Tenses Chart and Example Sentences! As a language learner, one of the most important things to understand is verb tenses. Each tense has its own set of rules, and using the wrong tense can change the entire meaning of a sentence. This chart provides an overview of the most common English verb tenses, with example sentences for each. It’s a great reference tool for all ESL learners!
Tenses Chart and Examples
1. Present Simple Tense
The present simple tense is used to describe habitual or daily actions. For example:
- I brush my teeth every morning.
- They walk to work every day.
- He watches TV every night.
To form a sentence in the present simple tense, you need to use the base form of the verb. For example, the base form of ‘walk’ is ‘walk’, the base form of ‘brush’ is ‘brush’, and the base form of ‘watch’ is ‘watch’. To make a sentence negative, you need to add the word ‘not’ after the auxiliary verb. For example:
- I do not brush my teeth every morning.
- They do not walk to work every day.
- He does not watch TV every night.
To ask a question in the present simple tense, you need to put the auxiliary verb before the subject. For example:
- Do I brush my teeth every morning?
- Do they walk to work every day?
- Does he watch TV every night?
2. Present Continuous Tense
The present continuous tense is used to describe actions that are happening now or around now. For example:
- I am brushing my teeth.
- They are walking to work.
- He is watching TV.
To form a sentence in the present continuous tense, you need to use the present participle of the verb (the base form plus ‘ing’). For example, the present participle of ‘walk’ is ‘walking’, the present participle of ‘brush’ is ‘brushing’, and the present participle of ‘watch’ is ‘watching’. To make a sentence negative, you need to add the word ‘not’ after the auxiliary verb. For example:
- I am not brushing my teeth.
- They are not walking to work.
- He is not watching TV.
To ask a question in the present continuous tense, you need to put the auxiliary verb before the subject. For example:
- Am I brushing my teeth?
- Are they walking to work?
- Is he watching TV?
3. Present Perfect Tense
The present perfect tense is used to describe actions that have happened in the past but are still relevant now. For example:
- I have brushed my teeth.
- They have walked to work.
- He has watched TV.
To form a sentence in the present perfect tense, you need to use the present perfect verb form of the verb (the base form plus ‘ed’ or ‘en’). For example, the present perfect verb form of ‘walk’ is ‘walked’, the present perfect verb form of ‘brush’ is ‘brushed’, and the present perfect verb form of ‘watch’ is ‘watched’. To make a sentence negative, you need to add the word ‘not’ after the auxiliary verb. For example:
- I have not brushed my teeth.
- They have not walked to work.
- He has not watched TV.
To ask a question in the present perfect tense, you need to put the auxiliary verb before the subject. For example:
- Have I brushed my teeth?
- Have they walked to work?
- Has he watched TV?
4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense
The present perfect continuous tense is used to describe actions that have been happening up to now. For example:
- I have been brushing my teeth.
- They have been walking to work.
- He has been watching TV.
To form a sentence in the present perfect continuous tense, you need to use the present participle of the verb (the base form plus ‘ing’) and the auxiliary verb ‘have’. For example, the present participle of ‘walk’ is ‘walking’, the present participle of ‘brush’ is ‘brushing’, and the present participle of ‘watch’ is ‘watching’. To make a sentence negative, you need to add the word ‘not’ after the auxiliary verb. For example:
- I have not been brushing my teeth.
- They have not been walking to work.
- He has not been watching TV.
To ask a question in the present perfect continuous tense, you need to put the auxiliary verb before the subject. For example:
- Have I been brushing my teeth?
- Have they been walking to work?
- Has he been watching TV?
5. Past Simple Tense
The past simple tense is used to describe actions that happened in the past and are now finished. For example:
- I brushed my teeth.
- They walked to work.
- He watched TV.
To form a sentence in the past simple tense, you need to use the past participle of the verb (the base form plus ‘ed’ or ‘en’). For example, the past participle of ‘walk’ is ‘walked’, the past participle of ‘brush’ is ‘brushed’, and the past participle of ‘watch’ is ‘watched’. To make a sentence negative, you need to add the word ‘not’ after the auxiliary verb. For example:
- I did not brush my teeth.
- They did not walk to work.
- He did not watch TV.
To ask a question in the past simple tense, you need to put the auxiliary verb before the subject. For example:
- Did I brush my teeth?
- Did they walk to work?
- Did he watch TV?
6. Past Continuous Tense
The past continuous tense is used to describe actions that were happening in the past at a specific time. For example:
- I was brushing my teeth at 7 o’clock this morning.
- They were walking to work at 8 o’clock this morning.
- He was watching TV at 9 o’clock this morning.
To form a sentence in the past continuous tense, you need to use the past participle of the verb (the base form plus ‘ing’) and the auxiliary verb ‘was’. For example, the past participle of ‘walk’ is ‘walking’, the past participle of ‘brush’ is ‘brushing’, and the past participle of ‘watch’ is ‘watching’. To make a sentence negative, you need to add the word ‘not’ after the auxiliary verb. For example:
- I was not brushing my teeth at 7 o’clock this morning.
- They were not walking to work at 8 o’clock this morning.
- He was not watching TV at 9 o’clock this morning.
To ask a question in the past continuous tense, you need to put the auxiliary verb before the subject. For example:
- Was I brushing my teeth at 7 o’clock this morning?
- Were they walking to work at 8 o’clock this morning?
- Was he watching TV at 9 o’clock this morning?
7. Past Perfect Tense
The past perfect tense is used to describe actions that happened in the past before other actions happened. For example:
- I had brushed my teeth before I went to bed.
- They had walked to work before they caught the bus.
- He had watched TV before he went to sleep.
To form a sentence in the past perfect tense, you need to use the past participle of the verb (the base form plus ‘ed’) and the auxiliary verb ‘had’. For example, the past participle of ‘walk’ is ‘walked’, the past participle of ‘brush’ is ‘brushed’, and the past participle of ‘watch’ is ‘watched’. To make a sentence negative, you need to add the word ‘not’ after the auxiliary verb. For example:
- I had not brushed my teeth before I went to bed.
- They had not walked to work before they caught the bus.
- He had not watched TV before he went to sleep.
To ask a question in the past perfect tense, you need to put the auxiliary verb before the subject. For example:
- Had I brushed my teeth before I went to bed?
- Had they walked to work before they caught the bus?
- Had he watched TV before he went to sleep?
8. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
The past perfect continuous tense is used to describe actions that were happening in the past before other actions happened. For example:
- I had been brushing my teeth for two minutes before I went to bed.
- They had been walking to work for ten minutes before they caught the bus.
- He had been watching TV for an hour before he went to sleep.
To form a sentence in the past perfect continuous tense, you need to use the past participle of the verb (the base form plus ‘ing’) and the auxiliary verb ‘had’. For example, the past participle of ‘walk’ is ‘walking’, the past participle of ‘brush’ is ‘brushing’, and the past participle of ‘watch’ is ‘watching’. To make a sentence negative, you need to add the word ‘not’ after the auxiliary verb. For example:
- I had not been brushing my teeth for two minutes before I went to bed.
- They had not been walking to work for ten minutes before they caught the bus.
- He had not been watching TV for an hour before he went to sleep.
To ask a question in the past perfect continuous tense, you need to put the auxiliary verb before the subject. For example:
- Had I been brushing my teeth for two minutes before I went to bed?
- Had they been walking to work for ten minutes before they caught the bus?
- Had he been watching TV for an hour before he went to sleep?
9. Future Simple Tense
The future simple tense is used to describe actions that will happen in the future. For example:
- I will brush my teeth at 7 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- They will walk to work at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- He will watch TV at 9 o’clock tomorrow morning.
To form a sentence in the future simple tense, you need to use the base form of the verb and the auxiliary verb ‘will’. For example, the base form of ‘walk’ is ‘walk’, the base form of ‘brush’ is ‘brush’, and the base form of ‘watch’ is ‘watch’. To make a sentence negative, you need to add the word ‘not’ after the auxiliary verb. For example:
- I will not brush my teeth at 7 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- They will not walk to work at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- He will not watch TV at 9 o’clock tomorrow morning.
To ask a question in the future simple tense, you need to put the auxiliary verb before the subject. For example:
- Will I brush my teeth at 7 o’clock tomorrow morning?
- Will they walk to work at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning?
- Will he watch TV at 9 o’clock tomorrow morning?
10. Future Continuous Tense
The future continuous tense is used to describe actions that will be happening in the future at a specific time. For example:
- I will be brushing my teeth at 7 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- They will be walking to work at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- He will be watching TV at 9 o’clock tomorrow morning.
To form a sentence in the future continuous tense, you need to use the base form of the verb plus ‘ing’ and the auxiliary verb ‘will’. For example, the base form of ‘walk’ is ‘walking’, the base form of ‘brush’ is ‘brushing’, and the base form of ‘watch’ is ‘watching’. To make a sentence negative, you need to add the word ‘not’ after the auxiliary verb. For example:
- I will not be brushing my teeth at 7 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- They will not be walking to work at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- He will not be watching TV at 9 o’clock tomorrow morning.
To ask a question in the future continuous tense, you need to put the auxiliary verb before the subject. For example:
- Will I be brushing my teeth at 7 o’clock tomorrow morning?
- Will they be walking to work at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning?
- Will he be watching TV at 9 o’clock tomorrow morning?
11. Future Perfect Tense
The future perfect tense is used to describe actions that will have happened in the future before other actions happen. For example:
- I will have brushed my teeth by 7 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- They will have walked to work by 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- He will have watched TV by 9 o’clock tomorrow morning.
To form a sentence in the future perfect tense, you need to use the base form of the verb and the auxiliary verbs ‘will have’. For example, the base form of ‘walk’ is ‘walked’, the base form of ‘brush’ is ‘brushed’, and the base form of ‘watch’ is ‘watched’. To make a sentence negative, you need to add the word ‘not’ after the auxiliary verb. For example:
- I will not have brushed my teeth by 7 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- They will not have walked to work by 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- He will not have watched TV by 9 o’clock tomorrow morning.
To ask a question in the future perfect tense, you need to put the auxiliary verb before the subject. For example:
- Will I have brushed my teeth by 7 o’clock tomorrow morning?
- Will they have walked to work by 8 o’clock tomorrow morning?
- Will he have watched TV by 9 o’clock tomorrow morning?
12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense
The future perfect continuous tense is used to describe actions that will have been happening in the future for a certain amount of time before other actions happen. For example:
- I will have been brushing my teeth for ten minutes by 7 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- They will have been walking to work for fifteen minutes by 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- He will have been watching TV for twenty minutes by 9 o’clock tomorrow morning.
To form a sentence in the future perfect continuous tense, you need to use the base form of the verb plus ‘ing’ and the auxiliary verbs ‘will have been’. For example, the base form of ‘walk’ is ‘walking’, the base form of ‘brush’ is ‘brushing’, and the base form of ‘watch’ is ‘watching’. To make a sentence negative, you need to add the word ‘not’ after the auxiliary verb. For example:
- I will not have been brushing my teeth for ten minutes by 7 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- They will not have been walking to work for fifteen minutes by 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.
- He will not have been watching TV for twenty minutes by 9 o’clock tomorrow morning.
To ask a question in the future perfect continuous tense, you need to put the auxiliary verb before the subject. For example:
- Will I have been brushing my teeth for ten minutes by 7 o’clock tomorrow morning?
- Will they have been walking to work for fifteen minutes by 8 o’clock tomorrow morning?
- Will he have been watching TV for twenty minutes by 9 o’clock tomorrow morning?
