Present Simple

 Generally refers to:

1. Facts that are always true
2. Habits
3. States
4. Headlines
5. Instructions and itineraries
6. Summaries of events
7. Historic present in narrative and funny stories
8. Future time reference for schedule, time table

Present (progressive) Continious

 Generally refers to actions which are in progress at the moment
 These can be temporary
 They can be actually in progress
 Or they can be generally in progress but not actually happening at the
moment

Past Simple
 Generally refers to:
1. Completed actions in the past at a definite time
2. Past habits
3. Past states

Past (progressive) Continious

 Generally refers to:
1. Actions in progres
2. Background description in narrative
 3. Changing states
4. Repeated actions criticism
5. Unfulfilled past events

Present Perfect Simple

 Generally refers to:
1. Recent events, without a definite time given
2. Indefinite events, which happened at an unknown time in the past. No
definite time is given.
3. Indefinite events which may have an obvious result in the present
4. With state verbs, a state which lasts up to the present
5. A habitual action in a period of time up to the present.

Present Perfect Continious

 can refer to a range of meanings, depending on the time expression used and
the context
1. A state which lasts up to the present moment
2. An incomplete activity
3. The emphasis duration
4. A recently finished activity
5. A repeated activity

Past Perfect
 A past event or situation which occured before another past event or situation
 A time conjunction sometimes replaces the past perfect to show which of the
two past events occured first. In this case both events can be in the simple
past tense.
 Past perfect continuous is used to emphasize the CONTINUITY and
DURATION of the past event before another past event or situation