The usual structure of basic tenses with regular verbs is: +Īnd here are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses: base V1 See charts and examples for Basic Tenses → Basic Tenses with Regular Verbs This makes a total of 12 tenses in the active voice.Īnother 12 tenses are available in the passive voice. To these, we can add 4 "modal tenses" for the future (using the modal auxiliary verbs will/shall). "had" is past simple but it refers here to present time (now)ġ2 tenses in active voice + 12 in passive = 24įor past and present, there are 2 non-complex tenses + 6 complex tenses (using auxiliary or helping verbs). If I had some money now, I could buy it.Or a past tense does not always refer to past time: "rains" is present simple, but it refers here to future time (tomorrow) It is important not to confuse the name of a verb tense with the way we use it to talk about time.įor example, a present tense does not always refer to present time: Tense and Timeĭon't confuse the name of a tense with time! Test your understanding of these pages with our English Tense System Quiz. On these pages we look at how to avoid confusing tense with time, and the structure of the 12 basic tenses, with examples using a regular verb, an irregular verb and the verb "be". In English, the concept of tense is very important. In some languages, verb tenses are not very important or do not even exist.
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