Basic Tenses
For past and present, there are 2 non-complex tenses + 6 complex tenses (using auxiliary or helping verbs).
To these, we can add 4 "modal tenses" for the future (using the modal auxiliary verbs will/shall).
This makes a total of 12 tenses in the active voice.
Another 12 tenses are available in the passive voice (though 4 are rarely used).
So now we have 24 tenses, as you see in the table below:
| 24 tenses | past | present | future | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| active | non-complex tenses | past simple | present simple | future simple |
| complex tenses | past perfect | present perfect | future perfect | |
| past continuous | present continuous | future continuous | ||
| past perfect continuous | present perfect continuous | future perfect continuous | ||
| passive | past simple | present simple | future simple | |
| past perfect | present perfect | future perfect | ||
| past continuous | present continuous | future continuous | ||
| past perfect continuous | present perfect continuous | future perfect continuous | ||
The basic structure of a positive or affirmative sentence is:
subject + auxiliary + main verb
The following table shows the 12 active tenses for the regular verb work in the affirmative or positive:
| 12 active tenses (work) | structure | past | present | future | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| auxiliary | main verb | |||||
| simple | normal | I worked | I work | I will work | ||
| intensive | do | base | I did work | I do work | ||
| continuous | be | present participle -ing | I was working | I am working | I will be working | |
| perfect | have | past participle | I had worked | I have worked | I will have worked | |
| continuous perfect | have been | present participle -ing | I had been working | I have been working | I will have been working | |
Notes: An auxiliary verb is actually used in all tenses. In the present simple and past simple tenses, the auxiliary verb is usually suppressed for the affirmative, but it does exist for intensification. It is also of course always used in forming questions and negatives.
Technically, there are no future tenses in English. The word will is a modal auxiliary verb and future tenses are sometimes called "modal tenses". The examples are included here for convenience and comparison.