In this English language lesson, we are going to cover one of the most important and common grammar parts: the tenses of verbs. We will help you to learn better and easier with this table of English tenses with rules and examples.
The table below shows a chart of all tenses in English.
Table of Contents
Present
The tense | Affirmative | Negative | Question | Time Indicators | Form | Use |
Simple Present | ► He works here. ► They work here. | ► He does not work here. ► They do not work here. | ► Does he work here? ► Do they work here? | ► Now, today, at this moment, always, every …, sometimes … | ► S + V (+s / es / ies) | ► with facts (general truths) ► with repeated acts. (routine) |
Present Progressive | ► He is working here. ► They are working here. | ► He is not working here. ► They are not working here. | ► Is he working here? ► Are they working here? | ► at the moment, currently, just now, now … | ► S + am/is/are + V + ing | ► action in progress right now. ► future plan or intention |
Present Perfect | ► She has worked here. ► They have worked here. | ► She has not worked here. ► They have not worked here. | ► Has she worked here? ► Have they worked here? | ► already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now | ► S + have / has + past participle | ► act. that finished in the very recent past. ► finished act. in an unfinished period |
Present Perfect Progressive | ► He has been working here? ► They have been working here? | ► He has not been working here? ► They have not been working here? | ► Has he been working here? ► Have they been working here? | ► all day, for 3 years, since 2007, how long ?, the whole month … | ► S + have/has + been + V + ing | ► past act. that continues in present. ► repeated acts. that happened lately. |
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Past
The tense | Affirmative | Negative | Question | Time Indicators | Form | Use |
Simple Past | ► He worked here. ► They worked here. | ► He did not work here. ► They did not work here. | ► Did he work here? ► Did they work here? | ► Ago, yesterday, last month, last week … | ► S + V + d / ed / ied | ► with facts (general truths) ► with repeated acts. (routine) |
Past Progressive | ► He was working here. ► They were working here. | ► He was not working here. ► They were not working here. | ► Was he working here? ► Were they working here? | ► while, as long as … | ► was / were + V + ing | ► action going on at a certain time in the past. ► action in the past that is interrupted by another action(s). ► actions taking place at the same time. |
Past Perfect | ► She had worked here. ► They had worked here. | ► She had not worked here. ► They had not worked here. | ► Had she worked here? ► Had they worked here? | ► already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now | ► S + had + past participle | ► action that finished in the very recent past. ► finished action in an unfinished period. |
Past Perfect Progressive | ► He had been working here? ► They had been working here? | ► He had not been working here? ► They had not been working here? | ► Had he been working here? ► Had they been working here? | ► for, since, the whole day, all day … | ► S + had + been + V + ing | ► action taking place before a certain time in the past. |
You can check the introduction to English verb tenses for more examples or the grammar section.
Future
The tense | Affirmative | Negative | Question | Time Indicators | Form | Use |
Future Simple | ► He will work here. ► They will work here. | ► He will not work here. ► They will not work here. | ► Will he work here? ► Will they work here? | ► tomorrow, soon, next year, someday … | ► S + will + V | ► to predict future events. ► to express a decision, offer or promise. |
Future Continuous | ► He will be working here. ► They will be working here. | ► He will not be working here. ► They will not be working here. | ► Will he be working here? ► Will they be working here? | ► this time next week, still, at 7 tomorrow … | ► S + will + be + V + ing | ► action going on at a certain time in the past. ► action in the past that is interrupted by another action(s). ► actions taking place at the same time. |
Future Perfect | ► She will have worked here. ► They will have worked here. | ► She will not have worked here. ► They will not have worked here. | ► Will she have worked here? ► Will they have worked here? | ► by the time, by +time, before, when, till, until … | ► S + will + have + past participle | ► action 1 will finish in future before action 2. ► action will finish in future before a certain point. |
Future Perfect Progressive | ► He will have been working here? ► They will have been working here? | ► He will not have been working here? ► They will not have been working here? | ► Will he have been working here? ► Will they have been working here? | ► by the time, by +time, before, when, till, until … | ► S + will + have + been + V + ing | ► action will continue to a point in the future. |
Infinitive
The tense | Affirmative | Negative | Question | Time Indicators | Form | Use |
Infinitive | He wants to work here. They want to work here. | He does not want to work here. They do not want to work here. | Does he want to work here ? Do they want to work here? | Now, today, at this moment, always, every …, sometimes … | ► S + verb + to + Verb | ► After modals like must or should … ► After a conjugated verb |
Imperative
The tense | Affirmative | Negative | Time Indicators | Form | Use |
Infinitive | Do your homework. Wake up early. | Do not smoke here. Do not play with fire | Now, today, at this moment, always, every …, sometimes … | ► verb + object | ► Give order or advice … ► Give directions |
You can print the table of English tenses with rules and examples from the images or flashcards below and attach them to your textbook, or check this detailed article.
![Table of English Tenses with Rules and Examples 2 Present simple examples Simple present tense Present simple exercises Present tense](http://englezz.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/table-of-english-tenses-with-rules-and-examples-simple-present-1024x631.jpg)
![Table of English Tenses with Rules and Examples 3 Table of English tenses with rules and examples past-englezz.com.](http://englezz.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/table-of-english-tenses-with-rules-and-examples-past-englezz.com_.-1024x631.jpg)
Hope this helped advance your English grammar understanding and answered some of these recurrent questions such as:
What is the rules of present simple? What is the rules of present simple? Example of a simple present sentence? How do you write simple present tense? How do you write simple present tense? Do does in simple present tense? What are 5 examples of present? How do you write daily routine in simple present tense? What are the 4 types of present tense?