12 Basic English Tenses

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”.

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic English tenses.

For each tense we look at:

• 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.

1. PRESENT TENSE

Simple Present Tense

I do, I do do

Present Continuous Tense

I am doing

Present Perfect Tense

I have done

Present Perfect Continuous

I have been doing

2. PAST TENSE

Simple Past Tense

I did, I did do

Past Continuous Tense

I was doing

Past Perfect Tense

I had done

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

I had been doing

3. FUTURE TENSE

Simple Future Tense

I will do

Future Continuous Tense

I will be doing

Future Perfect Tense

I will have done

Future Perfect Continuous

I will have been doing

English Tense System Quiz

You can do this grammar quiz. It tests what you learned on the English Tense System page.