Verb form

Common usage of verbs

Use	Time reference	Verb form (CGEL)	Example sentence
Locate events or state in the past	Past	Past tense (preterite)	She arrived at the station at 9 a.m.
Reporting (past narrative sequence)	Past	Past tense (preterite), coordinated with and	She opened the letter and read it carefully.
Two parts (background + event)	Past	Past progressive + past tense	She was cooking when the phone rang.
Was in progress during some period in the past (possibly never completed)	Past	Past progressive + past tense	He was building a house
Earlier past before past reference point	Past (relative)	Past perfect	She had left before I arrived.
Past relevant to now (resultative/current relevance)	Present (with past time)	Present perfect (have + past participle)	She has finished the report.
Past relevant to now, focus on duration	Present (with past time)	Present perfect progressive (have been + -ing)	She has been working all morning.
Past experience with present consequence	Present (with past time)	Perfect participial clause	Having lived in Rome, she speaks Italian fluently.
Hypothetical or imaginary	Past / counterfactual	Past perfect in if-clause + modal (might/could/would) in main clause	If I had investigated further, I might have found the answer.
Put things more diffidently or politely	Present / polite request	Modal (could/might/would) + infinitival	I wondered if I could possibly borrow your car.
Current moment	Present	Present progressive	I recommend reading this book now.
Currently in progress	Present	Present progressive (be plus gerund participle)	He is making a lot of noise.
Continuing through a period including the present moment (but possibly temporary)	Present	Present progressive	He is making a lot of noise.
Things that are timeless	Present	Simple present (non-progressive)	People always say honesty is the best policy.
Ask for instructions	Present	Present tense (non-progressive)	What do I write here?
Scheduled / timetabled future	Present (future time reference)	Present tense (non-progressive)	The plane arrives at 18:30.
Personal arrangements (fixed plans)	Present (future time reference)	Present progressive	I am meeting the director at 10 a.m. tomorrow.
Intention or prior plan	Future	be going to + bare infinitival	I am going to start a new course.
Future clearly on the way (present evidence)	Future	be going to + bare infinitival	Look at those clouds — it is going to rain.
Prior decision already made	Future	be going to + bare infinitival	I am going to repaint the kitchen.
Neutral prediction / future event	Future	will + bare infinitival	The meeting will begin at noon.
Decision at moment of speaking	Future	will + bare infinitival	I will answer the door.
Give or ask for information	Future	will + bare infinitival	Will you need a receipt?
Prediction (judgement, calculation)	Future	will + bare infinitival	I think she will win.
Expected / assumed to occur	Future	should + bare infinitival	The parcel should arrive tomorrow.
Action ongoing in the future	Future	Future progressive (will be + -ing)	This time tomorrow, I will be travelling to Paris.
Action completed in the future, focus on result	Future	Future perfect (will have + past participle)	By 6 p.m., she will have finished the report.
Action continuing up to a point in the future	Future	Future perfect progressive (will have been + -ing)	By next week, she will have been working here for five years.
Future in the past	Future (relative to past)	would + bare infinitival	He said he would call later.

Present

Adjunct / expression type	Syntactic status (CGEL)	Common tense (in practice)	Typical aspect	Example sentence
now, around now, currently	Temporal Adjunct (Adv/AdvP)	Present	Progressive	She is working now.
changing (temporary, developing situation)	Progressive construction (aux + -ing)	Present	Progressive	The climate is changing.
always, often, sometimes, never	Frequency Adjunct (Adv/AdvP)	Present	Non-progressive (simple)	She always arrives early.
always true / generally true	Frequency/temporal Adjunct	Present	Non-progressive (simple)	Water boils at 100°C.
all the time (habitual meaning)	Temporal/frequency Adjunct	Present	Non-progressive (simple)	He complains all the time.
one after another	Sequencing Adjunct (PP)	Past	Non-progressive (simple)	He opened the letters one after another.
Longer background situation	— (aspectual interpretation; often co-occurs with temporal clause)	Past	Progressive	She was cooking when I arrived.

Less common future verb forms

Use	Time reference	Verb form (CGEL)	Example sentence
Action ongoing in the future	Future	Future progressive (will be + -ing)	This time tomorrow, I will be traveling to Paris.
Action completed in the future, focus on result	Future	Future perfect (will have + past participle)	By 6 p.m., she will have finished the report.
Action continuing up to a point in the future	Future	Future perfect progressive (will have been + -ing)	By next week, she will have been working here for five years.

Rules

• Non temporary state without time boundaries are not used in the progressive