Examples of English Tenses English tenses These are examples of the English tenses The table is provided to help you recall the different tenses studied in previous lessons For more detailed explanations you should visit the Grammar Study Pages and study the different tenses Other links related to English tenses Tenses | Forms and Explanations Exercises on tenses Explanations Action that is repeated every Friday Habitual action Facts that are believed to be true Generalizations Scheduled events in the near future Explanations Action that takes place now / at the moment Near future Explanations To talk about experiences Past action that has the result in the present Action which started in the past and continued up to now Explanations To show that something started in the past and has continued up until now To talk about an action that started in the past and stopped recently To talk about an action that started in the past and is continuing now Present Simple I visit my uncle every Friday Cats hate mice The sun rises in the morning The plane takes off at 10 o'clock tonight Present Progressive I am working on my computer I am leaving tomorrow Present Perfect I have been to Italy She has read that book I have lived in this town for 12 years Present Perfect Progressive He has been sleeping for the last hours The grass is wet because it has been raining all day long I have been watching TV for hours / since you left Explanations Completed action in the past To talk about an action that started in the past and stopped recently To talk about an action that started in the past and is continuing now An action taking place in the middle of another action Explanations Actions happening at the same time in the past Interrupted action in the past Explanations Completed action before another action in the past Explanations To show that something started in the past and continued up until another action stopped it To show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past We use the Past Perfect Continuous before another action in the past to show cause and effect Explanations Instant decisions We use the simple future , when we predict a future situation We use the simple future with: "I (don't) think ", "I expect ", "I am sure ", "I wonder ", "probably" Conditional sentence type one Explanations Action that will be taking place at some time in the future Explanations Completed action before another action in the past Past Simple She left yesterday She woke up, had a shower and left If I had a million dollar, I would help the poor She was playing when the accident occurred Past Progressive He was reading a newspaper while his wife was preparing dinner Sh was reading a book when the light went off, had a shower and left Past Perfect Simple She had left when I arrived Past Perfect Progressive They had been playing soccer when the accident occurred I had been living in that town for ten years before I moved to New York I was so tired I had been working for hours Future Simple I've left the door open; I'll close it She'll pass the exam She's hardworking It will probably rain tonight If I have enough time, I'll watch the film Future Progressive When you arrive, I'll be sleeping Future Perfect By tomorrow, I will have finished the work Explanations Future Perfect Progressive It is used to show that an action will She will have been working for over hours by the continue up until a particular event time her children arrive or time in the future