Learn English tenses -Future Tense

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The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses.

In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

• Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Tenses  

We use different tenses to describe the time that the verb refers to.

There are many ways to talk about the future in English. “Will” and “going to” are both used to talk about events happening at specific times in the future, but they are often used to express different meanings. Sometimes, the simple present or present continuous tenses are used to talk about the future.

Will

To make the simple future with “will,” put “will” between a subject and the base form of a verb:

Subject	Will	Base Form of Verb	Rest of Sentence
I, you, he, she, it, they, we	will	go	to the movies.

Note: The contraction “’ll,” as in “I’ll,” “she’ll,” and “he’ll” is vastly more common in spoken English than saying “will.”  “Won’t” is the most common spoken form of “will not.”

Going To

To make the simple future with “going to,” put the subject, then a conjugated “to be” verb, then “going to” and the base form of a verb:

Subject	Present Tense “To Be” Verb	Going To	Base Form of Verb	Rest of Sentence
I	am	going to	leave	before the guests arrive.
he/she/it	is	going to	leave	before the guests arrive.
They, we, you	are	going to	leave	before the guests arrive.

Note: “Going to” is often pronounced like “gonna” in spoken English.

Will: Voluntary Actions, Promises, Requests, and Refusals

“Will” often expresses that an action will be done voluntarily in the future. It is also the most common way to ask someone to do something.

• I’ll go to the doctor with you, if you want.
• Will you help me with the laundry?
• Jamie will call you back tomorrow.
• I’ll give you the report in the morning, I swear!
• I will never forget what you did for me.
• Marian won’t need a swimsuit in Alaska.
• Will you give me a hand with the groceries?

Will: Unplanned Decisions for the Future

When you want to express that you just made a decision to do something, use “will.”

• Situation: The doorbell rings.
• Response: “I’ll get it!”
• Situation: A street vendor says that he’s selling flowers.
• Response: “I’ll take one!”
• Situation: Your roommate says you’re out of paper towels.
• Response: “I’ll get some when I go to the store today.”

Going To: Planned Future Events

Use “Going to” to express that an action will happen in the future has already been planned or intended.

• I’m going to take a trip to London this summer.
• Did you hear that Chris is going to get married?
• We’re going to play poker with our friends tonight.
• Are you going to finish that cake?

Going To: When Something is Just About to Happen

• Stand back! The bomb is going to explode!
• I’m going to be sick.
• If you don’t get in the car, I’m going to leave without you.

Will and Going to: Making Predictions

Sometimes, either “will” or “going to” can be used to make predictions about the future.

• The next president is going to be a woman.
• The next president will be a woman.
• The Orioles are going to win the World Series next year.
• The Orioles will win the world series next year.

It’s more common to use “will” than “going to” to make predictions based on belief about the future, rather than immediate, sensory evidence.

• I think he’ll make a great employee.
• You act like the world will end if you don’t get an A+.
• Humans will reach Mars within the next 100 years.

Use “going to” to make a future prediction based on signs and evidence in the present moment:

• Your parents are going to freak out when they see your tattoo.
• I feel sick. I think I’m going to throw up.
• The clouds have been gathering for hours. It’s going to rain soon.
• The score is 52-14. Our team is going to win!

Negative Statements

To make the negative with the simple future tenses:

add “not” before “going to”

add “not” after “will.” (the most common form is “won’t”)

• I am not going to be happy about this.
• She won’t come out of her room.
• They won’t be able to make it to the party.
• He is not going to drive anymore.

Question Forms

Information Questions about the Subject:

To make a question about the subject of a sentence, use a question word as the subject. The form is:

question word + will + main verb (base form) + rest of sentence

question word + “to be” verb + going to + main verb (base form) + rest of sentence

• ??? is going to travel to Mexico. –>
• Who is going to travel to Mexico?  
• ??? people will need better healthcare. –>
• How many people will need better healthcare?
• ???’s teacher is going to dye her hair blue. –>
• Whose teacher is going to dye her hair blue?

Questions about the Verb or Words after the Verb:

To make a yes/no question about the verb or words after the verb with the future simple tense, put either the “will” or the “to be” verb before the subject:

Will + subject + verb + rest of sentence

“To be” verb + subject + going to + verb + rest of sentence

• Are you going to go to a doctor?
• Will you promise me that you won’t lie to me again?
• Will Ashley help me with my research?
• Is she going to take the job in Spain?

To make an open-ended question, put a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) at the beginning of the sentence.

• Why are you going to go to a doctor?
• When will you promise me that you won’t lie to me again?
• How will Ashley help me with my research?
• What is she going to do in Spain?

 

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Learn English tenses -Past Perfect Continuous Tense

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The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses.

In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

• Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Tenses  

We use different tenses to describe the time that the verb refers to.

Past perfect continuous tense  

The past perfect continuous is formed with had been + –ing form: 

She had been battling against cancer for years before she died.  

The past perfect continuous tense is used most often to express that something started in the past and continued until another event in the past.  It can also be used for reasons and explanations for things in the past.

We form the past perfect continuous tense by using had, then been, then the main verb in present participle form.  

 

Subject	Had	Been	Verb   (present participle)	Rest of Sentence
I/you/we/they/he/she/it/Helen	had	been	driving	for six hours.

When to Use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense

An Action that Started in the Past and Continued until another Event or Time in the Past

Use the past perfect continuous to express that one action began and continued until another event (expressed in the past simple) in the past.

• I had been writing the essay for five hours before I noticed it was an optional assignment.
• The actors had been rehearsing since 8:00 am, and everyone wanted to take a break.
• By the time my boss told me to take a break, I had been working continuously for 17 hours.

Note: Words like “for” and “since” are often used to measure how long an action continued until the interrupting action.

To Give a Reason or Explanation for Something in the Past

• It had been snowing a lot, so driving was dangerous.
• Danielle was sweaty because she had been exercising.
• Justin had been baking cookies and was covered in flour.

Note: As with all continuous tenses, you can’t use stative verbs or the stative versions of mixed verbs. 

Negative Statements

The negative of past perfect continuous is very simple –- just add “not” between the “had” and the “been” before the present participle:

• Louise had not been drinking, so she offered to drive everyone home.
• The dog was sick, and had not been eating.  
• The children had not been playing, but they pretended to play when their mother came into the room.

Question Forms

Information Questions about the Subject

To make a question about the subject of a sentence, use a question word as the subject. the form is: question word + “had” + “been” + main verb (present participle) + rest of sentence:

• ??? had been driving the car when it hit the lamp post. –>
• Who had been driving the car when it hit the lamp post?  
• ??? people had been running in the marathon when the storm hit. –>
• How many people had been running in the marathon when the storm hit?
• ???’s cat had been scratching the chair to shreds until we declawed her. –>
• Whose cat had been scratching the chair to shreds until we declawed her?

Questions about the Verb or Words after the Verb

To make a yes/no question about the verb or words after the verb, put the “had” in front of the subject:

• Had you been listening to the radio to find out about the tornado?
• Had he been sleeping when I called?
• Had Alice been staying with you long?

To make an open-ended question about the verb or words after the verb, put a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) before the “to be” verb in front of the subject:

• Where had you been listening to the radio?
• How long had he been sleeping when I called?
• Where had Alice been traveling when you met?

 

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Learn English tenses -Past Perfect Tense

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The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses.

In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

• Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Tenses  

We use different tenses to describe the time that the verb refers to.

Past perfect tense  

The past perfect tense is formed with had + past participle. 

The past perfect tense is used most often to emphasize that one event happened before another event, and to show the relationship between them.   

We form the past perfect tense by using had, followed by the main verb in past participle form.  

 

Subject	Had	Verb   (past participle)	Rest of Sentence
I/you/we/they/he/she/it/Daniel	had	eaten	breakfast already.

When to Use the Past Perfect Tense

A Completed Action before Another Event/Time in the Past

Use the past perfect to express that one event began and ended before another event (expressed in the past simple) in the past. It usually indicates a relationship between these two events. It can also express that something happened before a specific time in the past.

• I had already been awake for an hour when the alarm clock went off.
• By the time Oliver showed up for Thanksgiving dinner, most of his family had finished dessert.
• Hector had studied Japanese for six years before he moved to Tokyo.

Note: Sometimes you hear that “Past perfect is used when one past event happens before another past event,” but this isn’t always true. When telling a story or giving details of a past event, it’s quite common to use only simple past if the sequence of events is clear from the context. See “The Simple Past” for more details.

To Give a Reason or Explanation for Something in the Past

• The librarian scowled at Ingrid because she had not paid her late fees.
• Olivia had forgotten to buy screws at the hardware store, so she couldn’t build the shelves for her bedroom.
• Ava went to the dance with Jimmy because he had asked her first.

With Stative Verbs, to Talk about Duration up to an Event in the Past.

Stative verbs are verbs relating to internal states that aren’t used in continuous forms. Some common ones are be, exist, love, want, prefer, believe, and see, but there are many others. You can read more about stative verbs here.

You can use the past perfect with stative verbs to talk about states that started in the past and continued until another past event, described by the simple past:

• Noah had been in school for six years when he graduated.
• Sarah had always believed her marriage was perfect until her husband told her he was having an affair.
• I had never wanted to own a dog, but when my roommate brought home a pug, I changed my mind.

To Talk About “Possibilities that Never Were” with the Third Conditional

The Third Conditional Tense is used to talk about past situations that might have been different if there had been different conditions. We use the past perfect tenses to talk about the these theoretical conditions, and present perfect tenses with a modal verb to describe the result that might have occurred.

• If I had studied harder in school, I might have become a doctor.
• If we had decided to go to Spain, we would have missed my sister’s wedding.
• If you hadn’t missed your flight, we would never have met each other.

Important Note: Specific Times with the Past Perfect.

Unlike the present perfect, you CAN use specific times with the past perfect:

• Melanie had won several karate competitions in high school before she switched to Judo in college.
• Joseph had studied computer science in 1981, before the Internet became popular.

Moreover, if the past perfect actions occurred at a specific time and words like “before,” “and then,” “later,” or “after” make it clear what action happened first, you can use simple past, too, and the meaning is the same:

• Melanie won several karate competitions in high school before she switched to Judo in college.
• Joseph studied computer science in 1981, before the Internet became popular.

However, if the action of the past perfect verb did not occur at a specific time, the past perfect is necessary.

• Incorrect: I never played chess before you showed me how.
• Correct:  I had never played chess before you showed me how.
• Incorrect: The play already started when we arrived at the theatre.
• Correct:  The play had already started when we arrived at the theatre.

Negative Statements

The negative of past continuous is very simple –- just add “not” between the “had” and the past participle:

• Zach had not driven the car before last night.
• I had not been in Seattle long when the rain started to drive me crazy.
• Paul had not needed an alarm clock until he got a job that started at 5:00 am.

Question Forms – Past Perfect Tense

Information Questions about the Subject:

To make a question about the subject of a sentence, use a question word as the subject. the form is: question word + “had” + main verb (past participle participle) + rest of sentence:

• ??? had known this already. –>
• Who had known this already?  
• ??? people had been trapped until the firemen came.–>
• How many people had been trapped until the firemen came?
• ???’s child had eaten all the birthday cake before the guests arrived.–>
• Whose child had eaten all the birthday cake before the guests arrived?

Questions about the Verb or Words after the Verb:

To make a yes/no question about the verb or words after the verb, put the “had” in front of the subject:

• Had you ever met her before that night?
• Had he always loved to solve puzzles?
• Had Grace baked the cake in time for the surprise party?

To make an open-ended question about the verb or words after the verb, put a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) before the “to be” verb in front of the subject:

• When had you ever met before that night?
• Why had he always loved to solve puzzles?
• How had Grace baked the cake in time for the surprise party?

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Past Continuous Tense

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The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses.

In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

• Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

 

We use different tenses to describe the time that the verb refers to.

 

Past continuous

We use the past continuous tense (also known as the past progressive) to talk about actions in the past that lasted for some time.

It is formed by using was/were + present participle.

 

Subject	Simple past tense of   “to be”	Present Participle
I/he/she/it/Maggie	was	talking.
They/we/you/you all	were	talking.

 

Note: Stative Verbs

Some verbs, called “stative” or “non-continuous” verbs, can’t be used in continuous tenses. Others can be used in continuous tenses, but their meaning changes. Make sure you understand the difference between stative and non-stative verbs while using past continuous and all continuous tenses. You can find more information here.

When to use the Past Continuous Tense

An Interrupted Continuous Action

When one activity in the past is interrupted by another activity, we use past continuous for the original activity and past simple for the interrupting activity.

• I was cooking when you called.
• John was watching television when the power went off.
• I was doing my homework when I realized I was doing the wrong assignment.
• You weren’t listening when I told you I had plans tonight.

A Specific Time as an Interruption

You can also use the past continuous when the “interruption” is a specific time. In this case, the original action started before the specific time, and continues after it.

• I was still working at 8:00 pm last night.
• Elaine was living in Paris this time last year.

Note: If you use the simple past with a specific time, it means that the action started at that time. If you use past continuous, the action is continuing during the specific time.

• I ate breakfast at 8:00 am. (Meaning: I started eating breakfast at 8:00 am.)
• I was eating breakfast at 8:00 am. (Meaning: At 8:00 am, I was already eating breakfast, and I continued eating it.)  

Setting the Background or Atmosphere

In narratives, the past continuous tense often sets the scene or the mood for further events, which happen in the simple past. 

• When I walked into the daycare, children were running around the hallways and jumping from desk to desk. One little girl was cutting a boy’s hair, and several children were crying loudly while eating birthday cake with their hands. I knew I didn’t want to work there.  
• Rain clouds were gathering in the sky, and thunder was rumbling to the East. The storm would be here soon, so I closed all the windows.

Two Actions Happening at the Same Time

You can use past continuous to talk about two ongoing actions happening simultaneously.

• He was washing dishes and I was drying them.
• The kids were playing in the yard while the adults were talking on the front porch.

Annoying or Repeated Actions in the Past, often with “Always”

To emphasize the repetitiveness of an action (and how the repetitiveness annoys you), use the past continuous tense with an adverb of frequency, usually “always.”

• Mark was always complaining that he didn’t have a girlfriend.
• The little girl was always losing her mittens until her mother sewed them onto the sleeves of her jacket.

Negative Statements

The negative of past continuous is very simple –- just add “not” between the “to be” verb and the present participle:

• Amanda wasn’t driving that night.
• The kids were not lying when they said they saw a dog on rollerskates.
• You weren’t drinking last night, were you?

Question Forms

Information Questions about the Subject:

To make a question about the subject of a sentence, use a question word as the subject. the form is: question word + “was/were” + main verb (present participle) + rest of sentence:

• ??? was riding a horse. –>
• Who was riding a horse?  
• ??? people were playing football. –>
• How many people were playing football?
• ???’s child was eating carrot sticks. –>
• Whose child was eating carrot sticks?

Questions about the Verb or Words after the Verb

To make a yes/no question about the verb or words after the verb, put the “to be” verb in front of the subject:

• Were you listening?
• Was he talking?
• Was Andy playing basketball?

To make an open-ended question about the verb or words after the verb, put a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) before the “to be” verb in front of the subject:

• What were you listening to?
• Who was he talking to?
• Where was Andy playing basketball?

 

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Simple Past Tense

 

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The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses.

In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

• Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Tenses  

We use different tenses to describe the time that the verb refers to.

Past simple tense  

Have you ever wanted to describe a past situation in English and didn’t know how to do it? The past simple is one of the most used verb tenses in English along with the present simple and present continuous, so it’s important to understand how to use it. Once you know the past simple it’s much easier to have a conversation and communicate clearly to the person you’re talking to.

We use simple past when we talk about actions that happened and were completed in the past. Usually, we make the simple past by adding -ed to a base verb. However, many common verbs are irregular, so they change in different ways.

When to Use the Simple Past Tense

A Completed Action in the Past

If you want to talk about an action that was started and completed at a specific time in the past, use the simple past tense. Even if you don’t mention when the action was completed, you have a specific time in mind; otherwise, you would use the present perfect tense.

• Julie wished that she had a million dollars.
• I graded essays all afternoon.
• You finished dinner already, right?

Multiple Past Actions in a List

When multiple actions were started and completed at specific times in the past, also use simple past tense. Although some events necessarily happen before other events, you don’t need to use the past perfect tense unless you really want to emphasize the fact that something happened before something else, or the sequence is unclear.

• John woke up at 6:00, jogged for an hour, and ate breakfast.
• I washed the lettuce, chopped it, and added it to the salad.

Narrative

Simple Past is the tense most often used in fiction and when telling a story. Although it’s common to use the past perfect tenses to talk about something that happened before the main events in the story, the main events and the details surrounding them will be in the simple past (or past continuous).  

• Allen found a table at the cafe and ordered a tall coffee. It was already after midnight, but he was feeling too excited to sleep and didn’t want to try. Just that morning, he had been heartbroken and depressed. But that afternoon, he had met Mona. He pulled out some books and tried to study, but his mind kept drifting away.

The Details of News and Events

When reporting precise details of news and events, use the simple past tense. You can use the present perfect tense when talking about an experience you’ve had:

• I’ve been to Quebec.

But you would never use the present perfect tense to add details:

• I’ve been to Quebec with my French class in high school.

Instead, use the simple past tense:

• I went to Quebec with my French class in high school. The bus ride took 18 hours. We all stayed with different Quebecois families, and met up every day to tour the city. Most of us were surprised that we could communicate with the locals after just two years of classes.

Past Habits, Generalizations, and Facts

When something was a habit, happened many times, or was a generalization that was formerly true, use simple past tense. This is similar in meaning to sentences with “used to.”

• I studied Spanish in high school.
• Jane was shy when she was a child, but she isn’t anymore.
• Einstein invented the theory of relativity.
• Margaret walked home from school every day.
• We played checkers every night last summer.

Duration in the Past

You can use simple past to talk about things that happened for a long time, as long as they started and ended at specific times in the past.

• East Germany was part of the USSR until the Berlin Wall came down.
• We lived in Japan for two years.

Negative Statements

To make the negative with the simple past tense of “to be”, just add “not” after it.

• I was not happy about the decision.
• You were not at home.
• Amanda was not able to pick you up from the airport.  

To make the negative with the simple past tense of all other verbs, add “did not” (didn’t) before the base verb. There are no irregular verbs in the negative.

• She didn’t walk to work today.
• We didn’t know the answer to the question.
• The children didn’t play outside because it was raining.

Question Forms

Questions with “To Be”

To make a yes/no question with “to be” in the simple past, put the verb before the subject:

• Were you upset?
• Was I wrong?
• Were you going?

To make an open-ended question, put a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) before the “was/were” and subject:

• Why were you upset?
• Why was I wrong?
• Where were you going?

Questions with Other Verbs (not “To Be”)

Information Questions about the Subject:

To make a question about the subject of a sentence, use a question word as the subject. The form is: question word + verb + rest of sentence:

• ??? baked the cakes. –>
• Who baked the cakes?  
• ??? people ordered flowers today. –>
• How many people ordered flowers today?
• ???’s dog ran away. –>
• Whose dog ran away?

Questions about the Verb or Words after the Verb:

To make a yes/no question about the verb or words after the verb with any other verb, put “did + subject + base form of the verb.”

• Did the children eat already?
• Did you find your keys?
• Did Sarah fail her test?

To make an open-ended question about the verb or words after the verb with the simple past tense, put a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) before the “did” and subject:

• What did the children eat?
• Where did you find your keys?
• Why did Sarah fail her test?

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