Types of Tenses

English tenses can be a bit tricky, but they’re essential for expressing the time at which an action occurs. There are three main types of tenses: past, present, and future. Each of these can be further divided into simple, continuous (also called progressive), perfect, and perfect continuous forms. Here’s a brief overview of each:

1. Simple Tenses: These tenses are used to describe actions that are completed or occur regularly.

• Simple Present: Used for actions that happen regularly or habits. Example: “I eat breakfast every morning.”
• Simple Past: Used for actions that were completed in the past. Example: “She finished her work yesterday.”
• Simple Future: Used for actions that will happen in the future. Example: “They will arrive tomorrow.”

2. Continuous (Progressive) Tenses: These tenses are used to describe actions that are ongoing or in progress at a specific time.

• Present Continuous: Used for actions happening now or around the present time. Example: “She is studying for her exam.”
•  Past Continuous: Used for actions that were ongoing in the past. Example: “They were playing football when it started to rain.”
•  Future Continuous: Used for actions that will be ongoing in the future. Example: “At this time tomorrow, I will be flying to Paris.”

3. Perfect Tenses: These tenses are used to describe actions that were completed before a certain time or have a connection to the present.

• Present Perfect: Used for actions that happened at an unspecified time before now. Example: “I have visited Paris.”
• Past Perfect: Used for actions that were completed before a certain point in the past. Example: “She had already left when I arrived.”
• Future Perfect: Used for actions that will be completed before a certain point in the future. Example: “By next year, I will have graduated.”

4. Perfect Continuous Tenses: These tenses are used to describe actions that started in the past, continued up to the present, and may continue in the future.

• Present Perfect Continuous: Used for actions that started in the past and are still continuing. Example: “He has been studying for two hours.”
• Past Perfect Continuous: Used for actions that had been ongoing before another action or time in the past. Example: “She had been working here for five years before she moved.”
•   Future Perfect Continuous: Used for actions that are expected to continue until a certain time in the future. Example: “By the end of this year, I will have been living here for ten years.”

Refer below table to understand how to change the tense of the sentence: