Tense Chart: Basic Rules Examples & Formula

Are you a beginner in tenses? You are searching where I can learn all the tenses. Here I have provided a basic tense chart with rules and examples.
It helps to remember all the rules and formulas easily. you can be saved this chart offline to learn in your spare time.

The table below shows a chart of tenses in English.

TenseFormulaExample
1. Present SimpleSub + Verb (v1) + s/es + ObjShe goes to school by bus.
2. Past SimpleSub + Verb (v2) + ObjShe went to school by bus.
3. Future SimpleSub + will/shall + verb (v1) + ObjShe will go to school by bus.
4. Present ContinuousSub + is/am/are + Verb(+ing) + Obj She is going to school by bus.
5. Past ContinuousSub + was/were + Verb(+ing) + Obj She was going to school by bus.
6. Future ContinuousSub + will be/shall be + verb(+ing) + Obj She will be going to school by bus.
7. Present PerfectSub + Has/have + Verb (v3) + Obj She has gone to school by bus.
8. Past PerfectSub + had + Verb (v3) + Obj She had gone to school by bus.
9. Future PerfectSub + will have + verb(v3) + Obj She will have gone to school by bus
10. Present Perfect ContinuousSub + Has/have + been + Verb(+ing) + Obj She has been going to school by bus.
11. Past Perfect ContinuousSub + had + been + Verb(+ing) + Obj She had been going to school by bus.
12. Future Perfect ContinuousSub + will have been + verb(+ing) + Obj She will have been going to school by bus for two years.

Tense Chart Rules & Examples

tense chart rules and formula examples

12 Basic Form of Tenses with Examples

1. Present Simple Tense

  • Formula: Sub+V1+Obj
  • Positive: He plays cricket.
  • Negative: He does not play cricket.
  • Question: Does he play cricket?

Examples

  1. I polish my shoes.
  2. He combs his hair.
  3. She feeds her dog.
  4. We feel Hungry.
  5. They fight with friends.
  6. You bring a book.
  7. It takes two minutes.

2. Past Simple Tense

  • Formula: Sub+V2+Obj
  • Positive: Emma went to school.
  • Negative: Emma did not go to school.
  • Question: Did Emma go to school?

Examples

  1. I polished my shoes.
  2. He combed his hair.
  3. She fed her dog.
  4. We felt hungry.
  5. They fought with friends.
  6. You brought a book.
  7. It took two minutes.

3. Future Simple Tense

  • Formula: Sub+will+V1+Obj
  • Positive: She will write an email.
  • Negative: She won’t write an email.
  • Question: Will she write an email?

Examples

  1. I will polish my shoes.
  2. He will comb his hair.
  3. She will feed her dog.
  4. We will feel hungry.
  5. They will fight with friends.
  6. You will bring a book.
  7. It will take two minutes.

4. Present Continuous Tense

  • Formula: Sub+am/is/are+V1+Ing+Obj
  • Positive: We are listening to a song.
  • Negative: We aren’t listening to a song.
  • Question: Are we listening to a song?

Examples

  1. I am polishing my shoes.
  2. He is combing his hair.
  3. She is feeding her dog.
  4. We are feeling hungry.
  5. They are fighting with friends.
  6. You are bringing a book.
  7. It is taking two minutes.

5. Past Continuous Tense

  • Formula: Sub+was/were+V1+Ing+Obj
  • Positive: They were writing an essay.
  • Negative: They weren’t writing an essay.
  • Question: Were they writing an essay?

Examples

  1. I was polishing my shoes.
  2. He was combing his hair.
  3. She was feeding her dog.
  4. We were feeling hungry.
  5. They were fighting with friends.
  6. You were bringing a book.
  7. It was taking two minutes.

6. Future Continuous Tense

  • Formula: Sub+will be+V1+Ing+Obj
  • Positive: Ben will be going home.
  • Negative: Ben won’t be going home.
  • Question: will ben go home?

Examples

  1. I will be polishing my shoes.
  2. He will be combing his hair.
  3. She will be feeding her dog.
  4. We will be feeling hungry.
  5. They will be fighting with friends.
  6. You will be bringing a book.
  7. It will be taking two minutes.

7. Present Perfect Tense

  • Formula: Sub+have/has+V3+Obj
  • Positive: He has read a book.
  • Negative: He hasn’t read a book.
  • Question: has he read a book?

Examples

  1. I have polished my shoes.
  2. He has combed his hair.
  3. She has fed her dong.
  4. We have felt hungry.
  5. They have fought with friends.
  6. You have brought a book.
  7. It has taken two minutes.

8. Past Perfect Tense

  • Formula: Sub+had+V3+Obj
  • Positive: They had bought a new mobile.
  • Negative: They hadn’t bought a new mobile.
  • Question: had they buy a new mobile?

Examples

  1. I had polished my shoes.
  2. He had combed his hair.
  3. She had fed her dog.
  4. We had felt hungry.
  5. They had fought with friends.
  6. You had brought a book.
  7. It had taken two minutes.

9. Future Perfect Tense

  • Formula: Sub+will have+V3+Obj
  • Positive: She will have sung a song.
  • Negative: She won’t have sung a song.
  • Question: will have she sing a song?

Examples

  1. I will have polished my shoes.
  2. He will have combed his hair.
  3. She will have fed her dog.
  4. We will have felt hungry.
  5. They will have fought with friends.
  6. You will have brought a book.
  7. It will have taken two minutes.

10. Present Perfect Continuous Tense

  • Formula: Sub+have/has+been+V1+Ing+Obj
  • Positive: David has been losing weight.
  • Negative: David hasn’t been losing weight.
  • Question: has been David lose weight?

Examples

  1. I have been polishing my shoes.
  2. He has been combing his hair.
  3. She has been feeding her dog.
  4. We have been feeling hungry.
  5. They have been fighting with friends.
  6. You have been bringing a book
  7. It has been taking two minutes.

11. Past Perfect Continuous Tense

  • Formula: Sub+had+been +V1+Ing+Obj
  • Positive: He had been reading novels since morning.
  • Negative: He had not been reading novels since morning.
  • Question: had he been reading a novels since morning?

Examples

  1. I had been polishing my shoes.
  2. He had been combing his hair.
  3. She had been feeding her dog.
  4. We had been feeling hungry.
  5. They had been fighting with friends.
  6. You had been bringing a book.
  7. It had been taking two minutes.

12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense

  • Formula: Sub+will have+been+V1+Ing+Obj
  • Positive: He will have been driving a car at 6 am tomorrow.
  • Negative: He will not have been driving a car at 6 am tomorrow.
  • Question: will he have been driving a car at 6 am tomorrow?

Examples

  1. I will have been polishing my shoes for three years.
  2. He will have been combing his hair since March.
  3. She will have been feeding her dog for three years.
  4. We will have been feeling hungry for two hours.
  5. They will have been fighting with friends for one year.
  6. You will have been bringing a book since Sunday.
  7. It will have been taking two minutes since 2022.
tense chart