simple past
example: I visited London last summer.
I didn't visit London last summer.
Did(n't) you visit London last
summer?
rule: The simple past expresses
something which happened at a
specific time in the past.
form:
positive sentence: 2nd form of verb
negative sentence: did+ not + 1st form of verb
question: did (+not)+ 1st form of verb
signal words: e.g. yesterday, last weekend,
in 2005, two hours ago...
present perfect
example I have already visited London.
I haven't already visited London.
Have you already visited London
rule: The present perfect expresses
something which happened in
the past without giving the
exact time, or something that
started in the past but still
continues, or something that
happened in the past but has a
consequence in the present.
form:
positive sentence: have/has + 3rd form of verb
negative sentence: have+not + 3rd form of verb
question: have (+not)+3rd form of verb
signal words: e.g. already, just, always, often,
ever, yet,....
present perfect with since/ for
example: I have lived in London for ten years;
I have lived in London since 2004
rule: The present perfect with since/ for
expresses something that started
in the past and still continues
now.
form: see present perfect
signal words: see present perfect and of course
"since" and "for".....
past perfect
example: I had visited London before I visited
Paris.
I hadn't visited London before I
visited Paris.
Had(n't) you visited London before
you visited Paris?
rule: The past perfect expresses that one
thing in the past happened before
another thing in the past.
form:
positive sentence: had + 3rd form of verb
negative sentence: had +not +3rd form of verb
question: had(+not)+3rd form of verb
signal words: no real signal words. Have a
closer look at the context of the
sentence in question.
past progressive
example: You were studying when she called.
You weren't studying when she called
Were you studying when she called?
rule: The past progressive expresses that
a longer action in the past was
interrupted. The interruption is
usually a shorter action in the
simple past. (It can be a real
interruption or just an interruption
in time: Yesterday at this time, I was
driving to Munich)
form:
positive sentence: was/were+ing-form of verb
negative sentence: was/were+not+ing- form of
verb
question: Was/Were(+not)+ing-form of
verb
signal words: no real signal words. Have a
closer look at the context of the
sentence in question.
present perfect progressive
example: I have been waiting for you for two
hours!
I haven't been waiting for you for
two hours.
Have you been waiting for two
hours?
rule: The present perfect progressive
expresses that something started in
the past and has continued up until
now. If the tense is used without a
duration (for two hours, etc.) it has
the meaning of "lately"/"recently":
"I have been feeling really unwell."
form:
positive sentence: has/have+been+ing-form of
verb
negative sentence: has/have+not+been
+ing-form of verb
question: has/have(+not)+been
+ing-form of verb
signal words: no real signal words. Have a
closer look at the context of the
sentence in question.
ATTENTION:
Be careful with the present perfect progressive if you ask questions. As said above, it can have the meaining of "lately". If you use it in a question such as "Have you been feeling alright?", it can suggest that the person looks sick or unhealthy. A question such as "Have you been smoking?" can suggest that you smell the smoke on the person. Using this tense in a question suggests you can see, smell, hear or feel the results of the action. It is possible to insult someone by using this tense incorrectly.
past perfect progressive
example: I had been studying for two hours
before I allowed myself a break.
I hadn't been doing anything
when the police arrested me.
Had you been doing anything
when the police arrested you?
rule: We use the past perfect
progressive to express that
something started in
the past and continued up until
another time in the past.
form:
positive sentence: had+been+ing-form of verb
negative sentence: had+not+been+ing-form of
verb
question: had(+not)+been +ing-form
of verb
signal words: no real signal words. Have a
closer look at the context of the
sentence in question.