Tense Chart

Table of contents

English language is unique and complex, especially when it comes to verb tenses. There are 12 basic tenses in English: present simple, present continuous, present perfect, present perfect continuous, past simple, past continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous, future simple, future continuous, future perfect, and future perfect continuous. Each of these tenses can help us express precise times and states regarding an action.

A tense chart is a simple and effective way to understand the timeline, continuity, completion, and scope of any action. Let's dive into it:

	Simple	Continuous	Perfect	Perfect Continuous
Present	I play soccer	I am playing soccer	I have played soccer	I have been playing soccer
Past	I played soccer	I was playing soccer	I had played soccer	I had been playing soccer
Future	I will play soccer	I will be playing soccer	I will have played soccer	I will have been playing soccer

Tense Full Chart with Rules

This compact resource neatly presents all the tenses in English - past, present, and future - in an easy-to-understand format.

Each tense is illustrated with its unique grammar formula, making the application straightforward. Dive into this at-a-glance guide to gain a clear understanding of English tenses.

Tense	Structure	Example
Present Simple	base form verb	I walk to school.
Present Continuous	am/is/are + verb-ing	I am reading a book.
Present Perfect	have/has + past participle	I have eaten breakfast.
Present Perfect Continuous	have/has + been + verb-ing	I have been studying for two hours.
Past Simple	past form verb	I walked to school.
Past Continuous	was/were + verb-ing	I was reading a book.
Past Perfect	had + past participle	I had eaten breakfast.
Past Perfect Continuous	had + been + verb-ing	I had been studying for two hours.
Future Simple	will/shall + verb	I will walk to school.
Future Continuous	will/shall + be + verb-ing	I will be reading a book.
Future Perfect	will/shall + have + past participle	I will have eaten breakfast.
Future Perfect Continuous	will/shall + have been + verb-ing	I will have been studying for two hours.

Tense Chart with Personal Pronouns

Tense	Rule	I	He	She	It	They
Simple Present	Verb(s)	I work	He works	She works	It works	They work
Present Continuous	am/is/are + Verb-ing	I am working	He is working	She is working	It is working	They are working
Present Perfect	have/has + past participle	I have worked	He has worked	She has worked	It has worked	They have worked
Present Perfect Continuous	have/has + been + Verb-ing	I have been working	He has been working	She has been working	It has been working	They have been working
Simple Past	Verb-ed (for regular verbs)	I worked	He worked	She worked	It worked	They worked
Past Continuous	was/were + Verb-ing	I was working	He was working	She was working	It was working	They were working
Past Perfect	had + past participle	I had worked	He had worked	She had worked	It had worked	They had worked
Past Perfect Continuous	had + been + Verb-ing	I had been working	He had been working	She had been working	It had been working	They had been working
Simple Future	will + Verb	I will work	He will work	She will work	It will work	They will work
Future Continuous	will + be + Verb-ing	I will be working	He will be working	She will be working	It will be working	They will be working
Future Perfect	will + have + past participle	I will have worked	He will have worked	She will have worked	It will have worked	They will have worked
Future Perfect Continuous	will + have + been + Verb-ing	I will have been working	He will have been working	She will have been working	It will have been working	They will have been working

Present Tense Chart

	First Person (I/We)	Second Person (You)	Third Person (He/She/It/They)
Simple Present	I work	You work	He/She/It works, They work
Present Continuous	I am working	You are working	He/She/It is working, They are working
Present Perfect	I have worked	You have worked	He/She/It has worked, They have worked
Present Perfect Continuous	I have been working	You have been working	He/She/It/They have been working

Past Tense Chart

	First Person (I/We)	Second Person (You)	Third Person (He/She/It/They)
Simple Past	I worked	You worked	He/She/It worked, They worked
Past Continuous	I was working	You were working	He/She/It was working, They were working
Past Perfect	I had worked	You had worked	He/She/It/They had worked
Past Perfect Continuous	I had been working	You had been working	He/She/It/They had been working

Future Tense Chart

	First Person (I/We)	Second Person (You)	Third Person (He/She/It/They)
Simple Future	I will work	You will work	He/She/It will work, They will work
Future Continuous	I will be working	You will be working	He/She/It will be working, They will be working
Future Perfect	I will have worked	You will have worked	He/She/It will have worked, They will have worked
Future Perfect Continuous	I will have been working	You will have been working	He/She/It will have been working, They will have been working

Present Tenses
● Present Simple: The present simple tense, as the name suggests, is used to describe habits, unchanging situations, general truths, and fixed arrangements. For example, "I play soccer every Saturday."● Present Continuous: This tense is used to describe an action that is currently ongoing. For example, "I am playing soccer right now."● Present Perfect: This tense describes an action that happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. For example, "I have played soccer before."● Present Perfect Continuous: This tense is used to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now. For example, "I have been playing soccer for three hours."
Past Tenses
● Past Simple: This is used to describe an action that occurred and was completed at a specific time in the past. For example, "I played soccer yesterday."● Past Continuous: The past continuous tense is used to talk about an action or situation that was going on in the past at a particular time. For example, "I was playing soccer when it started to rain."● Past Perfect: This tense describes an action that was completed before another action took place. For example, "I had played soccer before you arrived."● Past Perfect Continuous: This tense is used to express something that started in the past and continued up until another time in the past. For example, "I had been playing soccer for two hours before it started to rain."
Future Tenses
● Future Simple: This tense is used to predict or assume actions that will happen in the future. For example, "I will play soccer tomorrow."● Future Continuous: This tense is used to express an ongoing action that will occur in the future. For example, "I will be playing soccer at this time tomorrow."● Future Perfect: This tense describes an action that will be completed by a particular time in the future. For example, "I will have played soccer by the time you arrive."● Future Perfect Continuous: This tense is used to describe an ongoing action that will happen before some point in the future. For example, "I will have been playing soccer for two hours by the time you arrive."