In this English language lesson, we are going to cover one of the most important and common grammar parts: the tenses of verbs. We will help you to learn better and easier with this table of English tenses with rules and examples.
The table below shows a chart of all tenses in English.
Scroll to the right to read full details of the table if you are using a mobile phone.
Table of Contents
Present
| The tense | Affirmative | Negative | Question | Time Indicators | Form | Use |
| Simple Present | ► He works here. ► They work here. | ► He does not work here. ► They do not work here. | ► Does he work here? ► Do they work here? | ► Now, today, at this moment, always, every …, sometimes … | ► S + V (+s / es / ies) | ► with facts (general truths) ► with repeated acts. (routine) |
| Present Progressive | ► He is working here. ► They are working here. | ► He is not working here. ► They are not working here. | ► Is he working here? ► Are they working here? | ► at the moment, currently, just now, now … | ► S + am/is/are + V + ing | ► action in progress right now. ► future plan or intention |
| Present Perfect | ► She has worked here. ► They have worked here. | ► She has not worked here. ► They have not worked here. | ► Has she worked here? ► Have they worked here? | ► already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now | ► S + have / has + past participle | ► act. that finished in the very recent past. ► finished act. in an unfinished period |
| Present Perfect Progressive | ► He has been working here? ► They have been working here? | ► He has not been working here? ► They have not been working here? | ► Has he been working here? ► Have they been working here? | ► all day, for 3 years, since 2007, how long ?, the whole month … | ► S + have/has + been + V + ing | ► past act. that continues in present. ► repeated acts. that happened lately. |
Past
| The tense | Affirmative | Negative | Question | Time Indicators | Form | Use |
| Simple Past | ► He worked here. ► They worked here. | ► He did not work here. ► They did not work here. | ► Did he work here? ► Did they work here? | ► Ago, yesterday, last month, last week … | ► S + V + d / ed / ied | ► with facts (general truths) ► with repeated acts. (routine) |
| Past Progressive | ► He was working here. ► They were working here. | ► He was not working here. ► They were not working here. | ► Was he working here? ► Were they working here? | ► while, as long as … | ► was / were + V + ing | ► action going on at a certain time in the past. ► action in the past that is interrupted by another action(s). ► actions taking place at the same time. |
| Past Perfect | ► She had worked here. ► They had worked here. | ► She had not worked here. ► They had not worked here. | ► Had she worked here? ► Had they worked here? | ► already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now | ► S + had + past participle | ► action that finished in the very recent past. ► finished action in an unfinished period. |
| Past Perfect Progressive | ► He had been working here? ► They had been working here? | ► He had not been working here? ► They had not been working here? | ► Had he been working here? ► Had they been working here? | ► for, since, the whole day, all day … | ► S + had + been + V + ing | ► action taking place before a certain time in the past. |
You can check the introduction to English verb tenses for more examples or the grammar section.
Future
| The tense | Affirmative | Negative | Question | Time Indicators | Form | Use |
| Future Simple | ► He will work here. ► They will work here. | ► He will not work here. ► They will not work here. | ► Will he work here? ► Will they work here? | ► tomorrow, soon, next year, someday … | ► S + will + V | ► to predict future events. ► to express a decision, offer or promise. |
| Future Continuous | ► He will be working here. ► They will be working here. | ► He will not be working here. ► They will not be working here. | ► Will he be working here? ► Will they be working here? | ► this time next week, still, at 7 tomorrow … | ► S + will + be + V + ing | ► action going on at a certain time in the past. ► action in the past that is interrupted by another action(s). ► actions taking place at the same time. |
| Future Perfect | ► She will have worked here. ► They will have worked here. | ► She will not have worked here. ► They will not have worked here. | ► Will she have worked here? ► Will they have worked here? | ► by the time, by +time, before, when, till, until … | ► S + will + have + past participle | ► action 1 will finish in future before action 2. ► action will finish in future before a certain point. |
| Future Perfect Progressive | ► He will have been working here? ► They will have been working here? | ► He will not have been working here? ► They will not have been working here? | ► Will he have been working here? ► Will they have been working here? | ► by the time, by +time, before, when, till, until … | ► S + will + have + been + V + ing | ► action will continue to a point in the future. |
Infinitive
| The tense | Affirmative | Negative | Question | Time Indicators | Form | Use |
| Infinitive | He wants to work here. They want to work here. | He does not want to work here. They do not want to work here. | Does he want to work here ? Do they want to work here? | Now, today, at this moment, always, every …, sometimes … | ► S + verb + to + Verb | ► After modals like must or should … ► After a conjugated verb |
Imperative
| The tense | Affirmative | Negative | Time Indicators | Form | Use |
| Infinitive | Do your homework. Wake up early. | Do not smoke here. Do not play with fire | Now, today, at this moment, always, every …, sometimes … | ► verb + object | ► Give order or advice … ► Give directions |
You can print the table of English tenses with rules and examples from the images or flashcards below and attach them to your textbook, or check this detailed article.
Hope this helped advance your English grammar understanding and answered some of these recurrent questions such as:
What is the rules of present simple? What is the rules of present simple? Example of a simple present sentence? How do you write simple present tense? How do you write simple present tense? Do does in simple present tense? What are 5 examples of present? How do you write daily routine in simple present tense? What are the 4 types of present tense?
