Mastering English Grammar: Tenses and Irregular Verbs

Present Tenses

Present Simple (Habits and Routines)

Uses: always, usually, often, never, sometimes, every year, once a day, twice a month.

• Affirmative: Subject + verb (+s/es)
• Negative: Subject + don't/doesn't + verb
• Interrogative: Do/does + subject + verb?

Present Continuous (Actions in Progress)

Uses: Actions happening at the moment.

• Affirmative: Subject + am/are/is + verb-ing
• Negative: Subject + am not/aren't/isn't + verb-ing
• Interrogative: Am/are/is + subject + verb-ing?

Past Tenses

Past Simple (Completed Actions)

Uses: yesterday, for, last night, when, since, before, as soon as, after.

• Affirmative: Subject + verb-ed / 2nd column
• Interrogative: Did + subject + verb (base form)?

Past Continuous (Actions in Process)

Uses: Used when one action is interrupted by another. While + Past Continuous + Past Simple / When + Past Simple + Past Continuous.

• Affirmative: Subject + was/were + verb-ing
• Negative: Subject + wasn't/weren't + verb-ing
• Interrogative: Was/were + subject + verb-ing?

Past Perfect (Actions Before Other Past Actions)

• Affirmative: Subject + had + verb-ed / 3rd column
• Negative: Subject + hadn't + verb-ed / 3rd column

Perfect Tenses

Present Perfect Simple (Unfinished Actions)

Uses: Yet. Use just for actions that have recently finished.

• Affirmative: Subject + have/has + verb-ed / 3rd column
• Negative: Subject + haven't/hasn't + verb-ed / 3rd column
• Interrogative: Have/has + subject + verb-ed / 3rd column?

Present Perfect Continuous

Uses: Actions that started in the past and continue into the present.

• Affirmative: Subject + have/has + been + verb-ing
• Negative: Subject + haven't/hasn't + been + verb-ing
• Interrogative: Have/has + subject + been + verb-ing?

Future Tenses

Future Simple

Uses: Spontaneous decisions, promises.

• Affirmative: Subject + will + verb
• Negative: Subject + won't + verb
• Interrogative: Will + subject + verb?

Going To (Planned Actions)

• Affirmative: Subject + am/is/are + going to + verb
• Negative: Subject + am not/isn't/aren't + going to + verb
• Interrogative: Am/is/are + subject + going to + verb?

Future Continuous and Perfect

• Future Continuous: Subject + will be + verb-ing (Action in progress in the future).
• Future Perfect: Subject + will have + verb-ed / 3rd column (Action finished in the future).

Used To

• Affirmative: Subject + used to + verb
• Interrogative: Did + subject + use to + verb?

Irregular Verbs List

Become/became/become, Begin/began/begun, Break/broke/broken, Buy/bought/bought, Come/came/come, Do/did/done, Draw/drew/drawn, Drink/drank/drunk, Eat/ate/eaten, Feel/felt/felt, Find/found/found, Fall/fell/fallen, Forget/forgot/forgotten, Forgive/forgave/forgiven, Get/got/got, Have/had/had, Know/knew/known, Leave/left/left, Lie/lay/lain, Lose/lost/lost, Make/made/made, Run/ran/run, Say/said/said, Show/showed/shown, Shut/shut/shut, Sleep/slept/slept, Stand/stood/stood, Swim/swam/swum, Take/took/taken, Tell/told/told, Think/thought/thought, Write/wrote/written, Mean/meant/meant.