Basic Tenses

For past and present, there are 2 simple tenses + 6 complex tenses (using auxiliary verbs). To these, we can add 4 "modal tenses" for the future (using modal auxiliary verbs will/shall). This makes a total of 12 tenses in the active voice. Another 12 tenses are available in the passive voice. So now we have 24 tenses.

24 Tenses		past	present	future*
ACTIVE	simple tenses	past	present	future
	complex tenses formed with auxiliary verbs	past perfect	present perfect	future perfect
		past continuous	present continuous	future continuous
		past perfect continuous	present perfect continuous	future perfect continuous
PASSIVE		past	present	future
		past perfect	present perfect	future perfect
		past continuous	present continuous	future continuous
		past perfect continuous	present perfect continuous	future perfect continuous

 

Some grammar books use the word progressive instead of continuous. They are exactly the same.

The use of tenses in English may be quite complicated, but the structure of English tenses is actually very simple. The basic structure for a positive sentence is:

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

An auxiliary verb is used in all tenses. (In the simple present and simple past tenses, the auxiliary verb is usually suppressed for the affirmative, but it does exist for intensification.) The following table shows the 12 tenses for the verb to work in the active voice.

		structure		past	present	future*
		auxiliary	main verb
simple	normal			I worked	I work	I will work
	intensive	do	base	I did work	I do work
perfect		have	past participle	I had worked	I have worked	I will have worked
continuous		be	present participle -ing	I was working	I am working	I will be working
continuous perfect		have been	present participle -ing	I had been working	I have been working	I will have been working

* Technically, there are no future tenses in English. The word will is a modal auxiliary verb and future tenses are sometimes called "modal tenses". The examples are included here for convenience and comparison.