GRAMMAR
How Many Tenses Are There In English?
English Tenses
How many tenses are there in English? Some students may get confused because some grammar textbooks mention that English has 12 verb forms while others list 16 tense forms. This page will try to answer this question. Tense formulas and examples will be also provided
For more detailed explanations, you may visit the Grammar Study Pages and study the different tenses.
Are there 12 or 16 tenses in English?
You might be surprised to know that in linguistic analysis, only two tenses are identified in English
- The present tense.
- The past tense.
The future is not considered a tense because to form it, we need a helping verb, namely, the modal "will" or "shall".
However, for pedagogical reasons, teachers prefer to focus on three major tenses in English: the present, past, and future. These three tenses may be used in combination with four different aspects: simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive.
The tense/aspect combinations produce 12 verb tenses:
1. present simple 2. present progressive (continuous) 3. present perfect 4. present perfect progressive (continuous) 5. past simple 6. past progressive (continuous) 7. past perfect 8. past perfect progressive (continuous) 9. future simple 10. future progressive (continuous) 11. future perfect 12. future perfect progressive (continuous)
Some grammar textbooks may add 4 other verb tenses to the list. They are related to the conditional mood.
The tense combinations with the conditional mood include:
13. conditional simple 14. conditional progressive (continuous) 15. conditional perfect 16. conditional perfect progressive (continuous).
What are the 16 tenses in English?
The following table summarizes the 16 tenses in English:
Present | Past | Future | Conditional | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Simple | I walk | I walked | I will walk | I would walk |
Progressive | I am walking | I was walking | I will be walking | I would be walking |
Perfect | I have walked | I had walked | I will have walked | I would have walked |
Perfect Progressive | I have been walking | I had been walking | I will have been walking | I would have been walking |
What is the formula of all tenses?
Here are the 16 verb tenses in English. Verb forms and examples are provided:
Tense | Formula | Examples |
---|---|---|
1. Present Simple | VERB/ VERB +S | I/you/we/they play He/she/it plays |
2. Present Progressive (Continuous) | AM/IS/ARE + VERB + ING | I/you/we/they am playing He/she/it is playing |
3. Present Perfect | HAVE/HAS + PAST PARTICIPLE | I/you/we/they have played He/she/it has played |
4. Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous) | HAVE/HAS + BEEN + VERB + ING | I have been playing He/she/it has been playing |
5. Past Simple. | VERB + ED (except irregular verbs) | I played. I wrote (irregular) |
6. Past Progressive (Continuous) | WAS/WERE + VERB + ING | I/he/she was playing you/we/they were playing |
7. Past Perfect | HAD + PAST PARTICIPLE | I had played |
8. Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous) | HAD + BEEN + VERB + ING | I had been playing |
9. Future Simple | WILL + VERB | I will play |
10. Future Progressive (Continuous) | WILL + BE + VERB +ING | I will be playing |
11. Future Perfect | WILL + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE | I will have played |
12. Future Perfect Progressive (Continuous) | WILL + HAVE + BEEN + VERB + ING | I will have been playing |
13. Conditional Simple | WOULD + VERB | I would play |
14. Conditional Progressive (Continuous) | WOULD BE + VERB + ING | I would be playing |
15. Conditional Perfect | WOULD + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE | I would have played |
16. Conditional Perfect Progressive (Continuous) | WOULD + HAVE + BEEN + VERB + ING | I would have been playing |