This page shows the basic tenses with the regular verb work, including the following structures:
- affirmative or positive (+)
- negative (-)
- interrogative or question (?)
The basic structures are:
| + | positive | subject + auxiliary + main verb |
| – | negative | subject + auxiliary + not + main verb |
| ? | question | auxiliary + subject + main verb |
Here are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:
| base | past | past participle | present participle -ing |
|---|---|---|---|
| work | worked | worked | working |
And here is the result:
| 12 tenses (work) | past | present | future | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SIMPLE do + base except future: will + base |
+ | I did work I worked |
I do work I work |
I will work |
| – | I did not work | I do not work | I will not work | |
| ? | Did I work? | Do I work? | Will I work? | |
| CONTINUOUS be + ing |
+ | I was working | I am working | I will be working |
| – | I was notworking | I am notworking | I will not be working | |
| ? | Was I working? | Am I working? | Will I be working? | |
| PERFECT have + past participle |
+ | I had worked | I have worked | I will have worked |
| – | I had notworked | I have notworked | I will not have worked | |
| ? | Had I worked? | Have I worked? | Will I have worked? | |
| CONTINUOUS PERFECT have been + ing |
+ | I had been working | I have been working | I will have been working |
| – | I had not been working | I have notbeen working | I will not have been working | |
| ? | Had I been working? | Have I been working? | Will I have been working? | |