Tenses Formulas and Examples

Here’s a simple breakdown of English tenses, their formulas, and examples for each. I’ve grouped them into the basic categories: Present, Past, Future, and each type of tense (Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous).

PRESENT TENSES

1. Simple Present

• Formula: Subject + base verb (add s/es for he/she/it)

• Example: She writes emails every day.

2. Present Continuous (Progressive)

• Formula: Subject + am/is/are + verb+ing

• Example: They are studying English.

3. Present Perfect

• Formula: Subject + has/have + past participle (V3)

• Example: He has finished the report.

4. Present Perfect Continuous

• Formula: Subject + has/have been + verb+ing

• Example: We have been working all morning.

PAST TENSES

1. Simple Past

• Formula: Subject + past form of verb (V2)

• Example: She called her friend yesterday.

2. Past Continuous

• Formula: Subject + was/were + verb+ing

• Example: I was reading when the phone rang.

3. Past Perfect

• Formula: Subject + had + past participle (V3)

• Example: They had left before the meeting started.

4. Past Perfect Continuous

• Formula: Subject + had been + verb+ing

• Example: He had been waiting for an hour.

FUTURE TENSES

1. Simple Future

• Formula: Subject + will + base verb

• Example: She will join the team next week.

2. Future Continuous

• Formula: Subject + will be + verb+ing

• Example: They will be traveling tomorrow.

3. Future Perfect

• Formula: Subject + will have + past participle (V3)

• Example: We will have completed the project by Friday.

4. Future Perfect Continuous

• Formula: Subject + will have been + verb+ing

• Example: By noon, he will have been working for 5 hours.