Verbs have multiple forms called tenses that tell us when an action takes place. Verb tenses are formed according to person, number, and tense. The three main tenses in English are given below:
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- The Present Tense (e.g., I do.)
- The Past Tense (e.g., I did.)
- The Future Tense (e.g., I will do.)
The tense of a verb can also tell us things like whether the action is habitual, ongoing, or completed. This is called the aspect of the verb, which is part of the tense.
Each of the three tenses is classified into 4 types.
The Present Tenses
The 4 types of present tenses are simple present tense, present progressive/continuous tense, present perfect tense, and present perfect progressive/continuous tense.
Simple Present Tense
The simple present tense is mostly used to describe facts and habits.
Simple Present Tense Structures:
Affirmative Sentence: Subject + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I work every day. )
Negative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (do/does) + not + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I don’t work every day. )
Interrogative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (do,does) + subject + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Do I work every day? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (do,does) + subject + not + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Do I not work every day? /Don’t I work every day?)
Interrogative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (do, does) + subject + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. When do you work? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (do, does) + not + subject + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. When do you not work? /When don’t you work?)
Use the simple present tense in the following cases:
a) Talking about actions that occur repeatedly
These are actions that happen on a regular basis, such as habits or routines. They can have a specific or general time frame. Look at the underlined keywords.
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- I brush my teeth every morning and every night.
- Vikcky runs five miles every day.
- I visit my parents twice a year.
- Sometimes Jimmie goes to the pool.
- Dad never lets us quarrel.
- The sun always rises in the east.
b) Discussing current facts, state, general/uiversal truths, or widely accepted beliefs
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- The sky is blue, and the grass is green.
- Cats kill mice.
- Honesty is the best policy.
c) Describing people or things
Use the present tense to describe physical characteristics, personality traits, feelings, abilities, and likes and dislikes that are true in the present.
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- Her brothers are both eight feet tall.
- He is the kindest person I know.
- I feel hungry.
- My friend plays minor league baseball.
- Many people love dogs, but many also love cats.
- This flower smells good.
- Your new rose garden looks beautiful!
d) Referring to a future situation in certain cases and in some subordinate clauses
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- The bus arrives in Toronto at 6 p.m.
- I’ll make you and me some coffee when we get home.
e) Stative verbs
Stative verbs such as appear, seem, realize, love, sound, know, etc. are more commonly used with simple tenses rather than with progressive tenses.
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- He seems to be happy.
- What you say sounds good.
Present Progressive Tense
The present progressive tense is typically used to talk about something that is happening right now. It can also be used to talk about a future action or an action that is occurring at the same time as another one. It is formed by using a present tense form of the verb to be plus the present participle of the main verb.
Present Progressive Tense Structures:
Affirmative Sentence: Subject + am/is/are base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I am working now. )
Negative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (am/is/are) + not + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I am not working now. )
Interrogative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (am/is/are) + subject + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Are you working now? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (am/is/are) + subject + not + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Are you not working now? /Aren’t you working now?)
Interrogative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (am/is/are) + subject + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. When are you going to work? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (am/is/are) + not + subject + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. When are you not working? /When aren’t you working?)
Present Perfect Tense
Action in the present perfect began in the past and continues in the present or has ended by the present. It can also be used to talk about past actions that happened multiple times. To form the present perfect, use the present tense of the verb to have plus the past participle of the main verb.
Present Perfect Tense Structures:
Affirmative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (have/has) + past participle form of Main Verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I have worked. )
Negative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (have/has) + not + past participle form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I have not worked today./Ihavn’t worked today. )
Interrogative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (have/has) + subject + past participle form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Have you worked today? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (have/has) + subject + not + past participle form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Have you not worked today? /Haven’t you worked today?)
Interrogative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (have/has) + subject + past participle form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. When have you worked? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (have/has) + not + subject + past participle form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Why have you not worked? /Why haven’t you worked?)
Present Perfect Progressive Tense
The present perfect progressive tense is used for a continuous activity that began in the past and continues into the present, or a continuous activity that began in past but has now finished (usually very recently).
Present Progressive Tense Structures:
Affirmative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (have been/has been) + base form of main verb + ing + (for/since + time) + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I have been working for 3 hours. )
Negative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (have/has)+ not + been +base form of main verb + ing + (for/since + time) +Rest of Sentence (e.g. I have not been working for 3 hours./I haven’t been working for 3 hours. )
Interrogative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (have/has) + subject + been + base form of main verb + ing + (for/since + time) + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Have you been working for 3 hours? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (have/has) + subject + not + been+ base form of main verb + ing + (for/since + time) + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Have you not been working for 3 hours? /Haven’t you been working for 3 hours?)
Interrogative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (have/has) + subject + been + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. How long have you been working? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (have/has) + not + subject + been + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. How long have you not been working?/ How long haven’t you been working? )
The Past Tenses
The 4 types of past tenses are simple past tense, past progressive/continuous tense, past perfect tense, and past perfect progressive/continuous tense.
Simple Past Tense
The simple past tense is used to describe a completed activity that happened in the past.
Simple Past Tense Structures:
Affirmative Sentence: Subject + past form of main verb + Rest of Sentence. (e.g. I worked. )
Negative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (did) + not + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I did not worked./I didn’t work. )
Interrogative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (did) + subject + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Did you work yesterday? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (did) + subject + not + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Did I not work yesterday? /Didn’t I work yesterday?)
Interrogative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (did) + subject + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. When did you work? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (did) + not + subject + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Why did you not work? /Why didn’t you work?)
Past Progressive Tense
The past progressive is used to describe an action that was occurring at the same time as another past action.
Past Progressive Tense Structures:
Affirmative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (was/were) + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I was working then. )
Negative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (was/were) + not + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I was not working then./I wasn’t working then. )
Interrogative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (was/were) + subject + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Were you working then? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (was/were) + subject + not + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Were you not working then? /Weren’t you working then?)
Interrogative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (was/were) + subject + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. When were you going to work? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (was/were) + not + subject + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. When were you not working? /When weren’t you working?)
Past Perfect Tense
An action in the past perfect began and ended before another past event. To form the past perfect, use the past tense of the verb to have plus the past participle of the main verb.
Past Perfect Tense Structures:
Affirmative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary (had) + past participle form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I had finished the work before you came to me. )
Negative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (had) + not + past participle form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I had not finished the work before you came to me. )
Interrogative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (Had) + subject + past participle form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Had you finished working before she went to you? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (Had) + subject + not + past participle form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Had you not finished working before she went to you? /Hadn’t you finished working before she went to you?)
Interrogative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (had) + subject + past participle form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. When had you finished working before she went to you? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (had) + not + subject + past participle form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Why had you not finished working before she went to you? /Why hadn’t you finished working before she went to you?)
Past Perfect Progressive Tense
The past perfect progressive tense is used to show that an ongoing action in the past has ended.
Past Perfect Progressive Tense Structures:
Affirmative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (had been) + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I had been working for 4 hours, but I have just now stopped. )
Negative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (had) + not + been + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I had not been working. )
Interrogative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (had) + subject + been + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Had you been working then? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (had) + subject + not + been + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Had you not been working then? /Hadn’t you been working then?)
Interrogative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (had) + subject + been + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. How long had you been working? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (had) + not + subject + been + base form of main verb + ing + Rest of Sentence (e.g. How long had you been not working? /How long hadn’t you been working?)
The Future Tenses
The 4 types of future tenses are simple future tense, future progressive/continuous tense, future perfect tense, and future perfect progressive/continuous tense.
Simple Future Tense
The simple future tense is used for an action that will occur in the future.
Simple Future Tense Structures:
Affirmative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (shall/will) + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I will work tomorrow./I’ll work tomorrow. )
Negative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (shall/will) + not + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I will not work tomorrow./I won’t work tomorrow. )
Interrogative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Will you work tomorrow? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + not + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Will you not work tomorrow? /Won’t you work tomorrow?)
Interrogative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. When will you work tomorrow? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + not + subject + base form of main verb + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Why will you not work tomorrow? /Why won’t you work tomorrow?)
Future Progressive Tense
The future progressive is usually used to describe an action that will occur at the same time as another future action. To form the future progressive tense, use this formula: will be + present participle.
Future Progressive Tense Structures:
Affirmative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (shall be/will be) + present participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I will be working from tomorrow./I’ll be working from tomorrow )
Negative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (shall/will) + not + be +present participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I will not be working from tomorrow./I won’t be working from tomorrow. )
Interrogative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + be + present participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Will you be working from tomorrow? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + not + be + present participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Will you not be working from tomorrow? /Won’t you be working from tomorrow?)
Interrogative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + be + present participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. When will you be working from? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + not + be + present participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Why will you not be working tomorrow? /Why won’t you be working tomorrow?)
Future Perfect Tense
An action in the future perfect tense will be finished by a particular time in the future. To form this tense, use this formula: will + have + past participle.
Future Perfect Tense Structures:
Affirmative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (shall have/will have) + past participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I will have worked by tomorrow./I’ll have worked by tomorrow )
Negative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (shall/will) + not + have +past participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I will not have worked by tomorrow./I won’t have worked by tomorrow. )
Interrogative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + have + past participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Will you have worked by tomorrow? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + not + have + past participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Will you not have worked by tomorrow? /Won’t you have worked by tomorrow?)
Interrogative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + have + past participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. When will you have worked? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + not + have + past participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Why will you not have worked by tomorrow? /Why won’t you have worked by tomorrow?)
Future Perfect Progressive Tense
The future perfect progressive tense is used for an ongoing action that will be completed at some specified time in the future.
Future Perfect Progressive Tense Structures:
Affirmative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (shall/will) + have been + present participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I will have been working for 3 hours by tomorrow./I’ll have been working for 3 hours by tomorrow )
Negative Sentence: Subject + auxiliary verb (shall/will) + not + have been + present participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. I will not have been working for 3 hours by tomorrow./I won’t have been working for 3 hours by tomorrow. )
Interrogative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + have been + present participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Will you have been working for 3 hours by tomorrow? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Yes/No): Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + not + have been + present participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Will you not have been working for 3 hours by tomorrow? /Won’t you have been working for 3 hours by tomorrow?)
Interrogative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + have been + present participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. How long will you have been working by tomorrow? )
Interrogative Negative Sentence (Wh-): Wh- + Auxiliary verb (shall/will) + subject + not + have been + present participle + Rest of Sentence (e.g. Why will you not have been working for 3 hours by tomorrow? /Why won’t you have been working for 3 hours by tomorrow?)
The Full List of Tenses
The table below shows the full list of the tenses with structures and examples:
| The 4 Present Tenses | Structures | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| simple present tense | Sub. + base form of verb | I do. He does. They do. You do. |
| present progressive tense | Sub. + am/is/are + base form of verb + ing | I am doing. She is doing. They are doing. |
| present perfect tense | Sub. + have/has + past participle of verb | I have done. She has done. You have done. |
| present perfect progressive tense | Sub. + have/has been + base form of verb + ing + for/since + time | I have been doing it for 3 hours. She has been doing it for 3 hours. |
| The 4 Past Tenses | Structures | Examples |
| simple past tense | Sub. + past form of verb | I did. You did. He did. |
| past progressive tense | Sub. + was/were + base form of verb + ing | I/He/She/It was doing. They/You were doing. |
| past perfect tense | Sub. + had + past participle of verb | I /You/They/She had done it before police came. |
| past perfect progressive tense | Sub. + had been+ base form of verb + ing + for/since + time | I/You/They had been doing it for 3 hours. |
| The 4 Future Tenses | Structures | Examples |
| simple future tense | Sub. + shall/will + base form of verb | I/You/She/They will do that. |
| future progressive tense | Sub. + shall/will+ be + base form of verb + ing | I/You/He will be doing it. |
| future perfect tense | Sub. + shall/will + have + past participle of verb | I/You/She will have laughed. |
| future perfect progressive tense | Sub. + shall/will + have been + base form of verb + ing + for/since + time | I/You/She/They will have been doing it for 3 hours. |