Tenses

tense
Affirmative/Negative/Question
Use
Signal Words

Simple Present
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, …)

Present Progressive
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

Simple Past
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 Italked, …)

Past Progressive
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

Present Perfect Simple
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

Present Perfect Progressive
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

Past Perfect Simple
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
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 courseof an action
for, since, the whole day, all day

Future I Simple
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, shewill help you.) assumption: I think, probably, 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

Future I Progressive
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

Future II Simple
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

Future II Progressive
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

Conditional I Simple
A: He would speak. N: He would not speak. Q: Would he speak?
action that might take place
if sentences type II (If I were you, I would gohome.)