Basic English Tenses You Must Know

If you want to speak basic English fluently, there are certain tenses you need to master. These tenses will help you communicate everyday situations, talk about the past, present, and future, and ask questions confidently. Below is an introduction to the most important English tenses you need to know, with examples, and quizzes to test your understanding.

1. Simple Present Tense

The Simple Present Tense is used to describe habitual actions, facts, and universal truths. It is often used with time expressions such as "every day," "always," and "usually."

Examples:

• 1. I go to school every day.
• 2. She works as a teacher.
• 3. They play soccer on Sundays.
• 4. The sun rises in the east.
• 5. He loves chocolate.
• 6. We usually eat dinner at 7 PM.
• 7. Do you like coffee?
• 8. My parents live in New York.
• 9. She doesn't watch TV often.
• 10. Birds fly in the sky.

2. Simple Past Tense

The Simple Past Tense is used to describe actions or events that happened and were completed in the past. It is often used with words like "yesterday," "last year," or "a week ago."

Examples:

• 1. I visited Paris last summer.
• 2. She called me yesterday.
• 3. We watched a movie last night.
• 4. They traveled to Japan in 2020.
• 5. He studied for the exam yesterday.
• 6. I cooked dinner an hour ago.
• 7. Did you see the game last night?
• 8. She didn't finish her homework.
• 9. We met at the cafe last week.
• 10. They won the match.

3. Present Continuous Tense

The Present Continuous Tense is used to describe actions that are happening right now or around the present time. It is formed with "am/is/are" plus the verb ending in -ing.

Examples:

• 1. I am reading a book.
• 2. She is cooking dinner.
• 3. They are playing soccer.
• 4. We are studying for the test.
• 5. He is watching TV right now.
• 6. I am not sleeping.
• 7. Are you coming to the party?
• 8. The children are not doing their homework.
• 9. It's raining outside.
• 10. They are waiting for the bus.

4. Future Simple Tense

The Future Simple Tense is used to describe actions or events that will happen in the future. It is formed with "will" plus the base form of the verb.

Examples:

• 1. I will call you tomorrow.
• 2. She will travel to Spain next year.
• 3. They will play soccer next weekend.
• 4. He will help you with your homework.
• 5. We will visit our grandparents on Sunday.
• 6. Will you come to the party?
• 7. They won’t go to the concert.
• 8. I will finish my work later.
• 9. She will not eat dinner with us.
• 10. Will it rain tomorrow?

Quizzes to Test Your Understanding

Now that you've learned the basic tenses, test your understanding with the quizzes below.