Verbs bring sentences to life and pack them with action, helping us understand what someone or something does. In English, verbs come in different tenses that also tell us when something happened, either in a general sense, or relative to another action.
The first thing you need to understand is that verb tenses in English come in three time frames: past, present, and future. And then these are further divided into the simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive tenses.
You can see the differences of all these tenses in the table below, using the irregular verb “to write”:
Past Tenses of Verbs
The past tenses are the following:
1. Simple Past Tense
This describes an action that occurred and was completed in the past. We form the simple past tense of regular verbs by adding -ed or -d to the end of the word. Irregular verbs have different ways of forming their past tenses and should be memorized.
For example:
- The children played at the park yesterday.
- Harriet baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies this morning.
- They ran all the way to the gate to catch their flight.
2. Past Progressive Tense
The past progressive tense is used to show an action that was happening while another past event occurred. It is formed by the auxiliary verbs “was” or “were,” followed by the gerund (“-ing”) form of the verb.
For example:
- I was working on the computer when the mailman arrived.
- He was singing in the bathroom when the doorbell rang, so he didn’t hear it right away.
- The dog was sleeping in the hallway when the front door squeaked open, and he immediately sat up, alert.
3. Past Perfect Tense
The past perfect tense describes an action that was completed before another past action. We form it with the verb “had” + the past participle of the verb.
For example:
- I had already dozed off when he banged on the door.
- He had left the house by the time we got there.
- The drug store had closed before we managed to reach it.
4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
The past perfect continuous tense describes an action in the past that continued up until another past time. It is formed by “had been” + the “-ing” form of the verb.
- I had been memorizing a whole page of facts when the teacher announced the exam was cancelled.
- She had been cooking up a storm when all her friends called to say they couldn’t come to her party.
- She had been crying into a tub of ice cream when the doorbell rang and it was her boyfriend ready to make amends.
Present Tenses of Verbs
The present tenses are:
5. Simple Present Tense
This describes an action that happens in the present time, including but not limited to basic truths or facts about something. In the simple present tense, the verb is formed based on whether the subject is singular or plural: for a singular subject, we add -s to the end of the verb. For a plural subject, we do not add -s.
For example:
- The stores open at 10 in the morning in the little village.
- Whenever the cash register malfunctions, the cashier manually lists down all the sales for the day.
- I like pizza.
6. Present Progressive Tense
The present progressive tense is used to show an action that is still occurring at the time of speaking. It uses the verbs “is” or “are” followed by the “-ing” form of the verb.
For example:
- He is studying in his room.
- Sally is doing the laundry right now, would you like me to call her?
- Jeff is working on his thesis in the library.
7. Present Perfect Tense
One use of this tense is to describe an action that was completed in some indefinite past time. You may check out its other uses in our post about the present perfect tense.
You can form it by using “has” or “have” + the past participle of the verb.
For example:
- I have been to China.
- She has seen the movie Spies in Disguise.
- He has travelled extensively.
8. Present Perfect Continuous Tense
The present perfect continuous tense describes an action that began in the past but is still continuing in the present time. It is formed by “has been” or “have been” + the “-ing” form of the verb.
For example:
- I have been reading through all of L.M. Montgomery’s books over the past year.
- She has been tweaking the recipe over and over to get her own signature chocolate chip cookie recipe for her cookie business.
- They have been creating YouTube videos of their bike trips over the past few months.
Future Tenses of Verbs
The future tenses are:
9. Simple Future Tense
The simple future tense describes something that will happen in the future. It normally comes with auxiliary verbs “will” or “shall.”
For example:
- He will arrive on the 9 o’clock flight.
- Will she enjoy the party?
- The repairman will come tomorrow at 2 in the afternoon.
10. Future Progressive Tense
The future progressive tense describes something that will occur in the future and continue for an indefinite period of time. It uses the verb “will be” or “shall be” followed by the “-ing” form of the verb.
For example:
- I will be reading Anna Karenina for school next term.
- He will be hitchhiking all over Europe for his gap year.
- The forecast says it will be raining for a few days.
11. Future Perfect Tense
One use of the future perfect tense is to describe an action that will have happened by the time another event happens. It is formed by “will have” or “shall have” + the past participle of the verb.
For example:
- At the rate he’s going, he will have earned his first million by the time he’s twenty.
- Don’t you worry a bit, Ma’am, by the time you get home, the baby will have gone to sleep.
- Hopefully, businesses will have gotten back on their feet by the end of the year.
12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense
The future perfect continuous tense describes an action that will be happening until a set time in the future. It is formed by “will have been” or “shall have been” + the “-ing” form of the verb.
For example:
- In October, he will have been working from home for eight months.
- At ten o’clock, I will have been waiting in line for an hour.
- By the end of this year, I will have been writing songs for twenty-four years.
Learning the Right Verb Tense to Use
Learning the verb tenses is one very important part of understanding English grammar. The more you see these tenses in action, the better you will be able to identify the time frame that each refers to.
The verb tenses are easy to master as long as you memorize the specific uses of each. You can go in more detail for each tense by clicking the link to our more comprehensive posts.
Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- The Most Important Basic Grammar Rules to Know
- Transitive and Intransitive Verbs: Definitions, Uses, and Examples
- What Are Adverbs? How and When to Use Them for Stronger Descriptions
- Strong Verbs: How to Make Your Verbs Kick Ass and Take Names (Correctly)
Yen Cabag is the Blog Writer of TCK Publishing. She is also a homeschooling mom, family coach, and speaker for the Charlotte Mason method, an educational philosophy that places great emphasis on classic literature and the masterpieces in art and music. She has also written several books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion is to see the next generation of children become lovers of reading and learning in the midst of short attention spans.
