Grammar basics
The 12 tenses
A tense shows when an action happens. English has 3 times (past, present and future) and 4 forms (simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous). 3 × 4 = 12 tenses.
Verb forms you need
Every tense uses one of these four verb forms. Many English learners call them V1, V2, V3 and V-ing.
| Form | Name | work | build | go | write |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V1 | base form | work | build | go | write |
| V2 | past form | worked | built | went | wrote |
| V3 | past participle | worked | built | gone | written |
| V-ing | -ing form | working | building | going | writing |
For regular verbs, V2 and V3 are the same: add -ed (work → worked → worked). Irregular verbs like go and write have their own forms. You need to learn them one by one.
The 4 forms
| Form | The idea | Main helping verb |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | facts, habits and finished actions | do, did, will |
| Continuous | an action in progress (not finished) | be + V-ing |
| Perfect | an action finished before another time | have + V3 |
| Perfect continuous | an action that started before and continues up to another time | have been + V-ing |
Learn more about be, do, have and will on the helping verbs page.
All 12 tenses
Present
| Tense | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | Subject + V1 (+s/es) | I work from home. |
| Present continuous | Subject + am/is/are + V-ing | I am learning English. |
| Present perfect | Subject + have/has + V3 | I have finished my homework. |
| Present perfect continuous | Subject + have/has + been + V-ing | I have been coding for three hours. |
Past
| Tense | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Past simple | Subject + V2 | I fixed the bug yesterday. |
| Past continuous | Subject + was/were + V-ing | I was coding when you called. |
| Past perfect | Subject + had + V3 | The meeting had started before I arrived. |
| Past perfect continuous | Subject + had + been + V-ing | I had been working for five hours when the server crashed. |
Future
| Tense | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Future simple | Subject + will + V1 | I will help you with your project. |
| Future continuous | Subject + will + be + V-ing | This time tomorrow, I will be traveling. |
| Future perfect | Subject + will + have + V3 | By next year, I will have finished the app. |
| Future perfect continuous | Subject + will + have + been + V-ing | By next month, I will have been living here for 5 years. |
Thai changes words, English changes the verb
In Thai, the verb never changes: กิน is always กิน. You add a time word like กำลัง, แล้ว or จะ. In English, you change the verb (and add a helping verb).
| Thai | English | Tense |
|---|---|---|
| ฉันกินข้าวเช้าทุกวัน | I eat breakfast every day. | Present simple |
| ฉันกำลังกินข้าวเช้า | I am eating breakfast. | Present continuous |
| ฉันกินข้าวเช้าแล้ว | I have already eaten breakfast. | Present perfect |
| เมื่อวานฉันกินข้าวเช้าตอน 7 โมง | I ate breakfast at 7 yesterday. | Past simple |
| พรุ่งนี้ฉันจะกินข้าวเช้าตอน 8 โมง | I will eat breakfast at 8 tomorrow. | Future simple |
Start with the 5 most common tenses
You don't need all 12 tenses on day one. Most everyday English uses only five: present simple, present continuous, past simple, present perfect and future simple. Learn these first. The perfect continuous tenses are less common, so learn to understand them when you read or hear them.