| Tense | Signal words | Use | Form | Examples |
| Simple Present | · every day· sometimes· always· often· usually· seldom· never· first … then | · something happens repeatedly· how often something happens· sequence of actions· things in general· after the following verbs (to love, to hate, to think, etc.)· future meaning: timetables, programmes | infinitive (he/she/it) + -s | · I work· he works· I go· he goes |
| Present Progressive | · now· at the moment· Look!· Listen! | · something is happening at the same time of speaking or around it· future meaning: when you have already decided and arranged to do it (a fixed plan, date) | to be (am/are/is) + infinitive + -ing | · I’m working· he’s working· I’m going· he’s going |
| Simple Past | · last …· … ago· in 1990· yesterday | action took place in the past, mostly connected with an expression of time (no connection to the present) | · regular: Infinitiv + -ed· irregular: 2nd column | · I worked· he worked· I went· he went |
| Past Progressive | · an action happened in the middle of another action· someone was doing sth. at a certain time (in the past) – you don’t know whether it was finished or not | was/were + infinitive + -ing | · I was working· he was working· I was going· he was going | |
| Simple Present Perfect | · yet· never· ever· already· so far,· up to now,· since, for, recently | · you say that sth. has happened or is finished in the past and it has a connection to the present· action started in the past and continues up to the present | have/has + past participle (infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column) | · I‘ve worked· he‘s worked· I‘ve gone· he‘s gone |
| Present Perfect Progressive | · emphasis: length of time of an action· action began in the past and has just stopped· how long the action has been happening | have/has + been + infinitive + -ing | · I‘ve been working· he‘s been working· I‘ve been going· he‘s been going | |
| Simple Past Perfect | · mostly when two actions in a story are related to each other: the action which had already happened is put into Past Perfect, the other action into Simple Past· the past of the Present Perfect | had + past participle (infinitive + -ed) or (3rd column) | · I had worked· he had worked· I had gone· he had gone | |
| will-future | · predictions about the future (you think that sth. will happen)· you decide to do sth. spontaneously at the time of speaking, you haven’t made a decision before· main clause in if clause type I | will + infinitive | · I‘ll work· he‘ll work· I‘ll go· he‘ll go | |
| going to-future | · when you have already decided to do sth. in the future· what you think what will happen | to be (am/are/is) + going to + infinitive | · I‘m going to work· he‘s going to work· I‘m going to go· he‘s going to go |
Common Tenses
Prabhu TL is a SenseCentral contributor covering digital products, entrepreneurship, and scalable online business systems. He focuses on turning ideas into repeatable processes—validation, positioning, marketing, and execution. His writing is known for simple frameworks, clear checklists, and real-world examples. When he’s not writing, he’s usually building new digital assets and experimenting with growth channels.
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