English Tenses

I often forget how English tenses work, so here is a quick guide to their forms and common uses.

Tense overview

Tense	Common uses	Example
Present Simple	Habits, routines, facts, permanent situations, and schedules	I work from home. The train leaves at 8:00.
Present Continuous	Actions happening now, temporary situations, changing trends, and arranged future plans	I am working now. We are meeting tomorrow.
Present Perfect	Past actions connected to the present, life experiences, unfinished time periods, and present results	I have lost my keys. She has visited Japan twice.
Present Perfect Continuous	Activities that started in the past and continue now, or recently stopped activities with a present result; emphasizes duration	I have been working for three hours.
Past Simple	Finished actions at a specific or understood past time, and sequences of past events	I worked yesterday. Then I went home.
Past Continuous	Actions in progress at a particular past moment, background actions, and interrupted activities	I was working when you called.
Past Perfect	Actions completed before another past action or moment	I had finished before she arrived.
Past Perfect Continuous	Ongoing activities before another past event; emphasizes duration or cause	I had been working for hours, so I was tired.
Future Simple	Instant decisions, promises, offers, predictions, and future facts	I will help you. I think it will rain.
Future Continuous	Actions that will be in progress at a particular future time, and polite questions about plans	I will be working at 8:00. Will you be using the car?
Future Perfect	Actions that will be completed before a future deadline or moment	I will have finished by Friday.
Future Perfect Continuous	Activities continuing until a future point; emphasizes duration	By June, I will have been working here for five years.

Positive, negative, and question forms

Key: S = subject; V1 = base form; V2 = past form; V3 = past participle; O = object or complement.

Tense	Positive	Negative	Question
Present Simple	S + V1/V1-s + O I work. She works.	S + do/does not + V1 + O I do not work. She does not work.	Do/Does + S + V1 + O? Do you work? Does she work?
Present Continuous	S + am/is/are + V-ing + O She is working.	S + am/is/are not + V-ing + O She is not working.	Am/Is/Are + S + V-ing + O? Is she working?
Present Perfect	S + have/has + V3 + O She has finished.	S + have/has not + V3 + O She has not finished.	Have/Has + S + V3 + O? Has she finished?
Present Perfect Continuous	S + have/has + been + V-ing + O She has been working.	S + have/has not + been + V-ing + O She has not been working.	Have/Has + S + been + V-ing + O? Has she been working?
Past Simple	S + V2 + O She worked.	S + did not + V1 + O She did not work.	Did + S + V1 + O? Did she work?
Past Continuous	S + was/were + V-ing + O She was working.	S + was/were not + V-ing + O She was not working.	Was/Were + S + V-ing + O? Was she working?
Past Perfect	S + had + V3 + O She had finished.	S + had not + V3 + O She had not finished.	Had + S + V3 + O? Had she finished?
Past Perfect Continuous	S + had + been + V-ing + O She had been working.	S + had not + been + V-ing + O She had not been working.	Had + S + been + V-ing + O? Had she been working?
Future Simple	S + will + V1 + O She will work.	S + will not + V1 + O She will not work.	Will + S + V1 + O? Will she work?
Future Continuous	S + will + be + V-ing + O She will be working.	S + will not + be + V-ing + O She will not be working.	Will + S + be + V-ing + O? Will she be working?
Future Perfect	S + will + have + V3 + O She will have finished.	S + will not + have + V3 + O She will not have finished.	Will + S + have + V3 + O? Will she have finished?
Future Perfect Continuous	S + will + have + been + V-ing + O She will have been working.	S + will not + have + been + V-ing + O She will not have been working.	Will + S + have + been + V-ing + O? Will she have been working?

Auxiliary verb agreement

• Have: I, you, we, they, and plural nouns
• Has: he, she, it, and singular nouns
• Am: I
• Is: he, she, it, and singular nouns
• Are: you, we, they, and plural nouns
• Was: I, he, she, it, and singular nouns
• Were: you, we, they, and plural nouns

Important notes

• In the Present Simple, add -s or -es to the verb with he, she, it, or a singular noun.
• After do, does, or did, use the base form: “Does she work?” not “Does she works?”
• Use since for a starting point (“since Monday”) and for for a duration (“for three hours”).
• Shall is uncommon in modern everyday English. Will works with every subject.

Stative verbs

Stative verbs describe states, thoughts, feelings, possession, or senses. They are not normally used in continuous tenses.

• Thoughts: know, believe, understand, remember, mean
• Feelings and preferences: love, hate, like, prefer, want, need
• Possession: have, own, belong, possess
• Senses and appearance: see, hear, smell, taste, seem

Some verbs can be stative or dynamic. Their meaning changes:

Stative meaning	Dynamic meaning
I think you are right. (I believe.)	I am thinking about the problem. (I am considering it.)
She has a car. (She owns it.)	She is having lunch. (She is eating.)
I see what you mean. (I understand.)	I am seeing the dentist tomorrow. (I am meeting them.)
The soup tastes good. (It has this flavour.)	The chef is tasting the soup. (The chef is testing its flavour.)
He is rude. (This is his character.)	He is being rude. (This is his temporary behaviour.)

Present Perfect and finished time

Do not normally use the Present Perfect with a specific, finished past time. Use the Past Simple instead.

• Correct: I saw her yesterday.
• Incorrect: I have seen her yesterday.
• Correct: She finished the report last week.
• Incorrect: She has finished the report last week.

Common finished-time expressions include yesterday, last week, in 2020, two days ago, and when I was a child.

Use the Present Perfect when the exact time is unknown or unimportant, or when the time period is still unfinished:

• I have seen that film before.
• She has already finished the report.
• I have had three meetings today. (Today is not finished.)

Common Present Perfect words include ever, never, already, yet, just, since, and for.

Ways to talk about the future

English uses several forms to express future meaning:

Form	Main use	Example
will + V1	Instant decisions, promises, offers, and predictions	I will answer the phone.
am/is/are going to + V1	Prior intentions and predictions based on present evidence	We are going to move. Look at those clouds—it is going to rain.
Present Continuous	Arranged plans, usually involving another person or a fixed time	I am meeting Anna at 6:00.
Present Simple	Timetables and official schedules	The flight leaves at 9:30.

Compare:

• I will study tonight. (Decision made now.)
• I am going to study tonight. (Existing intention.)
• I am studying with Sam tonight. (Arrangement.)
• The class starts at 7:00. (Schedule.)

Future time clauses

After when, if, until, before, after, as soon as, and once, use a present tense for future meaning. Do not normally use will inside the time or condition clause.

• I will call you when I arrive.
• We will wait until she finishes.
• If it rains, we will stay home.
• I will tell you as soon as I know.

The clause order can change without changing the meaning:

• When I arrive, I will call you.
• I will call you when I arrive.

Use will in a direct question because it is not a future time clause:

• When will you arrive?

Modal verbs

Common modal verbs include can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would.

• Use modal + V1: She can swim.
• Do not add -s after a modal: He can work, not “He can works.”
• Add not after the modal: She cannot swim.
• Put the modal before the subject in questions: Can she swim?
• Do not use do, does, or did with a modal: Can she swim? not “Does she can swim?”
• Use modal + have + V3 for past possibility, criticism, or deduction: She might have forgotten. You should have called.

Have to is not a true modal. It changes form and uses do, does, or did:

• He has to leave.
• He does not have to leave.
• Does he have to leave?