VERB TENSE CHART

SIMPLE PAST
Portrays an action or state of
being that took place before the
time when the sentence is
written.
I WAS
I RAN
I ATE
HE SMILED

SIMPLE PRESENT
Used to describe an action or
state of being that occurs at the
time the sentence is written.
I AM
I RUN
I EAT
HE SMILES

SIMPLE FUTURE
Portrays an action or state of
being that will occur sometime
after the sentence is written. It is
often formed with the word will.
I WILL BE
I WILL RUN
I WILL EAT
HE WILL SMILE
PAST PERFECT
Shows that the verbs action was
completed at some time before
another past event. It consists of
the word had plus the past
participle of the verb.

I HAD BEEN
I HAD RUN
I HAD EATEN
HE HAD SMILED
PRESENT PERFECT
Indicates that the verbs action
began in the past and continued
up until the time the sentence
was written. It is formed by
adding the word have.

I HAVE BEEN
I HAVE RUN
I HAVE EATEN
HE HAS SMILED
FUTURE PERFECT
Indicates that by the time of a
specified future event, the verbs
action will have been completed.
It is formed by adding the past
participle of the verb to the
words will have.

I WILL HAVE BEEN
I WILL HAVE RUN
I WILL HAVE EATEN
HE WILL HAVE SMILED
SIMPLE PAST
PROGRESSIVE
The past progressive is used to
talk about an activity that was in
progress at a specific point of
time in the past. The emphasis is
on the duration of the activity in
the past.
I WAS BEING
I WAS RUNNING
I WAS EATING
HE WAS SMILING
SIMPLE PRESENT
PROGRESSIVE
The present progressive can also
be used to describe an action that
is occurring in the present, but is
temporary.

I AM BEING
I AM RUNNING
I AM EATING
HE IS SMILING

SIMPLE FUTURE
PROGRESSIVE
This tense is used to describe an
event or action that will occur
over a period of time at a specific
point in the future.

I WILL BE
I WILL BE RUNNING
I WILL BE EATING
HE WILL BE SMILING
PAST PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE
This tense is used to emphasize
the duration of an action that was
completed before another action
or event in the past.
I HAD BEEN
I HAD BEEN RUNNING
I HAD BEEN EATING
HE HAD BEEN SMILING

PRESENT PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE
This tense is used to describe the
duration of an action that began
in the past and continues into the
present.

I HAVE BEEN
I HAVE BEEN RUNNING
I HAVE BEEN EATING
HE HAS BEEN SMILING
FUTURE PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE
This tense describes an action
that has been in progress for a
duration of time before another
event or time in the future.

I WILL HAVE BEEN
I WILL HVE BEEN RUNNING
I WILL HAVE BEEN EATING
HE WILL HAVE BEEN
SMILING

THE VERB TO BE
TO BE past present future
First Person I was I am I will be
Second Person You were You are You will be
Third Person He, She, It was He, She, It is He, She, It will be
First Person Plural We were We are We will be
Second Person Plural You all were You all are You all will be
Third Person Plural They were They are They will be