Verbs & TensesBeginner
The Twelve Tenses at a Glance
#cssnexusPresent, past and future, each in simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous forms — the structure of every tense with examples and the time words that signal it.
English has three times — present, past and future — and each has four forms: simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous. That gives twelve tenses.
Present tenses
- Present simple — habits, facts, timetables: subject + V1 (+s/es).
- Present continuous — action happening now: am/is/are + V-ing.
- Present perfect — past action with a link to now; unfinished time: has/have + V3.
- Present perfect continuous — action that began in the past and is still going on: has/have been + V-ing.
Past tenses
- Past simple — finished action at a known past time: V2.
- Past continuous — action in progress at a past moment: was/were + V-ing.
- Past perfect — the earlier of two past actions: had + V3.
- Past perfect continuous — action going on up to a past moment: had been + V-ing.
Future tenses
- Future simple: will + V1.
- Future continuous: will be + V-ing.
- Future perfect: will have + V3.
- Future perfect continuous: will have been + V-ing.
Signal words
- always, usually, every day → present simple
- now, at the moment, look! → present continuous
- already, yet, just, ever, never, since, for → present perfect
- yesterday, ago, last week, in 2019 → past simple
- by the time, before (two past actions) → past perfect
- by + future time → future perfect
Since and for
Since + a point in time (since Monday, since 2015). For + a length of time (for three days, for ten years).