Tense Chart with Rules Usages and Examples

Tense Chart with Rules Usages and Examples

Definition of Tense

In English grammar, tense refers to the time of an action or event. Tenses indicate whether an action is occurring in the present, occurred in the past, or will occur in the future. Tenses are crucial for conveying the correct timing and context of events and actions.

Types of Tenses

There are three main types of tenses, and each type is further divided into four subcategories:

1. Present Tense
   • Simple Present
   • Present Continuous
   • Present Perfect
   • Present Perfect Continuous
2. Past Tense
   • Simple Past
   • Past Continuous
   • Past Perfect
   • Past Perfect Continuous
3. Future Tense
   • Simple Future
   • Future Continuous
   • Future Perfect
   • Future Perfect Continuous

Examples of Tenses

Present Tense

1. Simple Present
   • I eat breakfast at 7 AM every day. (Simple Present)
   • She writes emails daily. (Simple Present)
2. Present Continuous
   • I am eating breakfast right now. (Present Continuous)
   • They are playing football in the park. (Present Continuous)
3. Present Perfect
   • I have eaten breakfast already. (Present Perfect)
   • He has finished his homework. (Present Perfect)
4. Present Perfect Continuous
   • I have been eating breakfast for 30 minutes. (Present Perfect Continuous)
   • She has been working here for five years. (Present Perfect Continuous)

Past Tense

1. Simple Past
   • I ate breakfast at 7 AM yesterday. (Simple Past)
   • They visited the museum last week. (Simple Past)
2. Past Continuous
   • I was eating breakfast when the phone rang. (Past Continuous)
   • They were watching a movie when it started raining. (Past Continuous)
3. Past Perfect
   • I had eaten breakfast before I left for work. (Past Perfect)
   • She had finished her project before the deadline. (Past Perfect)
4. Past Perfect Continuous
   • I had been eating breakfast for 30 minutes before the phone rang. (Past Perfect Continuous)
   • They had been playing football for an hour when it started raining. (Past Perfect Continuous)

Future Tense

1. Simple Future
   • I will eat breakfast at 7 AM tomorrow. (Simple Future)
   • She will travel to Paris next month. (Simple Future)
2. Future Continuous
   • I will be eating breakfast at 7 AM tomorrow. (Future Continuous)
   • They will be watching a movie at 8 PM. (Future Continuous)
3. Future Perfect
   • I will have eaten breakfast by the time you arrive. (Future Perfect)
   • She will have completed her assignment by tomorrow. (Future Perfect)
4. Future Perfect Continuous
   • I will have been eating breakfast for 30 minutes by the time you arrive. (Future Perfect Continuous)
   • They will have been studying for three hours by noon. (Future Perfect Continuous)

100 Examples of Tense

• I eat an apple every day. (Simple Present)
• She goes to school by bus. (Simple Present)
• They play soccer on weekends. (Simple Present)
• He drinks coffee every morning. (Simple Present)
• We visit our grandparents often. (Simple Present)
• You read books in your free time. (Simple Present)
• The sun sets in the west. (Simple Present)
• Birds sing in the morning. (Simple Present)
• Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. (Simple Present)
• The train arrives at 8 PM. (Simple Present)
• I am eating an apple right now. (Present Continuous)
• She is going to school by bus. (Present Continuous)
• They are playing soccer in the park. (Present Continuous)
• He is drinking coffee at the moment. (Present Continuous)
• We are visiting our grandparents. (Present Continuous)
• You are reading a book now. (Present Continuous)
• The sun is setting in the west. (Present Continuous)
• Birds are singing outside. (Present Continuous)
• Water is boiling in the kettle. (Present Continuous)
• The train is arriving at the station. (Present Continuous)
• I have eaten an apple. (Present Perfect)
• She has gone to school. (Present Perfect)
• They have played soccer. (Present Perfect)
• He has drunk his coffee. (Present Perfect)
• We have visited our grandparents. (Present Perfect)
• You have read that book. (Present Perfect)
• The sun has set. (Present Perfect)
• Birds have sung their songs. (Present Perfect)
• Water has boiled. (Present Perfect)
• The train has arrived. (Present Perfect)
• I have been eating an apple for ten minutes. (Present Perfect Continuous)
•  She has been going to school by bus for a year. (Present Perfect Continuous)
• They have been playing soccer for an hour. (Present Perfect Continuous)
• He has been drinking coffee since morning. (Present Perfect Continuous)
• We have been visiting our grandparents every month. (Present Perfect Continuous)
• You have been reading that book all day. (Present Perfect Continuous)
• The sun has been setting for a while. (Present Perfect Continuous)
• Birds have been singing since dawn. (Present Perfect Continuous)
• Water has been boiling for a few minutes. (Present Perfect Continuous)
• The train has been arriving late lately. (Present Perfect Continuous)
• I ate an apple yesterday. (Simple Past)
• She went to school by bus last week. (Simple Past)
• They played soccer last Saturday. (Simple Past)
• He drank coffee this morning. (Simple Past)
• We visited our grandparents last month. (Simple Past)
• You read that book last year. (Simple Past)
• The sun set an hour ago. (Simple Past)
• Birds sang in the morning. (Simple Past)
• Water boiled a few minutes ago. (Simple Past)
• The train arrived on time. (Simple Past)
• I was eating an apple when you called. (Past Continuous)
• She was going to school when it started raining. (Past Continuous)
• They were playing soccer when it began to rain. (Past Continuous)
• He was drinking coffee when the phone rang. (Past Continuous)
• We were visiting our grandparents when the power went out. (Past Continuous)
• You were reading a book when I entered. (Past Continuous)
• The sun was setting when we arrived. (Past Continuous)
• Birds were singing when I woke up. (Past Continuous)
• Water was boiling when I turned off the stove. (Past Continuous)
• The train was arriving when I got to the station. (Past Continuous)
• I had eaten an apple before you arrived. (Past Perfect)
• She had gone to school by the time it started raining. (Past Perfect)
• They had played soccer before it began to rain. (Past Perfect)
• He had drunk his coffee before the phone rang. (Past Perfect)
• We had visited our grandparents before the power went out. (Past Perfect)
• You had read that book before I entered. (Past Perfect)
• The sun had set before we arrived. (Past Perfect)
• Birds had sung their songs before I woke up. (Past Perfect)
• Water had boiled before I turned off the stove. (Past Perfect)
• The train had arrived before I got to the station. (Past Perfect)
• I had been eating an apple for ten minutes when you called. (Past Perfect Continuous)
• She had been going to school by bus for a year when it started raining. (Past Perfect Continuous)
• They had been playing soccer for an hour when it began to rain. (Past Perfect Continuous)
• He had been drinking coffee since morning when the phone rang. (Past Perfect Continuous)
• We had been visiting our grandparents every month before the power went out. (Past Perfect Continuous)
• You had been reading that book all day before I entered. (Past Perfect Continuous)
• The sun had been setting for a while when we arrived. (Past Perfect Continuous)
• Birds had been singing since dawn when I woke up. (Past Perfect Continuous)
• Water had been boiling for a few minutes before I turned off the stove. (Past Perfect Continuous)
• The train had been arriving late lately before I got to the station. (Past Perfect Continuous)
• I will eat an apple tomorrow. (Simple Future)
• She will go to school by bus next week. (Simple Future)
• They will play soccer next Saturday. (Simple Future)
• He will drink coffee in the morning. (Simple Future)
• We will visit our grandparents next month. (Simple Future)
• You will read that book next year. (Simple Future)
• The sun will set soon. (Simple Future)
• Birds will sing in the morning. (Simple Future)
• Water will boil in a few minutes. (Simple Future)
• The train will arrive on time. (Simple Future)
• I will be eating an apple when you arrive. (Future Continuous)
• She will be going to school by bus when it starts raining. (Future Continuous)
• They will be playing soccer when it begins to rain. (Future Continuous) 
• He will be drinking coffee when the phone rings. (Future Continuous)
• We will be visiting our grandparents when the power goes out. (Future Continuous)
•  You will be reading a book when I enter. (Future Continuous)
• The sun will be setting when we arrive. (Future Continuous)
• Birds will be singing when I wake up. (Future Continuous)
• Water will be boiling when I turn off the stove. (Future Continuous)
• The train will be arriving when I get to the station. (Future Continuous)

Read More 

1. Present Perfect Tense Examples
2. 150 Sentences Using Present Continuous Tense
3. Sentences of Past Continuous Tense With Example