English Verb Tenses Cheat Sheet

Present Simple (Yo voy)

He/She/It - goes (Do/Does?)

Habit or routine, general truth

• Always
• Usually
• Generally
• Regularly
• At night
• In the morning
• Every week

Present Continuous (Estoy jugando)

am/is/are + -ING

Action which is happening now, temporary action

• Now
• Right now
• At the moment
• Today
• This month
• Next day

Past Simple (Caminé)

-ED / 2nd col. (Did?)

Completed action in the past

• Yesterday
• Last week
• A year ago
• In 2007
• When

Past Continuous (Estaba estudiando)

was/were + -ING

An incomplete action in progress in the past

• Last night/week
• When
• While
• As

Present Perfect Simple (He trabajado)

have/has + -ED/2nd col.

An action that began in the past and continues until the present

• Ever
• Never
• Already
• Just
• Yet
• Recently
• For
• Since
• In recent years

Past Perfect Simple (Yo había llegado)

Had + -ED

A completed action which took place before another action in the past

• By the time
• After
• Before
• Until
• Never

Future Simple (Yo invitaré)

Will

A prediction, a timetable, a spontaneous decision

• This evening
• In an hour
• At 2 o'clock
• Later
• Tomorrow
• Next month
• In a few weeks

Be Going To (Voy a comer)

am/is/are + GOING TO

Planned action for the future, an action about to happen

• This evening
• Later
• In an hour
• At 4 o'clock
• Tomorrow
• Soon
• Next month

Future Perfect Simple (Habré perdido)

Will have + -ED/3rd col.

An action that will be completed by a certain time in the future

• By this time next week
• By 3 o'clock
• By the end of
• By then
• In four months

Future Continuous (Estaré perdiendo)

Will be + -ING

An action in progress at a certain future time

• At this time tomorrow
• On Thursday
• In the next decade

Conditionals

Zero Conditional

If + subject + present simple, subject + present simple

First Conditional

If + subject + present simple, subject + will (Situations that may occur)

Second Conditional

If + subject + past simple, subject + would + infinitive (Hypothetical situations)

If Valerie practised more, she would be really good.

Third Conditional

If + subject + past perfect, subject + would + have + 3rd col. (To express regret)

If I had taken my umbrella, I wouldn't have gotten wet.

Passive Voice

Subject + to be + -ED/3rd col.

Reported Speech