Tense Chart In English, Present, Past, Future Rules, Examples And Its All Types

Tense Chart Tense is the backbone of English. If we do not know Tense in English then we can never speak correct English, it is very important for us to understand Tense chart. From the tense chart we come to know about all the tense at a glance. There are basically three types of tenses: present tense, past tense, future tense and all three have 4 sub-parts: indefinite, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous. Let us see what is called time.

Definition Of Tense

The form of the verb which tells about the tense of action or happening is called tense. That variation of a verb is called tense, which indicates the time of its action and its complete or incomplete state of belief. In other words, tense means ‘time’.


Example


1. Tina is studying.
2. Monica had drawn a good picture.
3. Mukul will go to Amritsar with friends.

In the given sentences, colored words indicate the action happening at different times. In the first sentence the action is happening at the same time. In the second sentence, the action has happened in the past time. In the third sentence, the work is being reported to be done in the coming time.

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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. Indefinite (Simple)
2. Continuous
3. Perfect
4. Perfect Continuous

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

Tense	Sub Parts
Present Tense	1. Present Indefinite 2. Present Continuous 3. Present Perfect 4. Present Perfect continuous
Past Tense	1. Past Indefinite. 2. Past Continuous.  3. Past Perfect. 4. Past Perfect continuous .
Future Tense	1. Future Indefinite 2. Future Continuous 3. Future Perfect 4. Future Perfect continuous

Below is the table of the examples of tenses

 

Tense	Forms	Examples
	1. Present Indefinite	He drinks a water
Present Tense	2. Present Continuous	He is drinking a water
	3. Present Perfect	He has drunk a water
	4. Present Perfect continuous	He has been drinking a water since morning

	1. Past Indefinite	He drank a water
Past Tense	2. Past Continuous.	He was drinking a water
	3. Past Perfect.	He had drunk a water
	4. Past Perfect continuous .	He had been drinking the water since 7 am

	1. Future Indefinite	He will drink a water
Future Tense	2. Future Continuous	He will be drinking a water
	3. Future perfect	He will have drunk a water
	4. Future perfect continuous	He will have been drinking the water at 6 am tomorrow

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

Present Tense	Farmula & Rules	Examples
Present Indefinite tense	Subject + Verb in the base form/third person plural form + the rest of the sentenc	We live in London. He reads comic books. She goes to yoga class. I come here every day. You work at the hospital.
Present continuous tense	Subject + Helping Verb(am/is/are) + Main verb + ing + the rest of the sentence	We are going to London. He is reading a book. She is going to a yoga class. I am working. You are playing.
Present perfect tense	Subject + Helping Verb (have/has) + Past participle of the main verb + the rest of the sentence along with the time frame	He has read comic books. She has done yoga. I have worked here. You have played well. They have watched these movies. Mona has sung a song.
Present perfect continuous	Subject + Has/Have +Been+ Main Verb + Ing +Sinse /For + The Rest Of The Sentence	We have been visiting London. He has been reading comic books. She has been doing yoga. I have been working here. You have been playing all day.

Past tense	Rules	Examples
Past indefinite	Subject + Verb + ed / verb in the past tense + the rest of the sentence	We lived in London. He read comic books. She went to yoga class. I came here yesterday. You worked at the hospital
Past Continuous	Subject + Helping Verb(was/were) + Main verb + ing + the rest of the sentence	We were going to London. He was reading a book. She was going to yoga class. I was working. You were playing.
Past Perfect	Subject + Helping Verb (had) + Past participle of the main verb + the rest of the sentence along with the time frame.	We had gone to London. He had read comic books. She had done yoga. I had worked here. You had worked at the hospital.
Past Perfect continuous	Subject + Had + Been + Verb + ing + the rest of the sentence	We had been visiting London. He had been reading comic books. She had been doing yoga. I had been working here. You had been playing all day.

Future tense	Rules	Examples
Future indefinite	Subject + will/shall + V1 + Object	We shall live in London. He will read comic books. She will go to a yoga class. I shall come here every day. You will work at the hospital.
Future continuous	Subject + will be/shall be + V1 + ing + Object	We shall be going to London. He will be reading a book. She will be going to yoga class. I shall be working. You will be playing.
Future perfect	Subject + will have/shall have + V3 + Object	We shall have left London. He will have read comic books. She will have done yoga. I will have worked here. You will have done your work.
Future perfect continuous	Subject + will have been + V1 + ing + Object	We shall have been going to London. He will have been reading comic books. She will have been doing yoga. I shall have been working. You will have been playing.

Present Tense

The form of the verb which shows that the action is happening now is called present tense. That is, the form of the verb which shows the time and the occurrence of the action in the present time is called present tense. This means that the action shown happened at the same time. Continuity of actions is called 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.  Present Indefinite Tense (simple present tense) Definition:

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:

Subject + Verb in the base form/third person plural form + the rest of the sentence

He She It One Name	s/es (with main verb) Does not
I We You They Two more name	❌( with main verb)  Do not

 
Simple sentence

Sub+verb¹+s/es+object+other word

Present indefinite simple sentence example 

1. He writes a letter.
2. You write a letter 
3. She sings a song.
4. We sing asong.
5. I go to school .
6. He goes to school.

Negative sentence 

Sub+do/does+not+verb¹+object+other words 

 Present indefinite negative sentence example 

1. He does not write a letter.
2. You do not write a letter 
3. She does not sing a song.
4. We do not sing asong.
5. I do not go to school .
6. He does not go to school.

Interrogative sentences

Do/Does+sub+Verb¹+Object+Other Words +?

 Present indefinite interrogative sentence example 

1. Does He write a letter?
2. Do You write a letter ?
3. Does She sing a song ?
4. Do We sing asong ?
5. Do I go to school ?
6. Does He go to school ?

Interrogative+negative sentence 

Do/Does+Sub+not+Verb¹+Object+Other Words +?

 Present indefinite interrogative negative sentence example 

1. Does He not write a letter?
2. Do You not write a letter ?
3. Does She not sing a song ?
4. Do We not sing asong ?
5. Do I not go to school ?
6. Does He not go to school ?

2. Present continuous tense Definition:

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

Subject + Helping Verb(am/is/are) + Main verb + ing + the rest of the sentence 

He She It One Name	Is
I	Am
We You They Two more name	Are

 

Simple sentence

Sub+is/am/are+verb¹+ing+object+other word

Present continuous tense example:

1. He is writing a letter.
2. You are writing a letter 
3. She is singing a song.
4. We are singing a song.
5. I am going to school .
6. He is going to school.

Negative sentence 

Sub+is/am/are+not+verb¹+ing+object+other word

 Present continuous negative sentence example:

1. He is not writing a letter.
2. You are not writing a letter 
3. She isn not singing a song.
4. We are not singing a song.
5. I am not going to school .
6. He is not going to school.

Interrogative sentences

 

Is/am/are+sub+verb¹+ing+object+other word+?

 Present continuous Interrogative sentences example:

1. Is he writing a letter.
2. Are you writing a letter 
3. is she singing a song.
4. Are we singing a song.
5. am I going to school .
6. Is he going to school.

Interrogative+negative sentence 

Sub+is/am/are+verb¹+ing+object+other word+?

 Simple present Interrogative negative sentence example:

1. Is he not writing a letter.
2. Are you not writing a letter 
3. is she not singing a song.
4. Are we not singing a song.
5. am I not going to school .
6. Is he not going to school.

3.  Present perfect Tense Definition: 

 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

Subject + Helping Verb (have/has) + Past participle of the main verb + rest of the sentence 

He She It One Name	Has
I We You They Two more name	Have

Simple sentence

Sub+Has/Have+verb³+object+other word

Present perfect example :

1. He has Written a letter.
2. You have Written a letter 
3. She has sung a song.
4. We has sung a song.
5. I have gone to school .
6. He has gone to school.

Negative sentence 

Sub+Has/Have+not+verb³+object+other word

 Present perfect negative sentence example :

1. He has not Written a letter.
2. You have not Written a letter 
3. She has not sung a song.
4. We has not sung a song.
5. I have not gone to school .
6. He has not gone to school.

Interrogative sentences

 

Has/Have+Sub+Verb³+Object+Other Word+?

Present perfect interrogative sentence example : 

1. Has he Written a letter.
2. have you Written a letter 
3. Has she sung a song.
4. Have we sung a song.
5. Have I gone to school .
6. Has he gone to school.

Interrogative+negative sentence 

Has/Have+Sub+Not+Verb³+Object+Other Word+?

 Present perfect Interrogative negative sentence example :

1. Has he not Written a letter.
2. have you not Written a letter 
3. Has she not sung a song.
4. Have we not sung a song.
5. Have I not gone to school .
6. Has he not gone to school.

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 continuous tense

Subject + Has/Have +been+ Main Verb + Ing +sinse /for + The Rest Of The Sentence 

He She It One Name	Has been
I We You They Two more name	Have been

 

Simple sentence

Sub+has/have+ been+verb¹+ing+sinse/For+object+other word

 Present perfect continuous Simple sentence example:

1. He has been writing a letter for 3 hours.
2. You have been writing a letter since morning.
3. She has been singing a song for 4 days.
4. We have been singing a song for 4 week.
5. I have been going to school for 1 year.
6. He has been going to school since last day.

Negative sentence 

Sub+has/have+not+been+verb¹+ing+sinse/For+object+other word

Present perfect continuous negative sentence example: 

1. He has not been writing a letter for 3 hours.
2. You have not been writing a letter since morning.
3. She has not been singing a song for 4 days.
4. We have not been singing a song for 4 week.
5. I have not been going to school for 1 year.
6. He has not been going to school since last day.

Interrogative sentences

 

has/have+Sub+been+verb¹+ing+sinse/For+object+other word

 Present perfect continuous interrogative sentence example:

1. Has He been writing a letter for 3 hours.
2. have you been writing a letter since morning.
3. Has she been singing a song for 4 days.
4. Have we been singing a song for 4 week.
5. have i been going to school for 1 year.
6. Has he been going to school since last day.

Interrogative+negative sentence 

has/have+Sub+not+been+verb¹+ing+sinse /For+object+other word

 Present perfect continuous Interrogative negative sentence example:

Has He not been writing a letter for 3 hours.
have you not been writing a letter since morning.
Has she not been singing a song for 4 days.
Have we not been singing a song for 4 week.
have i not been going to school for 1 year.
Has he not been going to school since last day.

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

5.  Past indefinite Tense Definition 

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 Past indefinite  Tense:

Subject + Verb + ed / verb in the past tense + the rest of the sentence

He She It One Name	2 form of main verb
I We You They Two more name	2 form of Main verb

 
Simple sentence

Sub+verb²+object+other word

Past indefinite simple sentence example:

1. We lived in London.
2. He read comic books.
3. She went to yoga class.
4. I came here yesterday.
5. You worked at the hospital 

Negative sentence 

Sub+did+Not+Verb¹+Object+Other Words 

Past indefinite negative sentence example: 

1. We did not live in London.
2. He did not read comic books.
3. She did not go to yoga class.
4. I did not come here yesterday.
5. You did not work at the hospital 

Interrogative sentences

Did+Sub+Verb¹+Object+Other Words +?

 Past indefinite interrogative sentence example:

1. Did We live in London.
2. Did He read comic books.
3. Did She go to yoga class.
4. Did I come here yesterday.
5. Did You work at the hospital 

Interrogative+negative sentence 

Did+Sub+not+Verb¹+Object+Other Words +?

 Past indefinite interrogative negative sentence example:

1. Did We not live in London.
2. Did He not read comic books.
3. Did She not go to yoga class.
4. Did I not come here yesterday.
5. Did You not work at the hospital 

6.     Past Continuous Tense Definition 

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:

Subject + Helping Verb(was/were) + Main verb + ing + the rest of the sentence

 I

He She It One Name	was
We You They Two more name	Were

 
Simple sentence

Sub+was/were+verb¹+ing+object+other word

Past Continuous simple sentence example:

1. We were living in London.
2. He was reading comic books.
3. She was going to yoga class.
4. I were coming here .
5. You were working at the hospital 

Negative sentence 

Sub+was/were+not+verb¹+ing+object+other word

Past Continuous negative sentence example: 

1. We were not living in London.
2. He was not reading comic books.
3. She was not going to yoga class.
4. I were not coming here .
5. You were not working at the hospital.

Interrogative sentences

Was/Were+Sub+Verb¹+Ing+Object+Other Word

 Past Continuous interrogative sentence example:

1. Were we living in London.
2.  Was he reading comic books.
3.  Was she going to yoga class.
4.  Were I coming here .
5.  were you working at the hospital.

Interrogative+negative sentence 

Was/Were+Sub+Not+Verb¹+Ing+Object+Other Word

 Past Continuous interrogative negative sentence example:

1. Were we not living in London.
2.  Was he not reading comic books.
3.  Was she not going to yoga class.
4.  Were I not coming here .
5.  were you not working at the hospital.

7.    Past perfect Tense Definition 

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

Subject + Helping Verb (had) + Past participle of the main verb + the rest of the sentence along with the time frame.

He She It One Name	Had
I We You They Two more name	Had

Simple sentence

Sub+Had+verb³+object+other word

Past perfect simple sentence example:

1. He had Written a letter.
2. You had Written a letter 
3. She had sung a song.
4. We had sung a song.
5. I had gone to school .
6. He had gone to school.

Negative sentence 

Sub+had+Not+Verb³+Object+Other Word

Past perfect negative sentence example: 

1. He had not Written a letter.
2. You had not Written a letter 
3. She had not sung a song.
4. We had not sung a song.
5. I had not gone to school .
6. He had not gone to school.

Interrogative sentences

 

Had+Sub+Verb³+Object+Other Word+?

 Past perfect interrogative sentence example:

1. had he Written a letter.
2. had you Written a letter 
3. had she sung a song.
4. had we sung a song.
5. had I gone to school .
6. had he gone to school.

Interrogative+negative sentence 

Had+Sub+Not+Verb³+Object+Other Word+?

 Past perfect interrogative negative sentence example:

1. had he not Written a letter.
2. had you not Written a letter 
3. had she not sung a song.
4. had we not sung a song.
5. had I not gone to school .
6. had he not gone to school.

8.    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 continuous tense

Subject + Had + Been + Verb + ing + sinse/for+the rest of the sentence

He She It One Name	Had been
I We You They Two more name	Had been

 

Simple sentence

Sub+had+been+verb¹+ing+sinse/For+object+other word

Past perfect continuous simple sentence example:

1. He Had been writing a letter for 3 hours.
2. You Had been writing a letter since morning.
3. She Had been singing a song for 4 days.
4. We Had been singing a song for 4 week.
5. I Had been going to school for 1 year.
6. He Had been going to school since last day.

Negative sentence 

Sub+had+not+been+verb¹+ing+sinse/For+object+other word

Past perfect continuous negative sentence example: 

1. He Had not been writing a letter for 3 hours.
2. You Had not been writing a letter since morning.
3. She Had not been singing a song for 4 days.
4. We Had not been singing a song for 4 week.
5. I Had not been going to school for 1 year.
6. He Had not been going to school since last day.

Interrogative sentences

 

Had+Sub+been+verb¹+ing+sinse/For+object+other word+?

 Past perfect continuous interrogative sentence example:

1. Had He been writing a letter for 3 hours.
2. Had you been writing a letter since morning.
3. Had she been singing a song for 4 days.
4. Had we been singing a song for 4 week.
5. Had i been going to school for 1 year.
6. Had he been going to school since last day.

Interrogative+negative sentence 

Had+Sub+not+been+verb¹+ing+sinse /For+object+other word+?

 Past perfect continuous interrogative negative sentence example:

1. Had He not been writing a letter for 3 hours.
2. Had you not been writing a letter since morning.
3. Had she not been singing a song for 4 days.
4. Had we not been singing a song for 4 week.
5. Had i not been going to school for 1 year.
6. Had he not been going to school since last day.

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

9.   Future indefinite Tense Definition

 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 Present Tense:

Subject + will/shall + V1 + Object

 I

He She It One Name	will
We You They Two more name	Shall

 
Simple sentence

Subject + Will/Shall + V1 + Object

Future indefinite simple sentence example:

1. We shall live in London.
2. He will read comic books.
3. She will go to a yoga class.
4. I shall come here every day.
5. You will work at the hospital.

Negative sentence 

Subject + Will/Shall +not+ V1 + Object

Future indefinite negative sentence example: 

1. We shall not live in London.
2. He will not read comic books.
3. She will not go to a yoga class.
4. I shall not come here every day.
5. You will not work at the hospital.

Interrogative sentences

Will/Shall+Subject + V1 + Object+?

 Future indefinite interrogative sentence example:

1. Shall we live in London.
2. will he read comic books.
3. will she go to a yoga class.
4. Shall I come here every day.
5. will you work at the hospital.

Interrogative+negative sentence 

Will/Shall + Subject+not + V1 + Object

 Future indefinite interrogative negative sentence example:

1. Shall we not live in London.
2. will he not read comic books.
3. will she not go to a yoga class.
4. Shall I not come here every day.
5. will you not work at the hospital.

10.   Future continuous Tense Definition 

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:

General Formula for Future continuous  Tense:

Subject + will be/shall be + V1 + ing + Object

 I

He She It One Name	will be
We You They Two more name	Shall be

 
Simple sentence

Subject + Will Be/Shall Be+ not + V1 + Ing + Object

Future continuous simple sentence example:

1. We Shall Be living in London.
2. He Will Be reading comic books.
3. She Will Be going to yoga class.
4. I will Be coming here .
5. You Shall Be working at the hospital 

Negative sentence 

 

Will Be/Shall Be+ not + V1 + Ing + Object

Future continuous negative sentence example: 

1. We Shall Be not living in London.
2. He Will Be not reading comic books.
3. She Will Be not going to yoga class.
4. I will Be not coming here .
5. You Shall Be not working at the hospital.

Interrogative sentences

Will/Shall +sub+Be+ V1 + Ing + Object+?

 Future continuous interrogative sentence example:

1. Shall we be living in London?
2.  Will he be reading comic books?
3.  Will she be going to yoga class?
4.  Will I be coming here ?
5.  Shall you be working at the hospital?

Interrogative+negative sentence 

Will/Shall +sub+Be+ not + V1 + Ing + Object+?

 Future continuous interrogative negative sentence example:

1. Shall we be not living in London?
2.  Will he be not reading comic books?
3.  Will she be not going to yoga class?
4.  Will I be not coming here ?
5.  Shall you be not working at the hospital ?

11.   Future perfect  Tense Definition 

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

Subject + will have/shall have + V3 + Object

He She It One Name	Will have
I We You They Two more name	Will have

Simple sentence

Subject + Will Have/Shall Have + V3 + Object

Future perfect simple sentence example:

1. We shall have left London.
2. He will have read comic books.
3. She will have done yoga.
4. I will have worked here.
5. You will have done your work.

Negative sentence 

Subject + Will Have/Shall Have+not + V3 + Object

 Future perfect negative sentence example:

1. We shall have not left London.
2. He will have not read comic books.
3. She will have not done yoga.
4. I will have not worked here.
5. You will have not done your work.

Interrogative sentences

 Will /Shall+sub+ Have + V3 + Object+?

 Future perfect interrogative sentence example:

1.  shall We have left London?
2.  will He have read comic books?
3.  will She have done yoga?
4. will i have worked here?
5.  will You have done your work?

Interrogative+negative sentence 

 will/shall+Subject+have+not+ V3+ing + Object+?

 Future perfect simple sentence example:

1. shall We have not left London?
2.  will He have not read comic books?
3.  will She have not done yoga?
4. will i have not worked here?
5.  will You have not done your work?

12.   Future perfect continuous Tense Definition 

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

Subject + will have been + V1 + ing + Object

He She It One Name	Will have been
I We You They Two more name	Will have been

Simple sentence

Subject + will have been + V1 + ing + Object

Future perfect continuous simple sentence example:

1. He will have been writing a letter for 3 hours.
2. You will have been writing a letter since morning.
3. She will have been singing a song for 4 days.
4. We will have beensinging a song for 4 week.
5. I will have been going to school for 1 year.
6. He will have been going to school since last day.

Negative sentence 

Subject + will have +not+been + V1 + ing + Object

Future perfect continuous negative sentence example: 

1. He will have not been writing a letter for 3 hours.
2. You will have not been  writing a letter since morning.
3. She will have not been singing a song for 4 days.
4. We will have not been singing a song for 4 week.
5. I will have been going to school for 1 year.
6. He will have been going to school since last day.

Interrogative sentences

 

will/shall+Subject+have+ been+ V1+ing + Object+?

 Future perfect continuous interrogative sentence example:

1. will he have  been writing a letter for 3 hours?
2.  will You have  been writing a letter since morning?
3.  will She have been singing a song for 4 days?
4.  will We have been singing a song for 4 week?
5.  Will i have been going to school for 1 year?
6.  Will he have  been going to school since last day?

Interrogative+negative sentence 

 will/shall+Subject+have+not+ been+ V1+ing + Object+?

 Future perfect continuous interrogative negative sentence example:

1. will he have not been writing a letter for 3 hours?
2.  will You have not been writing a letter since morning?
3.  will She have not been singing a song for 4 days?
4.  will We have not been singing a song for 4 week?
5.  Will i have not been going to school for 1 year?
6.  Will he have not been going to school since last day?

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