Uses of English verb forms

The four verb aspects in English (simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous) can be combined with the past, present, and future to create 12 verb forms.
|Verb Form|Formula|Uses|Example Sentences||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Present Simple||Verb + s/es in third person.||Repeated actions. Facts or generalizations. Scheduled events in the near future. Now (non-continuous verbs).||I **play** football. Cats **like** milk. The match **starts** at 2 o'clock. I **am** here now.|
|Present Continuous||Am/is/are + present participle||Now. Longer actions in progress now. Near future. Repetition and irritation with "always".||I **am sitting**. I **am studying** to become a doctor. I **am meeting** some friends after work. She **is always coming** to class late.|
|Past Simple||Verb + ed, or irregular verbs.||Completed action in the past. A series of completed actions. Duration in the past. Habits in the past. Past facts or generalizations.||I **saw** a movie yesterday. I **finished** work, **walked** to the beach, and **found** a nice place to swim. I **lived** in Brazil for two years. I **studied** French when I was a child. She **was** shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.|
|Past Continuous||Was/were + present participle.||Interrupted action in the past. Specific time as an interruption. Parallel actions. Atmosphere. Repetition and irritation with "always".||I **was watching** TV when she called. Last night at 6 PM, I **was eating** dinner. I **was studying** while he **was making** dinner. The sun **was shining.** She **was always coming** to class late.|
|Present Perfect||Has/have + past participle.||Unspecified time before now. Duration from the past until now (non-continuous verbs).||I **have seen** that movie twenty times. I **have had** a cold for two weeks.|
|Present Perfect Continuous||Has/have + been + present participle.||Duration from the past until now. Recently, lately.||They **have been talking** for the last hour. Recently, **I have been feeling** really tired.|
|Past Perfect||Had + past participle.||Completed action before something in the past. Duration before something in the past (non-continuous verbs).||You **had studied** English before you moved to New York. By the time Alex finished his studies, he **had been** in London for over eight years.|
|Past Perfect Continuous||Had been + present participle.||Duration before something in the past. Cause of something in the past.||They **had been talking** for over an hour before Tony arrived. Jason was tired because he **had been jogging**.|
|Simple Future||Will + verb. Am/is/are + going to + verb.||"Will" to express a voluntary action. "Will" to express a promise. "Be going to" to express a plan. "Will" or "be going to" to express a prediction.||I **will send** you the information when I get it. I **will call** you when I arrive. He **is going to spend** his vacation in Hawaii. The year 2222 **will be** a very interesting year.|
|Future Perfect|Will + have + verb. Am/is/are + going to + have + verb.|Completed action before something in the future. Duration before something in the future.|The house isn't completely built yet, but when I visit in June, they **will have finished** it. You can come over at 8. We **will have eaten** dinner by then.||||
|Future Continuous|will + be + present participle|Action in progress at a particular time in the future. Future action continuing over a period of time.|I **will** probably **be running** when you come home. Be quiet when you come home. Everyone **will be sleeping**. I**’m going to be studying** all next week. We **will be traveling** for most of 2019.||||
|Future Perfect Continuous|will + have + been + present participle|Duration before something in the future. Cause of something in the future.|By the time I finish my Ph.D., I **will have been studying** for over 20 years! The house will be a mess. We **will have been painting** all day.||||