Learn English Grammar Tenses Online

Present Simple: be (is am are)
I am
you / we / they are
he / she / it is

Present Facts – Describing things
is is used for the 3rd person singular and object
is may be contracted to ‘s with he, she and it
Hello, my name is Mark, I am a Doctor.
Where’s the cat? He’s / She‘s / It‘s up on the garage roof.
Is your car blue? No, my car isn‘t blue, it’s black.

The negative is not and may be contracted to n’t
Are you English? No, I’m not. I am / I’m Welsh.
Excuse me, is that my pen? No, sorry, it isn’t. Oh!
I’m not hungry, are you? No, we aren’t, we’re thirsty.

am (first person singular)
I am may be contracted to I’m
I am is not contracted with not when we use the negative (amn’t)
I’m very tired. It’s very late. I want to go to bed.
I’m not the tallest in my family, my Brother is.
I’m Irish. My children aren’t, they’re American.

are (1st and 2nd person plural and 3rd person and object)
are with: we, you (plural), they: may be contracted to ‘re.
How are you? I’m fine / well, thanks. How are you?
Where are the children? They’re in their bedroom.
My shoes are big, I have big feet. Your feet are big too, aren’t they?
Are you Canadian? No, we aren’t, I’m Australian and my wife’s from New Zealand.

Present Simple: DO / Verbs
I / you / we/ they eat / do
he / she / it eats / does

Present fact / Routine Event
Where do you live? I live in York.
Alison works for a large company, she commutes to London every day.
How often do you eat in a restaurant? We eat out at a restaurant once a week.
We love London, there is always something to do, somewhere to go and something to see.

The negative is not and may be contracted to don’t
We don’t go to the cinema / movies all the time, sometimes we watch DVDs at home.

Present Simple: DO / Verbs 2
Present habitual / routine Event
These days, people don’t go to libraries anymore, they read books online.
Caitlin often / generally / usually shops in town, where there is more choice.

Adverbs of frequency are used to describe frequency of events
I always / often / occasionally / sometimes go to the gym after I finish work. I like to stay fit. I rarely / never / don’t often go to the gym.

Adverbs of frequency
always
generally / usually / normally
often / sometimes / occasionally
do not (don’t) often
rarely never
don’t ever / never / hardly ever

Present Continuous: am / is / are doing
Present Action – now / at the moment
Verb + ING
Is it still raining? Yes, it is, look!
What are you doing now? I’m going to lunch, are you coming?
At the moment I’m working on designs for a new type of computer.

Present Simple: for the future
Future Event on a timetable for the future
The train leaves at 10 tonight.
The film starts in 5 minutes time.
Does your mum arrive tomorrow, or on Friday?

Present Continuous: for the future
Future Planned Event ‘in mind’ or ‘on paper’
What are you doing tomorrow / on Saturday?
Where are we going at the weekend? We’re going to my mother’s. Oh yes!
I think I’m meeting Adrian later. I need to check my diary.

An appointment / scheduled event
We are leaving on flight 0477 this evening / tonight at 9:30 pm, we must be on time.
We’re dining with my parents tonight after the party.
The board are meeting next week, to decide the future of the firm.

Now: at this time
Now describes a relatively short period that may extend into the near future.
Mark, what are you doing now? I’m doing my homework right now, why?

Now is used in the Present Simple to describe a fact ‘at this time’.
I used to live in Paris, I live in London now (these days / at this time).

Now is used in the Present Continuous to describe ‘at the moment’.
Do you want to come with us? No thank you, I’m studying. I’m trying to finish this essay.

Now is used with the Future tense for events in the immediate future.
Did you call Michael this morning? No, I didn’t. Call him now please. Ok, I’ll do that.

Can / able to / could / may / might: Possibility and Permission
Can and able to - Possibility and ability
Can you / are you able to drive a tractor? No, I can’t / I‘m not able to…

Can and could - polite request or offer
Can / could you wait for me after work, I want to talk to you?
I’m not working today, so I can / could come to your place, we could go out. Good Idea!

May and might - Permission: might is like may, but weaker
May / might I borrow your pen please? Don’t be shy, of course you may. Here you are.
Phil is head of marketing, so he may / might come to the sales meeting later.

Want to / would like:
Want (to) (desire / demand)
Caroline wants to go on the big wheel again. She’s crazy!
We want to / would like to go to Paris. I hear it’s lovely there this time of year.

Would like (to do / a (noun)) (polite requests and declarations)
Would you like to go dancing this evening? Yes, I’d like / love to.
Would you like a nice cup of tea? Oh, yes please, that’s a lovely idea. Thank you.

Would you mind? ((polite requests) (mind + verb + ing))
Would you mind passing the salt? No, of course not/not at all, here you are. Thank you.

Past Simple: Was / Were
I / he / she / it was
you / we / they were

Was / Were (be) Past Fact / State at a point in time
A lot of people were angry about the strikes last week. I was very angry too.
Was it cold last week / yesterday / last night? No it wasn’t cold at all, it was quite warm for this time of the year.
I was here 30 years ago, I was an apprentice. I started my career here, today, I’m the CEO.
Where were you earlier / last night? I had a headache. I went to see the Doctor.

Past Simple: DID / Verbs
Past singular event(s) at a point in the past
The Smiths went to India last year, they had a great time.
What did you do at the weekend? We went to an Indian restaurant. The food was great.
My dad came to work here in 1960. Did he? Yes, we lived in London at that time. Did you?

The negative is did not. Contracted to didn’t
I didn’t go to the gym last night, I felt too tired to go. Did you go? No, I didn’t feel like it either.

See Irregular verbs list 1 2 and 3 in List and Tables

Used to and would: Past historical Facts
Used to: historical facts / routines
Five years ago I used to teach English in France. It was interesting working with French students.
I used to live in Toronto, where winters were very cold. We would build a big fire and snuggle up to keep warm.

Would: memories / reminiscences / routines
When we were kids, we would walk to school. These days everyone goes to school by car.

Contrasting the Past and Present Perfect tenses:
Past events (references a point in time)
Did you see the big film last night? No, we didn’t. We went out last night.
The flight was late in last night. We got home at 3 am.
Past time words: yesterday, last, ago, earlier, at, in (year etc)

Events until now (no single point in time referenced)
How many times have you been to Berlin? I’ve been to Berlin five times, three times this year.
I haven’t been to work since the start of the week. I’ve been very ill.
Present perfect time words: today, this, for, since, until now

See Irregular verbs list 1 2 and 3 in List and Tables

Future Simple: Will and ’ll (contraction)
Will - Future forecast / intention / decision
The taxi will be here in 2 minutes time.
I’m not feeling very well. I won’t be at work tomorrow.

‘ll: (contraction of will) Future spontaneous decision when we speak informally
Thanks for all your help. I’ll call you later.
When will you send the contract documents over? I’ll send them this afternoon.

Future Simple: Shall: I / we shall
Future personal intention / determination

I / we shall (1^st person and 1^st and 2^nd person plural)
you / he / she / it / they will
I shall come into work early to prepare for the meeting, the boss is coming in tomorrow. Is she!?
I understand you’ll be at the airport at 7 am. I shan’t be there until around 8, in time for our flight.

Questions: suggestion / proposition
Shall we have a coffee now? Good idea! I’d love a coffee.

Suggestion with let’s (let us) / invitation (allow)
Shall we get something to eat? Yes, let’s get a sandwich. Actually, let’s sit down and eat. Yeah! Good idea, let’s.

Future: will and Going to: prediction / intention / resolution
Will prediction / intention (spontaneous or immediate)
I think, the team will win their football match tonight. Great! I hope they do.
Will you speak to John for me, I’m too shy? Of course I will. That’s great, thank you.

Going to do resolute intentional / confident future
I lost my job last week. I’m going to have to find a new job.
It’s a lovely day today. It’s going to be nice at the weekend too.
We‘re going to see Ethan later. He’s going to decide on the company’s future.

Present Perfect: Have been
I / you / we / they have
he / she / it has

State: so far / until now (Possibility for similar future event/s)
Have / has + been + adjective
Mum has not been well recently, she’s better now.
How long have you been here? I’ve been here since 10 o’clock.
The sea has been calm today after all of the rain yesterday.
The weather‘s been nice / lovely this week. I hope it remains fine after lunch. We want to go to…
Have / has + been to - To go to and return from
Have you been to France? Yes, I have been there, I loved it there. Yes, I’ve heard it’s lovely.

Been and Gone:
Been (to go and to return from) and Gone (to go and not to have returned yet)
Mum has been to / holidayed in Dubai twice, she loved it there. She’s going again next year.
Where’s Thomas gone? I don’t know, he was here earlier, I think he’s gone to the bank.
Our currency has gone down / dropped again. It dropped yesterday and hasn’t recovered yet.

Present Perfect: Have done / verb
Events: so far / until now (Possibility for similar future event/s)
I / you / we / they have
he / she / it has

Have + verbs
Have you had breakfast? No, not yet. Would you like some?
Where have you been? I’ve been out for a walk, why?
Michael has worked here since 1995 / for over 20 years, since the firm was founded.
Where’s the money? I’ve already spent all my money. What have you spent it on?

Just, recently and lately for very recent past.
I have just spoken to Mum; she’s fine. She hasn’t been well recently/lately. I’m going to see her tomorrow.

Until now
There have been enormous changes this century / in the last few years.
Been and Gone: go and return and go and not return
Where’s Angela gone? She’s gone to the bank. Will she be back soon? No, she won’t be back today.
Hasn’t your brother just been to / come back from Spain? Yes, he came back last week.

See Irregular verbs list 1 2 and 3 in List and Tables

Recently Lately and Just: Recent events and until now
Recently and lately express recent events until now – used with the Present Perfect
We haven’t been to the cinema lately, Helen’s hoping to see … tonight. Is she? I’ve just seen that film, it wasn’t very good.

Just: near past / very recent event / recently finished
I haven’t spoken to Nick lately/recently. Do you mean Nick Nickelby? Yes, Nick. I’ve just seen him downstairs. Do you think he‘s still in the building? No, he was leaving.

Ever and never: (in your life)
In your life / until now / so far or in history
Ever since I have known Holly she has been so kind to me. She’s a lovely girl.
Have you ever spoken to your CEO? No, I’ve never / I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to him.
Has there ever been a more popular political leader than Nelson Mandela? No, I don’t think there has ever been.

Yet and already: In this period / in my life / until now
Yet and already express in this period / in my life / until now
Both are used primarily with the Simple Perfect Tenses
Yet (questions / negative affirmation)
Already (in advance) (Positive affirmation / responses)

Have you finished reading that yet?
No. I haven’t finished yet.
Yes. I have / I‘ve already finished…
Simon, we haven’t received our order yet. Really! It has been dispatched to you.
Have you spoken to Adrian yet? Yes we’ve already spoken to Adrian about the…

Must and have to: Obligation now or for the future
Must and Have to: obligation
I must go to the bank and pay the cheque into our account or we won’t…
You mustn’t worry mum, I’m only going to university in Scotland, not to the other end of the world.

Must: strong consequence / compulsory
We must / have to / have got to go now or we’ll miss our plane.

have to / Have got to: personal imposition
We have to / have got to do some market research before launching the

Had to: Obligation before now
Had to: Obligation
Thanks for your help yesterday, you didn’t have to do that, but it was much appreciated.
Did you have to bring Jim with you, I don’t like him. Yes I had to, he was on his own.

Needed to (requirement / necessity) wanted to (desire)
I had to / wanted to / needed to see you yesterday. Where were you?

Should and ought to: Advisability
I think you should / ought to / had better get that cut seen to by a doctor, it looks infected.

1st Conditional: If I do… I will… Present simple and future
Present supposition for a probable future event
If we don’t go now, we‘ll be late and I’ll miss the football match on TV.
If I’m too tired later, I won’t go / be going to the party.
I love chocolate cake, but if I eat that I will / I’ll get sick. Go on, try some. Oh! Ok.

If I will … I will - may not be used

Past Simple Continuous: Action when / while before now
Action before now - at the same time as another event.

When: events in the past suddenly interrupted
I was using the vacuum cleaner when it broke down. Now I have to buy a new one.
How did you burn your ear? I was ironing (to iron) when suddenly the telephone rang.

While: simultaneous actions and events in the past
I eventually found my daughter sunbathing whilst reading a book and eating ice cream.

Future Continuous: I will be doing… when / while they do…
Action after now - at the same time as another event when or action while.
I’ll be spending some time with my grandchildren when they come here on holiday, later in June.
I will be working on the figures this afternoon before the meeting. I’d prefer not to be disturbed.
While Lord and Lady Hendon are here they, will be staying with us.

2nd Conditional 1: If I did … I would…
Present supposition for a hypothetical future event

If I did / was … I would…
What would you do if you won the lottery? If I won the lottery I would …
About the job, would you take it if they offered you a new car and more holidays? No, I wouldn’t.

Would may be contracted to ‘d
If I didn’t know the answer to a question I’d ask my dad. If he didn’t know, I’d look it up on the internet.

Were may appear more formal and elegant than was
If I was / were at school again, I’d concentrate on my studies and go to university
If I were you, I wouldn’t go to see Mr. Khan right now. He’s with a client.

NB: Would may not appear with would in conditional sentences
If I would … I would … - may not be used (If I were to… I would… may be used)
If we were to leave / had left now, we would arrive before mum and dad and we would surprise them.

2nd Conditional 2: If I were you I would/could/should…
Present supposition for hypothetical future event

If I were you I would…
I wouldn’t / shouldn’t go in there if I were you, the boss is really angry.
If I were you I shouldn’t / wouldn’t go back to work until I was better.

If with could / might (possibility) / should (obligation / advisability)
If you didn’t live so far away, we would / could / should / might / may visit you more often.

Were with the verb infinitive (to + verb) may be used in place of if
What would Asha do if you decided / were you to decide to move back to England?

Present Perfect Continuous: Have been doing
Action continuing in the time until now
We’ve been working particularly hard on the Pearson Chang project, it’s nearing completion.
Angela’s been looking for another job for the last week, she can’t stand her present boss.
I’ve been travelling a great deal lately / recently. I’ve been to Beijing, Tokyo and Taiwan.

Until now
We have been seeing a lot of new company start-ups recently / in the last/past months.

Past Perfect: had done
State / event until a point in the past – until then / when
I spoke to Anne yesterday, she hadn’t heard / been told about today’s meeting either.
By the time we’d found out about the theft of the money, the suspect had fled / left the country.

Past Perfect Continuous: had been doing
Action in a period before now - until then / when
Sarah had been running just before she fell over and cut her knee. Is she ok? She’s fine.
We had been waiting for a delivery when we received a call to say that the company had folded.

Future Perfect: will have done
Event / state until a point in time after now - by / until then / when
We’re saving up for a flat, by summer we’ll have got / saved enough for our deposit.
I hope I’ll / I will have received my exam results before / by the time I go on my holiday to Spain.

Future Perfect Continuous: will have been doing
Action until a time after now – by / then / until then / when
When the plane lands in an hour’s time, I will have been waiting here for 8 hours.
When / by the time Tom retires on Friday, he’ll have worked /been working here for 45 years.

3rd Conditional 1: If I had done… I would have done…
Supposition for a past event / imagining a different past / regret

If I had done… I would have done…
Dominic would have come to your party if you had given him more notice / warning.

Would may be contracted to ‘d
If I‘d been able to walk to the station, I wouldn’t have had to take a taxi..
I would have said something about the problems if I’d known about them.

Could / may / might (Possibility)
If you hadn’t been wearing your seatbelt, you could / may / might have been hurt in the accident.

NB: Would may not appear with would in conditional sentences
If I would … I would … - may not be used. (If I were to have…I would… may be used)
If we were to have left earlier, we would have arrived on time. We should have left earlier.

3rd Conditional 2: If I had… I would / should / could have
Supposition for a past event / imagining a different past / regret

Should (obligation / advisability)
If we had known about the IT problems we should / would / could / might / may have tried to…

Were with the verb infinitive (to + verb) may be used in place of if
Were I to have / if I had seen her, I’d have told you, she’d left the conference before I’d arrived.

Should may be used in place of if
Should we have found / if we had found a local partner, the venture would / could / might /may have succeeded.

Must have / should have / could have:
Modal verbs can / may / might / could with the present perfect form
Imagined past:
It can’t have been easy writing books before the development of the typewriter.
It couldn’t / can’t / mustn’t have been easy getting mum’s birthday present through the front door, it’s so big. No, it wasn’t, and she may/ might have seen me. Oh! I hope not, or it won’t be a surprise.

Deduction:
There must have been some indication that the company wasn’t doing well before… Well, the …

Should: advice
Adrian shouldn’t have bought that car without at least driving it first.

Grammar Tenses