A Beginner’s Guide to English Tenses

Great! Let’s learn English Tenses. English has 12 tenses, which are categorized into four aspects: simple, progressive (also known as continuous), perfect, and perfect progressive.

Here’s an overview of each tense:

1. 1. Simple Present
      • Used to describe actions or situations that are happening now, are always true, or happen regularly (e.g. I study English every day).
   2. Simple Past
      • Used to describe actions or situations that occurred in the past (e.g. I visited my grandparents last weekend).
   3. Simple Future
      • Used to describe actions or situations that will happen in the future (e.g. I will take a trip next month).
   4. Present Continuous
      • Used to describe actions or situations that are currently in progress (e.g. I am studying English right now).

5. Past Continuous

• • Used to describe actions or situations that were in progress at a specific time in the past (e.g. I was studying English at 7 PM last night).

6. Future Continuous

• • Used to describe actions or situations that will be in progress at a specific time in the future (e.g. I will be studying English at 8 PM tomorrow).

7. Present Perfect

• • Used to describe actions or situations that started in the past and continue up to the present (e.g. I have studied English for five years).

8. Past Perfect

• • Used to describe actions or situations that were completed before another past event (e.g. I had studied English for five years before I moved to the US).

9. Future Perfect

• • Used to describe actions or situations that will be completed before a specific time in the future (e.g. By next year, I will have studied English for six years).

10. Present Perfect Continuous

• • Used to describe actions or situations that started in the past and continue up to the present and emphasize the duration (e.g. I have been studying English for five years).

11. Past Perfect Continuous

• • Used to describe actions or situations that were in progress before a specific past event (e.g. I had been studying English for three hours before I took a break).

12. Future Perfect Continuous

• • Used to describe actions or situations that will be in progress before a specific time in the future (e.g. By next year, I will have been studying English for six years).

It’s essential to understand the different tenses and when to use them in order to communicate effectively in English.