The twelve English tenses laid out by time and aspect, each with a one-line example and when to use it.
Three times × four aspects = 12 tenses
Present
- Simple: I eat. — habits, facts.
- Continuous: I am eating. — happening now.
- Perfect: I have eaten. — finished, affects now.
- Perfect continuous: I have been eating. — started earlier, still going.
Past
- Simple: I ate. — finished in the past.
- Continuous: I was eating. — in progress in the past.
- Perfect: I had eaten. — before another past action.
- Perfect continuous: I had been eating. — duration before a past point.
Future
- Simple: I will eat. — a later action.
- Continuous: I will be eating. — in progress later.
- Perfect: I will have eaten. — finished before a later point.
- Perfect continuous: I will have been eating. — duration up to a later point.
Exam tip: spot the time word (yesterday, now, by next year) first — it usually tells you the tense.