Verb Tenses Overview for English Learners

Definition: Verb tenses indicate the time of action or state of being expressed by the verb.

Simple Present: Describes habitual actions or general truths.
- Structure: Subject + base form of the verb (e.g., "She walks.")
Present Continuous (Progressive): Describes ongoing actions.
- Structure: Subject + is/am/are + verb(-ing) (e.g., "She is walking.")
Present Perfect: Describes actions that occurred at an unspecified time or that started in the past and continue to the present.
- Structure: Subject + has/have + past participle (e.g., "She has walked.")
Present Perfect Continuous: Emphasizes the duration of an action that started in the past and continues to the present.
- Structure: Subject + has/have been + verb(-ing) (e.g., "She has been walking.")

Simple Past: Describes actions completed in the past.
- Structure: Subject + past form of the verb (e.g., "She walked.")
Past Continuous (Progressive): Describes actions that were ongoing in the past.
- Structure: Subject + was/were + verb(-ing) (e.g., "She was walking.")
Past Perfect: Describes actions completed before another point in the past.
- Structure: Subject + had + past participle (e.g., "She had walked.")
Past Perfect Continuous: Emphasizes the duration of an action that was ongoing before another action in the past.
- Structure: Subject + had been + verb(-ing) (e.g., "She had been walking.")

Simple Future: Describes actions that will occur.
- Structure: Subject + will + base form of the verb (e.g., "She will walk.")
Future Continuous (Progressive): Describes ongoing actions that will occur in the future.
- Structure: Subject + will be + verb(-ing) (e.g., "She will be walking.")
Future Perfect: Describes actions that will be completed before another point in the future.
- Structure: Subject + will have + past participle (e.g., "She will have walked.")
Future Perfect Continuous: Emphasizes the duration of an action that will be ongoing up to a point in the future.
- Structure: Subject + will have been + verb(-ing) (e.g., "She will have been walking.")

Time Indicators: Words like "yesterday," "now," "tomorrow," help signal the appropriate tense.
Aspect: Refers to the nature of the action (completed vs. ongoing).
Agreement: The subject and verb must agree in number and tense.
Irregular Verbs: Some verbs do not follow standard conjugation rules (e.g., go -> went).

Verb tenses express the timing of an action or a state of being indicating when an action occurs.

Simple Present: For habitual actions or universal truths. Form: Subject + base form (e.g., "She walks.")
Present Continuous: Indicates ongoing actions. Form: Subject + is/am/are + verb(-ing) (e.g., "She is walking.")
Present Perfect: Denotes actions with relevance to the present. Form: Subject + has/have + past participle (e.g., "She has walked.")
Present Perfect Continuous: Highlights duration of ongoing actions that started in the past. Form: Subject + has/have been + verb(-ing) (e.g., "She has been walking.")

Simple Past: For actions completed in the past. Form: Subject + past form (e.g., "She walked.")
Past Continuous: Describes actions that were ongoing in the past. Form: Subject + was/were + verb(-ing) (e.g., "She was walking.")
Past Perfect: Indicates actions completed before a certain point in the past. Form: Subject + had + past participle (e.g., "She had walked.")
Past Perfect Continuous: Emphasizes actions ongoing before another past action. Form: Subject + had been + verb(-ing) (e.g., "She had been walking.")

Simple Future: For actions that will occur. Form: Subject + will + base form (e.g., "She will walk.")
Future Continuous: Denotes ongoing actions in the future. Form: Subject + will be + verb(-ing) (e.g., "She will be walking.")
Future Perfect: Indicates actions that will be completed before another future point. Form: Subject + will have + past participle (e.g., "She will have walked.")
Future Perfect Continuous: Emphasizes the ongoing nature of actions up to a future point. Form: Subject + will have been + verb(-ing) (e.g., "She will have been walking.")

Time Indicators: Words like "yesterday," "now," and "tomorrow" signal which tense to use.
Aspect: Refers to whether the action is completed or ongoing.
Agreement: Subject and verb must agree in number and tense for grammatical accuracy.
Irregular Verbs: Some verbs, such as "go" (went), do not follow regular conjugation patterns.