English Tenses Through Images

Everything you need to know about using tense in English!

Present Continuous

The sun is setting over the sea.

Present Continuous Tense

• actions that are happening at the moment

• actions that are programmed in the future

How to Form the Present Continuous

I am drinking.I am…You are…He/She/It is…We are…They are…

Present SimplePresent Simple Tense

• Facts and generalization • Habits and routines • Permanent situations • State verbs (e.g. be, have, think, know) • Fixed/ official arrangement that we can't change

How to Form the Present Simple

I drinkI…You…He/She/It…We…They…

He watches too much television.

Present Perfect ContinuousPresent Perfect Continuous Tense

• actions that started in the past and continue in the present

• actions which began in the past and have recently stopped

How to Form the Present Perfect Continuous

I have been drinkingI have been…You have been…He/She/It has been…We have been…They have been….

The mother and her daughter have been walking along the river.

Present PerfectPresent Perfect Tense

• actions that happened at an indefinite time

• actions that began in the past and continue in the present

How to Form the Present Perfect

I have drunk.I have…You have…He/She/It has…We have…They have…

I have won the race.

Past ContinuousPast Continuous Tense

• past actions in progress.

How to Form the Past Continuous

I was drinkingI was…You were…He/She/It was…We were…They were…

He was throwing balls in the air.

Past Simple

Past Simple Tense

• actions that happened at a specific time in the past

How to Form the Past Simple

I drank.I…You…He/She/It…We…They…

She rang the doorbell.

Past Perfect

Past Perfect Tense

• one action in the past occurred before another action in the past

How to Form the Past Perfect

I had drunk.I had…You had…He/She/It had…We had…They had…

The goalkeeper had made the wrong decision.

Past Perfect ContinuousPast Perfect Continuous Tense

• one action in the past occurred before another action in the past

• focus on the duration of an activity rather than the result of it

How to Form the Past Perfect Continuous

I had been drinking.I had been…You had been…He/She/It had been…We had been…They had been…

He had been working all night.

Future SimpleFuture Simple Tense

• Promises

• Unplanned actions

• Predictions based on experience or intuition

How to Form the Future Simple

I will drink.I will…She will…He/She/It will…We will…They will…

You will meet a tall, dark stranger.

Future ContinuousFuture Continuous Tense

• will be in the middle of doing something in a specified time in the future.

How to Form the Future Continuous

I will be drinking.I will be…You will be…He/She/It will be…We will be…They will be… What will you be having for dessert?

Future Perfect

Future Perfect Tense

• an action that will be finished before some point in the future

How to Form the Future Perfect

I will have drunk.I will have…You will have…He/She/It will have…We will have…They will have… He will have solved the case soon.

Future Perfect Continuous

Future Perfect Continuous

• actions that will be happening at a definite moment in the future

How to Form the Future Perfect Continuous

I will have been drinking.I will have been…You will have been…He/She/It will have been…We will have been…They will have been… They will have been running all day.