Verb tense in English is a topic that confuses many students, after all, there are 12 different ways to conjugate a verb. However, with the right teaching material and practice, this subject becomes easy to apply when studying a new language.

Having a summary of this content can make it much easier when reviewing the topic at home. That's why CCAA has prepared an explanation of all the verb tenses in the English language. We will also provide some examples to help you understand each of the grammatical rules for conjugating these words.

So… Let's study!

Discover the 12 verb tenses in English

There are 4 types of verb tenses in English in each of the periods – present, past and future. Each of them will be explained below with examples of the correct way to construct affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences. You can use this content to try to create your own sentences and practice the speaking.

To do this, use the list of most commonly used words in English, where you will find some verbs that are very common in dialogues in this language, and it is essential to know how to conjugate them.

1. Simple Present

Starting with the easiest of verb tenses, the Simple Present It is used when we talk about something habitual, that is happening at the moment or with a certain frequency.

To indicate this time, you must use the verb in the infinitive, added to the particles –s or –es when the subject is He/She/It.

Here are some examples:

• Affirmative: “She likes pizza.”;
• Negative: “He doesn't like comedy movies.”;
• Interrogative: “Do you watch Suits?”

2. Present Continuous

Used to indicate actions that are occurring at the exact moment of speaking, therefore the subject has not yet completed the task. As in the other “Continuous” tenses, it corresponds to the gerund in Portuguese, when we add “-endo”, “-ando” or “-indo” to the end of a verb.

Present Continuous sentences are formed with: subject + verb to be + verb in gerund.

Here's how this rule looks when applied:

• Affirmative: “I am running.”;
• Negative: “They aren't going to Mexico.”;
• Interrogative: “Is he practicing the piano now?”

3. Present Perfect

This time is used when some action started in the past but continued until now and is now completed. Or, that this event occurred in the past, but it is not known exactly when.

The prayers at this time are formed by: subject + has/have + verb in participle + complement.

Check out some examples:

• Affirmative: “I have lived here all my life.”;
• Negative: “She hasn't worked here very long.”;
• Interrogative: “Have you visited your mother?”

4. Present Perfect Continuous

Similar to the previous one, this verb tense also indicates something that began in the past and continued until the present. The difference is that, when we use the Present Perfect Continuous, means that the action has not yet been completed.

To form sentences of this type, you will have to use: subject + has/have + been + gerund verb + complement.

Check out some ways to apply this verb tense:

• Affirmative: “I have been studying.”;
• Negative: “She has not been traveling.”;
• Interrogative: “Have they been going to other countries?”

5. Simple Past

CCAA Simple Past It is used when we talk about something that happened in the past and is concluded at this moment.

For these sentences, you only need to use: subject + verb in the past + complement. In the case of regular verbs, simply add the particle -ed or -d at the end of the word. that this is already its form in the past, however irregular ones do not have a defined form.

When applied, the sentences in the simple past look like this:

• Affirmative “I liked my prom.”;
• Negative: “She didn't love the gift.”;
• Interrogative: “Did they eat the whole pizza?”

“Ate” is the past tense form of the verb “eat”, which is an irregular verb. In these cases, you need to use the good old memorize, as there is no rule. To help you better memorize the past forms of this group of words, check out the list of irregular verbs that we have already made available here at blog.

6. Past Continuous

CCAA Past Continuous should be used when you want to talk about something that was done or occurred continuously in the past. In other words, something that lasted for a while.

The affirmative form of the sentences in this case is composed of: subject + was/were + gerund verb + complement.

Examples:

• Affirmative: “I was studying when I remembered I had a doctor's appointment.”;
• Negative: “She was running when she saw the accident.”;
• Interrogative: “Were they playing football when it started to rain?”

7. Past Perfect

This verb tense is used when we talk about a action or state that has already ended at some point in the past, but that happened before another event.

To use Past Perfect you must form the sentence as follows: subject + had + verb in participle.

Examples of affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences in this verb tense:

• Affirmative: “I had already cleaned the house when my brother arrived.”;
• Negative: “This exercise wasn't as easy as you had told me.”;
• Interrogative: “Had you finished your work when I called you?”

8. Past Perfect Continuous

This verb tense refers to something that started at some point in the past and continued for a while, until another point in the past.

To form sentences with the Past Perfect Continuous, you need to: subject + had + been + verb in gerund + complement.

Check out how this rule can be applied to sentences of the three types:

• Affirmative: “She had been studying English for five months when she got a job offer.”;
• Negative: “They had not been waiting there for more than one hour when she finally arrived.”;
• Interrogative: “Had you been swimming long when we got there?”

9. Simple Future

Well, we've covered the present and the past, it's time to understand the conjugations in the future. The first and simplest of these is Simple Future which is used to indicate some action or state that has not yet happened.

The affirmative form of sentences in this tense is: subject + will + verb in infinitive.

Examples:

• Affirmative: “I will travel to Japan next month.”;
• Negative: “It will not be a rainy month.”;
• Interrogative: “What time will he leave the apartment?”

10. Future Continuous

This verbal inflection indicates an action that will begin in the future and will last for an indefinite period of time. Again, the gerund will need to be used in the verbs of these sentences.

The Future Continuous is formed as follows: subject + will + be + gerund verb + complement.

Examples of sentences in this verb tense:

• Affirmative: “He will be staying here.”;
• Negative: “She will not be working on Tuesday next week.”;
• Interrogative: “Will you be going to the library after class?”

11. Future Perfect

CCAA Future Perfect is the way of expressing an action that will happen in the future, however, it will be finished before another event.

Sentences in this tense are constructed as follows: subject + will + have + verb in participle.

Example:

• Affirmative: “She will have started a new course by next year.”;
• Negative: “I will not have finished the book by the end of this week.”;
• Interrogative: “Will you have completed your tasks by the time they arrive?”

12. Future Perfect Continuous

The last of the verb tenses is used when you want refer to something that will start in the future and will be finished at a certain time. In other words, whoever speaks knows when this event ends.

Sentences in Future Perfect Continuous are formed as follows: subject + will + have + been + verb in gerund.

Check out how to use this conjugation in different ways:

• Affirmative: “She will have been waiting here for two hours by the time their plane lands.”;
• Negative: “I will not have been living here very long when you come to visit.”;
• Interrogative: “Will they have been working here for five years at the end of May?”

Did you already know all the verb tenses in English? Even if you have a good vocabulary in the language, training and learning all the rules that involve conjugation in each of these forms is essential. To understand how much you have already mastered this subject and other topics in the English language, you can still take a placement test free.

Count on CCAA to have access to the best tips for learning English easily and finally achieving fluency in another language!