This blog-page will give you an overview over the tenses from simple present to past perfect progressive. There will be examples, explanations when to use which tense and signal words.
You can often guess from the context which tense you will have to use, but make sure you don't ignore signal words. They always count more than a vague context.
Simple present
I live in Bavaria.
I often watch Netflix.
He plays football every friday.
Usually I am a good student.
Sometimes we go for a walk.
What does he do for a living?
Something happens regularly or is always/never/often like this.
Signal words: always, never, usually, often, every day, sometimes, normally, ...
Also remember the rule: He, she, it: das 's' muss mit! - Always use an 's' with he, she or it!
Present progressive
Right now he is playing basketball.
I am writing this text, and you are reading it.
Look, the child is falling asleep.
I am not playing the guitar for you to complain.
What are you doing here?
Something is happening right now, at the moment.
Signal words: at the moment, (right) now; imperatives like "Look!"
You can also use the present progressive if you are really annoyed:
The baby is always crying! You are always losing your keys!
Present perfect
Look! There has been an accident.
I have been to London once and I really loved it.
We have seen the movie recently and are still laughing.
Damn, I have lost my keys. Have you seen them?
I havn't been to Paris.
Have you ever been there?
Something has happened in the past and still has an effect on now.
Signal words: ever, never, yet, so far, until now, recently, already; imperatives like "Look!"
You can also sometimes ask: "How often?"
Present perfect progressive
I'm so tired, I have been working all day.
They have been talking for two hours.
I have been learning Spanish for two months.
I have been singing since I was a child.
I haven't been dancing since 2010.
How long have you been waiting for me?
Something has happened in the past and has an effect on now. It might still be going on, but you want to emphasize the lenght.
Signal words: so far, yet, for, since, always, already, all day ...
You can also ask: "How long?"
Simple past
They were in the US in 1995.
Four years ago I lived in Regensburg.
We had pizza last Tuesday.
My great-grandfather didn't fight in World War II.
The museum opened three weeks ago, were you there?
Did you know him? - No, I didn't even know his name.
Completed actions that don't have an active effect on now.
Signal words: dates, years, last week/month/year, ago, events that are definitely from the past, ...
Past progressive
You can use the past progressive in two cases:
a) Something happened in the past at a specific time:
Last year at this time we were skiing.
What were you doing at 7 pm yesterday? I was trying to call you! - Yesterday at 7 pm I didn't hear (simple past) your call because I was playing tennis.
I wasn't paying attention during the lesson.
b) Some prolonged action in the past was interrupted by a shorter action:
While I was walking (past progressive) home, I met (simple past) Dave.
I was taking a shower when I got a phone call.
Were you talking about him? -
I wasn't talking about him, but he understood it that way and left.
Signal words: when, while, at that time, at x am/pm, ...
Past perfect
Before I went to the bathroom, I had worked in the garden.
After I had been born, my parents didn't get much sleep. If I hadn't been born, they would be very sad though.
Last week our teacher graded our blogs. - Oh, had someone handed in his or her blog before it was due?
Someone could have walked in because I hadn't locked the door behind me.
Two actions that happened in the past, one was before the other. The one further back in the past gets the past perfect, the closer one simple past.
Signal words: before, after
Past perfect progressive
It had been raining all night long, so when I woke up everything was wet.
Before they met they had been writing each other for a long time.
I wasn't able to sleep last night. - Had the neighbour's dog been barking all night long again?
During the holidays the students hadn't been playing video games all day, they were outside, too.
As with the past perfect, two actions took place in the past and one lies further back. Here the length is important.
Signal words: before, after, for
You can also ask: "How long?"
Please also remember that there are some verbs which do not have a progressive form. Should you encounter one of them, don't use the progressive, but the simple form.
Examples for these words are:
like, love, hate, own, possess, understand, belong, ...
Ich überprüfe meine Quellen und versuche, mein Wissen möglichst fehlerfrei mit euch Lesern zu teilen. Da ich "nur" Schülerin und außerdem ein Mensch bin, könnten sich jedoch durchaus Fehler
eingeschlichen haben. Bitte informiert euch generell bei verschiedenen Quellen, wenn ihr Informationen aus dem Internet verwendet.
I double-check my sources and try to share my knowledge with you without any major mistakes. But as I'm "just" a student and also a human being, there could be some mistakes in here. Please check
your information with multiple sources in general.
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