tense
Affirmative/Negative/Question
Use
Signal Words
1 Simple Present
المضارع البسيط
A: He speaks.
N: He does not speak.
Q: Does he speak?
§ action in the present taking place once, never or several times
§ facts
§ actions taking place one after another
§ action set by a timetable or schedule
always, every …, never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually
if sentences type I (If I talk, …)
2Present Progressive
المضارع المستمر
A: He is speaking.
N: He is not speaking.
Q: Is he speaking?
§ action taking place in the moment of speaking
§ action taking place only for a limited period of time
§ action arranged for the future
at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now
3Simple Past
الماضى البسيط
A: He spoke.
N: He did not speak.
Q: Did he speak?
§ action in the past taking place once, never or several times
§ actions taking place one after another
§ action taking place in the middle of another action
yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday
if sentence type II (If I talked, …)
4Past Progressive
الماضى المستمر
A: He was speaking.
N: He was not speaking.
Q: Was he speaking?
§ action going on at a certain time in the past
§ actions taking place at the same time
§ action in the past that is interrupted by another action
when, while, as long as
5Present Perfect Simple
المضارع التام
A: He has spoken.
N: He has not spoken.
Q: Has he spoken?
§ putting emphasis on the result
§ action that is still going on
§ action that stopped recently
§ finished action that has an influence on the present
§ action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking
already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now
6Present Perfect Progressive
المضارع التام المستمر
A: He has been speaking.
N: He has not been speaking.
Q: Has he been speaking?
§ putting emphasis on the course or duration (not the result)
§ action that recently stopped or is still going on
§ finished action that influenced the present
all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long?, the whole week
7Past Perfect Simple
الماضى التام
A: He had spoken.
N: He had not spoken.
Q: Had he spoken?
§ action taking place before a certain time in the past
§ sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive
§ putting emphasis only on the fact (not the duration)
already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day
if sentence type III (If I had talked, …)
Past Perfect Progressive
الماضى التام المستمر8
A: He had been speaking.
N: He had not been speaking.
Q: Had he been speaking?
§ action taking place before a certain time in the past
§ sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple
§ putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action
for, since, the whole day, all day
9Future I Simple
المستقبل البسيط
A: He will speak.
N: He will not speak.
Q: Will he speak?
§ action in the future that cannot be influenced
§ spontaneous decision
§ assumption with regard to the future
in a year, next …, tomorrow
If-Satz Typ I (If you ask her, she will help you.)
assumption: I think, probably, we might …, perhaps
Future I Simple
(going to)
A: He is going to speak.
N: He is not going to speak.
Q: Is he going to speak?
§ decision made for the future
§ conclusion with regard to the future
in one year, next week, tomorrow
10Future I Progressive
المستقبل المستمر
A: He will be speaking.
N: He will not be speaking.
Q: Will he be speaking?
§ action that is going on at a certain time in the future
§ action that is sure to happen in the near future
in one year, next week, tomorrow
11Future perfect
المستقبل التام
A: He will have spoken.
N: He will not have spoken.
Q: Will he have spoken?
§ action that will be finished at a certain time in the future
by Monday, in a week
12Future perfect Progressive
المستقبل التام المستمر
A: He will have been speaking.
N: He will not have been speaking.
Q: Will he have been speaking?
§ action taking place before a certain time in the future
§ putting emphasis on the course of an action
for …, the last couple of hours, all day long
