Verb form

Focus

Aspect: “simple, progressive, perfect, perfect progressive” Then aspect: past, present future

Common usage

Reporting (all past simple, use and)

Past, experience now (participle clause in present participle)

Past relevant to now (present perfect, have)

Past relevant to now, focus on duration/ongoing action (present perfect progressive, have been)

Two parts (past progressive/perfect, then simple)

Future common: going to, present progressive, will

Future has some present reality:

Future situation starting, clearly on the way (going to)

Future plans and intentions, esp. conversation (going to)

Future, should happen

Personal arrangements, plans that are already fixed, esp. with when we give time and date(present progressive)

Decide, agree, promise, refuse, request (will) Do something where decision is already made (going to)

Give or ask for information (will)

Predict : think, calculate, guess (will)

Future, known, repetitive, scheduled, like “The airplane arrives in 3 hours” (present simple)

Future in the past (would)

Action will happen (future simple, will)

Ask for instructions (simple present)

Will be going at a certain time (future progressive)

Present

Now, around now, changing (progressive) Always true, all the time, repeatedly, often, sometimes, never (simple) One after another (simple) Longer background situation (progressive)

Less Common Future Verb Forms

Action ongoing in the future ( Action completed in the future, focus on results (future perfect, will have) Action will have been continuing up to a point (future perfect progressive, will have been)