VERB TENSES: FORMS

PRESENT SIMPLE

Verb BE

Positive Negative Questions

Yes, No,
I am / I'm I am not / I'm not Am I,,, ? I am I'm not
You are / you're You are not / you aren't Are you,,, ? you are you aren't
He is / he's He is not / he isn't Is he,,, ? he is he isn't
We are / we are We are not / we aren't Are we,,, ? we are we aren't
You are / you're You are not / you aren't Are you,,, ? you are you aren't
They are /they're They are not / they aren't Are they,,, ? they are they aren't

Use capital I.
He for a man, she for a woman, it for a thing.
They for a people and things.
We can also contract are not and is not like this: you're not, she's not.
In questions, be go before the pronouns.
In questions with be the verb is before the subject.

Don't use contractions in positive short answers.

All verbs

Positive Negative Questions

Yes, No,
I work I don't work (= do not) Do I work? I do I don't
You work you don't work Do you work? you do you don't
He works he doesn't work (=does not) Does he work? he does he doesn't
We work we don't work Do we work? we do we don't
You work you don't work Do you work? you do you don't
They work they don't work Do they work? they do they don't

To make negatives or interrogatives: auxiliary + infinitive.

The spelling rules for 3rd person singular, he, she and it, are the same as for plurals:
work works Add s
study studies consonant + y: add ies
finish finishes sh, s, ch, x: add es

Important: I have / He has; I go / he goes; I do / he does.

Word order is: ASI (auxiliary, subject, infinitive) or QUASI (question word, auxiliary, subject, infinive):

Where does Jenny live?

Do you like Chinesse food?
Irregular verbs

Infinitive Positive Negative

go went didn't go
have had didn't have
get got didn't get
buy bought didn't buy
leave left didn't leave
drive drove didn't drive
meet met didn't meet
see saw didn't saw
wear wore didn't wear
do did didn't do

We use the irregular past form only in positive sentences.

After did / didn't we use the infinitive.
Important: past of can = could. We use couldn't and could you,,, ? (NOT didn't can, did you can)

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Present simple verb be + verb + ING:

I am crying
I'm not crying
Are you crying?
No, I'm not.

The rules for the ing form:

cook cooking add ing
live living finishes in e
study studying add ing
run running finishes consonant + vowel + consonant, double the final consonat.

If a verb is followed by a preposition (listen to, talk about…), the preposition goes at the end:
What are you talking about?
FUTURE

Will, won't

Will / 'll or won't (=will not) + infinitive

I'll write
You won't write
Will she write?
No, she won't
Yes, she will

The future of there is/are = there will be

The future of I can = I'll be able to

We often use I think/I don't think + will:

I don't think he'll pass the exam

I think he'll fail the exam

NOT: I think he won't pass

We use shall when an offer is a question:

Shall I pay?

Sometimes, in positive sentences with I and we, people use shall (not will), but it is very formal:

I shall write to you when I have studied your case

Be going to

Present verb be + going to + infinitive

I'm going to find a job

I'm going to (go to) university next year
Are you going to find a job?

PAST PERFECT

Had / hadn't + past participle (the same for all persons)

Contractions: I'd, you'd, he'd… ('d = I had, Iwould)!

I'd seen the film before

Had you seen it before?
No, I hadn't
I felt nervous because I hadn't flown before
PAST SIMPLE

Verb BE

Positive Negative Questions

Yes, No,
I was I wasn't Was I,,, ? I was I wasn't
You were you weren't Were you,,, ? you were you weren't
He was he wasn't Was he,,, ? he was he wasn't
We were we weren't Were we,,, ? we were we weren't
You were you weren't Were you,,, ? you were you weren't
They were they weren't Were they,,, ? they were they weren't

Was your father famous?

Were you at home tonight?
My grandfather was born in London

Word order in present or past simple questions is ASI or QUASI.

Regular verbs

Positive Negative Questions

Yes, No,
I worked I didn't work Did I work,,, ? I did I didn't
You worked you didn't work Did you work,,, ? You did you didn't
He worked he didn't work Did he work,,, ? He did he didn't
We worked we didn't work Did we work,,, ? We did we didn't
You worked you didn't work Did you work,,, ? You did you didn't
They worked they didn't work Did they work,,, ? They did they didn't

Regular verbs in the past end in ed:

work, stay worked, stayed add ed
like liked finishes e: add d
study studied consonant + y add ied
stop stopped finishes in consonant-vowel-consonant, double the final consonant

The past is the same for all persons

We use did / didn't for questions and negative sentences.

I worked yesterday
Did you worked yesterday?
PAST CONTINUOUS

Past simple verb be + verb +ING:

I was working
I wasn't working
Were you working?
Yes, we were.

PRESENT PERFECT

Verb BE

Present verb to have (have / has) + past participle:

I have been to Rome

She hasn't been to Venice

In positive sentences, s= has, have= 've:

He's been to Rome

You've been to London

But:
Has he been to Rome?
He hasn't been to Rome
You haven't been toLondon

All verbs

For regular verbs, the past participle is the same as the past simple:

I have worked abroad

For irregular verbs, sometimes:

I have bought anewspaper (past simple = bought)

I have seen a film (past simple = saw)

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Present perfect verb be (have / has been) + verb + ING

How long have you been learning English?

They've been going out together for two years
CONDITIONAL

First conditional

[If + present] + [will + infinitive]

If you don't more work, you'll fail the exam

As son as you get your exam results, call me
If you miss the bus, you can get a taxi

Second conditional

[If + past] + [would + infinitive]

If I didn't have children, I wouldn't live in the country

The contraction of would is 'd:

If he were here, he'd help you

Third conditional

[If + had +past pasticiple] + [would + have + past participle]

The contraction of had is 'd.

If I hadn't go to the party, I wouldn't have met my wife

We would have arrived at 6,00 if we hadn't got lost
If I'd known about the party, I would have gone!
al consonant