect N: He had not spoken. time in the past not yet, once, until that
Simple Q: Had he spoken? day
 sometimes interchangeable with past
perfect Continuous
 putting emphasis only on the fact (not
the duration)
  3rd conditional (If I  had talked,  …)

Past A: He had been speaking.  action taking place before a certain for, since, the whole
Perfect N: He had not been speaking. time in the past day, all day
Continuous Q: Had he been speaking?
 sometimes interchangeable with past
perfect simple
 putting emphasis on the duration or
course of an action

Future I A: He will speak.  action in the future that cannot be in a year, next …,
Simple N: He will not speak.  influenced tomorrow
Q: Will he speak?
 spontaneous decision
assumption: I think,
 assumption with regard to the future probably, perhaps
 1st conditional I (If you ask her,
she  will help you.)

Future I A: He is going to speak.  decision made for the future in one year, next week,
Simple N: He is not going to speak. tomorrow
 conclusion with regard to the future
(going to) Q: Is he going to speak?
Future I A: He will be speaking.  action that is going on at a certain in one year, next week,
Continuous N: He will not be speaking. time in the future tomorrow
Q: Will he be speaking?
 action that is sure to happen in the
near future

Future II A: He will have spoken.  action that will be finished at a certain by Monday, in a week
Simple N: He will not have spoken. time in the future
Q: Will he have spoken?
Future II A: He will have been speaking.  action taking place before a certain for …, the last couple of
Continuous N: He will not have been speaking. time in the future hours, all day long
Q: Will he have been speaking?
 putting emphasis on the course of an
action

Conditional A: He would speak.  action that might take place

I Simple N: He would not speak.
 3rd conditional
Q: Would he speak?
(If I were you, I would go  home.)

Conditional A: He would be speaking.  action that might take place  

I N: He would not be speaking.
 putting emphasis on the
Continuous Q: Would he be speaking?
course / duration of the action

Conditional A: He would have spoken.  action that might have taken place in

II Simple N: He would not have spoken. the past
Q: Would he have spoken?
 3rd conditional (If I had seen that, I
would have helped.)

Conditional A: He would have been speaking.  action that might have taken place in  
II N: He would not have been the past
Continuous speaking.
 puts emphasis on the
Q: Would he have been speaking?
course / duration of the action