Tabella dei tempi verbali inglesi = Table of English Tenses
I tempi verbali inglesi costituiscono uno dei capitoli più importanti della grammatica inglese. In seguito viene proposta la tabella dei tempi verbali inglesi.
TEMPO | FORMA AFFERMATIVA/NEGATIVA/INFORMATIVA | USO | ESEMPI DI AVVERBI |
Present Simple | HE/SHE/IT + She speaks Italian. – She does not speak Italian. (doesn’t) ? Does she speak Italian?I/YOU/WE/THEY +: You speak Italian. -: You do not speak Italian. (don’t) ?: Do you speak Italian? |
1) Azioni abituali:
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always, every Monday/
July/week, never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually |
Present Continuous | I +: I am speaking Italian. (I’m) -: I am not speaking Italian ?: Am I speaking Italian?HE/SHE/IT +: He is speaking Italian. (He’s) -: He is not speaking Italian. (isn’t) ?: Is he speaking Italian?WE/YOU/THEY +: They are speaking Italian. (They’re) -: They are not speaking Italian. (aren’t) ?: Are they speaking Italian? |
1) Azioni che accadono nel momento in cui parliamo (now, at the moment): Sarah is reading a book now. He’s listening to the radio.2) Azioni che accadranno in un futuro immediato: She is going to Madrid on Sunday. I’m meeting John tonight.3) Azioni temporanee (spesso con “today/this week/month/year”): His brother is working in London this month.I usually go to school by car, but this week I am riding a bike. 4) Azioni che accadono intorno al momento in cui stiamo parlando (azioni più lunghe): My brother is preparing for his exams. |
right now, at the moment, just, now, Listen!, Look!… (gli ultimi due non sono avverbi, ma spesso indicano che segue questo tempo verbale) |
Past Simple | I/YOU/HE/SHE/IT/WE/YOU/THEY +: You spoke Italian. -: You did not speak Italian. (didn’t) ?: Did you speak Italian? |
1) Azioni finite nel passato (di solito con i verbi perfettivi): I visited Milan last week. James watched TV yesterday. |
yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday, (nelle forme interrogative si usa when) |
Past Continuous | I/HE/SHE/IT +: She was speaking Italian. -: She was not speaking Italian. (wasn’t) ?: Was she speaking English?WE/YOU/THEY +: They were speaking Italian. -: They were not speaking Italian. (weren’t) ?: Were they speaking Italian? |
1) Azioni che non sono finite in un periodo preciso nel passato (di solito con i verbi imperfettivi): John was reading a magazine yesterday evening. He was listening to the radio for five hours. 2) Insieme al “Past Simple”: While we were eating breakfast, the telephone rang. (di solito n questi casi la frase contiene la congiunzione “while”) |
while, the whole afternoon, from nine to ten |
Present Perfect Simple | HE/SHE/IT +: She has spoken Italian. (He’s) -: She has not spoken Italian. (hasn’t) ?: Has she spoken Italian?I/WE/YOU/THEY+: They have spoken Italian. (They’ve) -: They have not spoken Italian. (haven’t) ?: Have they spoken Italian? |
Azioni che sono cominciate nel passato e che continuano ancora 1) Il risultato dell’azione nel passato è importante per il presente (non importa quando l’azione è accaduta; quando abbiamo un momento preciso nel passato – p. es. yesterday – usiamo Past Simple): You have cleaned your room. (It is clean now.) Has Mary ever been to Spain? (Does she now have this experience or not?) 2) Azioni appena terminate: He has just played basketball. (It is over now.)3) Azioni che sono iniziate nel passato e che continuano ancora – spesso con “since” (+ momento preciso nel tempo) o “for” (+ periodo di tempo): We have lived in America since 1989. (We still live there.) |
just, yet, never, ever, already, so far, up to now, since, for, recently, (pronomi interrogativi) How long/How many times, today/this week/month/ year”
con il Present Perfect Simple si usa il passato prossimo; p. es. I haven’t seen him today. = Oggi non l’ho ancora visto.) |
Present Perfect Continuous | HE/SHE/IT +: She has been speaking at the conference for an hour now. (He’s) -: She has not been speaking the truth. (hasn’t) ?: Has she been speaking the truth?I/WE/YOU/THEY:+ They have been speaking at the conference for two hours now. (They’ve) -: They have not been telling the truth. (haven’t) ?: Have they been telling the truth?
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1) Azioni che sono iniziate nel passato e si svolgono fino al presente/ sono terminate in questo momento/ continuano nel futuro:
I have been waiting for you for two hours. I have been teaching for five years. 2) Svolgimento continuo di un azione – si usa spesso con in seguenti verbi: try (provare), live (vivere), wait (aspettare), teach (insegnare), sit (sedere), learn (imparare), rest (riposare, stay (rimanere): I have been living in the city for a year. 3) Per questo tempo è importante la durata e non tanto il risultato dell’azione come invece nel “Present Perfect Simple” e in confronto con il Present Perf. Sim. si tratta di un’azione incompiuta: I have been writing reports since five. I have written three reports since five. |
how long, since, for, lately, recently |
Future Simple | I/YOU/HE/SHE/IT/WE/ YOU/THEY +: She will speak English. (She’ll) -: She will not speak English. (won’t) ?: Will she speak English? |
1) Azioni future che accadono a prescindere dalla volontà del parlante (birthday, weather, ecc.): The sun will shine tomorrow. Michael will be 16 next Tuesday.2) Azioni spontanee (non sono progettate): Hang on! I’ll have a word with you. |
in a year, next …, tomorrow |
Future Perfect Simple | I/YOU/HE/SHE/IT/WE/ YOU/THEY
+: She will have spoken English by next year. (She’ll) |
1) Quando vogliamo dire che un’azione accadrà prima di un’altra azione o prima di un preciso momento nel futuro: I will have finished this homework by the time you come. I will have finished this homework by next week. |
by next month, by this time tomorrow |
Future Perfect Continuous | I/YOU/HE/SHE/IT/WE/ YOU/THEY
+: She will have been speaking Italian for ten years by 2012. (She’ll) |
1) Questo tempo esprime un’azione che si svolge continuamente fino a un momento preciso nel futuro (talvolta anche oltre):
You will have been working at Krka for four years tomorrow. |
in a year, next …, tomorrow, by next month, by this time tomorrow |
Going to | I +: I’m going to speak to Peggy. -: I am not going to speak to Peggy. (I’m) ?: Am I going to speak to Peggy?HE/SHE/IT +: She is going to speak to Peggy. (He’s) -: She is not going to speak to Peggy. (isn’t) ?: Is she going to speak to Peggy?WE/YOU/THEY+: They are going to speak to Peggy. (They’re) -: They are not going to speak to Peggy. (aren’t) ?: Are they going to speak to Peggy? |
1) Azioni programmate nel futuro:
We are going to dance at the party. They are going to fly to America. 2) Segnalare una situazione inevitabile: Look at the sky! It is going to snow. Mary’s pregnancy tummy is big now. She is going to have a baby soon. |
in one year, next week, tomorrow |
Past Perfect Simple | I/WE/YOU/THEY/ HE/ SHE/IT +: He had spoken to him before John moved. (He’d) -: He had not spoken to him before John moved. (hadn’t) ?: Had he spoken to him before John moved? |
Questo tempo corrisponde al trapassato prossimo. Anche in inglese si usa questo tempo solo quando è in relazione con un’altra azione del passato (l’ultima è spesso nel “Past Simple”); quando parliamo di un’azione accaduta prima di un’altra azione passata.
When Peter came home, they had already had lunch. = Quando Peter è tornato, loro avevano già pranzato. |
When, before, after, as soon as, by the time |
Past Perfect Continuous | I/WE/YOU/THEY/HE/ SHE/IT +: She had been speaking the truth before she left. (He’d) -: She had not been speaking the truth before she left. (hadn’t) ?: Had she been speaking the truth before she left? |
Questo tempo si usa quando si parla di azioni che sono iniziate nel passato e sono terminate in un determinato momento nel passato. Questo è l’equivalente passato del “Present Perfect Continuous”, con la differenza che il “Present Perfect Continuous” continua fino al presente, mentre il “Past Perfect Continuous” fino a un preciso momento o fino ad un’altra azione nel passato.
When I saw her cat in the morning, it was really tired. It had been running around for the whole night. = Quando ho visto il suo gatto la mattina, era stanco. Ha corso per tutta la notte. (Ha cominciato a correre nel passato e ha continuato a correre fino al mattino.) |
When, before, after, by the time |