Summary of Verb Tenses

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Verbs have twelve tenses which show differences in the time of action or the time of the state of being.

	Simple	Continuous	Perfect	Perfect Continuous
Present	Simple Present	Present Continuous	Present Perfect	Present Perfect Continuous
Past	Simple Past	Past Continuous	Past Perfect	Past Perfect Continuous
Future	Simple Future	Future Continuous	Future Perfect	Future Perfect Continuous

The following diagram gives examples of simple past, simple present, simple future, continuous past, continuous present, continuous future, perfect past, perfect present, perfect future, perfect continuous past, perfect continuous present, perfect continuous future tenses. Scroll down the page for more examples and explanations on how to use the different verb tenses.

The following tables show examples of the different verb tenses.

The Simple Tenses

Simple Present Tense	Simple Past Tense	Simple Future Tense
I see	I saw	I will see
You see	You saw	You will see
We see	We saw	We will see
He/she/it sees	He/she/it saw	He/she/it will see

The Continuous/Progressive Tenses

The Present Continuous Tense	The Past Continuous Tense	The Future Continuous Tense
I am seeing	I was seeing	I will be seeing
You are seeing	You were seeing	You will be seeing
We are seeing	We were seeing	We will be seeing
He/she/it is seeing	He/she/it was seeing	He/she/it be seeing

The Perfect Tenses

The Present Perfect Tense	The Past Perfect Tense	The Future Perfect Tense
I have seen	I had seen	I will have seen
You have seen	You had seen	You will have seen
We have seen	We had seen	We will have seen
He/she/it has seen	He/she/it had seen	He/she/it will has seen

The Perfect Continuous/Progressive Tenses

The Present Perfect Continuous Tense	The Past Perfect Continuous Tense	The Future Perfect Continuous Tense
I have been seeing	I had been seeing	I will have been seeing
You have been seeing	You had been seeing	You will have been seeing
We have been seeing	We had been seeing	We will have been seeing
He/she/it has been seeing	He/she/it had been seeing	He/she/it will has been seeing

English Grammar - Tenses overview - present, past, future, simple, continuous, progressive, perfect.

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