Each verb tense in English describes situations about the timing of events, including the time of occurrence, length of duration, and the sequence of two or more events. Sometimes these relationships can be best understood by showing them in a chart form. In the following charts, a vertical line represents the present moment, an event is shown as an "X," the duration of an event is indicated as an arrow.
1. Simple present
The simple present tense describes events that happen on a habitual or recurring basis, or to state something that is generally true.
Ex: Janet reads every day.X X X X X X X X X X X
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2. Simple past
The simple past is used to describe events that occurred one time in the past. The time of the event is usually mentioned.
Ex: Tom cleaned his locker yesterday.X
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3. Simple Future
The simple future is used to describe events that will occur once in the future.
Ex: Ann will drive to the mountains tomorrow.X
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4. Present Progressive
The present progressive refers to an action that began in the past, has continued at least until the present moment, and could continue into the future. This tense always uses the present participle, ending in "ing."
Ex: Tom is sailing at this time.X --------------------> - - - ? - - ->
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5. Past Progressive
The past progressive usually refers to two events; one event occurred first, and the action continues up to the second event and possibly beyond it. This tense uses the present participle, ending in "ing."
Ex: Tom was driving to class when he remembered it was Sunday.X -------->X - - ? - - - ->
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6. Future Progressive
The future progressive refers to two events. One event occurs in the future, and continues up to, and possible beyond, the second event. This tense uses the present participle ending in "ing."
Ex: Tom will be sleeping when Mary comes.X ---------->X - - - ? - - ->
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7. Present Perfect
The present perfect refers to one of three possibilities: an event that occurred before the present at an unspecified time, an event that repeats over and over until the present, and a situation that began in the past and probably still exists. This differs from the past tense, which usually refers to an event that occurred and ended at a specified time. This tense uses a form of "have" plus a past participle.
Ex: The couple has moved into a new apartment.(time?) X - -(situation) - - - ->
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8. Past Perfect
The past perfect describes an activity in the past completed before another activity in the past. This tense uses the word "had" plus a past participle.
Ex: Susan had eaten by they time Frank got there.X X
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9. Future Perfect
The future perfect describes an activity in the future that will be completed before another activity in the future. This tense uses the word string "will + have + past participle."
Ex: I will have completed my task before sundown.X X
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10. Present Perfect Progressive
The Present Perfect Progressive describes the duration of a continuous activity that began in the past and still continues up to the present moment. This tense uses the word string "has (or have) + been + present participle."
Ex: Joan has been washing her hair for an hour.X----(continuous)------------->
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11. Past Perfect Progressive
The past perfect progressive describes the duration of a continuous activity that began in the past and continued up to another event in the past. This tense uses the word string "had + been + present participle."
Ex: Emma had been swimming in the ocean until the shark was spotted.X ----(continuous)--------->X
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12. Future Perfect Progressive
The future perfect progressive describes the duration of a continuous activity that continues until another event in the future. Note that the first event could have occurred in the past. This tense uses the word string "will + have + been + present participle."
Ex. #1: Jane will have been writing for an hour by the time her boyfriend gets home.X------(continuous)--------->X
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Ex. #2: When Jackson receives his gold watch, he will have been working at the company for ten years.
X--------------(continuous)------->X
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