Basic Forms of English Verb Tenses – Tabular View with Examples

For grammarians in the ancient world, the verb was the key word in the sentence, and this view is shared by many modern grammarians too. Whether verbs are actually more important than, say nouns or adjectives might be debated, but there is no doubt that anyone who wishes to speak any language well must have a firm grasp of the verb grammar of that language.

Verbs and Tenses aims to help learners of English through the difficulties they may encounter when trying to master English verbs.

The basic forms of the English verb tenses are:

Positive

Negative

Question

Present Simple

Subject + verb (+ s )

I eat.
She eats toast.

Subject + do / does + not + verb

I don’t eat toast.
She doesn’t eat fish.

(Question word +) do / does + subject + verb?

Do you eat breakfast every day?
When does she eat lunch?

Present Simple with ‘be’

Subject + am / is / are

I am hungry.
She is in a cafe

Subject + am / is / are + not

I’m not hungry.
She isn’t happy

(Question word +) am / is / are + subject…?

Is he at home?
Why are you hungry?

Present Continuous

Subject + am / is / are + verb-ing

She’s eating toast.
They are eating lunch now

Subject + am / is / are + not + verbing

He isn’t eating.
We are not eating at home.

(Question word +) am / is / are + subject + verb-ing?

When are they eating?
Is he eating now?

Present Perfect

Subject + have / has + past participle

I’ve eaten breakfast.
He has eaten lunch

Subject + have / has + not + past participle

We haven’t eaten yet.
She hasn’t eaten the chocolate

(Question word +) have / has + subject + past participle?

What have you eaten today?
Has she eaten lunch?

Present Perfect Continuous

Subject + have / has + been + verbing

I’ve been eating.
She’s been eating biscuits all day

Subject + have / has + not + been + verb-ing

They haven’t been eating.
He has not been eating toast

(Question word +) have / has + subject + been + verb-ing?

What has she been eating?
Have they been eating breakfast?

Past Simple

Subject + past simple (verb +ed)

I ate an apple.
She ate some rice.

Subject + did + not + verb

She didn’t eat anything.
They did not eat breakfast

(Question word +) did + subject + verb?

Did you eat the chocolate?
What did they eat for lunch?

Past Simple with ‘be’

Subject + was / were

I was hungry.
They were in a restaurant.

Subject + was / were + not

We weren’t hungry.
She wasn’t at home.

(Question word +) was / were + subject…?

Why was she hungry?
Were you hungry?

Past Continuous

Subject + was / were + verb-ing

I was eating.
They were eating lunch.

Subject + was / were + not + verbing

You weren’t eating.
She wasn’t eating a sandwich.

(Question word +) was / were + subject + verb-ing?

Where were you eating?
Was she eating an apple?

Past Perfect

Subject + had + past participle

I had eaten.
She’d eaten lunch.

Subject + had + not + past participle

We hadn’t eaten.
He had not eaten an apple.

(Question word +) had + subject + past participle

Why had you eaten?
Had they eaten fish before?

Past Perfect Continuous

Subject + had + been + verb-ing

I had been eating chocolate all day.
She’d been eating breakfast.

Subject + had + not + been + verbing

I hadn’t been eating.
She hadn’t been eating an apple.

(Question word +) had + subject + been + verb-ing?

Why had he been eating?
Had they been eating enough fruit?

Future Simple

Subject + will + verb

I will eat later.
She will eat at home

Subject + will + not + verb

We won’t eat anything tonight.
He will not eat fish.

(Question word +) will + subject + verb?

What will you eat for lunch?
Will she eat meat?

Future Continuous

Subject + will + be + verb-ing

I will be eating at 8pm.
She will be eating a sandwich.

Subject + will + not + be + verb-ing

They won’t be eating.
He will not be eating anything.

(Question word +) will + subject + be + verb-ing?

What will you be eating?
Will they be eating at 6pm?

Future Perfect

Subject + will + have + past participle

I will have eaten lunch by 3 o’clock.
She’ll have eaten all the chocolate.

Subject + will + not + have + past participle

He won’t have eaten lunch yet.
They will not have eaten their sandwiches.

(Question word +) will + subject + have + past participle?

When will you have eaten?
Will she have eaten dinner by nine?

Future Perfect Continuous

Subject + will + have + been + verb-ing

They will have been eating fruit.
We’ll have been eating all day.

Subject + will + not + have + been + verb-ing

I won’t have been eating fish.
They will not have been eating lunch

(Question word +) will + subject + have + been + verb-ing?

What will she have been eating?
Will you have been eating chocolate?

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