<- Grammar Lab
T
Public Grammar Lab
Tenses
How verbs change to show when actions happen.
5
lesson cards
11
practice items
Tenses show the time of an action or state. English has three main time frames — past, present, and future — each with simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous aspects.
Tenses are verb forms that indicate the time of an action or state — whether it happens in the present, happened in the past, or will happen in the future.
Examples
Present: She writes a letter.
Past: She wrote a letter.
Future: She will write a letter.
English has 12 main tense forms: 4 present, 4 past, and 4 future.