English tenses

Practically, English has 12 tenses — three times (present, past, future) each in four aspects (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous). Strictly, grammarians say English has only two “tenses” marked on the verb (present and past) and builds the rest with auxiliaries, but for learning and for tests, the 12-tense model is the useful one.

They are: present simple (“she works”), present continuous (“she is working”), present perfect (“she has worked”), present perfect continuous (“she has been working”), and the same four in the past (worked, was working, had worked, had been working) and future (will work, will be working, will have worked, will have been working). The chart above shows all twelve with their form and use.

Present, past and future — they place an action in time. Each then combines with an aspect (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous) that says whether the action is a fact, in progress, completed, or ongoing over a period. Time × aspect gives the twelve tenses.

A tense chart is a single table that lays out every tense with its structure and an example, so you can compare them at a glance. The chart on this page gives all 12: the tense, how it is formed (for example, have/has + past participle for present perfect), its main use, and a model sentence.

First choose the time (past, present or future), then the aspect: simple for facts and completed actions, continuous for actions in progress, perfect to link two times. Keep tenses consistent unless the time genuinely changes, and let signal words guide you — usually takes simple, now takes continuous, since/for/already take perfect.

The simple tense states a fact or a completed action (“I work here”, “I worked”). The continuous (also called progressive) shows an action in progress at a moment in time (“I am working”, “I was working”). Use simple for habits and facts, continuous for something happening right now or temporarily.

The perfect tenses connect one time to another using have / has / had / will have + past participle. Present perfect links a past action to now (“I have finished”); past perfect marks an action before another past action (“I had finished”); future perfect marks an action completed before a future point (“I will have finished”).

Use the past simple for a finished action at a definite past time (“I saw him yesterday”). Use the present perfect for a past action with no stated time, or one that still matters now (“I have seen that film”). If you can add a specific past time, you usually want the past simple.

Ask two questions: when does it happen (past, present, future) and what kind of action is it — a fact (simple), in progress (continuous), completed or linked to another time (perfect), or ongoing over a stretch (perfect continuous)? Signal words in the sentence, like every day, right now, or since 2010, usually point to the answer.

Present simple: “Water boils at 100 degrees.” Present continuous: “She is reading now.” Present perfect: “They have arrived.” Present perfect continuous: “I have been waiting for an hour.” The present covers facts, actions now, and past actions that still matter.

Past simple: “We played yesterday.” Past continuous: “He was working at eight.” Past perfect: “She had left before I called.” Past perfect continuous: “They had been driving for hours.” The past covers finished actions and how they relate to each other.

Future simple: “I will help you.” Future continuous: “I will be flying at noon.” Future perfect: “By May I will have finished.” Future perfect continuous: “By June I will have been working here two years.” English also uses going to and the present continuous for the future.

Use will for decisions made at the moment of speaking, predictions and promises (“I’ll get it”). Use going to for plans already decided and for predictions based on present evidence (“Those clouds mean it’s going to rain”). Both are correct; the difference is planning and evidence.

Shifting tense without reason confuses the reader about when things happen. Within a sentence or paragraph, keep to one time frame unless the meaning genuinely moves between past, present and future. Consistent, accurate tense is one of the clearest markers of controlled writing — and it is exactly what test graders notice.

Not as a named task, but tense runs through the whole test. Correct, varied tense is a large part of what the Speaking and Writing graders reward, and reading or hearing the right tense is essential for comprehension. Vocabulary-and-grammar tasks like Fill in the Blanks also test verb forms directly.

They shape your grammar accuracy and your range — two things the Production and Literacy subscores reward. Using the present perfect where it belongs, or keeping past narration consistent, reads as controlled, natural English. Tense mistakes, by contrast, are among the most noticeable errors, so getting them right lifts your score more than almost any other grammar point.