TENSES
In this review of all important grammatical tenses , you will find brief explanations about the use of the different tenses, how to form them, and short examples for each tense.
For more information about all English tenses or a complete overview, please download the printable PDF documents listed at the bottom of this page.
Overview - Irregular Verbs - Forms of "to be"
Past Perfect Tenses - Past Tenses - Present Perfect Tenses - Present Tenses - Future Tenses
General introduction:
The past tense is used to refer to something that happened in the past and has no relation to the present. You use past tense to express that something is over and done.
Time indicators (signal words)
yesterday, last week/month/year, in 1983, when I was young, back in the days, 3 days ago...
Past simple & past progressive
As with all English tenses, there is a simple form and a progressive (continious) form of the past tense.
Past simple
2nd verb form
used for simple statements and actions that happened and ended in the past
- there is no relation to the present;
- it is mainly important when it happened;
- usually the action itself is emphasized
He went to the store and bought a book.
Past progressive
was/were + 'ing'-form
used for background information and longer actions that happened and ended in the past
- there is no relation to the present;
- the action itself is often not so important; it is merely described to give additional information
It was raining, the wind was blowing strongly and the waves were making a loud noise.
Use of past simple or past progressive
1) For actions that happened one after another you use only PAST SIMPLE:|-----------| |-----------| |-----------| |-----------| |-----------|
action 1 action 2 action 3 action 4 action 5
At first she came home. Then she took off her clothes. She went to the bathroom and had a shower. Finally she felt fresh again.
2) For actions that happened simultaneously at the same time you use only PAST PROGRESSIVE:
|-----------------------------|
action 1
|-----------------------------|
action 2
|-----------------------------|
action 3While mom was shopping dad was having a cup of coffee and the kids were playing in the playground.
3) If a short action interrupts a longer action, you use PAST SIMPLE for the short action, and PAST PROGRESSIVE for the longer action:
|-----------------------------|
action 1
X
action 2The girl was having a bath when the postman rang the door bell.
Intensive Grammar Course - Tenses [in German!]
Intensive Grammar Course - key to exercises [in German!]
In this Intensive Grammar Course you will find extensive explanations for all English Tenses. It discusses the use of different tense forms as well as the grammatical forms of all the tenses. Furthermore you can check if you have understood everything in short exercises after each chapter.
short overview of all tenses (except future tenses) [in German!]
short overview of all future tenses [in German!]
These two grammar charts give you a quick overview on all tenses. They are in PDF format, so you can print them out and pin them onto your wall. They can really help you get familiar with the English tenses, so I strongly recommend you download them and have a look!
Please visit the following sites for more on English tenses:
The English Page offers numerous resources for learners of English as a Second Language (ESL).
On this site (www.englishpage.de.vu or englishpage.iris-solutions.org) learners can find all the Grammar Rules and explanations in English, German and Spanish, as well as a great variety of exercises to train and test their Grammar skills: All English tenses (Present Tense Simple, Present Tense Progressive, Past Tense Simple, Past Tense Progressive, Present Perfect Tenses, Past Perfect Tenses, Future Tenses - will & going to future, Mixed tenses); Active or Passive, Indirect Speech (= Reported Speech), Conditionals (if-sentences), Relative Clauses and Contact Clauses, Adjective or Adverb, some - any and other determiners, Gerund or Infinitive, rules for Questions and Negation, Modal Verbs (can, may, must, shall, might...) and of course Irregular Verbs, as well as linking words and other grammar topics are all included in the Grammar section! Start learning English TODAY! Test your knowledge of ESL on downloadable grammar exercise sheets in PDF format and revise the rules!