Present Tenses in English

- Simple present tense

They walk home.
- Present continuous tense
They are walking home.

Past Tenses in English

- Simple past tense
Peter lived in China in 1965.
- Past continuous tense
I was reading when she arrived.

Perfect Tenses in English

- Present perfect tense
I have lived here since 1987.

- Present perfect continuous

I have been living here for years.

- Past perfect
We had been to see her several times before she visited us.
- Past perfect continuous
He had been watching her for some time when she turned and smiled.

- Future perfect
We will have arrived in the States by the time you get this letter.

- Future perfect continuous

By the end of your course, you will have been studying for five years.

Future Tenses in English

- Simple future tense
They will go to Italy next week.
- Future continuous tense
I will be travelling by train.

Conditional Tenses in English

- Zero conditional
If ice gets hot it melts.
- Type 1 conditional
If he is late I will be angry.
- Type 2 conditional
If he was in Australia he would be getting up now.
- Type 3 conditional
She would have visited me if she had had time.
- Mixed conditional
I would be playing tennis if I hadn't broken my arm.

The -ing forms in English

- Gerund
I like swimming.
- Present participle
She goes running every morning.
Verb tenses

The tense of a verb tells you when a person did something or when something existed
or happened. In English, there are three main tenses: the present, the past, and
the future.

The present

The present tense (e.g. I am, she works, we swim, they believe) is also called the
present simple or simple present. It's mainly used in the following ways:

to describe things that are currently happening or that are currently or always the
case (I love chocolate ice cream; my parents are in New York this week; he has fair
hair and blue eyes; some birds eat worms and insects).

to talk about something that exists or happens regularly (she goes out every
Saturday night; it always rains here in winter; I start work at 7.30 a.m.).

to refer to a future situation in certain cases and in some subordinate clauses

(the bus arrives in London at 6 p.m.; I'll make us some coffee when we get home).

Find out how to form the present simple tense.

The past

The past tense (e.g. I was, he talked, we had, they worked) is also called the past
simple or simple past. As its description implies, its used to talk about things
or situations which happened in the past, that is, before the present time of
speaking. Its main uses are as follows:

to refer to an event or situation which happened once and is now finished (I met
Lisa yesterday; we ate a huge breakfast this morning; they walked ten miles that
day; you told me that before).

to describe a situation that lasted for a longer time in the past but is now
finished (he went to college for four years; my family lived in Oxford in the
1980s; I loved her for ages but never told her).

to talk about an event that happened regularly or repeatedly but is now over (she
called for help over and over again; we ate out every night last week; I phoned him
three times today).

Find out how to form the past simple tense.

The future

The future tense (e.g. I shall [or will] go; he will talk; we shall [or will] have;
they will work) is used to refer to things that havent yet happened at the present
time of speaking, but which are due, expected, or likely to occur in the future.
Here are the main situations in which the future is used:
to give or ask for information about the future (you will be in California
tomorrow; how long will the journey take?; OK, Ill write that report on
Thursday).

to talk about things that we think are likely or possible to happen in the future,
but which arent completely certain (I think shell retire soon; he wont [will
not] stay married to her for long; youll never lose weight, you like food too
much).

to refer to conditional situations, namely things that will or may happen if

something else occurs (if its hot Ill go swimming later; youll get stressed out
if you work all the time).

to make promises or threats, or to state decisions at the time of speaking (Fine,

Ill call you soon; Are you going into town? Well give you a lift; Ill never
speak to you gain).

The future tense is formed with will (or shall) and the infinitive of the verb
without to. Learn more about when to use will or shall.

Continuous and perfect tenses

There are two further types of tense: the continuous and the perfect. These tenses
are sometimes referred to as aspects rather than tenses. The term aspect is used in
grammar to talk about the form of a verb that shows, for example, whether the
action happens once or repeatedly, is completed or still continuing.

Continuous

These tenses (also called progressive tenses) are used to talk about actions that
continue for a period of time. They are formed with the relevant tense of the
auxiliary verb to be and the present participle of the main verb. There are three
main continuous tenses:

the present continuous (I am working)

the past continuous (I was working)

the future continuous (I will be working)

Perfect

Perfect tenses are typically used to talk about actions that are completed by the
present or a particular point in the past or future. They are formed with the
relevant tense of the auxiliary verb to have and the past participle of the main
verb. There are three main perfect tenses:

the present perfect (I have worked)

the past perfect (I had worked)

the future perfect (I will have worked)

Perfect continuous

There is a final set of tenses which combine features of the perfect and continuous
tenses. They are formed and used as follows:

the present perfect continuous (I have been working): used to talk about how long
something has continued up till now (I have been working there for a week)

the past perfect continuous (I had been working): used to talk about something
which continued up to a particular moment in the past but is now completed (I had
been working there for a week before I resigned)

the future perfect continuous (I will have been working): used to talk about
something which is expected to end by a particular time in the future (By December,
I will have been working there for 6 months)

Present tense formation

In the present simple tense, the basic form of a regular verb only changes in the
3rd person singular, as follows:

Most verbs just add -s to the basic form (e.g. take/takes, seem/seems, look/looks).

Verbs that end with a vowel other than e add -es (e.g. go/goes, veto/vetoes,
do/does).

Verbs that end with -s, -z, -ch, -sh, and -x add -es (e.g. kiss/kisses,
fizz/fizzes, punch/punches, wash/washes, mix/mixes).

If the verb ends in a consonant plus -y, change the y to an i before adding -es
(e.g. hurry/hurries, clarify/clarifies). But if the verb ends in a vowel plus -y,
just add -s (e.g. play/plays, enjoy/enjoys).

Past tense formation

Forming the past simple tense of regular verbs is mostly straightforward, and you
use the same form for the first, second, and third persons, singular and plural:

If the basic form of the verb ends in a consonant or a vowel other than e, add the
letters -ed to the end (e.g. seem/seemed, laugh/laughed, look/looked).

For verbs that end in -e, add -d (e.g. love/loved, recede/receded, hope/hoped).

If the verb ends in a consonant plus -y, change the y to an i before adding -ed
(e.g. hurry/hurried, clarify/clarified). But if the verb ends in a vowel plus -y,
just add -ed (e.g. play/played, enjoy/enjoyed).

For more detail, see Verb tenses: adding-ed-and-ing.

Forming participles

To form the past participle of regular verbs, follow the same rules as for the past
simple tense above.
To make the present participle of regular verbs:
If the basic form of the verb ends in a consonant or a vowel other than e, add the
ending -ing (e.g. laugh/laughing, boo/booing).
If the verb ends in e, drop the e before adding -ing (e.g. love/loving,
hope/hoping).
If the basic form ends in y just add -ing (e.g. hurry/hurrying,
clarify/clarifying).

Participles
A participle is a word formed from a verb, usually by adding -d, -ed, or -ing.
There are two kinds of participle in English, as follows:

The present participle

The present participle ends with -ing, e.g.:
We are going to Italy.
The company is building new headquarters in the UK.

The past participle

The past participle ends with -d or -ed for regular verbs, e.g.:
She had decided to go to Italy.
Fans had camped outside the studio.
and with -t or -en or some other form for irregular ones, e.g.:
New houses are still being built.
The glass is broken.

Using participles
Participles are used:
with auxiliary verbs to make verb tenses such as the present continuous and the
past perfect:
We are going to Italy. [present continuous]
She had decided to go to Italy. [past perfect]

to form the passive voice of verbs (the past participle only is used, along with
the auxiliary verb to be:
We were ordered to sit down.

as adjectives, e.g.:
The pavement was covered with broken glass.
He stared at me with bulging eyes.
as nouns, e.g.:
She was a woman of good breeding.
Len was ordered to cut down on his drinking.

When a present participle is used as a noun, as in the last two examples above,
its known as a verbal noun or a gerund. Here are two more examples of verbal
nouns:
Smoking is strictly forbidden.
Camping attracts people of all ages.

Irregular verbs

There are many irregular verbs that dont follow the normal rules. Here are the
forms of some of the most common irregular verbs:
arise arose arisen
awake awoke awoken
be was/were been
bear bore born(e)
beat beat beaten
become became become
begin began begun
bend bent bent
bet bet bet
bind bound bound
bite bit bitten
bleed bled bled
blow blew blown
break broke broken
breed bred bred
bring brought brought
broadcast broadcast broadcast
build built built
burn burnt/burned burnt/burned
burst burst burst
buy bought bought
can could (been able)
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
cling clung clung
come came come
cost cost cost
creep crept crept
cut cut cut
deal dealt dealt
dig dug dug
do did done
draw drew drawn
dream dreamt/dreamed dreamt/dreamed
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feed fed fed
feel felt felt
fight fought fought
find found found
fly flew flown
forbid forbade forbidden
forget forgot forgotten
forgive forgave forgiven
freeze froze frozen
get got got
give gave given
go went gone
grind ground ground
grow grew grown
hang hung hung
have had had
hear heard heard
hide hid hidden
hit hit hit
hold held held
hurt hurt hurt
keep kept kept
kneel knelt knelt
know knew known
lay laid laid
lead led led
lean leant/leaned leant/leaned
learn learnt/learned learnt/learned
leave left left
lent lent lent
lie (in bed) lay lain
lie (to not tell the truth) lied lied
light lit/lighted lit/lighted
lose lost lost
make made made
may might
mean meant meant
meet met met
mow mowed mown/mowed
must had to
overtake overtook overtaken
pay paid paid
put put put
read read read
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
rise rose risen
run ran run
saw sawed sawn/sawed
say said said
see saw seen
sell sold sold
send sent sent
set set set
sew sewed sewn/sewed
shake shook shaken
shall should
shed shed shed
shine shone shone
shoot shot shot
show showed shown
shrink shrank shrunk
shut shut shut
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
sit sat sat
sleep slept slept
slide slid slid
smell smelt smelt
sow sowed sown/sowed
speak spoke spoken
spell spelt/spelled spelt/spelled
spend spent spent
spill spilt/spilled spilt/spilled
spit spat spat
spread spread spread
stand stood stood
steal stole stolen
stick stuck stuck
sting stung stung
stink stank stunk
strike struck struck
swear swore sworn
sweep swept swept
swell swelled swollen/swelled
swim swam swum
swing swung swung
take took taken
teach taught taught
tear tore torn
tell told told
think thought thought
throw threw thrown
understand understood understood
wake woke woken
wear wore worn
weep wept wept
will would
win won won
wind wound wound
write wrote written