English Time Words

May. 26, 2024 • Updated Jul. 24, 2024

Simple present

Tense	Time words	Examples
Simple present	every day/week/month/year
	always, frequently
	sometimes, at times, from time to time	*From time to time* I still think of her.
	never
	just now (at the present time)¹	These kinds of coats are fashionable *just now*.
		I’m not ready to talk about it *just now*.

Simple past

Tense	Time words	Examples
Simple past	yesterday
	(xxx) hours/weeks/months/years ago
	in past year
	last week/month/year
	one day	I went to her house *one day* and had lunch with her.
	just now (a very short time ago)¹	Who was that at the door *just now*?
		He had his agent call me *just now* to ask for more money.
	once upon a time² (a) spoken. at a time in the past that you think was much better than now; (b) a long time ago – used at the beginning of children’s stories.	*Once upon a time* you used to be able to leave your front door unlocked.
	before
	previously

Simple future

Tense	Time words	Examples
Simple future	tomorrow
	one day	*One day*, it’ll happen. You’ll see.
	in (future week/month/year)	Mary will go to Hawaii *in two weeks*.
	on (future day)
	next (week/month/year/name of day)	Ed will drive to Toronto *next Saturday*.
	(xxx) days/weeks/months/years from now	George will paint his house *six days from now*.
	this afternoon/week/month/year
	someday	I’d like to visit Japan *someday*.

Present progressive

Tense	Time words	Examples
Present progressive	now, right now, at this moment
	just now (at the present time)¹	We’re *just now* starting to make progress with the project.

Future progressive

Tense	Time words	Examples
Future progressive	at this time tomorrow	*At this time tomorrow*, I will be cleaning my house.

Present perfect

Tense	Time words	Examples
Present perfect	for	Paul has been here *for* six hours.
	since	Yoko has known Mary *since* 1994.
	yet	I haven’t asked him *yet*.
		Have you seen him *yet*?
	never
	always
	so far/thus far	*So far* we have not had to borrow any money.
		They’re delighted with the replies they’ve received from the public *thus far*.
	(xxx) times/many times	Sam has visited Hawaii *many times*.
	lately
	recently
	already	I have *already* written a letter to the president.

Present perfect progressive

Tense	Time words	Examples
Present perfect progressive	for	Rita has been jogging *for* two hours.
	since	We’ve been waiting here *since* two o’clock.
	lately	*Lately, I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep. (From the song Counting Star* by OneRepublic)
	recently

References