Tenses
When things happen. Twelve tenses in one table, plus the "if" sentences called conditionals.
English shows when something happens by changing the verb. There are three times (present, past and future) and four ways to look at each one, so twelve tenses in all. You don't need all twelve at once: most everyday English uses the simple present, the present continuous, the simple past and will.
| Simple | Continuous | Perfect | Perfect continuous | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | I eat | I'm eating | I've eaten | I've been eating |
| Past | I ate | I was eating | I'd eaten | I'd been eating |
| Future | I'll eat | I'll be eating | I'll have eaten | I'll have been eating |
Read across a row to see one time from four angles, or down a column to see one shape in three times.
Sections
- Present tenses: habits, right now, and the past that still matters
- Past tenses: stories, and which of two past things came first
- Future tenses: plans, promises and predictions
- Conditionals: sentences with if, from real to imaginary