Verb Tenses - English

Front 1

simple present

Back 1

"he speaks"
used for: facts, sequences of actions, actions taking place: never, once or several times

Front 2

simple past

Back 2

"he spoke"

used for: actions that took place never, once, several times, sequences of actions

Front 3

present progressive

Back 3

"he is speaking"

used for actions taking place in the moment of speaking; for a limited period of time

Front 4

past progressive

Back 4

"he was speaking"

action that was taking place at a certain time in the past; action in the past that was interrupted by another action; actions taking place at the same time

Front 5

present perfect simple

Back 5

"he has spoken"

action that is still going on or stopped recently; emphasizes the result instead of the duration of the action; finished action that influences the present;
* action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking

Front 6

present perfect progressive

Back 6

"he has been speaking" (he has been speaking for 6 weeks already)

emphasis is on the duration, not the result of the action; action stopped recently or is continuing in the present; finished action that influenced the present

Front 7

past perfect simple

Back 7

"he had spoken"

action that took place before a certain time in the past; sometimes interchangeable with the past perfect progressive; emphasizes the fact, not the duration of the action

Front 8

past perfect progressive

Back 8

"he had been speaking" (it had been raining for 40 days and nights when Noah finally said ENOUGH!)

action taking place before a certain time in the past; sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple; putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action

Front 9

future simple

Back 9

"he will speak"

action in the future that cannot be influenced; spontaneous decision; assumption with regard to the future

Front 10

future simple (going to)

Back 10

"he is going to speak"

decision or conclusion made for the future

Front 11

future progressive

Back 11

"he will be speaking"

action that is going on at a certain time in the future; action that is sure to happen in the near future

Front 12

conditional simple

Back 12

"he would speak"

action that might take place

Front 13

future II progressive

Back 13

" he will have been speaking"

action that takes place before a certain time in the future

Front 14

future simple

Back 14

"he will have spoken"

action that will be finished at a certain time in the future

Front 15

conditional progressive

Back 15

"he would be speaking"

action that might take place; emphasis is on the course/duration of the action, not the action itself

Front 16

conditional II simple

Back 16

"he would have spoken"

action that might have occurred in the past;

Front 17

conditional II progressive

Back 17

"he might have been speaking"

action that might have occurred in the past; puts emphasis on the duration/course and not the action itself