Simple Present :
Ø Expresses daily habits or usual activities.
Ex : - Caroline takesa shower every day.
- I usually eat lunch at the cafeteria.
- Nurses look after patients in hospital.
Ø Expresses general statement of fact.
Ex : - The earth revolves around the sun.
- A square has four equal sides.
- The sky isblue.
Present Progressive :
Ø Expresses an activity that is in progress (is occurring, is happening) right now. The event is in progress at the time the speaker is saying the sentence. The event began in the past, is in progress now and will probably continue into the future.
Ex : - Dilla can’t come to the phone right now because he is washing his hair.
- Maulana and Ismy are babies. They are crying. I can hear them right now. May be they are hungry.
Present Perfect :
Ø Expresses the idea that something happened (or never happened) before now, at an unspecific time in the past. The exact time it happened is not important.
Ex : - They have moved into a new apartment.
- Have you ever visited Mexico?
Ø Expresses the repetition of an activity before now. The exact time of each repetition is not important.
Ex : - I have flown on an airplane many times.
- You have met many people since You came here in July.
Ø When used with for or since, expresses a situation that began in the past and continues to the present.
Ex : - Zahro’ has known her for a week.
- Aris has waited for us since yesterday.
Present Perfect Progressive :
Ø Is used to indicate the duration of an activity that began in the past and continues to the present. When the tense has this meaning, it is used with time words such as for, since, all morning, all day, all week.
Ex : - She has been sitting here for two hours.
- We have been sitting here since seven o’clock.
- It has been raining all day. It is still raining right now.
Ø Expresses the duration (the length of time) an activity is in progress.
Ex : - I have been driving this new car for almost an hour.
- The thieves have been kidnapping my uncle’s daughter since three days ago.
Ø An action which began in the past and is still continuing or has only finished can be expressed by either The Present Perfect or The Present Perfect Continuous. Verbs which can be used in this way include expect, hope, learn, lie, live, look, rain, stop, sit, snow, stand, stay, study, teach, wait, want, work.
Ex : - How long have you learnt English?
- How long have you been learning English?
- He has slept for ten hours.
- He has been sleeping for ten hours.
(A.J. Thomson & A.V. Martinet. Page173<192>)
Simple Past :
Ø Is used to talk about activities or situations that began and ended in the past.
Ex : - Bob stayed home yesterday.
- Marlin took a taxi to the airport two days ago.
Ø At one particular time in the past, this happened. It began and ended in the past.
Ex : - It snowed last month.
- His grandma watched the new television.
Ø If a sentence contains when and has The Simple Past in both clauses, the action in the “when clause” happens first.
Ex : - When she heard a strange noise, she gotup to investigate.
Past Progressive :
Ø Expresses an activity that was in progress (was occurring, was happening) at a point of time in the past or the time of another action.
Ex : - I sat down at the dinner table at 06:00 P.M. yesterday. Tom came to my house at 06:10 P.M. I was eating dinner when Tom came.
Ø When two actions are in progress at the same time, the past progressive can be used in both parts of the sentence.
Ex : - While I was doing my homework, my roommate was watching TV.
Past Perfect :
Ø Expresses an activity that was completed before a particular time in the past.
Ex : - I ate at noon. Bob came at 1:00 P.M. my meal was completed before Bob came.
- I had eaten when Bob came.
Past Perfect Progressive :
Ø Emphasizes the durationof an activity that was in progress before another activity or time in the past.
Ex : Eric finally came at six o’clock. I had been waiting for himsince four-thirty.
Ø Expresses an activity in progress close in time to another activity or time in the past.
Ex : When Judy got home, her hair was still wet because she had been swimming.
Simple Future :
Ø Expresses an activity that will happen in the future time.
Ex : I will leave you tomorrow evening.
Ø To express WILLINGNESS use only will.
Ex : A ; The phone is ringing.
B ; I’ll get it.
Ø To express A PRIOR PLAN / PRECONCEIVED PLANuse only be going to.
Ex : A ; Why did you buy this paint ?
B ; I’m going to paint my bedroom tomorrow.
Ø Be going to and will are the same when they are used to make predictions about the future and have same meaning.
Ex : We will have dinner at seven.
We are going to have dinner at seven.
Ø Probably comes between will and the main verb.
Ex : Ree will probablygo to park tomorrow.
Ø Probably comes in front of won’t.
Ex : Ree probablywon’t go to park tomorrow.
Ø More formally Probably comes between will and not.
Ex : Ree will probablynot go to park tomorrow.
Future Progressive :
Ø To express an activity that will be in progress at a time in the future.
Ex : I will begin to study at seven. You will come at eight. I will be studying when you came.
Future Perfect :
Ø To express an activity that will be completed before another time or event in the future.
Ex : Owi will graduate in June. Owi will see you in July. By the next time Owi see you, Owi will have graduated.
Future Perfect Progressive :
Ø Emphasizes the duration of an activity that will be in progress before another time or event in the future.
Ex : I will go to bed at ten pm. He will get home at midnight. At midnight I will be sleeping. I will have been sleeping for two hours by the time he gets home.
Simple Past Future :
Ø To express Past Intention.
Ex : Neha would help me yesterday.
Past Future Progressive :
Ø To express an activity that would be in progress at a time in the past (didn’t happen).
Ex : We would be dating at seven last night.
Past Future Perfect :
Ø To express an activity that should have been completed in the past (but wasn’t done).
Ex : Mala would have taken care of everything before she left home.
Past Future Perfect Progressive :
Ø To express the activity that should have been happening at a particular time in the past (never happened).
Ex : It would have been raining for two hours by nine last night.