12 Tenses in English
Tense Chart In English With Examples
Tense Chart in English with Examples
What is tense in English Grammar?
Tense in English grammar represents the time of an action or event. An explanation of the tenses is that they are the relationship between the form of the verb and three different concepts of time. Three concepts of time are past, present, and future.
Look at the below sentences:
I play tennis.
I played tennis.
Here in the 1st sentence, the verb is “play”, and the form of the verb is the present form (V1). Thus, it’s the present tense.
Now, in the 2nd sentence, the verb is “played”, and the form of the verb is the past form (V2). Thus, it’s the past tense.
It may be difficult for you to understand if you are unfamiliar with the verb forms.
So let us look at some of the verbs in their different forms in order to make it easier for you to understand.
Verb Forms
The main three forms of verb that you need to know are:
- Present Tense (V1)
- Past Tense (V2)
- Past Participle (V3)
Verbs with their three forms
Here is a list of some common verbs with their three forms.
Types Of Tense
There are three types of tenses in English grammar: Present Tense, Past Tense, and Future Tense.
Each Tense is further divided into four types: Indefinite Tense, Continuous Tense, Perfect Tense, and Perfect Continuous Tense.
Thus, there are a total of 12 tenses in English grammar.
- Simple Present or Present Indefinite
- Present Continuous
- Present Perfect
- Present Perfect Continuous
- Simple Past or Past Indefinite
- Past Continuous
- Past Perfect
- Past Perfect Continuous
- Simple Future or Future Indefinite
- Future Continuous
- Future Perfect
- Future Perfect Continuous
Tense Structure – Tense Rule
You can make a sentence using various components like subject, object, verb, auxiliary verb, etc. But, these components must be in a proper order to form a correct sentence.
Tense structure or Tense Rule helps us put the components in the correct order and use the proper verb form as per the tense type.
As we know there are 12 types of Tense in English grammar, therefore, we need 12 Tense structures or rules.
Let’s look at the Tense chart below to understand the tense structure for all 12 types of Tense:
TENSE CHART WITH RULES AND EXAMPLES
Tense Chart With Rules and Examples!
12 Tenses in English with Examples
1. Simple Present Tense
Rule: Subject + Verb (1st form) + e/es + Object
Simple Present Tense Examples:
- We live in London.
- He reads comic books.
- She goes to yoga class.
- I come here every day.
- You work at the hospital.
- They watch a movie on Sunday.
- Mona sings at the club.
2. Present Continuous Tense
Rule: Subject + is/are/am + Verb (ing) + Object
Present Continuous Tense Examples:
- We are going to London.
- He is reading a book.
- She is going to a yoga class.
- I am working.
- You are playing.
- They are watching a movie.
- Mona is singing a song.
3. Present Perfect Tense
Rule: Subject + has/have + Verb (3rd form) + Object
Present Perfect Tense Examples:
- We have been to London.
- He has read comic books.
- She has done yoga.
- I have worked here.
- You have played well.
- They have watched these movies.
- Mona has sung a song.
4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense
Rule: Subject + has/have + been + Verb (ing) + Object
Present Perfect Continuous Tense Examples:
- We have been visiting London.
- He has been reading comic books.
- She has been doing yoga.
- I have been working here.
- You have been playing all day.
- They have been watching movies.
- Mona has been singing a song.
5. Simple Past Tense
Rule: Subject + Verb (2nd form) + Object
Simple Past Tense Examples:
- We lived in London.
- He read comic books.
- She went to yoga class.
- I came here yesterday.
- You worked at the hospital.
- They watched a movie last Sunday.
- Mona sang a song.
6. Past Continuous Tense
Rule: Subject + was/were + Verb (ing) + Object
Past Continuous Tense Examples:
- We were going to London.
- He was reading a book.
- She was going to yoga class.
- I was working.
- You were playing.
- They were watching a movie.
- Mona was singing a song.
7. Past Perfect Tense
Rule: Subject + had + Verb (3rd form) + Object
Past Perfect Tense Examples:
- We had gone to London.
- He had read comic books.
- She had done yoga.
- I had worked here.
- You had worked at the hospital.
- They had watched these movies.
- Mona had sung a song.
8. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Rule: Subject + had + been + Verb (ing) + Object
Past Perfect Continuous Tense Examples:
- We had been visiting London.
- He had been reading comic books.
- She had been doing yoga.
- I had been working here.
- You had been playing all day.
- They had been watching movies.
- Mona had been singing a song.
9. Simple Future Tense
Rule: Subject + will/shall + Verb (1st form) + Object
Simple Future Tense Examples:
- We shall live in London.
- He will read comic books.
- She will go to a yoga class.
- I shall come here every day.
- You will work at the hospital.
- They will watch a movie on Sunday.
- Mona will sing a song.
10. Future Continuous Tense
Rule: Subject + will/shall + be + Verb (ing) + Object
Future Continuous Tense Examples:
- We shall be going to London.
- He will be reading a book.
- She will be going to yoga class.
- I shall be working.
- You will be playing.
- They will be watching a movie.
- Mona will be singing a song.
11. Future Perfect Tense
Rule: Subject + will/shall + have + Verb (3rd form) + Object
Future Perfect Tense Examples:
- We shall have left London.
- He will have read comic books.
- She will have done yoga.
- I will have worked here.
- You will have done your work.
- They will have watched a movie.
- Mona will have sung a song.
12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense
Rule: Subject + will/shall + have + been + Verb (ing ) + Object
Future Perfect Continuous Tense Examples:
- We shall have been going to London.
- He will have been reading comic books.
- She will have been doing yoga.
- I shall have been working.
- You will have been playing.
- They will have been watching movies.
- Mona will have been singing a song.
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