Verbs: Forms

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