I am doing
he/she/it is doing
we are doing
you are doing
they are doing
I have done
he/she/it has done
we have done
you have done
they have done
I have been doing
he/she/it has been doing
we have been doing
you have been doing
they have been doing
Do I do?
Does he/she/it do?
Am I doing?
Is he/she/it doing?
Have I done?
Has he/she/it done?
Have I been doing?
Has he/she/it been doing?
I do not do
he/she/it does not do
I am not doing
he/she/it is not doing
I have not done
he/she/it has not done
I have not been doing
he/she/it has not been doing
PAST
I did
he/she/it did
we did
you did
they did
I was doing
he/she/it was doing
we were doing
you were doing
they were doing
I had done
he/she/it had done
we had done
you had done
they had done
I had been doing
he/she/it had been doing
we had been doing
you had been doing
they had been doing
Did I do?
Was I doing?
Had I done?
Had I been doing?
I did not do
I was not doing
I had not done
I had not been doing
FUTURE
I shall do
he/she/it will do
we shall do
you will do
they will do
I shall be doing
he/she/it will be doing
we shall be doing
you will be doing
they will be doing
I shall have done
he/she/it will have done
we shall have done
you will have done
they will have done
I shall have been doing
he/she/it will have been doing
we shall have been doing
you will have been doing
they will have been doing
Shall I do?
Shall I be doing?
Shall I have done?
Shall I have been doing?
I shall not do
I shall not be doing
I shall not have done
I shall not have been doing
PRESENT FORMS
PRESENT SIMPLE
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
We use the present simple:
a) for permanent states, repeated actions and daily routines.
He works in a bank. (permanent state)
He takes the train to work every morning. (daily routine \ repeated actions)
We use the present continuous:
a) for actions taking place now, at the moment of speaking.
He is giving the baby a bath at the
moment.
b) for general truths and laws of nature.
The sun sets in the west.
b) for temporary actions; that is actions that are going on around now, but not at the actual moment of speaking.
I’m lookingfor a new job these
days.
c) for timetables (planes, trains, etc.) and programmes.
The plane from Brussels arrives at 8:30.
c) with adverb such as:
always, constantly, continually, etc. for actions which happen very often, usually to express annoyance, irritation or anger.
I’m always meeting Sara when I go shopping.(action which happens very often)
You’re constantly interrupting me when I’m talking. (expressing annoyance \ irritation)
d) for sports commentaries, reviews and narrations.
Peterson overtakes Williams and winsthe race. (sports commentary)
Mike Dalton plays the part of Macbeth. (review)
Then the prince gets on his horse and quickly rides away. (narration)
d) for actions that we have already arranged to do in the near future, especially when the time and place have been decided.
They’re moving into their new house next week. (The time has been decided)
e) to give instructions or directions (instead of the imperative).
You sprinkle some cheese on the pizza and then you bakeit.
e) for changing or developing situations.
More and more species are becoming extinct.
TIME EXPRESSIONS
PRESENT SIMPLE
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
The present simple is used with the following time expressions: usually, often, always, etc., every day / week / month / year, in the morning / afternoon / evening, at night, at the weekend, on Mondays, etc.
Adverbs of frequency (always, usually, often, sometimes, seldom / rarely / never, etc.) come before the main verb (read, work, etc.) but after the verb to be, auxiliary verbs (do, have, etc.) or modal verbs (can, should, etc.)
Susanoften goes skiing at the weekend.
The present continuous is used with the following time expressions:now, at the moment, at present, these days, still, nowadays, today, tonight, etc.
Identify the tenses in bold, then match them with the correct description.
1He worksin a TV studio.
2Tom isalways causing trouble at work.
3She is workingat a supermarket at present.
4Fish livein the sea.
5She is looking for a job as a nanny in Madrid.
6The thief grabs the bag and disappears.
7He usually leaveshis office at 6.00 pm.
8Shestartsher new job on Monday.
9We are attending a seminar on Monday.
10The new company is growing steadily.
atemporary situation
bpermanent state
cfixed arrangements in the near future
ddramatic narrative (reviews / sport commentaries)
epermanent truths or laws of nature
fchanging or developing situations
gtimetables / programmes with future meaning
hfrequently repeated actions expressing annoyance
iactions happening at or around the time of speaking
