What is Tense?

 In Grammar, tense is a category that expresses time reference. Tenses are usually manifested by the use of specific forms of verbs, particularly in their conjugation patterns. The main tenses found in many languages include the past, present, and future.

Definition of Tense

According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, the term ‘tense’ is defined as “any of the forms of a verb that may be used to show the time of the action or state expressed by the verb.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides a slightly different definition. According to it, the word ‘tense’ is defined as “a distinction of form in a verb to express distinctions of time or duration of the action or state it denotes.”

“The tense of a verb group is its form, which usually shows whether you are referring to past, present, or future time”, according to the Collins Dictionary, and the Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘tense’ as ”any of the forms of a verb which show the time at which an action happened.”

How Important Is It to Know about Tenses?

Tenses are often considered to be the backbone and the most fundamental element of the English language. Without tense, everything seems to be absurd. Tenses help you describe actions that take place at different times. It helps to give clarity to your context and the information you are trying to convey. It also allows you to build complex sentence structures. So, if you want to be able to convey information clearly and promptly, you should know all the twelve tenses and how they are used.

Different Tenses in English

In English grammar, there are three main tenses, and they are each further classified into four different forms, which sum up to twelve tenses in total. The three tenses in English are:

       

• Present Tense
• Past Tense
• Future Tense

                                                 

The four different forms are:

• Simple Tense Form
• Continuous Tense Form
• Perfect Tense Form
• Perfect Continuous Tense Form

So, the twelve tenses in English are as follows:

• Simple Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• Simple Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• Simple Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tens

English tenses examples: verb tenses chart

	Past	Present	Future
Simple	I helped my neighbor yesterday.	I help my neighbor every day.	I will help my neighbor tomorrow.
Perfect	I had helped my neighbor clean his attic before I fixed his car.	I have helped my neighbor too much this week.	I will have helped my neighbor a hundred times by the end of the month.
Continuous	I was helping my neighbor when he brought me iced tea.	I am helping my neighbor while he fixes up his house.	I will be helping my neighbor next month when he moves.
Perfect continuous	I had been helping my neighbor for a year before he finally thanked me.	I have been helping my neighbor since I moved in.	I will have been helping my neighbor for a year next month.