Grammar Essentials (Handbook)
🔒 Log in to trackTenses and sequence of tenses
🔒 Log in to trackA tense shows when an action happens and whether it is finished, running or earlier than another action. You do not need to chant all twelve names. You need to know which signal word asks for which form. Underline the signal word first, then choose the verb form.
The 12 tenses at a glance
V1 is the base verb, V2 the past form, V3 the past participle (gone, taken).
| Tense | Form | Signal words | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple present | V1 / V1+s | always, usually, every day | The sun rises in the east. |
| Present continuous | is / am / are + V-ing | now, at present, look! | She is writing a report. |
| Present perfect | has / have + V3 | just, already, yet, ever, never, so far | I have finished my work. |
| Present perfect continuous | has / have been + V-ing | since, for, how long | He has been waiting for two hours. |
| Simple past | V2 | yesterday, ago, last year, in 2010 | We met him last week. |
| Past continuous | was / were + V-ing | when, while, at 8 pm yesterday | I was reading when you called. |
| Past perfect | had + V3 | before, after, already (in the past) | The train had left before we reached. |
| Past perfect continuous | had been + V-ing | for, since (in the past) | She had been working there for ten years. |
| Simple future | will / shall + V1 | tomorrow, next week, soon | I will call you tomorrow. |
| Future continuous | will be + V-ing | at this time tomorrow | We will be travelling at noon. |
| Future perfect | will have + V3 | by, by the time, by then | By March they will have completed it. |
| Future perfect continuous | will have been + V-ing | for ... by | By June he will have been teaching for 20 years. |
Since and for
Since gives the start point (since Monday, since 2019). For gives the length (for three days). Both usually need a perfect tense.
- I have lived here since 2019. I have lived here for six years.
- I live here since 2019 is wrong.
- Action still running: has / have been + V-ing. It has been raining since morning.
- A running action that ended before a past moment: had been + V-ing. He was tired because he had been walking for six hours.
Rule: A definite past time word (yesterday, last week, in 2010) forbids the present perfect. I saw him yesterday. Not I have seen him yesterday.
No future after time and if words
After when, if, unless, until, till, before, after, as soon as, once, in case, use the present tense. The meaning is still future.
- I will call you when he arrives. Not will arrive.
- If it rains, the match will be cancelled.
- By the time + present gives the future perfect: By the time you arrive, I will have left.
- By the time + past gives the past perfect: By the time we arrived, the show had begun.
Tip: Strike out will in any clause that starts with when, if, unless or until. Will belongs only in the main clause.
Two past actions
The earlier action takes had + V3. The later action takes the simple past.
- The patient had died before the doctor came.
- Hardly, scarcely or no sooner: past perfect first, simple past second. No sooner had I reached the station than the train left.
- It is two years since + simple past: It is two years since he left the job.
- It is time / high time / about time + subject + past form: It is high time we left.
Sequence of tenses
A past main verb pulls the other clause into the past.
- He said that he was busy.
- Exception: universal truths and habits stay in the present. The teacher said that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
Verbs that avoid the continuous
Some verbs describe states, not actions. They are not used in the -ing tenses: know, believe, understand, like, love, hate, want, prefer, own, possess, belong, contain, consist, seem, mean, see, hear, smell (when involuntary).
- I know him. Not I am knowing him.
Keep one time frame in a sentence unless the meaning changes. She opened the door and saw a stranger. Not and sees a stranger.
Watch: Look for the signal word before you read the options. Then check the other clause for the same timeline.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Signal word fixes the tense
The sentence has a time signal: yesterday, ago, last year, since, for, just, already, now, every day.
Underline the signal word.
Read its tense from the table.
Pick the option with that form.
Reject look-alike forms from the next tense.
Each signal belongs to one tense family.
She ___ to Chennai last year. (moved / has moved / had moved / moves)
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'Last year' is a finished past time.
A finished past time takes the simple past.
moved
No future in the time or if clause
A future main clause (will ...) is joined to a clause starting with when, if, as soon as, until, unless or before.
Spot the time or condition word.
Use the present tense in that clause, even for future meaning.
Keep will only in the main clause.
English uses the present form for a future event inside a time clause.
I will call you when I ___ home. (reach / will reach / reached / am reaching)
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'When' starts a time clause.
A time clause takes the simple present.
reach
Past perfect for the earlier past action
Two past actions are joined by before, after or when. The options mix had + V3 and V2.
Put the two actions on a timeline.
Give the earlier one had + V3.
Give the later one the simple past.
Check the direction of before or after.
The past perfect exists to mark the earlier of two past events.
The patient had died before the doctor ___. (arrived / had arrived / arrives)
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The death happened first and already uses had + V3.
The doctor came later.
The later action takes the simple past.
arrived
Perfect continuous with since / for
The sentence measures how long an action lasted (since morning, for two years) and the action was running.
Check that a duration is given and the action is running.
If it runs up to now: has / have been + V-ing.
If the frame is in the past: had been + V-ing.
Reject the simple and plain continuous forms.
Only the perfect continuous carries the idea 'from then until now'.
He was exhausted because he ___ for six hours. (walked / had been walking / has walked)
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The walking ran up to a past moment (the exhaustion).
That needs 'had been' + V-ing.
had been walking
It is time / since + simple past
The sentence has 'It is (high) time' or 'It is two years since'.
Spot 'It is time' or 'since' after a length of time.
Use the simple past after it.
Reject the present or the future form.
These two frames are fixed: the verb after them is in the simple past.
It is high time we ___ for the station. (leave / left / will leave)
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'It is high time' asks for the past form.
The subject is 'we'.
left
By the time
The sentence starts or joins with 'By the time'. The options mix will have + V3 and had + V3.
Read the verb after 'by the time'.
Present verb there: main verb is will have + V3.
Past verb there: main verb is had + V3.
The tense after 'by the time' decides the tense of the main clause.
By the time we arrived, the show ___. (had begun / will have begun / has begun)
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'Arrived' is past.
The show started earlier.
The earlier action takes had + V3.
had begun
State verbs stay simple
One option puts know, understand, like, want or own in the -ing form.
Check if the verb is a state (know, believe, like, want, own).
State verbs are not used in -ing tenses.
Pick the simple form.
These verbs describe a state of mind or ownership, not an action in progress.
I ___ the answer to this question. (know / am knowing)
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'Know' is a state verb.
State verbs do not take -ing.
know
Shortcuts that save time
Underline the time signal before reading the options. Since or for gives a perfect tense. Yesterday, ago or last gives the simple past. By + future time gives the future perfect. When, if or as soon as with future meaning gives the simple present.
She ___ in this bank for eight years now. (work)
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'For eight years now' means the action began in the past.
It is still going on.
Use the present perfect continuous.
has been working
If a clause starts with when, if, unless, until or as soon as and talks about the future, remove will from that clause. Will stays in the main clause only.
Unless you will apologise, she will not speak to you again. Which part is wrong?
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'Unless' starts a condition clause.
A condition clause takes the simple present.
Correct: 'Unless you apologise'.
will apologise -> apologise
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Using the present perfect with a past time word: has gone yesterday.
Use the simple past: went yesterday.
Using will in an if or when clause: If it will rain.
Use the present: If it rains, we will stay in.
Writing since two years.
Since needs a start point; for needs a length: for two years, since 2022.
Using a state verb in the -ing form: I am understanding the problem.
Use the simple form: I understand the problem.
Changing a universal truth to the past in reported speech: said that the earth moved round the sun.
Keep the present: said that the earth moves round the sun.
Using the simple past for both of two past events.
Give the earlier event had + V3: The train had left before we reached.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
ago, last, yesterday: simple past. since, for, just, already: perfect family.
since + start point; for + length of time.
when, if, unless, until, as soon as + present tense, never will.
Earlier past action: had + V3. Later past action: simple past.
Still running: has / have been + V-ing. Ended before a past moment: had been + V-ing.
By the time + present: will have + V3. By the time + past: had + V3.
State verbs (know, like, want, own) do not take -ing.
Practice: 13 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 13 questions
Suggested time 6 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.