Grammatical Tenses Cheatsheet

Three time frames, four aspects: twelve tenses, and when each one happens.

Each line runs from the past to the future. Now is the moment of speaking. Then is the past or future moment the sentence is about. The red mark is the action: a dot is one event, dots are a habit, a wave is an activity in progress, and an arrow links it forward.

1. Present Simple

   True or repeated: before now, now and after now.

   Form

   • S
   • +
   • V(s/es)

   Use

   Facts, routines, general truths, fixed timetables

   Time markers

   always, usually, every day, never

   Example

   The Olympic Games take place every four years.

2. Present Continuous

   In progress around now, for a limited time.

   Form

   • S
   • +
   • am/is/are
   • +
   • V-ing

   Use

   Actions in progress now, temporary situations, changing trends, fixed future arrangements

   Time markers

   now, at the moment, currently, this year

   Example

   More and more fans are watching live sport on streaming services.

3. Present Perfect

   Happened before now; the result still matters now.

   Form

   • S
   • +
   • have/has
   • +
   • V3

   Use

   Past action with present relevance; unfinished time period; experience

   Time markers

   already, yet, ever, never, just, so far, since, for

   Example

   Only twelve people have walked on the Moon.

4. Present Perfect Continuous

   Started before now and still going on now.

   Form

   • S
   • +
   • have/has
   • +
   • been
   • +
   • V-ing

   Use

   Activity that started in the past and continues now; emphasis on duration

   Time markers

   for, since, all week, lately

   Example

   Scientists have been searching for signs of life on Mars for decades.

1. Past Simple

   One finished action at a past time.

   Form

   • S
   • +
   • V2

   Use

   Finished action at a stated or understood past time

   Time markers

   yesterday, last year, in 2024, ago

   Example

   Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon in 1969.

2. Past Continuous

   In progress around a past moment; something else can happen in the middle.

   Form

   • S
   • +
   • was/were
   • +
   • V-ing

   Use

   Action in progress at a past moment; background to a shorter action

   Time markers

   while, when, at 8 p.m. yesterday

   Example

   The Beatles were playing on a London rooftop when the police arrived.

3. Past Perfect

   Finished before another past moment.

   Form

   • S
   • +
   • had
   • +
   • V3

   Use

   Action completed before another past action or time

   Time markers

   by the time, before, already, after

   Example

   When Columbus reached the Americas in 1492, Vikings had already landed there.

4. Past Perfect Continuous

   Going on up to a past moment.

   Form

   • S
   • +
   • had
   • +
   • been
   • +
   • V-ing

   Use

   Duration of an activity up to another past action or time

   Time markers

   for, since, before, by the time

   Example

   Nelson Mandela had been fighting apartheid for decades when he walked free in 1990.

1. Future Simple (will)

   A future action, decided or predicted now.

   Form

   • S
   • +
   • will
   • +
   • V

   Use

   Decision at the moment of speaking, prediction, promise, offer

   Time markers

   tomorrow, soon, probably, I think

   Example

   Halley’s Comet will return in 2061.

2. Be going to

   Already planned, or already on its way: the line starts now.

   Form

   • S
   • +
   • am/is/are going to
   • +
   • V

   Use

   Prior plan or intention; prediction from present evidence

   Time markers

   next week, soon, look —

   Example

   NASA is going to send astronauts back to the Moon.

3. Future Continuous

   In progress around a future moment.

   Form

   • S
   • +
   • will be
   • +
   • V-ing

   Use

   Action in progress at a future moment

   Time markers

   this time next week, at 10 a.m. tomorrow

   Example

   In July 2028, athletes will be competing at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

4. Future Perfect

   Finished before a future moment.

   Form

   • S
   • +
   • will have
   • +
   • V3

   Use

   Action completed before a future time

   Time markers

   by December, by then, by the time

   Example

   By the time astronauts land on the Moon again, more than fifty years will have passed since Apollo 17.

5. Future Perfect Continuous

   Going on up to a future moment. It can start in the past.

   Form

   • S
   • +
   • will have been
   • +
   • V-ing

   Use

   Duration of an activity up to a future time

   Time markers

   by + time + for

   Example

   By December 2029, The Simpsons will have been running for forty years.

Other ways to talk about the future

1. Present Simple

   Fixed by a timetable or calendar.

   Use

   Official timetables and schedules

   Example

   A total solar eclipse crosses southern Spain and North Africa on 2 August 2027.

2. Present Continuous

   Arranged now, for a future time.

   Use

   Personal arrangements already fixed

   Example

   We are watching the Champions League final at Sam’s place on Saturday.

3. Be about to + V

   Just after now.

   Use

   Action in the immediate future

   Example

   Ten seconds to go: the rocket is about to launch.

Verbs that describe states rather than actions are not normally used in continuous forms:

• know
• believe
• understand
• want
• need
• prefer
• belong
• own
• seem
• contain

• Wrong: I have studied IELTS yesterday. → Right: I studied IELTS yesterday.

  A finished time marker requires the Past Simple, not the Present Perfect.

• Wrong: I live here since 2020. → Right: I have lived here since 2020.

  An action that continues to the present requires the Present Perfect (or Present Perfect Continuous).

• Wrong: I am knowing the answer. → Right: I know the answer.

  Stative verbs do not normally take continuous forms.

• Wrong: Did you went to class? → Right: Did you go to class?

  After did, the main verb is in the base form.

• Wrong: She study every evening. → Right: She studies every evening.

  The Present Simple adds -s/-es in the third-person singular.

• Wrong: When I will finish the course, I will apply. → Right: When I finish the course, I will apply.

  Time clauses with when, after, before, until, as soon as use a present tense for future reference.

• Wrong: I will meet my tutor at 5. → Right: I am meeting my tutor at 5.

  Fixed personal arrangements take the Present Continuous.

• Wrong: Yesterday I go to the library and borrowed three books. → Right: Yesterday I went to the library and borrowed three books.

  Keep one time frame inside a sentence unless the time of the events changes.

• Wrong: Researchers showed that spaced repetition works when the finding is still current. → Right: Researchers have shown that spaced repetition works.

  The Present Perfect presents a past finding as relevant now; the Past Simple is for a specific study at a stated time (Smith showed in 2019 …).