Table of English Tenses: Tense Affirmative/Negative/ USE Signal Words

Table of English Tenses
AFFIRMATIVE/NEGATIVE/
TENSE USE SIGNAL WORDS
QUESTION
 action in the present takingalways, every …, never, normally,
Simple Present A: He speaks. place regularly, never or severaloften, seldom, sometimes, usually
N: He does not speak. times if sentences type I (If I talk, …)
Q: Does he speak?  facts
 actions taking place one after another
 action set by a timetable or schedule
Present A: He is speaking.  action taking place in the moment ofat the moment, just, just now,
Progressive N: He is not speaking. speaking Listen!, Look!, now, right now
Q: Is he speaking?  action taking place only for a limited
period of time
 action arranged for the future
Simple Past A: He spoke.  action in the past taking place once,yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990,
N: He did not speak. never or several times the other day, last Friday
Q: Did he speak?  actions taking place one after another if sentence type II (If I talked, …)
 action taking place in the middle of
another action
Past A: He was speaking.  action going on at a certain time in the while, as long as
Progressive 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 Perfect A: He has spoken.  putting emphasis on the result already, ever, just, never, not yet,
Simple N: He has not spoken.  action that is still going on so far, till now, up to now
Q: Has he spoken?  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 Perfect A: He has been speaking.  putting emphasis on the course orall day, for 4 years, since 1993,
Progressive N: He has not been speaking. duration (not the result) how long?, the whole week
Q: Has he been speaking?  action that recently stopped or is still
going on
 finished action that influenced the
present
Past Perfect A: He had spoken.  action taking place before a certain already, just, never, not yet, once,
Simple N: He had not spoken. time in the past until that day
Q: Had he spoken?  sometimes interchangeable with pastif sentence type III (If I had
perfect progressive talked, …)
 putting emphasis only on the fact (not
the duration)
Past Perfect A: He had been speaking.  action taking place before a certain for, since, the whole day, all day
Progressive N: He had not been speaking. time in the past
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 influenced in a year, next …, tomorrow
Simple N: He will not speak.  spontaneous decision If sentences type I (If you ask
Q: Will he speak?  assumption with regard to the future her, she will help you.)
assumption: I think, probably,
perhaps
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.  conclusion with regard to the future tomorrow
(going to) Q: Is he going to speak?
Future I A: He will be speaking.  action that is going on at a certain time inin one year, next week,
Progressive N: He will not be speaking. 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 timeby Monday, in a week
Simple N: He will not have spoken. in the future
Q: Will he have spoken?
Future II A: He will have been speaking.  action taking place before a certain time infor …, the last couple of hours,
Progressive N: He will not have been speaking. the future all day long
Q: Will he have been speaking?  putting emphasis on the course of an action
Conditional I A: He would speak.  action that might take place if sentences type II
Simple N: He would not speak. (If I were you, I would
Q: Would he speak? go home.)
Conditional I A: He would be speaking.  action that might take place
Progressive N: He would not be speaking.  putting.emphasis.on.the course/duration of
Q: Would he be speaking? the action
Conditional II A: He would have spoken.  action that might have taken place in theif sentences type III
Simple N: He would not have spoken. past (If I had seen that, I would have
Q: Would he have spoken? helped.)
Conditional II A: He would have been speaking.  action that might have taken place in the past
Progressive N: He would not have been speaking. puts.emphasis.on.the course/duration
Q: Would he have been speaking? of the action

Table of English Tenses: Tense Affirmative/Negative/ USE Signal Words

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