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12 Tenses

1.Simple Present Tense


I go

2.Present Continuous

She is reading

3.Present Perfect

He has finished

4.Present Perfect Continuous

They have been talking for 2 hours

5.Simple Past Tense

You ate

6.Past Continuous

I was writing

7.Past Perfect

They had eaten

8.Past Perfect continuous

She had been writing

9.Simple Future Tense

We will go ( You can use either 'will' or 'shall' )

10.Future Continuous

They will be travelling

11.Future Perfect

We will have done

12.Future Perfect Continuous

I shall have been working

Simple Present Tense
Basic form:
Subject + present tense verb.

The simple present tense verbs are used in simple present tense.
I play football every saturday.
You read newspaper daily.
We start to office at 9 am.
They eat pizza.
She lives in Chennai.
He types fast.
It moves slowly.
David goes to church every sunday.
Kamal and Rajesh work in the same office.
I, you, we, they, she, he, it are called pronouns.
For he, she, it, third person singular nouns, we add 's' in suffix of the verb.

Where we use simple present tense
Facts, generalizations and universal truths.
Habits and routines.
Permanent situations.
Events that are certain to happen.
Arrangements that we cant change ( eg: timetables, official meetings )
State verbs ( eg: be, have, suppose, know )
Narrations, instructions, commentaries.
Apart from the above uses, this tense is also used in:

• Zero Conditional ("If it doesn't rain, I go play football.")
• First Conditional ("We won't get our pocket money, if we don't pass this exam.")
• In sentences after when, before, till, after, as soon as ("Before you leave, please take the keys.")

Facts, generalizations and universal truths: 

We use the Present Simple to talk about universal truths (for example, laws of nature) or things we believe are, or are not, true. It's also used to generalize about something or somebody.

• Water boils at 100 degrees Celcius. Universal Truth
• It is a big house. Fact
• The Earth goes around the Sun. Universal Truth, Fact
• Dogs are better than cats. Generalization
• Berlin is the capital city of Germany. Fact
• The Elephant doesn't fly. Fact
• London is the capital city of France. Fact (Remember: the sentence does not have to be true)

Habits and routines: 

We also use this tense to describe actions that happen frequently. For example: habits, routines, tendencies.

• We leave for work at 7:30 AM every morning. Routine
• My husband watches the TV in the evening. Habit, Routine
• Sudhan often meets with her friends after school. Habit, Routine
• They usually play football on Sunday. Habit, Routine
• John rarely visits his sick grandmother. Tendency
• Pavithra usually tells lies. Tendency

Adverbs of Frequency

The Present Simple is often used with the frequency adverbs:

• always
• frequently/often
• usually
• seldom/rarely
• nowadays
• never
• every week/year
• sometimes/occasionally
• from time to time
• every now and then

A few examples how to use them in sentences:

• I always go to church on Sundays.
• I never eat anything after 10 PM.

Permanent situations : 

Use the Present Simple to talk about situations in life that last a relatively long time.

• I live in Chennai.
• He works as a fireman.
• Margaret drives a Volkswagen.
• Jerry doesn't teach maths at high school.

Events that are certain to happen:

Use the Present Simple when an event is certain to happen in the future.

• My grandmother turns 100 this July.
• Winter starts on December 21.

Arrangements that we cant change:

Use the Present Simple to talk about events that we can't change (for example, an official meeting or a train departure).

• The meeting starts at 4 PM.
• The train leaves at the noon.
• When does the plane take off?
• Jacob doesn't teach maths at high school.

State verbs:

You should use the Present Simple with state verbs.

• I like swimming.
• We know this man.

Note

Some of the verbs used in the simple form can also appear in the continuous form. This is typically when they have an active meaning or emphasize change.

• I'm thinking of moving to America.
• I'm loving your new bike!

Some verbs used in the simple form can also be used in the continuous form. That's typically when they have an active meaning or emphasize change. Very often these sentences have a completely different meaning:

Verb Form	Verb	Example
Simple	to think	I think you should see a doctor
Continuous	to be thinking	I'm thinking of changing my flat
Simple	to love	I love going to the cinema
Continuous	to be loving	You look great in this hat. I'm loving it, man!
Simple	to smell	I smell something burning
Continuous	to be smelling	My baby was smelling a flower
Simple	to have	He's really rich — he has 3 cars
Continuous	to be having	When you called me, I was having a bath
Simple	to see	I can see you have a big garden
Continuous	to be seeing	I'm seeing him later
Simple	to taste	I could taste a lot of sugar in the wine
Continuous	to be tasting	He was tasting the cake and said it was OK

Narrations, instructions, commentaries:

The Present Simple is also used in narrations (e.g. to tell a story or a joke), instructions (e.g. cooking) or commentaries (especially sport commentaries).

• "A man goes to visit a friend and is amazed to find him playing chess with his dog. He watches the game in astonishment for a while [...]"

Present Continuous Tense

Basic form

Subject + IS/ARE + Verb (continuous form)

I am going to meet her in the afternoon.
You are blinking.
We are leaving now.
They are coming.
He is reading.
She is always coming late.
It is moving fast.
Raja is sleeping.


The Present Continuous is mainly used to express the idea that something is happening at the moment of speaking. The Present Continuous also describes activities generally in progress (not at the moment). Another use of the tense is to talk about temporary actions or future plans.


Where we use present continuous tense
Present actions.
Temporary actions.
Longer actions in progress.
Future arrangements and plans.
Tendencies and trends.
Irritation.

Study in Detail About Tenses with more Illustrations( Click here)