Tense |
Verb |
Use |
Example |
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Affirmative |
I play You play He, she, it plays We play They play |
Regular activities and routine |
Amy and Sue play tennis on Saturdays. |
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Negative |
I don’t play You don’play He, she, it doesn’t play We don’t play They don’t play |
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Interrogative |
Do I play? Do you play? Does he, she, it play? Do we play? Do they play? |
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Affirmative |
I am playing He is playing We are playing They are playing |
Continuous present action |
Amy and Sue are playing at the moment. |
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Negative |
I am not playing You are not playing He is not playing We are not playing They are not playing |
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Interrogative |
Am I playing? Is he playing? Are we playing? Are they playing? |
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Affirmative |
I have played You have played He has played We have played They have played |
1. Finished part of continuous action. |
1. Amy and Sue have played two sets. |
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Negative |
I have not played You have not played He has not played We have not played They have not played |
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Interrogative |
Have I played? Have you played? Has he played? Have we played? Have they played? |
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Affirmative |
I’ve been playing you’ve been playing he’s been playing we’ve been playing you’ve been playing they’ve been playing |
Actions begun in the past which continue at the time of speaking. |
They have been playing tennis since 2 o’clock this afternoon. |
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Negative |
I haven’t been playing you haven’t been playing he hasn’t been playing we haven’t been playing you haven’t been playing they haven’t been playing |
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Interrogative |
have I been playing? have you been playing? has he been playing? have we been playing? have you been playing? have they been playing? |
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Preterit / Past simple |
Affirmative |
I played you played he played we played you played they played |
Finished actions at a specific time in the past. |
Last Saturday Sue played in another tournament. |
Negative |
I didn’t play you didn’t play he didn’t play we didn’t play you didn’t play they didn’t play |
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Interrogative |
did I play? did you play? did he play? did we play? did you play? did they play? |
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Affirmative |
I was playing you were playing he was playing we were playing you were playing they were playing |
Past continuous actions. |
At 2.45 pm they were playing the second set. |
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Negative |
I wasn’t playing you weren’t playing he wasn’t playing we weren’t playing you weren’t playing they weren’t playing |
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Interrogative |
was I playing? were you playing? was he playing? were we playing? were you playing? were they playing? |
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Past Perfect Simple (Pluperfect) |
Affirmative |
I had played you’d played he’d played we’d played you’d played they’d played |
Completed actions before a specific time or event in the past. |
Two other people had played a match before Amy and Sue arrived. |
Negative |
I hadn’t played you hadn’t played he hadn’t played we hadn’t played you hadn’t played they hadn’t played |
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Interrogative |
had I played? had you played? had he played? had we played? had you played? had they played? |
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Affirmative |
I’d been playing you’d been playing he’d been playing we’d been playing you’d been playing they’d been playing |
Continuous actions before a specific time or event in the past. |
At 4 pm they had been playing for 2 hours. |
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Negative |
I hadn’t been playing you hadn’t been playing he hadn’t been playing we hadn’t been playing you hadn’t been playing they hadn’t been playing |
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Interrogative |
had I been playing? had you been playing? had he been playing? had we been playing? had you been playing? had they been playing? |
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Affirmative |
I willplay you’ll play he’ll play we’ll play you’ll play they’ll play |
1. Predictions |
1.Amy will win the match today. |
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Negative |
I will not play you won’t play he won’t play we won’t play you won’t play they won’t play |
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Interrogative |
will I play? will you play? will he play? will we play? will you play? will they play? |
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Affirmative |
Continuous future action |
Tomorrow they will be playing in another club. |
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Negative |
I won’t be playing you won’t be playing he won’t be playing we won’t be playing you won’t be playing they won’t be playing |
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Interrogative |
will I be playing? will you be playing? will he be playing? will we be playing? will you be playing? will they be playing? |
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Future Perfect simple |
Affirmative |
I will have played you’ll have played he’ll have played we’ll have played you’ll have played they’ll have played |
Completed future action |
By September they will have played ten matches. |
Negative |
I won’t have played you won’t have played he won’t have played we won’t have played you won’t have played they won’t have played |
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Interrogative |
will I have played? will you have played? will he have played? will we have played? will you have played? will they have played? |
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Future Perfect Continuous |
Affirmative |
I will have been playing you’ll have been playing he’ll have been playing we’ll have been playing you’ll have been playing they’ll have been playing |
Continuous future action estimated at a time in the future. |
A 5 pm Amy and Sue will have been playing for 3 hours. |
Negative |
I won’t have been playing you won’t have been playing he won’t have been playing we won’t have been playing you won’t have been playing they won’t have been playing |
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Interrogative |
will I have been playing? will you have been playing? will he have been playing? will we have been playing? will you have been playing? will they have been playing? |