| A: Affirmative N: Negative Q: Question | Use | Key Words |
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PRESENT | A: He speaks N: He does not speak Q: Does he speak? | for routines, habits or facts | always,usually,often, sometimes,never, every day, on Tuesdays if sentences type I (If I talk, …) |
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PRESENT CONTINUOUS | A: He is speaking N: He is not speaking Q: Is he speaking? | action taking place at the moment of speaking or only for a limited period of time/ future arrangements | now, right now, just now, at this moment |
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PAST | A: He spoke N: He did not speak Q: Did he speak? | for past actions | yesterday, five minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday, last century if sentence type II (If I talked, …) |
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PAST CONTINUOUS | A: He was speaking N: He was not speaking Q: Was he speaking? | action going on at a certain time in the past or actions taking place at the same time/ action in the past that is interrupted by another action | while, as long as |
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PRESENT PERFECT | A: He has spoken N: He has not spoken Q: Has he spoken? | action that began in the past but still continues/ 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, yet, ever, just, up to now |
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PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS | A: He has been speaking N: He has not been speaking Q: Has he been speaking? | putting emphasis on the duration (not the result) /action that recently stopped or is still going on/ finished action that influences the present | all day, for two years, since 1993, the whole week, how long? |
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PAST PERFECT | A: He had spoken N: He had not spoken Q: Had he spoken? | action taking place before a certain time in the past (the past before the past) | already, just, never, yet, once, until that day if sentence type III (If I had talked, …) |
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PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS | 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 interchangeable with past perfect (emphasis on the duration) | for, since, all day, the whole day |
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FUTURE | A: He will speak N: He will not speak Q: Will he speak? | sudden spontaneous decision | in a year, next …, tomorrow If-sentence type I (If you ask her, she will help you.) I think, probably, perhaps |
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FUTURE GOING TO | A: He is going to speak N: He is not going to speak Q: Is he going to speak? | planned decision or conclusion with regard to the future | in one year, next week, tomorrow |
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FUTURE CONTINUOUS | 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 |
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FUTURE PERFECT | 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 |
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FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS | 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 |
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CONDITIONAL | 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 go home.) |
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CONDITIONAL PERFECT | A: He would have spoken. N: He would not have spoken. Q: Would he have spoken? | action that might have taken place in the past | if sentences type III (If I had seen that, I would have helped.) |
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