Present Simple

Form: Subject + base form of verb (+ s/es for 3rd person singular)

Positive

I/You/We/They work
He/She/It works

Negative

I/You/We/They do not (don't) work
He/She/It does not (doesn't) work

Question

Do I/you/we/they work?
Does he/she/it work?

Uses:

  • Habits and routines: She plays tennis every weekend.
  • Permanent situations: I live in London.
  • General truths: The sun rises in the east.

Present Continuous

Form: Subject + am/is/are + verb-ing

Positive

I am working
You/We/They are working
He/She/It is working

Negative

I am not (I'm not) working
You/We/They are not (aren't) working
He/She/It is not (isn't) working

Question

Am I working?
Are you/we/they working?
Is he/she/it working?

Uses:

  • Actions happening now: I am studying for my exam.
  • Temporary situations: She is staying with her parents until she finds an apartment.
  • Future arrangements: We are meeting Tom tomorrow.

Present Perfect

Form: Subject + have/has + past participle

Positive

I/You/We/They have worked
He/She/It has worked

Negative

I/You/We/They have not (haven't) worked
He/She/It has not (hasn't) worked

Question

Have I/you/we/they worked?
Has he/she/it worked?

Uses:

  • Experiences: I have visited Paris twice.
  • Unfinished actions (with 'since/for'): She has lived here for ten years.
  • Recent actions with present relevance: I have lost my keys.

Past Simple

Form: Subject + past form of verb

Positive

I/You/He/She/It/We/They worked

Negative

I/You/He/She/It/We/They did not (didn't) work

Question

Did I/you/he/she/it/we/they work?

Uses:

  • Completed actions in the past: I visited Rome last summer.
  • Series of completed actions: She came home, had dinner and went to bed.

Past Continuous

Form: Subject + was/were + verb-ing

Positive

I/He/She/It was working
You/We/They were working

Negative

I/He/She/It was not (wasn't) working
You/We/They were not (weren't) working

Question

Was I/he/she/it working?
Were you/we/they working?

Uses:

  • Actions in progress at a specific time in the past: At 8 pm, I was watching TV.
  • Background actions: While I was cooking, the phone rang.

Future Simple (will)

Form: Subject + will + base form of verb

Positive

I/You/He/She/It/We/They will work

Negative

I/You/He/She/It/We/They will not (won't) work

Question

Will I/you/he/she/it/we/they work?

Uses:

  • Predictions: I think it will rain tomorrow.
  • Spontaneous decisions: I'll help you with that.
  • Promises: I will call you later.

Going To

Form: Subject + am/is/are going to + base form of verb

Positive

I am going to work
You/We/They are going to work
He/She/It is going to work

Negative

I am not going to work
You/We/They are not (aren't) going to work
He/She/It is not (isn't) going to work

Question

Am I going to work?
Are you/we/they going to work?
Is he/she/it going to work?

Uses:

  • Plans and intentions: I'm going to study medicine.
  • Predictions based on evidence: Look at those clouds. It's going to rain.

Verb Conjugator

Enter a verb to see its conjugation in different tenses.

Conjugation will appear here

Grammar Quiz

Test your knowledge of English grammar tenses.

1. She ________ tennis every Saturday.

2. I ________ a book when the phone rang.

3. They ________ to Paris three times.

4. This time next week, I ________ on a beach in Spain.

5. If I ________ rich, I would buy a yacht.