A Summary of English Verb Tenses
by Owen Fourie
To speak of an English verb tense can cause students to become tense.
The first use of tense in the opening sentence is as a noun. It refers to the aspect of a language that enables us to tell the time of any action or condition. Tense indicates time and also tells us if an action or a state of being is to be regarded as complete or continuing.
The second use of tense in the opening sentence is as an adjective. It describes the state of mental or nervous tension experienced by students faced with the task of using verb tenses correctly.
The purpose of this article is to present a simple and useful reference point for anyone struggling with verb tenses.
English verb tenses: a quick overview
3 basic tenses x 4 forms = 12 tenses
Three basic tenses
- Present
- Past
- Future
Four forms
- Simple
- Progressive
- Perfect
- Perfect Progressive
Twelve tenses
- Simple Present
- Simple Past
- Simple Future
- Present Progressive
- Past Progressive
- Future Progressive
- Present Perfect
- Past Perfect
- Future Perfect
- Present Perfect Progressive
- Past Perfect Progressive
- Future Perfect Progressive
What does each of these tenses do? The following definitions will tell you, and the examples that conclude this article will show you how these tenses are used.
English verb tenses: definitions
Simple Present
The simple present tense reports present actions, habits, facts, and conditions. It speaks of regularly performed or recurring actions, generally accepted facts or truths, and present or usual feelings and conditions.
Simple Past
The simple past tense reports a completed action started and finished at some time in the past.
Simple Future
The simple future tense reports an action that will take place in the future.
Present Progressive
The present progressive tense reports an action that is in progress now, at this moment.
Past Progressive
The past progressive tense reports an action that was continuing for some time in the past.
Future Progressive
The future progressive tense reports an ongoing action that will exist in the future.
Present Perfect
The present perfect tense reports an action that is completed in the present.
Past Perfect
The past perfect tense reports an action that has been completed in the past.
Future Perfect
The future perfect tense reports an action that will be completed in the future.
Present Perfect Progressive
The present perfect progressive tense reports an action that started in the past and is continuing now, or it stopped recently and has some impact on present conditions.
Past Perfect Progressive
The past perfect progressive tense reports an action that continued for some time in the past and was completed at some point in the past.
Future Perfect Progressive
The future perfect progressive tense reports an action that will continue until a certain point in the future
In these definitions, the word action is used. Other words such as event, situation, and condition could also be used in addition to action to broaden the scope of some definitions.
English verb tenses: examples
Simple Present
He always climbs Mount Everest and none of the other Himalayan peaks.
The highest mountains in the world are in the Himalayas.
The height of Mount Everest is 8,848 meters.
He likes the challenge of mountaineering.
Simple Past
He climbed Mount Everest in 1984.
He wrote an article about that expedition.
Simple Future
He will climb Mount Everest again next year.
He is going to climb Mount Everest next year.
He climbs Mount Everest tomorrow.
Present Progressive
He is climbing Mount Everest at this moment.
Past Progressive
He was climbing Mount Everest last month.
Future Progressive
He will be climbing Mount Everest next year.
Present Perfect
He has climbed Mount Everest.
He has written articles about some of his adventures.
Past Perfect
He had climbed Mount Everest in 1984.
Future Perfect
By this time next year, he will have climbed Mount Everest.
By this time next year, he will have written about that event.
Present Perfect Progressive
He is tired because he has been climbing.
Past Perfect Progressive
He had been climbing for two hours before he took his first break.
Future Perfect Progressive
He will have been climbing for two hours by the time he takes his first break.
Don’t let English verb tenses cause you to be tense. Relax and use this article as a handy reference point to relieve your tension.
Click on the following link to a video that will give you a well-constructed overview of English verb tenses.
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If you are still unsure about any point concerning verb tenses, ask here for clarification. Your comments, observations, and questions are welcome.
Here are more articles to help you with English words, grammar, and essay writing.
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4 comments
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Thank you so much! You are great!
In this example, the main verb is be, right?
Author
What you have in your example is a linking verb (linking verb phrase), has been, and an adjective, obnoxious, describing a state of being. So there is not a main verb as such.
If you take a slightly different example: “She has been fuming all day,” you would then have the helping verbs, has been, and an action verb or main verb, fuming.
I still cannot understand the difference between present perfect and present perfect progressive.
In sentences like: “She has been obnoxious all day,” what is the tense? Is it present perfect or present perfect progressive?
Thank you
Author
Your clue in the example you have given is has been which would indicate a state of continuance whether it be something going on now or the current effect of something that has now stopped. That would make it present perfect progressive: She started being obnoxious earlier in the day and has continued being that way all day.
To qualify for present perfect you would have to say something like “She has fumed all day.”
So present perfect progressive is the tense of your example.
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