Tenses – 12 Types Simplified + Timeline

📖 Explanation

🧠 Day 19: Tenses – The Backbone of Grammar

✍️ Tense = Time + Action.
Understanding tenses is key to telling stories, giving instructions, and explaining thoughts clearly and correctly.

📊 English Tense Chart

🌱 Level 1 – Beginner (A1–A2): Mastering Simple Tenses

🔹 1. Present Simple

Structure: Subject + base verb (+ s/es)

✅ I eat breakfast at 7.
✅ She works in an office.

Use: habits, facts, routines
🧠 “Always”, “usually”, “never” are often used.

🔹 2. Past Simple

Structure: Subject + past verb

✅ I visited London last year.
✅ They played football.

Use: completed actions in the past
🧠 Look for “yesterday”, “last week”, “in 2010”.

🔹 3. Future Simple

Structure: Subject + will + base verb

✅ I will call you tomorrow.
✅ She will arrive soon.

Use: decisions, promises, predictions

🌿 Level 2 – Intermediate (B1–B2): Continuous & Perfect Tenses

🔹 4. Present Continuous

Structure: Subject + am/is/are + verb-ing

✅ I am studying now.
✅ They are watching TV.

Use: actions happening right now / around now
🧠 Signal words: “now”, “currently”, “right now”

🔹 5. Past Continuous

Structure: Subject + was/were + verb-ing

✅ I was reading when he called.
✅ They were sleeping at 11 PM.

Use: interrupted actions, background scenes

🔹 6. Future Continuous

Structure: Subject + will be + verb-ing

✅ I will be waiting at 6 PM.
✅ She will be traveling next week.

Use: action in progress at a future time

🔹 7. Present Perfect

Structure: Subject + have/has + past participle

✅ I have finished the task.
✅ He has lived here for 5 years.

Use: life experience, recent actions, result in present
🧠 Signal words: “just”, “already”, “yet”, “ever”, “never”, “for/since”

🔹 8. Past Perfect

Structure: Subject + had + past participle

✅ I had eaten before she arrived.
✅ They had left when we reached.

Use: action completed before another past action

🔹 9. Future Perfect

Structure: Subject + will have + past participle

✅ I will have finished the report by 5 PM.
✅ They will have arrived by tomorrow.

Use: completed before a future point

🌳 Level 3 – Advanced (C1–C2): Perfect Continuous Tenses

🔹 10. Present Perfect Continuous

Structure: Subject + have/has been + verb-ing

✅ I have been working for 3 hours.
✅ She has been studying since morning.

Use: actions continuing up to now

🔹 11. Past Perfect Continuous

Structure: Subject + had been + verb-ing

✅ I had been waiting for an hour before he came.

Use: long past action before another past event

🔹 12. Future Perfect Continuous

Structure: Subject + will have been + verb-ing

✅ By next year, she will have been teaching for a decade.

Use: continuous activity up to a future point in time

📘 Mini Timeline Story – The Life of a Plant

A gardener plants a seed. Every day, she waters it. After a week, the seed has grown roots. She has been caring for it daily. Last month, she planted a similar one. At that time, she was experimenting with new soil. In a few days, the current plant will have grown tall enough to be moved outside. By then, she will have been watching its progress for over 30 days.

🧠 Tenses used:

• Present Simple / Perfect
• Past Simple / Continuous
• Future Perfect / Perfect Continuous

🎯 Tense Signal Words (Quick Guide)

🔁 Practice Sentences

Complete with the correct tense:

1. I ___ (study) English every day. → study (Present Simple)
2. They ___ (sleep) when we arrived. → were sleeping (Past Continuous)
3. She ___ (write) the book for months. → has been writing (Present Perfect Continuous)
4. We ___ (finish) the work before 6 PM. → will have finished (Future Perfect)
5. I ___ (never/see) such a view. → have never seen (Present Perfect)
6. By next year, I ___ (live) here for 10 years. → will have been living (Future Perfect Continuous)
7. He ___ (watch) a movie yesterday. → watched (Past Simple)
8. They ___ (play) chess now. → are playing (Present Continuous)

🧠 Visual Timeline Summary