English Language Verb Tenses For Verbs
In grammar, “tense” refers to a category which expresses time reference. Grammatical tense is usually indicated by the specific form of a verb, particularly in the conjugation pattern.
Tenses usually express time relative to the moment of speaking. In some contexts, however, their meaning may be relativized to a point in the past or future which is established in the discourse (the moment being spoken about). This is called relative (as opposed to absolute) tense. English non-finite verbs (baking, to bake, baked) usually have relative time reference. English finite verbs, or verbs tied to specific a specific number or person(s) (e.g., appear vs. instead “illustrating”), have forms with absolute time references in nearly all instances.
The English language only has two morphological tenses, the non-past and the past (in other words, English verbs will only change depending on if they’re in the non-past tense and the past tense, though the non-past sometimes references the future). For practical purposes, there are 12 English tenses once you take into account different aspects and future modals.
- Simple Present Tense
- A repeated action, a routine or a habit
- I take English lessons three times a week.
- A generally-accepted truth or a permanent action
- He lives in Austin, Texas.
- Likes and dislikes
- I love fast food.
- Generally-accepted facts
- Forest fires are more likely during hot, dry weather.
- A scheduled action in the future
- My English lesson is at 9 a.m.
- How a person feels.
- I feel fine.
- A person’s state of mind.
- I am happy.
- Time markers (words/expressions used to indicate Simple Present Tense)
- Always
- At night
- Every second/minute/hour/day/week/month/year
- Frequently
- Generally
- In the morning/afternoon/evening
- Never
- Often
- On Mondays, Tuesdays, etc.
- Rarely
- Seldom
- Sometimes
- Usually
- A repeated action, a routine or a habit
- Present Continuous Tense (Present Progressive Tense)
- Actions that are happening at the moment of expression
- The plane is taxiing down the runway.
- Temporary actions that are happening during the period of expression
- He is traveling abroad.
- Something that is annoying or irritating
- They’re always asking me for identification.
- A fixed future arrangement; a definite future event
- Your English lesson is at 6 p.m.
- Non-action verbs (e.g., understanding) can’t be used in Continuous
- Time markers used to indicate Present Continuous Tense:
- Always
- At [exact time]
- At the moment
- Currently
- In [minutes/hours/days/weeks/years]
- Now
- Presently
- Right now
- Soon
- This morning/afternoon/evening/week/year
- Today
- Actions that are happening at the moment of expression
- Present Perfect Tense
- Actions that started in the past and continue in the present
- I have traveled Europe for two months.
- I haven’t been in Europe for two months.
- Have you visited Europe?
- The COVID patient has visited Europe, hasn’t he?
- The COVID patient hasn’t visited Europe, has he?
- Repeated actions that happened before now and may happen again
- I have visited several countries.
- Past actions that happened at an unspecified point in time
- I’ve Googled what to do in this city.
- Actions that take place during a period of time that hasn’t ended
- I’ve spent 63 days of 90 days allowed in the Schengen Zone.
- News of recent events
- Turkey has stopped restricting entry from Sweden.
- Time markers (words/expressions used to indicate Present Perfect Tense)
- already
- before
- ever (with questions and negative form)
- for (a period of time)
- just
- lately
- many times
- never
- occasionally
- often
- once
- recently
- since (a specific time)
- so far
- sometimes
- this month
- this week
- this year
- today
- up to now
- yet (with questions and negative form)
- Actions that started in the past and continue in the present
- Present Perfect Continuous Tense (a.k.a. Present Perfect Progressive Tense)
- Expresses duration of an action that started in the past and is still ongoing
- He has been in Europe for two months and doesn’t want to leave.
- He has been in Europe for two months now.
- He hasn’t been in Europe for very long.
- Have you been in Europe for a long time?
- He’s been in Europe for a long time, hasn’t he?
- He hasn’t been in Europe long, has he?
- Non-action verbs (e.g., understanding) can’t be used in Continuous
- Time markers (words used to indicate Present Perfect Continuous):
- all [morning/afternoon/day/night/week/weekend/month/year]
- for [a period of time]
- lately
- now
- recently
- since [a specified time]
- Expresses duration of an action that started in the past and is still ongoing
- Simple Past Tense
- Actions that began and ended at a specific time in the past
- He ran the marathon last Sunday.
- Habitual actions (actions that were often done in the past)
- I frequently ran on hills to prepare for marathons.
- A series of completed actions in the past
- He ran the marathon, and then he ate a pizza.
- Time markers (words/expressions used to indicate Simple Past Tense):
- A while back
- After
- Before
- During
- Earlier
- Last night/week/month/year
- [Number] seconds/minutes/hours/days/weeks/months/years ago
- Once upon a time
- Then
- When you were young
- Yesterday, yesterday morning, yesterday afternoon
- Actions that began and ended at a specific time in the past
- Past Continuous Tense (a.k.a. Past Progressive Tense)
- Non-action verbs (e.g., understanding) can’t be used in Continuous
- Actions in progress at a specific point in time in the past
- He was walking his dog when he got the call.
- Simultaneous actions happening in the past
- He was walking his dog while he was talking on the phone.
- Gradual development
- Old age creeps up on you.
- Annoying or irritating actions (used with always or constantly)
- He was constantly talking on his phone!
- Actions that have been interrupted
- He was walking his dog when it started to pour.
- Time markers (words/expressions used to indicate Past Continuous Tense):
- Always
- As
- Constantly
- Forever
- Last night/week/month/year
- Still
- When
- While
- Yesterday
- Past Perfect Tense
- Used to express action that happened before:
- Another past action
- A point in time
- The action that happened first is in the Past Perfect Tense
- The second action is in the Simple Past Tense
- He was in Turkey by the time his 90th day expired.
- He wasn’t in Turkey by the time his 90th day expired.
- Had he already arrived in Turkey?
- He had applied for the visa, hadn’t he?
- He didn’t want to be turned away, did he?
- The second action is in the Simple Past Tense
- Time markers (words/expressions used to indicate the Past Perfect Tense):
- after
- already
- before
- by the time
- by then
- just
- so
- until
- up to that time
- when
- Used to express action that happened before:
- Past Perfect Continuous Tense (a.k.a. Past Perfect Progressive Tense)
- Non-action verbs (e.g., understanding) can’t be used in Continuous
- Expresses a continuous action that started in the past
- And was interrupted or completed at some point in the past
- Interrupted action is in Past Perfect Continuous
- Interrupting action is in Past Simple
- And was interrupted or completed at some point in the past
- Time markers (words used to indicate the Past Perfect Continuous Tense):
- All [morning/afternoon/evening/night/week/weekend/month/year]
- Before
- For [a period of time]
- Since [a specific time]
- When
- Simple Future Tense
- Actions that will happen in the future
- He will head to Austria.
- Predictions about the future
- He will like Vienna.
- Spontaneous decisions made at the moment of speaking (i.e., willingness)
- My Schengen visa has expired. I will fly to Istanbul.
- Promises
- I promise that I will pay you back for the plane ticket.
- Time markers (words/expressions used to indicate Simple Future Tense):
- After
- In [number] seconds/minutes/hours/days/weeks/months/years
- Later
- Next [day of week]/[month of year]/[season]
- Next week/month/year/weekend
- Soon
- The day after tomorrow
- This evening
- Today
- Tomorrow
- Tomorrow morning/afternoon/evening/night
- Tonight
- Actions that will happen in the future
- Future Continuous Tense (a.k.a. Future Progressive Tense)
- Non-action verbs (e.g., understanding) can’t be used in Continuous
- Actions that will be in progress in the future
- He will be driving on Saturday.
- Actions that scheduled to happen
- He will be speaking at 10:15 a.m.
- Predictions
- He won’t make it without stopping for gas.
- Simultaneous actions
- The protestors will be chanting while he speaks.
- Interrupted future actions
- He will be speaking when they break into the auditorium.
- Time markers (words/expressions used to indicate Future Continuous):
- As
- At this time
- Before
- During
- In [number] days/weeks/months/years
- Next week/month/year
- Soon
- Still
- This week/month/year
- Today
- Tomorrow
- Tonight
- When
- While
- Future Perfect Tense
- Used for an action in the future preceding another future action
- I will have already left when my 180 days are up.
- Duration of a future action preceding another future action.
- By the time I leave, I will have visited four countries.
- The first action completed is in the Future Perfect Tense
- The second action is in the Simple Present Tense
- I will have received a visa by the time I get there.
- I will have not received a visa by the time I get there.
- Will you have received a visa by the time you get there?
- He will have applied for a visa while in Sweden, won’t he?
- He will not want to be turned away, will he?
- The second action is in the Simple Present Tense
- Be going to can also be used with the Future Perfect Tense
- When expressing predictions and discussing plans
- I am going to visit Turkey.
- I am not going to visit Turkey.
- When expressing predictions and discussing plans
- Time markers (words/expressions used to indicate Future Perfect Tense):
- Already
- Before
- By [a certain time]
- By the time
- For [a period of time]
- When
- Used for an action in the future preceding another future action
- Future Perfect Continuous Tense (a.k.a. Future Perfect Progressive Tense)
- Non-action verbs (e.g., understanding) can’t be used in Continuous
- Actions that will be in progress in the future
- By the time you read this, I will be traveling in Croatia.
- Actions that will continue until they are interrupted in the future
- We will have been driving for hours before we reach the border.
- Words/expressions used to indicate Future Perfect Continuous Tense:
- Already
- Because
- Before
- By the time
- For [a period of time]
- When
Sources:
- The Grammar Guide: An English Grammar Reference by Alexandra Coutlée, Sophie Joannette and Anita Romano
- https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/tense/relative-tense/97C949233D175528A3F7EDCFB5446302
- https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_tense
Tenses page within my Grammar Rules section now on Bill’s List.