English hanbook - 12 tenses - Part 1

At the end of this lesson you should be able to know when to use each case of the 12 times . This is the principal topic in the tipical grammar examns . 50% usually comes from this topic.

First of all , is necessary to manage this general rules that could help us to understand how is the extructure of affirmative , negative , Yes/No question and Wh question of each time .

RULE #1:

In the Yes/No Question , we have to invert the structure of the affirmative sentences to create the Yes/No question . But in the case of SIMPLE PRESENT and SIMPLE PAST , we have to do the same using the emphasis sentence .

For example:
CASE 1 :
(Sentence Present Continuos) He is talking with his mother now.
(Yes/No question) Is he talking with his mother now ?

CASE 2 :
(Sentence Simple Present) He talks with his mother.
(Emphasis Simple Present) He does talk with his mother.
(Yes/No question) Does he talk with his mother ?

RULE #2:

For the Wh question is neccesary to put the “Wh” before the Yes/No Question.

For example:
CASE 1 :
(Sentence Present Continuos) He is talking with his mother now.
(Yes/No question) Is he talking with his mother now ?
(Wh Question) Where is he talking with his mother now ?

CASE 2 :
(Sentence Simple Present) He talks with his mother.
(Emphasis Simple Present) He does talk with his mother.
(Yes/No question) Does he talk with his mother ?
(Wh Question) Where does he talk with his mother ?

RULE #3:

To create a negative sentences is just necessary to add Not after :

• Verbs to be (Pres/Past is/are/am , was/were)
• Auxiliars (do/does , did)
• Modals ( can/could/should/etc)
• Never use it with Pronouns , Adjetives , Articles or Verbs

For example:
He is not /isn't  talking with his mother now.
He does not / doesn't talk with his mom .
Hi did not/ didn't talk with his mom.
I could not / couldn't work more than  10 hours a day constantly when I started my working life.

1.SIMPLE PRESENT :

Use case:

Routines , habits , facts .

Extructure:
(affirmative sentence) Subject + Verb(s/es) + Complement
(emphasis sentence) Subject + does/do + Verb + Complement
(Yes/No question) does/do + Subject + Verb + Complement

• (affirmative sentence) He studies Math and Python.
• (negative sentence) We don’t look for a new job in other country.
• (emphasis sentence) He does study Math and Python , he really want to approbe that exam.
• (Yes/No question) Does he study Math and Python ? Yes , he does or No , he doesn’t
• (Wh question) Where does he study Math and Python ?

Important note:

Be careful ! , We have to stick to an important rule here, let’s see some sentences:

• She plays basketball.
• She does play basketball
• She doesn’t play basketball.
• Does she play basketball? When there are auxiliaries , you MUSTN’T change the verbs(only in Simple Times - Simple Present, Simple Past, Simple Future).

Other examples:

• She doesn’t go to the gym with me.
• Do you go to mall four times a week , Lisa ? (Frequence)
• Joey must work late tonight . His office light is still on .
• Does she drink coffee every morning? (Habit)
• Does he smoke ? (Habit)
• Does Anthony go to sleep too late?
• Does Alexander exercise regularly?
• Do they travel often?

2.PRESENT CONTINUOUS :

Use case:

Case 1: Actions that are being executed at the moment.(KeyWords: Now , right now, etc ). Example:

• The class is starting now.
• My friend is traveling to Europe right now.

Case 2: Express nearly future /Subjetive. Example :

• the class is starting in 10 minutes.
• My mom is comming in 5 minutes.(For a boy who is used to seeing his father)
• My mom is comming in two months (For a boy that hasn’t seen his mom for a long time).

Extructure:
(affirmative sentence) Subject + (am/is/are) + Verb(ing) + Complement
(Yes/No question) (am/is/are) + Subject + Verb(ing) + Complement

• (spanish sentence) Ella esta jugando commigo.
• (affirmative sentence) She is playing with me.
• (negative sentence) She isn’t playing with me.
• (Yes/No question) Is she playing with me ? Yes , she is or No , she isn’t
• (Wh question) Where is she playing with me ?
• (spanish sentence) Ella esta llendo al gym commigo.
• (affirmative sentence) She is going to the gym with me.
• (negative sentence) She isn’t going to the gym with me.
• (Yes/No question) Is she going to the gym with me ? Yes , she is or No , she isn’t
• (Wh question) Why is she going to the gym with me ?

Other examples:

• Susan is making the decision at 3 o’clock this afternoon. (case 2)
• People is playing tennis golf on a beautiful day like this! (case 1)
• What are you doing ?(case 1)
• He is baking a cake at the moment.(case 1)
• Which motel are they staying at now? (case 1)
• Jane is doing the washing-up at the moment. (case 1)
• The company is not finishing the plans this week. (Case 2)
• She is easting oysters for lunch right now. (case 1)
• David is not flying to Chicago next week.(Case 2)
• I must be working right now (Case 1)

3.SIMPLE PAST :

Use case:

Actions that happened and they no longer happen in the present. It’s prefered to use this time with the words like “Yesterday , 5 days ago , last year, last night “.

Extructure: 
(affirmative sentence) Subject + Verb(Past) + Complement
(emphasis sentence) Subject + did + Verb + Complement
(Yes/No question) Did + Subject + Verb + Complement

• (spanish sentence) Ella jugó commigo videojuegos ayer.

• (affirmative sentence) She played videogames with me yesterday.

• (emphasis sentence) She did play videogames with me yesterday.

• (negative sentence) She didn’t play videogames with me yesterday.

• (Yes/No question) Did she play videogames with me yesterday ? Yes , she did or No , she didn’t

• (Wh question) Where/Why did she play videogames with me yesterday?

• (spanish sentence) Ella fue al gimnasio commigo ayer.

• (affirmative sentence) She went to the gym with me yesterday.

• (emphasis sentence) She did go to the gym with me yesterday.

• (negative sentence) She didn’t go to the gym with me yesterday.

• (Yes/No question) Did she go to the gym with me yesterday ? Yes , she did or No , she didn’t

• (Wh question) Why did she go to the gym with me yesterday?

Special Case with Verb To Be:

• We were neighbors until you decided to move on.
• He wasn`t my classmate when I was at the university.
• Were they in the office when the tremor happened ? Yes , they were / No , they weren’t

Other examples:

• I was happy with that restaurant last night. The food wasn´t cold and the waiter was very friendly.
• It was a national holiday yesterday so everything was closed.
• I was in Canberra last spring.
• We was at school last Saturday.
• Tina was at home yesterday.
• She didn’t study hard and she didn’t passed the exam.
• He called the office to tell them he was sick.
• I spoke to the director as he was leaving the room.
• Dr. Johnson didn’t get up early this morning.

4.PAST CONTINUOUS :

Use case:

To talk about an event that was happening and suddenly another one intersects it. These two events happened in the past. (Key word: when /while)

Extructure:

(affirmative sentence) Subject + (was/were) + Verb(ing) + Complement
(Yes/No question) (was/were) + Subject + Verb(ing) + Complement

(spanish sentence) Ella estaba jugando commigo videojuegos cuando inicio el terremoto. (affirmative sentence) She was playing videogames with me when the earthquake started. (negative sentence) She wasn’t playing with me. (Yes/No question) Was she playing with me ? Yes , she is or No , she isn’t (Wh question) Where was she playing with me ?

(spanish sentence) Ella estaba llendo al gimnasio commigo cuando inicio el terremoto. (affirmative sentence) She was going to the gym with me, when the earthquake started (negative sentence) She wasn’t going to the gym with me, when the earthquake started (Yes/No question) Was she going to the gym with me ? Yes , she is or No , she isn’t (Wh question) Why was she going to the gym with me ?

Other examples:

• When I came into the living room, the cats were siting on the table.
• I could tell by his eyes that he was lying to me.
• We were playing Monopoly when our neighbours rang at the door.
• Helen was listening to the radio when she heard a strange noise in the garden.
• I was preparing dinner yesterday when I noticed that the cooker didn’t work.
• Was Jane practising the piano when you came home?
• Who were talking to you when I saw you last night?
• What were they discussing when she went over to them?
• Was she typing a message when you interrupted her?

5.SIMPLE FUTURE :

Use case:

Indicate events in the future focused on the probability. will: 50% probability or refer to sudden decissions. be going to : 80% probability or plans. (“Voy a “)

Extructure:

(affirmative sentence) Subject + will + Verb in base form + Complement
(Yes/No question) Will + Subject + Verb in base form + Complement

(spanish sentence) Ella comerá en su casa. (affirmative sentence) She will eat in her house. (negative sentence) She will not / won’t eat in her house. (Yes/No question) Will she eat in her house ? Yes , she will or No , she won’t (Wh question) Where will she eat in her house ? (emphasis sentence) She is going to eat in her house. (emphasis Yes/No question)) Is she going to eat in her house. (emphasis Wh question) When is she going to eat in her house ?

(spanish sentence) Ella irá al gimnasio commigo. (affirmative sentence) She will go to the gym with me . (negative sentence) She will not / won’t go to the gym with me (Yes/No question) Will she go to the gym with me ? Yes , she will or No , she won’t (Wh question) Where will she go to the gym with me? (emphasis sentence) She is going to go the gym with me . (emphasis Yes/No question)) Is she going to go the gym with me ? (emphasis Wh question) When is she going to go the gym with me ?

Other examples:

• They will be there
• It will not /won’t rain tomorrow.
• I promise I will not /won’t late.
• We will not / won’t start to watch the film without you.
• What will they learn ?
• Will it snow ?
• When will you get home ?
• Will she forgive me ?
• What will he say?
• Mr. Potts is going to sell his house.
• Our neighbours  are going to spend their next holidays in the Caribbean.
• Iam going to move to another town.
• My husband is going to build a tree house for the kids.
• His friends is going to learn  English.

Formula oraciones interrogativas en future simple (going to).

• Are you going to help me ?
• Is she going to study in Glasgow?
• Are they going to paint the room?
• Is he going to apply for that job ?
• What are you going to do about this?

6.PRESENT PERFECT :

Use case:

Case 1 :To talk about an event that was started in the past and continue now (Key word: for/since) Example : PAVEL HAS WORKED FOR 7 YEARS.

Case 2: To show surprise about an event that has happened. Example : WOW, IFIGENIO HAS PASSED THE ENTRANCE EXAM

Extructure:

(affirmative sentence) Subject + (has/have) + Verb(Past Participle) + Complement
(Yes/No question) (has/have) + Subject + Verb(Past Participle) + Complement

HAVE/HAS: HABER YO HE/TÚ HAS/NOSOTROS HEMOS

(spanish sentence) Ella ha bailado con nosotros. (affirmative sentence) She has danced with us. (negative sentence) She hasn’t danced with us. (Yes/No question) Has she danced with us ? Yes , she has or No , she hasn’t (Wh question) Where Has she danced with us?

Important:

In this time , we have some keyword that are typically used.

• ALREADY:
  • I have already done my homework.
• JUST:
  • I have just taken a shower.
• EVER:
  • Have you ever travelled to Russia?
  • I haven’t ever watched that film.
• YET:
  • They haven’t played the violin yet.
• STILL:
  • I still haven’t danced with Mary
• RECENTLY:
  • She has come back to her house recently.

Other examples:

1. I haven’t / have not worked today

2. We have bought a new lamp.

3. We have not planed our holiday yet.

4. Where (be / you)  ___ ?

5. He (write) __ five letters.

6. She (not / see) ___ him for a long time.

7. (be / you) ___ at school?

8. School (not / start) ___ yet.

9. (speak / he) __ to his boss?

10. No, he (have / not) __ the time yet.

11. They 

 London this month. (leave)

2. He 

 a lot of English papers. (bring)

3. She 

 me about it. (tell)

4. I 

 a long letter from father this week. (get)

5. She (just) 

; she will speak to you in a minute. (come)

6. I 

 to Radio City. (be)

7. I think the director 

 the town. (leave)

8. I 

 my office. (paint)

9. We 

 her since she arrived to our city. (know)

10. I 

 your name. (forget)

11. He 

 the door. (close)

12. He 

 it since we left him. (do)

13. I 

 him my last penny. (give)

14. This order 

 to many misunderstandings. (lead)

15. He 

 his name on my book. (write)

16. She 

 a new umbrella. (buy)

17. He 

 my exercise over and over. (look)

18. I 

 those books very cheaply. (buy)

19. He 

 for two months. (work)

20. She 

 a new job. (find)

21. He 

 very well. (speak)

22. The children 

 the whole pudding. (eat)

23. You 

 many detective stories. (read)

24. Our team 

 the first prize. (win)

25. My little daughter 

 her finger with a knife. (cut)

7.PAST PERFECT :

Use case:

To talk about an event that happend before another . But these two happened in the past. Not exist interception of these two events . (Key word when/before/after/because , etc )

Example : Mis amigos se habían ido cuando yo los llamé.

My friends had gone when/before I called them.

No fui a clase porque me había enfermado. I did not/didn´t go to the class because I had gotten sick.

Extructure:

(affirmative sentence) Subject + (had) + Verb(Past Participle) + Complement
(Yes/No question) (had) + Subject + Verb(Past Participle) + Complement

(spanish sentence) Tú habías viajado a Europa. (affirmative sentence) You had (You´d) traveled to Europe. (negative sentence) She hadn’t traveled to Europe. (Yes/No question) Had she traveled to Europe ? Yes , she had or No , she hadn’t (Wh question) When had she traveled to Europe ?

8.FUTURE CONTINUOS :

Use case:

To talk about an event that are going to happen in a future . And continue in the reference.

Extructure:

(affirmative sentence) Subject + will+  be + Verb(ing) + Complement
(Yes/No question) Will + Subject + be + Verb(ing) + Complement

(spanish sentence) Ella estará yendo al gimnasio commigo para el 2024. (affirmative sentence) She will be going to the gym with me by 2024. (negative sentence) She won’t be going to the gym with me by 2024. (Yes/No question) Will she be going to the gym with me by 2024 ? Yes , she will or No , she won’t (Wh question) Why will she be going to the gym with me by 2024 ?

9.FUTURE PERFECT :

Use case:

to talk about an event that will happen in the future but will no longer be happening at a reference time.

Example: HE WILL HAVE PLAYED A VIDEOGAME WITH HIS BROTHER BY 2025.

Extructure:

(affirmative sentence) Subject + will + (have) + Verb(Past Participle) + Complement
(Yes/No question) Will  + Subject + (have) + Verb(Past Participle) + Complement

(spanish sentence) Ella habrá ido al gimnasio commigo para el 2024. (affirmative sentence) She will have gone to the gym with me by 2024. (negative sentence) She won’t have gone to the gym with me by 2024. (Yes/No question) Will she have gone to the gym with me by 2024 ? Yes , she will or No , she won’t (Wh question) Why will she have gone to the gym with me by 2024 ?

Note : Now for the times

• Present Perfect ( Solo Caso 1) / PrPC
• Past Perfect / PstPC
• Future Continuous / FPC

We have the possibility to emphasize

10.PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOS :

Use case:

Is the emphasize of the present perfect case 1

Example: (Present Perfect) She has gone to the gym with me since 2020. (Present Perfect Continuos) She has been going to the gym with me since 2020.

Extructure:

(affirmative sentence) Subject + (have/has) + been + Verb(ing) + Complement(for/since)
(Yes/No question) Have/has  + Subject + been + Verb(ing) + Complement(for/since)

(spanish sentence) Ella ha estado llendo al gimnasio commigo desde el 2020. (affirmative sentence) She has been going to the gym with me since 2020. (negative sentence) She hasn’t been going to the gym with me since 2020. (Yes/No question) Has she been going to the gym with me since 2020 ? Yes , she has or No , she hasn’t (Wh question) Why has she been going to the gym with me since 2020?

11.PAST PERFECT CONTINUOS :

Use case:

Is the emphasize time of the past perfect (Key words: for/since)

Example: (Past Perfect) She had gone to the gym with me before I broke my leg. (Past Perfect Continuos) She had been going to the gym with me before I broke my leg.

Extructure:

(affirmative sentence) Subject + (had) + been + Verb(ing) + Complement(for/since)
(Yes/No question) Had  + Subject + been + Verb(ing) + Complement(for/since)

(spanish sentence) Ella había estado llendo al gimnasio commigo por dos horasantes que me rompiera la pierna (affirmative sentence) She had been going to the gym with me for two hours before I broke my leg. (negative sentence) She hadn’t been going to the gym with me for two hours before I broke my leg. (Yes/No question) Had she been going to the gym with me for two hours before I broke my leg ? (Wh question) Why had she been going to the gym with me for two hours before I broke my leg ?

12.FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOS :

Use case:

Is the emphasize time of future continuos (Key words: for/since)

Example: (Future continuos) She will be going to the gym with me by 2026. (Future Perfect Continuos) She will have been going to the gym with me by 2026.

Extructure:

(affirmative sentence) Subject + (will) + have + been + Verb(ing) + Complement(by)
(Yes/No question) Will  + Subject + have +  been + Verb(ing) + Complement(by)

(spanish sentence) Ella habrá estado yendo al gimnasio conmigo para el 2026. (affirmative sentence) She will have been going to the gym with me by 2026. (negative sentence) She will not /won’t have been going to the gym with me by 2026 (Yes/No question) Will she have been going to the gym with me by 2026 ?

(Wh question) Why Will she have been going to the gym with me by 2026 ?