Most common English tenses (table)

The most common tenses in English

Tense	Signal words	Use	Form	Examples
Simple Present	every day sometimes always often usually seldom never first ... then	something happens repeatedly how often something happens one action follows another things in general after the following verbs (to love, to hate, to think, etc.) future meaning: timetables, programmes	infinitive he/she/it + -s	I work he works I go he goes

Present Progressive	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 he's working I'm going he's going
Simple Past	last ... ... ago in 1990 yesterday	action took place in the past, mostly connected with an expression of time (no connection to the present)	regelmäßig: infinitive + -ed unregelmäßig: 2. Spalte	I worked he worked I went he went
Past Progressive		an action happened in the middle of another action someone was doing sth. at a certain time (in the past) - you don't know whether it was finished or not	was/were + infinitive + -ing	I was working he was working I was going he was going
Simple Present Perfect	yet never ever already so far, up to now, zum Teil: 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) oder (3. Spalte)	I've worked he's worked I've gone he's gone
Present Perfect Progressive		emphasis: length of time of an action action began in the past and has just stopped how long the action has been happening	have/has + been + infinitive + -ing	I've been working he's been working I've been going he's been going
Simple Past Perfect		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) oder (3. Spalte)	I had worked he had worked I had gone he had gone
will - future		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 if clause type I	will + infinitive	I'll work he'll work I'll go he'll go
going to - future		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 he's going to work I'm going to go he's going to go