| Positive | Negative | Question | |
|---|---|---|---|
| no differences | I spoke. | I did not speak. | Did I speak? |
| Exceptions in spelling when adding ed | Example |
|---|---|
| after a final e only add d | love – loved |
| final consonant after a short, stressed vowel or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled | admit – admitted travel – travelled |
| final y after a consonant becomes i | hurry – hurried |
| affirmative | negative | question | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | I am. | I am not. | Am I? |
| he/she/it | He is. | He is not. | Is he? |
| you/we/they | You are. | You are not. | Are you? |
 The sun sets in the west. |
The sun never sets in the east or south or north, but always in the west.
|
 Colin always plays soccer on Tuesdays. |
Colin plays football regularly - every Tuesday.
In English, signal words are often used, e.g.: always, never, seldom, often, regularly, every Monday.
|
 She takes her bag and leaves. |
First one action takes place and then the other.
|
 The train leaves at 9 pm. |
Although the action takes place in the future, it takes place regularly and is set by a time table.
|
 I love her.  |
When you love someone, that's a state, a fact or emotion, but not an action (like running for example). Whenever you want to express a state, possession, sense or emotions, use the simple form (not the progressive). The following words all belong to this group:
|
| affirmative | negative | question | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | I am playing. | I am not playing. | Am I playing? |
| he, she, it | He is playing. | He is not playing. | Is he playing? |
| you, we, they | You are playing. | You are not playing. | Are you playing? |
| affirmative | negative | question | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | I am working. | ||
| you | You are jumping. | ||
| he | He is not dreaming. | ||
| she | Is she sleeping? | ||
| it | It is snowing. | ||
| we | Are we singing? | ||
| you | You are not fighting. | ||
| they | Are they reading? |
| tense | Affirmative/Negative/Question | Use | Signal Words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | A: He speaks. N: He does not speak. Q: Does he speak? |
| always, every …, never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually if sentences type I (If Italk, …) |
| Present Progressive | A: He is speaking. N: He is not speaking. Q: Is he speaking? |
| at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now |
| Simple Past | A: He spoke. N: He did not speak. Q: Did he speak? |
| yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday if sentence type II (If Italked, …) |
| Past Progressive | A: He was speaking. N: He was not speaking. Q: Was he speaking? |
| while, as long as |
| Present Perfect Simple | A: He has spoken. N: He has not spoken. Q: Has he spoken? |
| already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now |
| Present Perfect Progressive | A: He has been speaking. N: He has not been speaking. Q: Has he been speaking? |
| all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long?, the whole week |
| Past Perfect Simple | A: He had spoken. N: He had not spoken. Q: Had he spoken? |
| already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day if sentence type III (If Ihad talked, …) |
| Past Perfect Progressive | A: He had been speaking. N: He had not been speaking. Q: Had he been speaking? |
| for, since, the whole day, all day |
| Future I Simple | A: He will speak. N: He will not speak. Q: Will he speak? |
| in a year, next …, tomorrow If-Satz Typ I (If you ask her, she will help you.) assumption: I think, probably, perhaps |
| Future I Simple
(going to)
| A: He is going to speak. N: He is not going to speak. Q: Is he going to speak? |
| in one year, next week, tomorrow |
| Future I Progressive | A: He will be speaking. N: He will not be speaking. Q: Will he be speaking? |
| in one year, next week, tomorrow |
| Future II Simple | A: He will have spoken. N: He will not have spoken. Q: Will he have spoken? |
| by Monday, in a week |
| Future II Progressive | A: He will have been speaking. N: He will not have been speaking. Q: Will he have been speaking? |
| for …, the last couple of hours, all day long |
| Conditional I Simple | A: He would speak. N: He would not speak. Q: Would he speak? |
| if sentences type II (If I were you, I would go home.) |
| Conditional I Progressive | A: He would be speaking. N: He would not be speaking. Q: Would he be speaking? |
| |
| Conditional II Simple | A: He would have spoken. N: He would not have spoken. Q: Would he have spoken? |
| if sentences type III (If I had seen that, Iwould have helped.) |
| Conditional II Progressive | A: He would have been speaking. N: He would not have been speaking. Q: Would he have been speaking? |
|
