The Tense Map: All 13 Tenses in One View
The capstone: all 13 tenses on one page — affirmative, negative and question forms, plus the signal words that pick the right one. Your review guide before the exam.
The Tense Map
The 4 × 3 grid
English tenses are not a pile of 13 random rules — they are a grid: three times (past, present, future) crossed with four aspects (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous). Every tense you ever learned is one cell in that grid.
The grid: 3 times × 4 aspects
past · present · futureI worked · I work · I will work
Simple — the snapshot
facts, habits, finished pointsShe works every day
Continuous — the live feed
in progress, still runningShe is working right now
Perfect — the connection
finished, but linked to the momentShe has worked here for years
Perfect continuous — the marathon
duration, and still runningShe has been working since 8 am
⚠️ Every tense is one cell: a time (past/present/future) × an aspect (simple/continuous/perfect/perfect continuous).
The Tense Map
All 13 tenses, one table
Read across: every tense shows its affirmative, negative and question forms. Read down: the helpers do the heavy lifting — do, am, have, had, will. The main verb never does the work alone.
| Tense | Affirmative | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | I work | I don't work | Do I work? |
| Present Continuous | I am working | I'm not working | Am I working? |
| Present Perfect | I have worked | I haven't worked | Have I worked? |
| Present Perfect Continuous | I have been working | I haven't been working | Have I been working? |
| Past Simple | I worked | I didn't work | Did I work? |
| Past Continuous | I was working | I wasn't working | Was I working? |
| Past Perfect | I had worked | I hadn't worked | Had I worked? |
| Past Perfect Continuous | I had been working | I hadn't been working | Had I been working? |
| Future Simple (will) | I will work | I won't work | Will I work? |
| Future (going to) | I am going to work | I'm not going to work | Am I going to work? |
| Future Continuous | I will be working | I won't be working | Will I be working? |
| Future Perfect | I will have worked | I won't have worked | Will I have worked? |
| Future Perfect Continuous | I will have been working | I won't have been working | Will I have been working? |
Common Mistakes
Five map-reading slips
The map fails when two tenses swap jobs: finished time with the present perfect, before-past with the simple past, stative verbs with the continuous, or the wrong future for the job.
I have seen him yesterday.
I saw him yesterday.
💡 A finished time (yesterday) takes the past simple.
When I arrived, she already left.
When I arrived, she had already left.
💡 The earlier past takes the past perfect.
I am knowing him for years.
I have known him for years.
💡 Know is a stative verb — it never takes the continuous.
Look out! I will fall.
Look out! I am going to fall.
💡 Visible evidence takes going to.
By 2030, I will work here for ten years.
By 2030, I will have been working here for ten years.
💡 Duration up to a future point takes the future perfect continuous.
Quick Quiz
Test what you just learned
Three minutes, five questions — check what stuck. No essay questions, we promise.
I ___ this book for two weeks.
💡 Extra info3 sections
The Aspect Ladder
Four rungs, one verb
Take one verb and climb the ladder: from the snapshot, through the live feed, to the connection and the marathon. Same verb, four different views.
I work from 9 to 5
I am working on a report
I have worked here for five years
I have been working since 8 am
⚠️ Simple says what. Continuous says now. Perfect says connected. Perfect continuous says how long.
The Signal Words
Match the sign with its tense
Signal words are the traffic signs of tenses: every day points to the present simple, since 2020 points to the perfect family. Learn the signs and the lane picks itself.
⚠️ Traffic signs are not rules — but they rarely lie.
Which Tense?
Three questions pick the tense
The reviewer’s flowchart: ask about the time, then about the connection, then about the duration. The tense picks itself.