English Tenses Overview

This page provides a detailed breakdown of various English tenses, their constructions, and usage. It serves as a comprehensive guide for understanding les temps en anglais et leur utilisation.

Present Simple

The Present Simple tense is used for habitual actions, general truths, and characteristics of the subject.

Example: "They work every Saturday." (habitual action)

Example: "Water boils at 100°C." (general truth)

Construction:

• Affirmative: Base Verb / Base Verb + s (3rd person singular)
• Negative: Don't/doesn't + Base Verb
• Interrogative: Do/does + Subject + Base Verb

Present Continuous (BE-ING)

This tense is used for actions in progress, descriptions, and future plans.

Example: "He is working at the moment." (action in progress)

Construction:

• Affirmative: am/is/are + Verb-ING
• Negative: am not/isn't/aren't + Verb-ING
• Interrogative: am/is/are + Subject + Verb-ING

Past Simple

The Past Simple is used for dated, completed actions in the past and for unreal situations.

Example: "He worked last Saturday." (completed past action)

Construction:

• Affirmative: Verb-ED / Irregular Verb (2nd column)
• Negative: didn't + Base Verb
• Interrogative: did + Subject + Base Verb

Past Continuous

This tense describes actions in progress at a specific moment in the past.

Example: "I was sleeping when you arrived." (action in progress in the past)

Construction:

• Affirmative: was/were + Verb-ING
• Negative: wasn't/weren't + Verb-ING
• Interrogative: was/were + Subject + Verb-ING

Present Perfect

The Present Perfect links the past to the present, showing results of past actions in the present.

Example: "I'm very tired. I've worked a lot." (result in the present of a past action)

Construction:

• Affirmative: has/have + Past Participle
• Negative: hasn't/haven't + Past Participle
• Interrogative: has/have + Subject + Past Participle

Present Perfect Continuous

This tense shows the result of a past action in the present with an emphasis on the activity.

Example: "She's been working here for 2 years." (past action continuing to the present)

Construction:

• Affirmative: has/have + been + Verb-ING
• Negative: hasn't/haven't + been + Verb-ING
• Interrogative: has/have + Subject + been + Verb-ING

Highlight: This page provides a comprehensive overview of six English tenses, their constructions, and usage. It's an excellent resource for understanding les temps en anglais tableau.