All English Tenses with Examples

Categories: Basic English

1. Present Tenses

a) Present Simple

Structure: Subject + base verb (+s/es for he/she/it)
Examples:

I play football.
She works in an office.

b) Present Continuous

Structure: Subject + am/is/are + verb(-ing)
Examples:

I am reading a book.
They are playing cricket.

c) Present Perfect

Structure: Subject + have/has + past participle (V3)
Examples:

I have finished my homework.
She has gone to school.

d) Present Perfect Continuous

Structure: Subject + have/has + been + verb(-ing)
Examples:

I have been studying for 2 hours.
He has been working here since 2015.

2. Past Tenses

a) Past Simple

Structure: Subject + past form of verb
Examples:

I played football yesterday.
She worked in Delhi last year.

b) Past Continuous

Structure: Subject + was/were + verb(-ing)
Examples:

I was reading when you called.
They were playing cricket at 5 p.m.

c) Past Perfect

Structure: Subject + had + past participle (V3)
Examples:

I had eaten before he arrived.
She had left when I called.

d) Past Perfect Continuous

Structure: Subject + had + been + verb(-ing)
Examples:

I had been studying for two hours before dinner.
They had been waiting since morning.

3. Future Tenses

a) Future Simple

Structure: Subject + will/shall + base verb
Examples:

I will play football tomorrow.
She will go to Paris next week.

b) Future Continuous

Structure: Subject + will be + verb(-ing)
Examples:

I will be reading at 8 p.m.
They will be traveling to London.

c) Future Perfect

Structure: Subject + will have + past participle (V3)
Examples:

I will have finished the project by Monday.
She will have graduated by next year.

d) Future Perfect Continuous

Structure: Subject + will have been + verb(-ing)
Examples:

I will have been studying for 3 hours by 10 p.m.
They will have been working here for 10 years by 2030.

Tense Summary Table

Time	Simple	Continuous	Perfect	Perfect Continuous
Present	I play	I am playing	I have played	I have been playing
Past	I played	I was playing	I had played	I had been playing
Future	I will play	I will be playing	I will have played	I will have been playing

✨ That’s all 12 tenses in English explained with structure + examples.