English tenses: all of them in one table

The 12 English tense forms come from combining three time frames (present, past, future) with four aspects: simple (general or completed), continuous (in progress), perfect (completed before a point), and perfect continuous (lasting up to a point). Knowing this system lets you recognise a new tense from its pattern instead of memorising it.

Present

Present simple: “I work.” (habit, general truth). Present continuous: “I am working.” (now). Present perfect: “I have worked here since 2020.” (link from past to now). Present perfect continuous: “I have been working all day.” (an action lasting until now).

Past

Past simple: “I worked yesterday.” (a finished event). Past continuous: “I was working when you called.” (in progress at a past moment). Past perfect: “I had finished before you arrived.” (before another past event). Past perfect continuous: “I had been working for hours.” (lasting up to a past moment).

Future

Future simple: “I will work tomorrow.” Future continuous: “I will be working at ten.” (in progress at a future moment). Future perfect: “I will have finished by Friday.” (completed before a future point). Future perfect continuous: “By June, I will have been working here for a year.” “Going to” is also used for plans: “I'm going to work from home.”

Which ones to learn first?

Most everyday speech uses a few tenses: present simple, present continuous, past simple, present perfect, and will or going to for the future. The other tenses should be recognised when reading, but there is no need to use them all at once at the start.

A short exercise

Choose your own verb instead of “work” (for example “study” or “read”) and write one sentence about yourself for each of the 12 tenses. Then note next to each sentence which aspect it uses (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous).

To keep going, see Present simple or present continuous? The difference and Present perfect or past simple? The difference.

Frequently asked questions