Basic Tenses in English: Past, Present, and Future Lesson

Lesson Overview

• What is a Tense?
• Types of Tenses
• Examples
• How to Use Tenses Correctly
• Tenses Assessment

Mastering basic tenses helps us communicate clearly. In this lesson, we will explore the basic tenses in English grammar (past, present, and future), learn how to use them, see plenty of examples, and practice with a fun assessment. By the end, you'll be confident in choosing the right tense so your sentences make sense and shine!

What is a Tense?

A tense is a verb form that shows the timing of an action. The three basic tenses are past, present, and future. For example:

• Present: I walk to school. (Happening now or regularly)
• Past: I walked to school yesterday. (Already happened)
• Future: I will walk to school tomorrow. (Will happen later)

Using the correct tense ensures clarity. For instance, "I go to the store yesterday" is incorrect because "go" is present, but "yesterday" refers to the past. The correct sentence is "I went to the store yesterday."

Types of Tenses

English has three basic time categories for tenses: Present, Past, and Future. Within each category, there are different forms that give more details about the timing or nature of the action (such as ongoing or completed actions). Here are the important types of tenses you should know:

Present Tense

The present tense describes actions happening now or things that are generally or always true. Common present tense forms include:

• Simple Present: Used for habits, facts, and general truths. For I/We/You/They, use the base form of the verb. For He/She/It, add -s or -es to the verb.
  
  • Example: "My dog barks loudly." (He does this regularly; "barks" has -s because the subject is my dog = he.)
    
  • Another Example: "They play soccer every day." (Habitual action; "play" stays the same for they.)
    
• Present Continuous (Present Progressive): Used for actions happening right now or currently in progress. Formed with am/is/are + verb-ing.
  
  • Example: "Look! It is raining outside." (Happening at this moment.)
    
  • Another Example: "I am doing my homework now." (In progress currently – note the form changes: I am, she is, we/they are + verb+ing.)
    
• Present Perfect: Used for actions that have happened at some point up to now or just recently happened, often when the exact time is not mentioned, or for actions that started in the past and continue to the present. Formed with has/have + past participle of the verb.
  
  • Example: "She has finished her lunch." (It happened recently – sometime before now, and it's now done.)
  • Another Example: "I have lived here for two years." (I started living here two years ago and I still live here now.)
    

Note: For present tense verbs, remember subject-verb agreement. Use has with singular subjects (he, she, it) and have with plural subjects (I, you, we, they) in present perfect. In simple present, add -s with singular third-person subjects (he, she, it) but not with plural subjects. For example, "He likes ice cream" (correct) vs. "He like ice cream" (incorrect).

Past Tense

The past tense describes actions that have already happened or were completed before now. Key past tense forms include:

• Simple Past: Used for actions that happened and finished in the past. For regular verbs, add -ed to the base form to make the past tense.
  
  • Example: "We visited our grandparents last weekend." ("visit" + -ed = visited.)
  • Another Example: "She walked to school yesterday." ("walk" + -ed = walked.)
    
    Many common verbs are irregular in the past tense, which means they don't follow the "-ed" rule. You have to memorize these.
    
    Irregular Examples: "go" -> went (as in "I went to the library yesterday."), "eat" -> ate, "buy" -> bought, etc.
    
    (Both "I went" and "I walked" are simple past, even though one doesn't end in -ed.)

• Past Perfect: Used to talk about an action that was completed before another past action. It's like the "past of the past." Formed with had + past participle. Use it when you are describing two events in the past and need to show which happened first.
  
  • Example: "By the time I got to the bus stop, the bus had left." (First the bus left, later I arrived – the bus leaving is earlier in the past, so we use "had left.")
    
  • Another Example: "He had finished his homework before dinner." (First he finished homework, then later it was dinner time. "Had finished" shows the homework was done prior to another past point.)

• (Optional: Past Continuous): Past Continuous (was/were + verb-ing) describes an action that was ongoing at a specific time in the past. For example, "At 7 PM, I was studying." However, the simple and perfect past tenses above are the most important basics. (Your teacher might introduce this if needed.)

Future Tense

The future tense describes actions that have not happened yet but will happen later. Important future forms include:

• Simple Future: Used for actions that will happen in the future. Form it by using will + base form of the verb. (Sometimes "shall" is used in formal English or "going to" is used for planned events, but will is the basic form you learn first.)
  
  Example: "I will finish my project tomorrow." (The action is expected to happen in the future.)
  
  Another Example: "She will go to middle school next year." (This hasn't happened yet, but will in the future.)
  
  
• Future Perfect: Used to talk about an action that will be completed before a specific time in the future. It's like you're looking back from a future point to say something is already done by then. Formed with will have + past participle.
  
  Example: "By next week, we will have finished this book." (When next week comes, the action of finishing the book will already be done.)
  
  Another Example: "By the time you arrive, I will have cooked dinner." (Dinner is not done yet, but it will be done before you arrive in the future.)
  
• (Optional: Future Continuous): Future Continuous (will be + verb-ing) describes an action that will be in progress at a certain time in the future, e.g., "This time tomorrow, I will be traveling to grandma's house." This is an extra form you might learn later.
  

As you can see, each main tense (present, past, future) can have variations like simple, continuous, or perfect, depending on the situation.

Examples

Let's look at some simple examples of verbs in different tenses to see how they show time:

• Present Tense: She walks to school. (This happens now or regularly.)
• Past Tense: She walked to school yesterday. (This happened in the past, it's already done.)
• Future Tense: She will walk to school tomorrow. (This will happen in the future, it's not done yet.)
• Present Continuous Tense: She is walking to school right now. (Happening at this very moment.)
• Present Perfect Tense: She has walked to school every day this week. (Happened repeatedly from the past up to now.)

In each example, notice how the verb changes form:

• In present tense, we often use the base form (walk) or add "-s"/"-es" for he/she/it (walks).
• In past tense, we usually add "-ed" (walked) to show the action is completed (or use an irregular form like went).
• In future tense, we add the helping word will before the verb (will walk) to show the action will happen later.
• In present continuous, we use am/is/are + -ing form (is walking) for something happening now.
• In present perfect, we use has/have + past participle (has walked) to connect past actions to the present time.

Take This Quiz:

Simple Tenses Quiz

How to Use Tenses Correctly

Using tenses correctly is all about understanding when the action happens and choosing the right verb form. Here are some guidelines and tips to help you master tense usage:

• Identify Time Clues: First, determine when the action is happening. Words like now, today indicate present tense; yesterday, last week indicate past tense; tomorrow, next year indicate future tense. For example, if you see "last night" in a sentence, you know the verb should be in past tense (e.g., "Last night we watched a movie.").
  
• Use the Correct Form for the Time: Once you know the time, pick the correct tense form:
  
  • For present actions or general truths, use simple present (or present continuous if it's happening right now).
  • For ongoing action right now, use present continuous (am/is/are + -ing).
  • For past actions, use simple past (usually verb + -ed, or the irregular past form).
  • For an action that happened before another past action, use past perfect (had + past participle).
  • For future actions, use will + base verb (simple future).
  • For an action that will be done before a future time, use future perfect (will have + past participle).

• Check Subject–Verb Agreement: Make sure the verb form matches the subject in person and number, especially in present tense. For example:
  
  • I/You/We/They play, but He/She plays (add -s for he/she/it in simple present).
  • I am, You/We/They are, He/She is (different forms of "to be" in present).
  • In past tense, was is used with I/he/she/it and were with you/we/they (e.g., "I was late; they were early.").
  • In present perfect, use has with he/she/it and have with I/you/we/they ("She has seen it" vs. "We have seen it").

• Keep Tenses Consistent: When writing a sentence or a story, avoid unnecessary shifts in tense. If you start telling a story in past tense, keep using past tense unless there's a clear reason to change the time.
  
  Example: "John walked into the room and started singing." (Both verbs are past tense – consistent and correct.)
  It would be confusing to say, "John walked into the room and starts singing," because "walked" is past but "starts" is present. Consistency makes the timeline clear.

• Use Helping Verbs Correctly: Pay attention to helper verbs like will, have, has, had, am, is, are, was, were. They are key parts of forming tenses:
  
  • will + verb for future (will go, will see).
  • am/is/are + -ing for present continuous (is going).
  • was/were + -ing for past continuous (were going).
  • has/have + past participle for present perfect (have gone).
  • had + past participle for past perfect (had gone). Using the right helping verb is just as important as the main verb form. For example, had is a clue that a past perfect might be needed, and will signals future.

• Remember Irregular Verbs: Not all verbs follow the "add -ed" rule in past tense or past participle forms. Common verbs like go/went/gone, see/saw/seen, eat/ate/eaten have special forms. Practice these irregular verbs so you don't mistakenly apply regular rules to them. (For example, it's wrote not "writed" for the past of write.)
  

• Using the Continuous vs. Simple: Use continuous tense (verbs ending in -ing with a helper) for actions that are ongoing. Use the simple tense for routines or completed actions.
  • Some verbs that describe states or feelings are not usually used in continuous form when talking about their usual meaning.
    
    • For instance, we say "I know the answer" (simple present) rather than "I am knowing the answer." Similarly, "Cathy likes him" is correct, not "Cathy is liking him" for a general feeling of liking. Verbs like know, like, love, believe, feel (when talking about feelings) typically use simple tenses to describe states. Keep this in mind to avoid sentences that sound odd.

• Use Time Expressions: Including words that indicate time (today, now, already, yesterday, by tomorrow, etc.) not only gives more information, but also helps you decide the tense. For example:
  
  • "Right now" or "at the moment" suggests present continuous (is running).
  • "Every day" suggests simple present (runs).
  • "Yesterday/Last year" suggests simple past (ran).
  • "Since 2020" or "for two years" often suggests present perfect (has run for a duration).
  • "By next year" suggests future perfect (will have run by then). Paying attention to these phrases will guide you to the correct tense.

Tenses Assessment

Part A: Fill in the Blanks

1. Look! The children (play) ______ in the park now.
2. My friend (enjoy) ______ soccer every day.
3. Yesterday I (go) ______ to the library.
4. I (finish) ______ my homework already.
5. He (leave) ______ before I could talk to him.
6. Tomorrow, she (visit) ______ her grandmother.

Part B: Match the Tense

Match each sentence to the correct tense.

1. We play football every day.
2. She is reading a book now.
3. I have finished my lunch.
4. They went to the park yesterday.
5. He had left before I arrived.
6. I will visit you tomorrow.

Tense Options:
a. Past Tense
b. Past Perfect Tense
c. Present Continuous Tense
d. Present Perfect Tense
e. Present Tense
f. Future Tense