The use of a verb to show the time of an action or event is called its tense. There are three tenses: present tense, past tense and future tense. They help us understand when an action is happening. Each type has different forms to express different times and situations. It tells us whether something is happening in the past, present, or future.
The present tense is used to discuss things that are happening right now or on a regular basis.
This is used to describe actions that happen regularly or facts.
Form |
Positive (Affirmative) |
Negative |
Interrogative |
I / You / We / They |
I eat breakfast every morning. |
I don't eat breakfast. |
Do I eat breakfast? |
He / She / It |
She plays the piano. |
She doesn't play the piano. |
Does she play the piano? |
This is used to describe actions happening right now.
Person/Tense | Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
---|---|---|---|
1st Person (I/We) | I am playing. | I am not playing. | Am I playing? |
2nd Person (You) | You are playing. | You are not playing. | Are you playing? |
3rd Person Singular (He/She/It) | He/She/It is playing. | He/She/It is not playing. | Is he/she/it playing? |
3rd Person Plural (They) | They are playing. | They are not playing. | Are they playing? |
This is used to talk about actions that happened at an unspecified time in the past or actions that have a connection to the present.
Person |
Affirmative |
Negative |
Interrogative |
1st |
I have walked. |
I have not walked. (I haven't) |
Have I walked? |
2nd |
You have walked. |
You have not walked. (You haven't) |
Have you walked? |
3rd |
He/She/It has walked. |
He/She/It has not walked. (Hasn't) |
Has he/she/it walked? |
This is used to talk about an action that began in the past and is still ongoing or has just concluded.
Affirmative |
Negative |
Interrogative |
I have been playing. |
I have not been playing. |
Have I been playing? |
You have been studying. |
You have not been studying. |
Have you been studying? |
He/She/It has been dancing. |
He/She/It has not been dancing. |
Has he/she/it been dancing? |
We have been cooking. |
We have not been cooking. |
Have we been cooking? |
They have been reading. |
They have not been reading. |
Have they been reading? |
The past tense is used to talk about actions that have already happened.
This describes actions that happened in the past and are over.
Positive (Affirmative) |
Negative |
Interrogative (Question) |
I played |
I did not play (I didn't play) |
Did I play? |
You danced |
You did not dance (You didn't dance) |
Did you dance? |
He/She/It ran |
He/She/It did not run (He/She/It didn't run) |
Did he/she/it run? |
We sang |
We did not sing (We didn't sing) |
Did we sing? |
They studied |
They did not study (They didn't study) |
Did they study? |
This is used to describe actions that were happening at a specific time in the past.
Form |
Affirmative |
Negative |
Interrogative |
Subject (I/You/He/She/It/We/They) |
Subject + was/were + verb-ing |
Subject + was/were + not + verb-ing |
Was/Were + subject + verb-ing? |
I |
I was playing. |
I was not playing. |
Was I playing? |
You |
You were studying. |
You were not studying. |
Were you studying? |
He/She/It |
He was sleeping. |
He was not sleeping. |
Was he sleeping? |
We |
We were eating lunch. |
We were not eating lunch. |
Were we eating lunch? |
They |
They were dancing. |
They were not dancing. |
Were they dancing? |
This is used to talk about actions that happened before another past action
Type |
Affirmative |
Negative |
Interrogative |
Regular Verbs |
I had played. |
I had not played. |
Had I played? |
Irregular Verbs |
I had seen. |
I had not seen it. |
Had I seen it? |
Negative Forms |
I had not played. |
I had played. |
Had I not played? |
Interrogative Forms |
Had I played? |
Had I not played? |
I had played? |
This is used to talk about an activity that occurred continuously in the past and had already occurred prior to another action or period in the past.
Form |
Affirmative |
Negative |
Interrogative |
Simple |
I had been playing. |
I had not been playing. |
Had I been playing? |
Negative |
I had not been playing. |
I had been playing. |
Had I not been playing? |
Interrogative |
Had I been playing? |
Had I not been playing? |
I had been playing? |
Future tense is used to talk about actions that will happen in the future.
This is used to describe actions that will happen at a later time.
Subject |
Affirmative |
Negative |
Interrogative |
I |
will play |
will not play |
will I play? |
You |
will play |
will not play |
will you play? |
He/She/It |
will play |
will not play |
will he/she/it play? |
We |
will play |
will not play |
will we play? |
They |
will play |
will not play |
will they play? |
This is used to describe actions that will be in progress at a specific future time.
Form |
Affirmative |
Negative |
Interrogative |
I / We |
will be + verb-ing |
will not be + verb-ing |
Will + subject + be + verb-ing? |
You |
will be + verb-ing |
will not be + verb-ing |
Will + subject + be + verb-ing? |
He / She / It |
will be + verb-ing |
will not be + verb-ing |
Will + subject + be + verb-ing? |
This is used to talk about actions that will be completed before a specific future time.
Form |
Affirmative |
Negative |
Interrogative |
I/We |
will have + [base verb] |
will not have + [base verb] |
Will + [base verb] +? |
You |
will have + [base verb] |
will not have + [base verb] |
Will + [base verb] +? |
He/She/It |
will have + [base verb] |
will not have + [base verb] |
Will + [base verb] +? |
They |
will have + [base verb] |
will not have + [base verb] |
Will + [base verb] +? |
This is used to describe an action that will be ongoing (continuous) and will have occurred at some point in the future.
Type |
Affirmative |
Negative |
Interrogative |
Example |
I will have been studying for 2 hours. |
I will not have been studying for 2 hours. |
Will I have been studying for 2 hours? |
Use |
To show actions that will continue for a specific duration in the future. |
To show actions that will not continue for a specific duration in the future. |
To ask questions about actions that will continue for a specific duration in the future. |
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