English Tense System

In some languages, verb tenses are not very important or do not even exist. In English, the concept of tense is very important.

On these pages we look at how to avoid confusing tense with time, and the structure of the 12 basic tenses, with examples using a regular verb, an irregular verb and the verb "be".

• Tense and Time

Don't confuse the name of a tense with time!

It is important not to confuse the name of a verb tense with the way we use it to talk about time.

For example, a present tense does not always refer to present time:

• I hope it rains tomorrow.
  "rains" is present simple, but it refers here to future time (tomorrow)

Or a past tense does not always refer to past time:

• If I had some money now, I could buy it.
  "had" is past simple but it refers here to present time (now).

See charts and examples for Tense and Time

It is important not to confuse the name of a verb tense with the way we use it to talk about time.

For example, a present tense does not always refer to present time:

• I hope it rains tomorrow.
  "rains" is present simple, but it refers here to future time (tomorrow)

Or a past tense does not always refer to past time:

• If I had some money now, I could buy it.
  "had" is past simple but it refers here to present time (now)

The following examples show how different tenses can be used to talk about different times.

TENSE		TIME
		past time	present time	future time
present	simple		I want a coffee.	I leave tomorrow.
		She     likes     coffee.
	continuous		I am having dinner.	I am taking my exam next month.
		They  are  living  in  London.
	perfect	I have seen ET.	I have finished.
	perfect continuous	I have been playing tennis.
		We have been working for four hours.
past	simple	I finished one hour ago.	If she loved you now, she would marry you.	If you came tomorrow, you would see her.
	continuous	I was working at 2am this morning.
	perfect	I had not eaten for 24 hours.
	perfect continuous	We had been working for 3 hours.	If I had been working now, I would have missed you.	If I had been working tomorrow, I could not have agreed.
future	simple		Hold on. I'll do it now.	I'll see you tomorrow.
	continuous			I will be working at 9pm tonight.
	perfect			I will have finished by 9pm tonight.
		We will have been married for ten years next month.
	perfect continuous			They may be tired when you arrive because they will have been working.
		In 30 minutes, we will have been working for four hours.

• Basic Tenses

12 tenses in active voice + 12 in passive = 24

For past and present, there are 2 non-complex tenses + 6 complex tenses (using auxiliary or helping verbs).

To these, we can add 4 "modal tenses" for the future (using the modal auxiliary verbs will/shall).

This makes a total of 12 tenses in the active voice.

Another 12 tenses are available in the passive voice.

See charts and examples for Basic Tenses

For past and present, there are 2 non-complex tenses + 6 complex tenses (using auxiliary or helping verbs).

To these, we can add 4 "modal tenses" for the future (using the modal auxiliary verbs will/shall).

This makes a total of 12 tenses in the active voice.

Another 12 tenses are available in the passive voice (though 4 are rarely used).

So now we have 24 tenses, as you see in the table below:

24 tenses		past	present	future
active	non-complex tenses	past simple	present simple	future simple
	complex tenses	past perfect	present perfect	future perfect
		past continuous	present continuous	future continuous
		past perfect continuous	present perfect continuous	future perfect continuous
passive		past simple	present simple	future simple
		past perfect	present perfect	future perfect
		past continuous	present continuous	future continuous
		past perfect continuous	present perfect continuous	future perfect continuous

The basic structure of a positive or affirmative sentence is:

subject + auxiliary + main verb

The following table shows the 12 active tenses for the regular verb work in the affirmative or positive:

12 active tenses (work)		structure		past	present	future
		auxiliary	main verb
simple	normal			I worked	I work	I will work
	intensive	do	base	I did work	I do work
continuous		be	present participle -ing	I was working	I am working	I will be working
perfect		have	past participle	I had worked	I have worked	I will have worked
continuous perfect		have been	present participle -ing	I had been working	I have been working	I will have been working

Notes: An auxiliary verb is actually used in all tenses. In the present simple and past simple tenses, the auxiliary verb is usually suppressed for the affirmative, but it does exist for intensification. It is also of course always used in forming questions and negatives.

Technically, there are no future tenses in English. The word will is a modal auxiliary verb and future tenses are sometimes called "modal tenses". The examples are included here for convenience and comparison.

• Basic Tenses with Regular Verbs

The usual structure of basic tenses with regular verbs is:

+	positive	subject + auxiliary + main verb
-	negative	subject + auxiliary + not + main verb
?	question	auxiliary + subject + main verb

And here are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:

base V1	past simple V2	past participle V3	present participle -ing
work	worked	worked	working

See charts and examples for Basic Tenses with Regular Verbs

This page shows the basic tenses with the regular verb work, including the following structures:

• affirmative or positive (+)
• negative (-)
• interrogative or question (?)

The basic structures are:

+	positive	subject + auxiliary + main verb
-	negative	subject + auxiliary + not + main verb
?	question	auxiliary + subject + main verb

Here are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:

base V1	past simple V2	past participle V3	present participle -ing
work	worked	worked	working

And here is the result:

12 tenses (work)		past	present	future
SIMPLE do + base except future: will + base	+	I did work I worked	I do work I work	I will work
	-	I did not work	I do not work	I will not work
	?	Did I work?	Do I work?	Will I work?
CONTINUOUS be + ing	+	I was working	I am working	I will be working
	-	I was not working	I am not working	I will not be working
	?	Was I working?	Am I working?	Will I be working?
PERFECT have + past participle	+	I had worked	I have worked	I will have worked
	-	I had not worked	I have not worked	I will not have worked
	?	Had I worked?	Have I worked?	Will I have worked?
CONTINUOUS PERFECT have been + ing	+	I had been working	I have been working	I will have been working
	-	I had not been working	I have not been working	I will not have been working
	?	Had I been working?	Have I been working?	Will I have been working?

• Basic Tenses with Irregular Verbs

The usual structure of basic tenses with irregular verbs is essentially the same as for regular verbs:

+	positive	subject + auxiliary + main verb
-	negative	subject + auxiliary + not + main verb
?	question	auxiliary + subject + main verb

Here are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:

base V1	past simple V2	past participle V3	present participle -ing
sing	sang	sung	singing

See charts and examples for Basic Tenses with Irregular Verbs

the basic tenses with the irregular verb sing, including the following structures:

• affirmative or positive (+)
• negative (-)
• interrogative or question (?)

The basic structures are:

+	positive	subject + auxiliary + main verb
-	negative	subject + auxiliary + not + main verb
?	question	auxiliary + subject + main verb

Here are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:

base V1	past simple V2	past participle V3	present participle -ing
sing	sang	sung	singing

12 tenses (sing)		past	present	future
SIMPLE do + base except future: will + base	+	I did sing I sang	I do sing I sing	I will sing
	-	I did not sing	I do not sing	I will not sing
	?	Did I sing?	Do I sing?	Will I sing?
CONTINUOUS be + ing	+	I was singing	I am singing	I will be singing
	-	I was not singing	I am not singing	I will not be singing
	?	Was I singing?	Am I singing?	Will I be singing?
PERFECT have + past participle	+	I had sung	I have sung	I will have sung
	-	I had not sung	I have not sung	I will not have sung
	?	Had I sung?	Have I sung?	Will I have sung?
CONTINUOUS PERFECT have been + ing	+	I had been singing	I have been singing	I will have been singing
	-	I had not been singing	I have not been singing	I will not have been singing
	?	Had I been singing?	Have I been singing?	Will I have been singing?

• Basic Tenses with be

The verb be is always different! The usual structure of basic tenses with the irregular verb be is:

+	positive	subject + auxiliary + main verb be
-	negative	subject + auxiliary + not + main verb be
?	question	auxiliary + subject + main verb be

But for simple past and simple present tenses, the structures are not the same. In fact, they are even easier. There is no auxiliary verb. Here are the structures:

+	positive	subject + main verb be
-	negative	subject + main verb be + not
?	question	main verb be + subject

And here are the forms of the main verb be that we use to construct the tenses:

base	past simple	past participle	present participle -ing	present simple
be	was, were	been	being	am, are, is

See charts and examples for Basic Tenses with be

This page shows the basic tenses with the irregular verb be, including the following structures:

• affirmative or positive (+)
• negative (-)
• interrogative or question (?)

The basic structures are:

+	positive	subject + auxiliary + main verb be
-	negative	subject + auxiliary + not + main verb be
?	question	auxiliary + subject + main verb be

But for simple past and simple present tenses, the structures are not the same. In fact, they are even easier. There is no auxiliary verb. Here are the structures:

+	positive	subject + main verb be
-	negative	subject + main verb be + not
?	question	main verb be + subject

Here are the forms of the main verb be that we use to construct the tenses:

base	past simple	past participle	present participle -ing	present simple
be	was, were	been	being	am, are, is

12 tenses (be)		past	present	future
SIMPLE present simple or past simple except future will + be	+	I was	I am	I will be
	-	I was not	I am not	I will not be
	?	Was I?	Am I?	Will I be?
CONTINUOUS be + being	+	I was being	I am being	I will be being
	-	I was not being	I am not being	I will not be being
	?	Was I being?	Am I being?	Will I be being?
PERFECT have + been	+	I had been	I have been	I will have been
	-	I had not been	I have not been	I will not have been
	?	Had I been?	Have I been?	Will I have been?
CONTINUOUS PERFECT have been + being	+	I had been being	I have been being	I will have been being
	-	I had not been being	I have not been being	I will not have been being
	?	Had I been being?	Have I been being?	Will I have been being?

In the following table, we see be conjugated in all persons in the affirmative for 12 basic tenses:

SIMPLE		past	present	future
singular	I	was	am	will be
	you	were	are	will be
	he/she/it	was	is	will be
plural	we	were	are	will be
	you	were	are	will be
	they	were	are	will be
PERFECT		past	present	future
singular	I	had been	have been	will have been
	you	had been	have been	will have been
	he/she/it	had been	has been	will have been
plural	we	had been	have been	will have been
	you	had been	have been	will have been
	they	had been	have been	will have been
CONTINUOUS		past	present	future
singular	I	was being	am being	will be being
	you	were being	are being	will be being
	he/she/it	was being	is being	will be being
plural	we	were being	are being	will be being
	you	were being	are being	will be being
	they	were being	are being	will be being
CONTINUOUS PERFECT		past	present	future
singular	I	had been being	have been being	will have been being
	you	had been being	have been being	will have been being
	he/she/it	had been being	has been being	will have been being
plural	we	had been being	have been being	will have been being
	you	had been being	have been being	will have been being
	they	had been being	have been being	will have been being