12 Basic Verb Tenses in English with Examples

What is a verb tense?

A verb tense is a grammatical form that indicates the time at which an action or state described by a verb occurs. In English, verb tenses are used to convey the timing and duration of events or states in relation to the present, past, or future.

There are three main verb tenses in English, including present tense, past tense, and future tense. Each tense has a specific meaning, and it is used to indicate when the action or state of being occurs in relation to the present moment. For example:

Verb tenses are an important aspect of English grammar, and they help to convey the timing of events in a clear and concise way.

How many tenses are there in English?

There are three main tenses in English: past, present, and future. Each of these tenses can be further divided into four aspects: simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous.

In total, there are 12 tenses in English, as you can see in the Tenses chart below.

Tenses	Sub types
Present Tense	Simple Present Tense
	Present Perfect Tense
	Present Continuous Tense
	Present Perfect Continuous Tense
Past Tense	Simple Past Tense
	Past Perfect Tense
	Past Continuous Tense
	Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Future Tense	Simple Future Tense
	Future Perfect Tense
	Future Continuous Tense
	Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Tense Chart with Rules and Examples

Here’s the tense chart of all 12 verb tenses with rules and examples:

Tense	Simple	Continuous	Perfect	Perfect Continuous
Present	Affirmative: Subject + Verb (base form) + s/es (in case of third-person singular subjects) Example: I walk to school. He walks to school.	Affirmative: Subject + “am/is/are” + Verb (-ing form) Example: I am walking to school.	Affirmative: Subject + “have/has” + Past Participle (3rd form) Example: I have walked to school.	Affirmative: Subject + “have/has been” + Verb (-ing form) Example: I have been walking to school.
	Negative: Subject + do/does not + Verb (base form) Example: I do not walk to school.	Negative: Subject + “am/is/are” + not + Verb (-ing form) Example: I am not walking to school.	Negative: Subject + “have/has not” + Past Participle (3rd form) Example: I have not walked to school.	Negative: Subject + “have/has not been” + Verb (-ing form) Example: I have not been walking to school.
	Interrogative: Do/Does + Subject + Verb (base form) Example: Do you walk to school?	Interrogative: “Am/Is/Are” + Subject + Verb (-ing form) Example: Are you walking to school?	Interrogative: Have/Has + Subject + Past Participle (3rd form) Example: Have you walked to school?	Interrogative: Have/Has + Subject + Been + Verb (-ing form) Example: Have you been walking to school?
Past	Affirmative: Subject + Verb (past tense/2nd form) Example: I walked to school yesterday.	Affirmative: Subject + “was/were” + Verb (-ing form) Example: I was walking to school.	Affirmative: Subject + “had” + Past Participle (3rd form) Example: I had walked to school.	Affirmative: Subject + “had been” + Verb (-ing form) Example: I had been walking to school.
	Negative: Subject + did not + Verb (base form) Example: I did not walked to school yesterday.	Negative: Subject + “was/were” + not + Verb (-ing form) Example: I was not walking to school.	Negative: Subject + “had not” + Past Participle (3rd form) Example: I had not walked to school.	Negative: Subject + “had not been” + Verb (-ing form) Example: I had not been walking to school.
	Interrogative: Did + Subject + Verb (base form) Example: Did she walk to school?	Interrogative: “Was/Were” + Subject + Verb (-ing form) Example: Was she walking to school?	Interrogative: Had + Subject + Past Participle (3rd form) Example: Had she walked to school?	Interrogative: Had + Subject + Been + Verb (-ing form) Example: Had she been walking to school?
Future	Affirmative: Subject + will + Verb (base form) Example: I will walk to school tomorrow.	Affirmative: Subject + will be + Verb (-ing form) Example: I will be walking to school.	Affirmative: Subject + will have + Past Participle (3rd form) Example: I will have walked to school.	Affirmative: Subject + will have been + Verb (-ing form) Example: I will have been walking to school.
	Negative: Subject + will not + Verb (base form) Example: I will not walk to school.	Negative: Subject + will not be + Verb (-ing form) Example: I will not be walking to school.	Negative: Subject + will not have + Past Participle (3rd form) Example: I will not have walked to school.	Negative: Subject + will not have been + Verb (-ing form) Example: I will not have been walking to school.
	Interrogative: Will + Subject + Verb (base form) Example: Will they walk to school?	Interrogative: Will + be + Subject + Verb (-ing form) Example: Will they be walking to school?	Interrogative: Will + have + Subject + Past Participle (3rd form) Example: Will they have walked to school?	Interrogative: Will + have + Subject + Been + Verb (-ing form) Example: Will they have been walking to school?

Tense Chart in English with Rules and Examples PDF

12 Basic Verb Tenses in English Grammar

Now let’s talk about all 12 tenses in English one by one:

The simple past tense is used to describe an action that was completed in the past. It is often used to describe events that have already happened. To form the simple past tense in English, you generally add “–ed” or “–d” to regular verbs or use the second form of irregular verbs.

Structural Formula:

Examples:

Here are some examples of the past simple tense:

• I walked to the store.
• I ate a sandwich.
• I finished my homework.

The past continuous tense is used to describe a continuous or ongoing action that was happening at a specific point in the past. It is formed using the past tense of the verb “to be” (was/were) and the present participle (-ing form) of the main verb.

Structural Formula:

Examples:

Here are some examples of the past continuous tense:

• I was studying in my room.
• She was working in the garden all day.

The past continuous can also be used to describe two or more actions that were happening at the same time in the past.

For example:

• While I was eating dinner, my roommate was studying for her exams.

In this sentence, the action of eating dinner and the action of studying for exams were both happening at the same time in the past. The past continuous tense is used to describe these actions because they were in progress at the same time.

The past perfect tense is used to describe an action that was completed before a specific point in the past. It is formed using the auxiliary verb “had” and the past participle (3rd form) of the main verb.

Structural Formula:

• I had finished my homework before I watched TV.

In this sentence, the action of finishing homework was completed before the specific point in the past when the person watched TV.

Examples:

Here are some examples of the past perfect tense:

• She had visited her grandparents before they moved to Florida.
• I had finished my homework before dinner.
• We had completed the project by the time the deadline arrived.

The past perfect continuous tense, also known as the past perfect progressive tense, is used to describe an action that was in progress before a certain point in the past and may have continued up until that point.

It is formed by using the auxiliary verb “had” plus the present participle of the main verb “been” plus the present participle of the main verb.

Structural Formula:

Examples:

Here are some examples of the past perfect continuous tense:

• I had been studying for hours when you called.
• She had been working on the project for months before it was finally completed.

The present simple tense is a verb tense that is used to describe actions that are happening regularly, habitually, or are currently true. The present simple tense is often used with adverbs of frequency such as “always,” “usually,” and “never.”

The present simple tense is formed using the base form of the verb (for example, “write,” “think,” “speak”). If the subject is a singular noun or pronoun, add -e/es to the base form of the verb.

Structural Formula:

Examples:

Here are some examples of the present simple tense:

• She speaks Spanish fluently.
• They live in New York.
• He thinks about his future a lot.

It is often used to describe things that are always true, such as:

• The sun rises in the east.
• Honesty is the best policy.

It is also used to describe routine actions, such as:

• I brush my teeth every morning.
• I go to work every day.
• We always eat dinner at 6:00 pm.

>>Read more about Present Simple Tense

The present continuous tense is a verb tense that indicates that something is happening at present. It is used to describe actions that are in progress at the moment of speaking or writing.

The present continuous tense is formed using the present tense of the auxiliary verb “to be” (for example, “am,” “is,” “are”) and the present participle of the main verb (which is typically formed by adding -ing to the base form of the verb, such as “writing,” “speaking,” “eating”).

Structural Formula:

Examples:

Here are some examples of the present continuous tense:

• I am reading a book.
• She is studying for her exams.
• They are having a party tonight.
• We are waiting for the bus.
• He is playing soccer.

The present perfect tense is a verb tense that can be used to describe actions that began in the past and have recently been completed or continued up to the present moment. It is often used to describe personal experiences or changes that have occurred over a period of time.

To form the present perfect tense, you use the auxiliary verb “to have” (have/has) and the past participle (3rd form) of the main verb.

Structural Formula:

Examples:

Here are some examples of the present perfect tense:

• I have finished my homework.
• She has gone to the store.
• I have lived in this city for five years.
• They have grown a lot since the last time I saw them.

The present perfect continuous tense is a verb tense that describes an action that started in the past and continues up to the present moment. It is used to describe an action that has been happening for a certain period of time.

To form the present perfect continuous tense, you use the present perfect tense of the auxiliary verb “to be” (have/has been) and the present participle of the main verb (the verb ending in -ing).

Structural Formula:

Examples:

Here are some examples of the present perfect continuous tense:

• I have been studying for the test all week.
• She has been working on the project for hours.
• I have been feeling sick all week.
• They have been living in Paris since 2015.

The simple future tense is a verb tense that is used to describe actions that will happen in the future. It can be used to make predictions about the future, express willingness or intention, and describe future plans or arrangements.

It is formed with the auxiliary verb “will” followed by the base form of the main verb.

Structural Formula:

Examples:

Here are some examples of the future simple tense:

• I will eat lunch at noon.
• He will arrive at 5:00.
• We will go to the movies on Saturday.

Here’re some examples of the future simple tense referring to make predictions about the future. For example:

• The weather will be nice tomorrow.
• She will pass her exams.

Here’re some examples of the future simple tense referring to express willingness or intention. For example:

• I will help you with your homework.
• They will come to the party.

The future continuous tense is used to describe an action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future.

It is formed with the auxiliary verbs “will/shall” and “be” followed by the present participle (-ing form) of the main verb.

Structural Formula:

Examples:

Here are some examples of the future continuous tense:

• I will be eating lunch at noon.
• He will be arriving at 5:00.
• We will be going to the movies on Saturday.

The future continuous tense is used to describe an action that will be happening at a specific time in the future and that will continue for an extended period of time. For example:

• At this time next year, I will be living in New York.

It can also be used to describe a temporary situation that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. For example:

• Tomorrow at noon, I will be having a meeting with my boss.

The future perfect tense is used to describe an action that will be completed at some point in the future by a specific time.

It is formed with the auxiliary verbs “will” and “have” followed by the past participle (third form) of the main verb.

Structural Formula:

Examples:

Here are some examples of the future perfect tense:

• I will have eaten lunch by noon.
• He will have arrived by 5:00.
• We will have gone to the movies by Saturday.

The future perfect tense is also used to describe an action that will be completed at some point in the future before another action or event takes place. For example:

• By the time the party starts, I will have finished my homework.

The future perfect continuous tense is used to describe an action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. It is used to show that something will have been happening for a certain period of time up to that point in the future. This tense is often used with time expressions such as “for,” “since,” or “by the time.”

It is formed using the auxiliary verb “will” followed by the verb “have” and the present participle of the main verb with the ending “-ing.

Structural Formula:

Examples:

Here are some examples of the future perfect continuous tense:

• I will have been working on this project for three months.
• She will have been studying for her exams since early morning.
• I will have been studying for six hours by the time the exam starts.

Tense Chart with Example Sentences

Conclusion

In conclusion, verb tenses are an essential aspect of the English language, as they allow us to convey the time at which an action or state of being occurs. There are three main tenses: past, present, and future. Each of these tenses can be further divided into four aspects: simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous. It is important to understand the difference between these tenses and how to use them correctly to effectively communicate in English. Whether we are describing something that happened in the past, is happening in the present, or will happen in the future, the correct verb tense helps to make our meaning clear to the listener or reader.