English Tenses Explained with Examples

English tenses are grammatical forms that inform about the time when actions or events occur. Understanding the basics of English tenses is important for effective communication in both spoken and written contexts. Here’s more about the different types and forms of English tenses.

There are three main categories of tenses: past, present, and future.

Each category further has four main types: simple, continuous (or progressive), perfect, and perfect continuous (or progressive).

Simple present

Simple present tense indicates everyday actions and routines, general truths.

Examples:

Positive: Wilbur invents flying machines. Aeroplanes are flying machines.

Negative: Wilbur does not invent flying machines. Trains are not flying machines.

Interrogative: Does Wilbur invent flying machines? Are rocket flying machines?

Present continuous

Present continuous tense denotes an action that is happening at the time of speaking.

Examples:

Positive: Wilbur is inventing a flying machine.

Negative: Wilbur is not inventing a flying machine.

Interrogative: Is Wilbur inventing a flying machine?

Simple past

Simple past talks about actions that have already happened.

Positive: Wilbur invented a flying machine

Negative: Wilbur did not invent a flying machine

Interrogative: Did Wilbur invent a flying machine?

Present continuous

Present continuous indicates an action that was happening at some time in the past.

Positive: Wilbur was inventing a flying machine.

Negative: Wilbur was not inventing a flying machine.

Interrogative: Is Wilbur inventing a flying machine?

Simple future

Simple future indicates an action that has not yet happened.

Positive: Wilbur is going to invent a flying machine. Wilbur will fly in his machine.

Negative: Wilbur is not going to invent a flying machine. Wilbur will not fly in his machine.

Interrogative: Is Wilbur going to invent a flying machine? Will Wilbur fly in his machine?

Future continuous

Future continuous indicates an action that will be happening in the future.

Positive: Wilbur will be inventing a flying machine.

Negative: Wilbur will not be inventing a flying machine.

Interrogative: Will Wilbur be inventing a flying machine?

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