Tense: Indicates the time of action in a sentence. Depending on the tense, the verb changes in form.
There are 3 kinds of time: Past, Present, and Future.
Within each kind of time, there are 4 types of action: Simple, Perfect, Continuous, and Perfect Continuous.
This makes for 3 x 4 = 12 tenses for every verb.
Note: These 12 tenses are achieved by:
a) Changing the form of the verb itself (see below)
b) Using auxiliary (or “helping”) verbs like do, be and have.
A verb can take 5 different forms:
base form (V1): walk, eat, cry, build
past simple (V2): walked, ate, cried, built
past participle (V3): [have, has, had ____] walked, eaten, cried, built
present participle: walking, eating, crying, building
3rd person singular in simple present: walks, eats, cries, builds
Examples:
Present Simple: I eat apples.
Past Simple: I ate apples.
Future Simple: I will eat apples.
Present Perfect: I have eaten an apple.
Past Perfect: I had eaten an apple when you called.
Future Perfect: I will have eaten an apple by the time you call.
Present Continuous: I am eating an apple.
Past Continuous: I was eating an apple when the phone rang.
Future Continuous: I will be eating an apple when the phone rings.
Present Perfect Continuous: I have been eating an apple for the past two minutes.
Past Perfect Continuous: I had been eating an apple for two minutes when the phone rang.
Future Perfect Continuous: I will have been eating an apple for two minutes when the phone rings.
Category: Grammar glossary
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