Learn English:The 12 Basic English Tenses

The 12 Basic English Tenses:English

The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic English tenses. In each lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional matters, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your understanding.

• Present Simple

                    I do, I do do

• Present Continuous

                  I am doing

• Present Perfect

                  I have done

• Present Perfect Continuous

                  I have been doing

• Past Simple

                  I did, I did do

• Past Continuous

                  I was doing

• Past Perfect

                  I had done

• Past Perfect Continuous

                  I had been doing

• Future Simple

                 I will do

• Future Continuous

                 I will be doing

• Future Perfect

                I will have done

• Future Perfect Continuous

                I will have been doing