Tense Chart in English, Rules, Examples and its Types

In English grammar, verbs are often used to indicate or denote the action or the time when an event occurred. Such verbs sometimes change their form to tell the time of an action, event, or condition by changing their forms, these verbs are called Tenses. Tenses are of three different types: present, past, and future tense. Each type further consists of four subparts, that is, Simple, Continuous, Perfect, and Perfect Continuous. So in this article, we will discuss tense charts with rules and examples in detail. 

What is Tense?

According to Oxford Dictionary, “Tense is any of the forms of a verb that may be used to show the time of the action or situation expressed by the verb”.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “The term tense means a distinction of form in a verb to express distinctions of time or duration of the action or state it denotes”.

According to Collins Dictionary, “Tense is defined as any of the forms of a verb which reveal the time at which an action has happened”.

According to Cambridge Dictionary defines “tense” is “any of the forms of a verb which show the time at which an action happened.”

Types of Tense

In English Grammar, tenses are of three types, that is,

1. Present Tense
2. Past Tense
3. Future Tense

Further, it consists of four forms: 

1. Simple
2. Perfect
3. Continuous
4. Perfect Continuous

So, in total there are 12 tenses which are as follows:

Below is the table of the examples of tenses-

Significance of Tense Chart

The English Grammar, tenses are often considered an important concept. A verb when changing its form takes the help of tense to formulate the proper sentence or express the state of action, events, or occurrence in a proper way.  It helps you to make your context clear and precise. You may also create complex sentence constructions using tenses. Therefore, you should be familiar with all twelve tenses and their usage, so for that, we have made a tense chart below to make you understand better.

Tense Chart with Rules and Examples 

Tense Chart In Hindi

Tense (काल) क्रिया का वह स्वरूप है जो किसी कार्य या घटना के समय और उस कार्य या घटना की दशा को बताता है। मुख़्यता काल तीन प्रकार के होते है, वर्त्तमान काल , भुतकाल, भविष्यकाल । काल के कितने प्रकार होते है, वर्त्तमानकाल के भेद, भुतकाल के भेद, भविष्यकाल के भेद विस्तार में नीचे दिए हुए है। 

Present Tense

The present tense refers to the action or event that occurs or takes place in the present. It refers to the activity that is going on. it can also be defined as the form of the verb which expresses the action or state of action happening in the present time. Below is the tense chart of Present Tense.

Types of Present Tense 

In English Grammar, there are four types of the present tense, these are:

1. Simple Present Tense
2. Present Continuous Tense
3. Present Perfect Tense
4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense

1. Simple Present Tense: When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is going on in the present time or is a regular event, then the verb is used in a simple present tense form.

General Formula for Simple Present Tense: 

Simple Present Tense Examples:

• Rajesh eats bread and butter before going to school.
• Elisa watches cartoons every day.
• Rupa drinks milk every night before going to bed.
• John goes to the gym daily.
• Dileep smokes.
• Shilpa reads the newspaper every day.

2. Present Continuous Tense: When the verbs defines or denotes the action or condition which is happening now and continues till the future, then such verb is used as Present Continuous Tense.

General formula for Present Continuous Tense:

Present Continuous Tense Examples:

• Students are going to school.
• The girls are playing in the park.
• Rupali is crying out loud.
• It is raining now.
• I am cooking biryani for the lunch.
• Miss Angela is teaching in the class.

3. Present Perfect Tense: When the verbs defines or denotes the past action in the present forms, then such verb is used as Present Perfect Tense.

General Formula for Present Perfect Tense:

Present Perfect Tense Example

• She has lived here all her life.
• They have written three letters already.
• I have worked here since I graduated school.
• He has finished his homework.
• We have been to Canada.
• She has forgotten her folder.

4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense: When the verbs defines or denotes the action which shows that something started in the past and is continuing at the present time, then such verb is used as Present Prefect Continuous Tense.

General Formula for Present Perfect Continuous Tense:

Present Perfect Continuous Tense Examples:

• I have been working on this project for a week.
• You have been working on this project for a week.
• He has been working on this project for a week.
• She has been working on this project for a week.
• They have been working on this project for a week.

Past Tense

The past tense refers to the action or event that has already occurred or has taken place in the past. It refers to the activity that has already happened. it can also be defined as the form of the verb which expresses the action or state of action that happened in the past. Below is the tense chart of Past Tense.

Types of Past Tense

In English Grammar, there are four types of past tense, these are:

1. Simple Past Tense
2. Past Continuous Tense
3. Past Perfect Tense
4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense

1. Simple Past Tense: When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used to indicate an action or event that happened in the past.

General Formula for Simple Past Tense:

Simple Past Tense Examples:

• Nupur went to the supermarket yesterday.
• Satya cooked a tasty dinner yesterday.
• My sister saw a movie yesterday.
• Last month I travelled to France.
• I washed the dishes.
• My sister bought a dress for me.

2. Past  Continuous Tense: When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used depict an action or event that was continuing in the past, then such verb is used as Past Continuous Tense.

General Formula For Past Continuous Tense:

Past Continuous Tense Examples:

• It was snowing today.
• They were eating at the dhaba.
• You were working tomorrow.
• I was studying last night.
• I was waiting for the cab when I met Usha.
• The student were shouting when the teacher came in.
• It was midnight when it was raining.
• Everyone was clapping. 

3.Past Perfect Tense: When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used to represent an event or action that happened in the past before another event or action that happened in the past, then such verb is used as Past Perfect Tense.

General Formula For past Perfect Tense:

Past Perfect Tense Examples:

• She had met him before the party.
• The plane had left by the time I got to the airport.
• I had written the email before he apologized.
• Kate had wanted to see the movie, but she did not have money for the ticket.

 4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense: This verb form is used to define/denotes used to denote an action or event that was taking place in the past until another action or event happened in the past.

General Formula For Past Perfect Continuous Tense:

Past Perfect Continuous Tense Examples:

• He had been drinking milk out the carton when Mom walked into the kitchen.
• I had been working at the company for five years when I got the promotion.
• Martha had been walking three miles a day before she broke her leg.
• The program that was terminated had been working well since 1945.
• Cathy had been playing the piano for 35 years when she was finally asked to do a solo with the local orchestra.
• He had been throwing rocks at her window for five minutes before she finally came out on the balcony and said, “Hey, Romeo.”

Future Tense

The ‘future tense’ form of any verb refers to the change of the verb form to represent an action that is going to happen in the future or will be continuing in the future.

Types of Future Tense

In English, there are four types of the future tense:

1. Simple Future Tense
2. Future Continuous Tense
3. Future Perfect Tense
4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense

1. Simple Future Tense: The change in verb form which is used to denote/ defines an action that will happen in the future, then the such verb is used as simple future tense.

General Formula For Simple Future Tense:

Simple Future Tense Examples:

• I will write articles on different topics.
• Robert will read various kinds of books.
• They will play football in that field.
• April will prefer coffee to tea.
• Bob will go to the library tomorrow.
• We will go shopping in that market this Monday.

2. Future Continuous Tense: The change in verb from which is used to denote/defines those actions which will be in progress/motion at some point in the future.

General Formula For Future Continuous Tense:

Future Continuous Tense Examples:

• It will be raining from tomorrow.
• I will be watching the series today.
• They will be staying at my place.
• The parcel will be arriving soon.
• The doctor will be coming tomorrow.
• The Prime Minister will be visiting the museum tomorrow.

3. Future Perfect Tense: The change in verb for in which is used to indicate an action that will be taking place in the future.

General Formula For Future Perfect Tense:

Future Perfect Tense Examples:

• I will have dressed up by the time you reach home.
• You will have dressed up by the time they reach home.
• He will have dressed up by the time you reach home.
• She will have dressed up by the time you reach home.
• They will have dressed up by the time you reach home. She will be taking her dog for a walk.

4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense: The verb forms that denote/define a verb tense that describes actions that will continue up until a point in the future.

General Formula For Future Perfect Continuous Tense:

Future Perfect Continuous Tense Examples:

• I will have been waiting here for three hours by six o'clock.
• By 2001 I will have been living in London for sixteen years.
• When I finish this course, I will have been learning English for twenty years.
• Next year I will have been working here for four years.
• When I come at 6:00, will you have been practicing long?