Mastering English Verb Tenses and Structures

English verb tenses are fundamental for clear communication. Here's a breakdown of their forms:

Understanding English Verb Tenses

Present Simple

• I go
• He doesn’t go
• Do you go?

Present Continuous

• I am playing
• He isn’t playing
• Are you playing?

Present Perfect Simple

• I have worked
• He hasn’t worked
• Have you worked?

Present Perfect Continuous

• I have been waiting
• He hasn’t been waiting
• Have you been waiting?

Past Simple

• I walked
• He didn’t walk
• Did you walk?

Past Continuous

• I was studying
• He wasn’t studying
• Were you studying?

Past Perfect Simple

• I had arrived
• He hadn’t arrived
• Had you arrived?

Past Perfect Continuous

• I had been cooking
• He hadn’t been cooking
• Had you been cooking?

Future Simple

• I will invite
• He won’t invite
• Will you invite?

Future Perfect Simple

• I will have lost
• He won’t have lost
• Will you have lost?

Future Continuous

• I will be doing
• He won’t be doing
• Will you be doing?

Be Going To

• I am going to eat
• He isn’t going to eat
• Are you going to eat?

Conditional Sentences

Conditional sentences express hypothetical situations and their consequences.

First Conditional

Structure: If + Present Simple / Future Simple (or Imperative, or Modal + Base Form)

• Example: If it rains, I will stay home.

Second Conditional

Structure: If + Past Simple / Would (or Could) + Base Form

• Example: If I had a million dollars, I would buy a house.

Third Conditional

Structure: If + Past Perfect Simple / Would have (or Could have) + Past Participle

• Example: If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.

The Passive Voice

The passive voice emphasizes the action's recipient rather than the performer.

Passive Voice: Present Simple

• Active: (uses)
• Passive: (is used)

Passive Voice: Present Continuous

• Active: (is using)
• Passive: (is being used)

Passive Voice: Past Simple

• Active: (used)
• Passive: (was used)

Passive Voice: Past Continuous

• Active: (was using)
• Passive: (was being used)

Passive Voice: Present Perfect Simple

• Active: (has used)
• Passive: (has been used)

Passive Voice: Past Perfect Simple

• Active: (had used)
• Passive: (had been used)

Passive Voice: Future Simple

• Active: (will use)
• Passive: (will be used)

Passive Voice with Modals

• Active: (should use)
• Passive: (should be used)

Passive Voice with Modal Perfects

• Active: (may have used)
• Passive: (may have been used)

Passive Voice with "Have To"

• Active: (has to use)
• Passive: (has to be used)

Passive Voice with "Be Going To"

• Active: (is going to use)
• Passive: (is going to be used)

Modal Verbs

Modal verbs express ability, possibility, permission, obligation, and more.

• Can
• Be able to
• Can’t
• Could
• May
• Might
• Should
• Need to
• Have to
• Must
• Mustn’t
• Don’t have to
• Needn’t
• Would

Perfect Modals

Perfect modals refer to past possibilities, obligations, or deductions.

• Could have
• Can’t have
• May have
• Must have
• Should have
• Shouldn’t have
• Would have

Reported Speech

Reported speech (or indirect speech) is used to convey what someone else said.

Reported Speech: Present Simple

• Direct: (cooperates)
• Reported: (cooperated)

Reported Speech: Present Continuous

• Direct: (is cooperating)
• Reported: (was cooperating)

Reported Speech: Past Simple

• Direct: (cooperated)
• Reported: (had cooperated)

Reported Speech: Past Continuous

• Direct: (was cooperating)
• Reported: (had been cooperating)

Reported Speech: Present Perfect Simple

• Direct: (has cooperated)
• Reported: (had cooperated)

Reported Speech: Present Perfect Continuous

• Direct: (has been cooperating)
• Reported: (had been cooperating)

Reported Speech: Past Perfect Simple

• Direct: (had cooperated)
• Reported: (had cooperated)

Reported Speech: Past Perfect Continuous

• Direct: (had been cooperating)
• Reported: (had been cooperating)

Reported Speech: Future Simple

• Direct: (will cooperate)
• Reported: (would cooperate)