The verb forms or verb tenses are the different conjugations that can be made of a verb . It can be said that in English there are three main verb tenses: present simple, past simple and future simple. Likewise, for each of them there are forms: continuous, perfect and continuous perfect. Here is a summary of the main English verb forms and their structure . In this article we will provide you information about the Verb forms in English grammar with examples.

Present simple

Use: Describes actions that occur in the moment or are part of a repeating routine. It also indicates scheduled activities, permanent situations or actions that are taking place.

Structure: It is formed using the verb in the infinitive without the “to”. In the third person singular the suffix “s” is added to the verb.

Examples:

• I play golf every Sunday.
• Contreras works at the office.

Present continuous

Use: Indicates actions that are taking place at the moment, programmed actions in the immediate future and those that are repeated continuously . The latter accompanied by adverbs, such as always (always), all the time (all the time), often (often), constantly (constantly).

Structure: It is formed with the auxiliary “to be” in the present , followed by the main verb in the present participle (ing) .

Examples:

• It is raining .
• They are writing a book.

Present perfect

Usage: Indicates an action that started in the past and is still in progress or occurred in a period of time that has not yet ended . It also refers to an event that happened in the past, but the effects are evident in the present. On the other hand, together with the adverb “just”, it indicates an action that has just finished.

Structure: it is formed with the auxiliary have or has, as the case may be, accompanied by the past participle verb .

Examples:

• I have washed my hands over 10 times per day since the pandemic.
• I have lived in Munich since 1985.
• Mary is not ready for the test. Her health has not been so good this week.

Present perfect continuous

Use: In this case the attention is focused on the development of the action and not only on the result. It is used for actions that started in the past but continue in the present . Also for actions that have just finished, but their results are still present.

Structure: It is formed with the auxiliary verb “to be” in the present perfect (have / has been) and the main verb in the present participle (ing) .

Examples:

• My sister has been painting the house all day.
• That burglar alarm has been ringing since this morning.

Simple past

Use: To signal an action that happened in the past and ended permanently and permanently.

Structure: We use the base verb with the suffix “ed” or with the specific form in the past tense for irregular verbs.

Examples:

• I posted that letter 15 years ago.

Past continuous

Usage: Indicates an action that is perceived as unfinished or in progress in the past . It describes a context in which a past event occurs or even an action interrupted by another.

Structure: Requires the auxiliary verb “to be” in the past (was / were), followed by the main verb in the present participle (ing) .

Examples:

• The sun was shining and the birds were singing when Arturo decided to take the boat out.
• He was taking a nap when the phone rang.

Past perfect

Usage: Used to indicate an event that occurred before another event in the past .

Structure: To form this tense, the auxiliary verb “had” and the main verb in the past participle are used .

Examples:

• Mary and I had been to a party the evening before.
• We had not gone to bed until after two.
• Where had he put his wallet?

Past perfect continuous

Usage: This verb tense is similar to the present perfect continuous but the action occurs in the past . The emphasis is on the action and not just its completion.

Structure: It is formed using the auxiliary “had” + “been” and the main verb in the present participle (ing) .

• I had been waiting for long time.
• He had not been paying
• Had it been raining ?

Simple future (will)

Use: It serves to refer to a spontaneous decision or a forecast of a future event .

Structure: To form the future we always use the auxiliary “will” or “shall”, followed by the base form of the verb .

Example:

• We will write you in two hours.
• It will rain.

The auxiliary “shall” is only used in the first person and has a more formal use , it is also used to offer and suggest. However, it is not common in American English.

Future “be going to”

Use: We use the “be going to” to talk about something we have decided to do (an intention) . It indicates future plans, decisions and events closely related to the present. It has many similarities with the future continuous and sometimes any of the forms can be used to indicate the same action.

Structure: The auxiliary verb “to be” is used in the present and the main verb in the infinitive .

• I am going to watch the next program.
• They are going to move
• My sister is going to have a baby in March.

Future continuous

Use: It is used to indicate a future action that will be in development . This means that at some point in the future we will be in the middle of an action.

Structure: It is formed using “will be”, followed by the main verb in the present participle (ing) .

Examples:

• She will be working all day tomorrow.
• The party will be starting at ten o’clock.

Future perfect

Use: Indicates an action that will be completed or completed in the future . We often use the future perfect with time expressions like: by, until, before, by the time.

Structure: It is formed with the “will have” and the main verb in the past participle .

Example:

• I will have had enough by lunchtime.
• I will Have finished it by

Future perfect continuous

Usage: Used to indicate an event or action that continues and is completed in the future or will be interrupted by another event.

Structure: It is formed with the “have been” and the verb in the present participle (ing) .

Example:

• I will have been studying English for six months this summer.