Grammar Rules
Grammar rules Verbs Verb Tenses

Verb Tenses

Present Simple

  1. Positive: Most kids like milk.
  2. Negative: I do not like milk unless it’s chocolate.
  3. Yes/No Questions: Do you like milk?
  4. Wh-Questions: When do we board the train for Paris?
  5. Tag Questions: You like scuba diving, don’t you?

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Present Progressive (Continuous)

  1. Positive:You are learning to use perfect English.
  2. Negative:You are not sleeping now.
  3. Yes/No Questions:Are you eating?
  4. Wh-Questions:What are you watching?
  5. Tag Questions:You aren’t eating liverwurst, are you?

Past Simple

  1. Positive:I visited my grandmother yesterday.
  2. Negative:We didn’t watch the movie on Saturday.
  3. Yes/No Questions:Did you have spaghetti for dinner last night?
  4. Wh-Questions:Why didn’t you wash the car yesterday?
  5. Tag Questions:You went to Paris last year, didn’t you?

Past Progressive (Continuous)

  1. Positive:We were watching TV when the power went out.
  2. Negative:You were not listening to the teacher’s instructions yesterday.
  3. Yes/No Questions:Were you skateboarding when you broke your leg?
  4. Wh-Questions:What were you doing when you heard the news?

Future

    Future Simple
  1. Be Going To:We are going to the movies tonight.
  2. Shall:You will help your grandmother later.
    Future Progressive (Continuous)
  1. Present Simple and Present Progressive with Future Meaning: Sam will be coming home any minute.

Perfect Tenses

The perfect tenses describe actions that have already been completed or that began in the past and are relevant to the present or that will have happened at a particular time in the future. They are also referred to as the perfective aspect.

Present Perfect Simple

  1. Positive:They have been to Paris.
  2. Negative:You haven’t gone overseas.
  3. Yes/No Questions:Have you been to London?
  4. Wh-Questions:Why are we here?
  5. Tag Questions:You haven’t been to Zurich, have you?

Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

  1. Positive:They have been swimming for more than an hour.
  2. Negative:You haven’t waited thirty minutes yet.
  3. Yes/No Questions:Have you been waiting long?
  4. Wh-Questions:What time did you begin waiting?
  5. Tag Questions:You haven’t been waiting long, have you?

Past Perfect Simple

  1. Positive:He had studied French before traveling to Paris.
  2. Negative: She hadn’t studied French before last semester.
  3. Yes/No Questions:Had you studied French before you traveled to Paris?
  4. Wh-Questions:Why hadn’t you studied French when you knew you’d be traveling to Paris soon?
  5. Tag Questions:You hadn’t visited the U.S. before your trip in 2010, had you?

Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

  1. Positive:We had been waiting for more than three hours when the train finally arrived.
  2. Negative:We had not been waiting for more than thirty minutes when her plane landed.
  3. Yes/No Questions:Had you been waiting for longer than three hours?
  4. Wh-Questions:Why had you been waiting for the last two hours?

Future Perfect Simple / Future Perfect Progressive

  1. Future Perfect Simple:You will have perfected your French by the time you come back from Paris.
  2. Future Perfect Progressive:We will be waiting for him when his plan arrives tonight.