Present simple — meaning & signals

• Habits/routines: I wash my hair every day.
• Permanent facts & states: Water boils at 100°C. I like soup.
• With adverbs of frequency (mid-position): She usually gets up early; He is never late.
• Timetabled future: The train leaves at 7.

Form: base verb; 3rd person singular -s/-es. Negatives/questions with do/does.

Present continuous — meaning & signals

• Actions now/around now: I’m brushing my teeth.
• Temporary situations & trends: She’s living with friends; Prices are rising.
• Future arrangements (with time): I’m meeting John tonight.

Form: am/is/are + V-ing. Stative verbs (e.g., know, like, own, seem) are normally not used in continuous forms.

Present perfect simple — use

• Past events with no time given: I’ve passed the exam.
• Recent results: just/already/yet → She’s just called; Have you finished yet?
• Experiences: ever/never/before → I’ve never been to India.
• Unfinished time & duration: for/since/how long → We’ve lived here for 10 years.
• Been vs gone: Tom has gone to Ireland (there now); We’ve been to Ireland twice (not there now).

Form: have/has + past participle. ❌ Don’t use ago with this tense.

Present perfect continuous — use

• Actions from past till now (often with result): I’ve been working all day → I’m tired.
• Duration & repetition: for/since/how long/lately/all day.
• Contrast: How long → use PPC; How many/how much done → use PPS (I’ve written 20 emails).

Form: have/has been + V-ing. Prefer with action verbs; use PPS with stative verbs (We’ve had this car for years).

Past simple

• Finished past actions: We moved last year.
• Main events in order (narratives): She opened the door and went in.
• Past habits & states: We often walked to school; He was very fit.

Form: V-ed / irregular forms; negatives/questions with did.

Past continuous

• Background/scene: It was getting dark.
• Action in progress interrupted by PS: We were talking when she came.
• while + PC (parallel) • when + PS (shorter event).

Form: was/were + V-ing.

Past perfect

• Earlier past: By the time the police arrived, he had left.
• Experiences/states before another past time: I had never been in a serious relationship.
• Duration with stative verbs: They had been married for 48 years.

Form: had + past participle.

Future forms — quick guide

Time clauses: after when/as soon as/until/before/after, use present for future meaning → I’ll call you when I arrive.

Signal words & mini-contrasts

• for + period vs since + starting point.
• been (visited and returned) vs gone (there now).
• while + past continuous; when + past simple (shorter event).

Forms snapshot

Keep it simple: choose the tense by time (finished / unfinished / earlier past / future type) and by focus (result vs. duration / background vs. main event).