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Introduction to Tenses

Tenses are forms of a verb that show the time, continuance or completion of an action or a state that is expressed in connection with the moment at which a statement is made about it.

Three main tenses  

The present , the past , and the future    

  1. The� present tense  is used to refer to something that happens or exists now. The present tense is also called the� present simple  or� simple present .
  2. The� past tense  is used to refer to something that happened or existed in the past. The past tense is also called the� past simple  or� simple past. 
  3. The� future tense  refers to something that hasn’t happened at the time of speaking. The future tense makes use of the words� will  and shall .

Four main aspects  

For each of the tenses, there are four aspects: simple , continuous or progressive , perfect, and perfect continuous or perfect progressive.  

  • The present aspect tells us the action takes place in the present and expresses general facts and habits.
  • The� continuous aspect  indicates an unfinished action or state of being at the time being referred to. It is formed using the relevant tense of the auxiliary verb� to be  and the present participle of the main verb.
  • The � perfect aspect  refers to a completed action in the present, past or future. It is� formed using the combination of the relevant tense of the auxiliary verb� have and the� past participle of the main verb.
  • The� perfect continuous aspect  combines both aspects of� continuous  and� perfect .  It� refers to an action that has continued up to the present, up to a time in the past, or up to  a time in the future.

The three verb tenses and four verb aspects make possible the twelve combinations of tense and aspect, as follows: �

Present Tenses
Simple Present Tense
Present Continuous Tense
Present Perfect Tense
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
Past Tenses
Simple Past Tense
Past Continuous Tense
Past Perfect Tense
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Future Tenses
Simple Future Tense
Future Continuous Tense
Future Perfect Tense
Future Perfect Continuous Tense