Tense is a grammatical term for how a language expresses time, in the past, present or future. In English the verb (the action word) can be changed to show whether something has happened, is happening right now, or is yet to happen. Not all the world’s languages have tenses; some languages, such as Chinese, indicate time through specific phrases rather than verb conjugation.
There are twelve main tenses in English: the past, present and future, each expressed in four possibilities; these are detailed as follows:
The simple tense
The simple tense can be past, present or future:
- Past – I played tennis
- Present – I play tennis
- Future – I will play tennis
A verb in its root form is used for the simple present tense, as you can see with the following verbs:
- To play = I play tennis
- To talk = I talk quickly
- To read = I read every day
- To sit = I sit in this chair
BEWARE. In the simple present tense, the third person singular verb changes. To know how to conjugate a verb for person (I, you, she, we, they, etc.), please see the separate article written specifically for that:
- 3rd person singular = He plays tennis
To form the simple future tense, the word ‘will’ is added to the sentence, after the subject, to indicate that this has yet to occur:
- I will play tennis
- I will talk quickly
- I will read every day
- I will sit in this chair
To form the simple past tense the main verb is changed to its past form:
- I played tennis
- I talked quickly
- I read every day
- I sat in this chair
For the majority of regular English verbs, this simply means adding -ed to the existing verb. However, there are close to 200 irregular verbs in English; that means verbs that have their own past tense form rather than simply having -ed added to the end, such as ‘gave’ for ‘give’ and ‘took’ for ‘take’. This may seem like a lot to remember, but considering there are around 200,000 verbs overall in the language, these are not many by comparison. In addition, only around 100 of these irregular verbs are frequently used! ‘Read’ and ‘sat’ in the examples above are also two of these irregular verbs.
The simple tense is the simplest tense to construct, hence its name, and it is the most obvious choice to express the future or the past in a straightforward way. However, the simple present tense is used in a more general sense. Please see the comparison below with the continuous tense for its correct use.
The continuous tense
The continuous tense can also be past, present or future. The continuous tense is characterised by the -ing ending on the main verb, and the addition to the sentence of the auxiliary verb (helping verb) ‘to be’. For more details on auxiliary verbs, please see the separate lesson.
In the examples below, you can see that the main verbs have an -ing ending, and the verb ‘to be’ illustrates whether the tense is past, present or future:
- Past – I was playing tennis
- Present – I am playing tennis
- Future – I will be playing tennis
For the present continuous tense, you can see with the following verbs that they all take -ing regardless of whether they are regular or irregular verbs:
- To play = I am playing tennis
- To talk = You are talking quickly
- To read = He is reading every day
- To sit = I am sitting in this chair
To form the future continuous tense, the word ‘will’ is added to the sentence again, after the subject, to indicate that this has yet to occur:
- I will be playing tennis
- You will be talking quickly
- He will be reading every day
- I will be sitting in this chair
Once again the verb ‘to be’ has also been added to the sentence, but notice that it does not change with person.
The past continuous tense:
- I was playing tennis
- I was eating pizza
As explained previously, the verb ‘to be’ shows that this continuous tense sentence is referencing past tense occurrences.
An explanation of when to use the continuous tense
The continuous tense is used to express when an action is in progress. That is why in America it is also known as the ‘progressive’ tense. Compare the following present tense examples:
- Simple present: I walk – I walk on occasion, for example I like to walk every day
- Continuous present: I am walking – I am in the act of walking now as we speak
- Simple present: I talk – I talk a lot/ I talk to my friends often
- Continuous present: I am talking – I am talking to you right now – at this very moment we are engaged in talking
- Simple present: I sit – I sit in this chair every day, but I am not sitting in it now
- Continuous present: I am sitting – I am sitting in my chair right now
- Simple present: I read – I read a lot – it is one of my favourite hobbies
- Continuous present: I am reading – I am reading at this very moment
When the continuous tense is used for the future or the past, it still indicates that that action was in progress, or will be in progress as you are telling it:
- Simple future: I will eat breakfast some time tomorrow
- Continuous future: I will be eating my breakfast at this time tomorrow
- Simple past: I ate breakfast yesterday
- Continuous past: I was eating my breakfast at precisely this time yesterday
Notice that the present continuous tense is one of action, whereas the present simple tense is merely a generalisation. I might tell you that I run regularly, I eat a lot, or that I talk a lot, or that I often sit in this particular chair, but these are all generalisations. Unlike numerous other languages, for example those of the Romance branch such as French and Spanish, it is the simple continuous tense that is most often used to describe what is occurring in the present.
The perfect tense
The perfect tense can be past, present or future. The perfect tense is characterised by the use of the past participle for the main verb, regardless of whether that verb is in the past, present or future tense. The perfect tense is also characterised by the addition to the sentence of the auxiliary verb (helping verb) ‘to have’.
- Past – I had played tennis
- Present – I have played tennis
- Future – I will have played tennis
You will notice in the perfect tense that the auxiliary verb ‘to have’ is the word in the sentence that illustrates whether it is past or present, and the addition of the word ‘will’, as always, indicates the future.
The present perfect tense:
- To play = I have played tennis
- To talk = You have talked quickly
- To read = He has read every day
- To sit = I have sat in this chair
Once again, be aware that the third person singular takes a different form, this time reflected in the auxiliary (or modal) verb ‘has’. To know how to conjugate a modal verb for person (I, you, she, we, they, etc.), please see the separate article written specifically for that.
To form the future perfect tense, the word ‘will’ is added to the sentence again, after the subject, to indicate that this has yet to occur:
- I will have played tennis
- You will have talked quickly
- He will have read every day
- I will have sat in this chair
To form the past perfect tense, the auxiliary verb ‘to have’ takes the past tense:
- I had played tennis
- We had eaten pizza
An explanation of when to use the perfect tense
The perfect tense refers to the past, regardless of whether it is used in the present, past or future tense. Compare the following present tense examples:
- Simple present: I walk – I walk on occasion, for example I like to walk every day
- Perfect present: I have walked – I have often walked this way in the past and still do so right up to the present.
- Simple present: I talk
- Perfect present: I have talked
- Simple present: I sit
- Perfect present: I have sat
- Simple present: I read
- Perfect present: I have read
When the perfect tense is used for the present, it indicates an action that is in the past but still relates to the present moment, rather than a finished past action that would be expressed in the simple past.
- I have eaten my breakfast
- I have been to school today
Rather than:
- I ate breakfast
- I went to school today
The difference is a fine one.
When the perfect tense is used for the future, it is very specifically to indicate that that action will be in the past from the given point in the future that you specifically name:
- Perfect future: I will have finished the marathon by this time tomorrow
So I’m naming a point in the future and looking back on the past from a named future point, rather than looking back on the past from the present moment!
- Perfect future: I will have spoken to my boss by this Monday afternoon
- Perfect future: I will have eaten my breakfast by this time tomorrow
The future perfect is not one that one would use on a regular basis, but as an advanced student you will need to know how to use it when the need arises.
When the perfect tense is used for the past, it indicates that that action happened before another action that is also in the past. So the purpose of the past perfect is specifically to express a finished past event before a more recent past event:
- Perfect past: I combed my hair this morning after I had eaten my breakfast
- Perfect past: When I had combed my hair, I brushed my teeth
- Perfect past: I went to work after I had been shopping
- Perfect past: The house had burnt down before I got home
The perfect continuous tense
The perfect continuous tense can be past, present or future. The perfect continuous tense is, exactly as its name suggests, a combination of the perfect tense and the continuous tense. It is characterised both by the use of the past participle for the main verb, and by the addition of the verb ‘to have’, as with the perfect tense, AND by the addition of the verb ‘to be’ and the ‘-ing’ ending of the continuous tense!
- Past – I had been playing tennis
- Present – I have been playing tennis
- Future – I will have been playing tennis
You will notice that the auxiliary verb ‘to have’ is still the word in the sentence that illustrates whether it is past or present, and the addition of the word ‘will’ as always indicates the future. The verb ‘to be’ appears now in its participle form ‘been’ and the main verb takes the -ing ending of the continuous.
The perfect continuous tense has the same function as the perfect tense of relating to the past, except that the verb ending -ing indicates that at that named time the action is, was or will also be in progress.
The present perfect continuous tense:
- To play = I have been playing tennis
- To talk = You have been talking quickly
- To read = He has been reading every day
- To sit = I have been sitting in this chair
Once again, be aware that the third person singular takes a different form, still reflected in the auxiliary or modal verb ‘has’.
To form the future perfect continuous tense, the word ‘will’ is added to the sentence again, after the subject, to indicate that this has yet to occur:
- I will have been playing tennis
- You will have been talking quickly
- He will have been reading every day
- I will have been sitting in this chair
The past perfect continuous tense:
- I had been playing tennis
- You had been talking quickly
- He had been reading every day
- I had been sitting in this chair
An explanation of when to use the perfect continuous tense
When the perfect continuous tense is used for the future, it indicates that that action will be in the past from the given point in the future that you specifically name, AND it will still be in progress:
- Perfect continuous future: I will have been running the marathon for five hours by two o’clock this afternoon, and I still won’t be finished!
- Perfect continuous future: He will have been sleeping for ten hours when his alarm goes off
As you can see by the examples, this is exceptional and only rarely relevant. Likewise with the past:
- Perfect continuous past: By the time my muscles had stopped aching, it was time for the next leg of the marathon
- Perfect continuous past: The house had burning for two hours by the time I got home
Conclusion
Both the perfect future and perfect past are advanced grammatical structures and clearly only need to be used for specialised and specific descriptions. It is quite normal to express most of what you want to say or write in the simple or continuous tense, depending on whether the action is in progress or being referred to in general.
Here is a sentence for you to practise constructing in all the tenses for yourself:
Present simple tense: I cook great food
Past simple tense: I —— great food
Future simple: I —- —— great food
Present continuous tense: I — ——- great food
Past continuous tense: I — ——– great food
Future continuous tense: I — — ——– great food
Present perfect tense: I — ——- great food
Past perfect tense: I — ——- great food
Future perfect tense: I — — ——- great food
Present perfect continuous tense: I — — ——- great food
Past perfect continuous tense: I — — ——– great food
Future perfect continuous tense: I — — — ——– great food
For further practice, please visit the Quiz page and try the various quizzes on tense there. Or, start with this one, below.
If you have any queries or comments, please do enter them below.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Burton-Roberts, Noel. Analysing Sentences: An Introduction to English Syntax, 4th edn (Routledge, 2016)
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 3rd edn (Cambridge University Press, 2019)
Hewings, Martin, and others. Cambridge English Grammar and Vocabulary for Advanced (Cambridge University Press, 2015)
Huddleston, Rodney, and others. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Cambridge University Press, 2002)
Parrott, Martin. Grammar for English Language Teachers, 2nd edn (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
Pinker, Steven. Words and Rules (W&N/ Science Masters, 2001)
Quirk, Randolph, and others. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, reprint edn (Pearson, 2011)
Seely, John. Oxford A – Z of Grammar & Punctuation (Oxford University Press, 2020)
Trask, R. L. The Penguin Guide to Punctuation (Penguin Books, 1997)
New Hart’s Rules: The Handbook of Style for Writers and Editors (Oxford University Press, 2005)
Hi Michelle,
What a comprehensive and in-depth exploration of English tenses! As someone who learned English as a second language, I can tell you how tricky it can be to get a grasp on the different tenses, their uses, and their exceptions. Your post has done a fantastic job of breaking these down into more digestible segments.
Your examples are clear, and I appreciate the differentiation you’ve made between the simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous tenses in all three time aspects (past, present, future). The way you explained the peculiarities of each and their appropriate usage was very helpful.
Hi Anoth, Thanks for taking the time to comment on the post. I am glad you found it clear and helpful. Well done on achieving such a high standard of English so far!
I teach English as a foreign subject to kids and young adults in Italy. It is amazing how often they have problems with the tenses in the English language, as it is quite different to tenses in the Italian language. So it is very helpful to come across this guide to the English tenses.
I will be saving and sharing this post with my more advanced students, as I am sure they will benefit from it. Thank you for clarifying the tenses in a matter that is easily readable.
Hi Line, thanks to you too for taking the time to comment, and I’m glad this will prove useful for your students.
Hey it’s Tripp! I’m glad I stumbled upon this amazing article because I suck at speaking english and I struggle with understanding why things are the way they are even though it’s my native language! I just wanted to thank you for writing this because I learned a lot that I never knew and it cleared up a few things for me!
Hey Tripp. Thanks so much for your comment. The number of native English speakers around the world who are unfamiliar with English grammar is growing all the time. It makes me so happy to have been of use to you.
I should confess that I liked this article a lot, it resembled my sweet days at school when I was struggling to remember the irregular verbs and other grammar rules. I believe that you are a great teacher and learn a lot from you. the organization and structure of your writing make it easy to remember the concept. I congrats you on your writing skills.
Thank you so much, Hamid. I deeply appreciate your response.