Roughly speaking, tense can be translated time. However, the following discussion will make clear that the translation is rough and some of the tenses are not very appropriately named.

Present Tense
The present tense is one of those inappropriately named tenses. We do not really use present tense very often to talk about what is in the present. Instead, we use it to talk about what is universally or habitually true.

The sun rises in the east. I get up at 5:30 every morning.

Notice that I am using the present tense in this paragraph to talk about what is habitually true or even universally true about English language use. Present tense is also used in fiction writing to create a sense that something is happening now; this is a special device called the historical present. It is also used in some dependent/independent clause sequences of tenses.

Before I leave for California, I will eat breakfast. After I eat breakfast, I will leave for California.

With one exception, the present tense is formed by using the verb with no inflections.

The children cry in their sleep every night. I cry in my sleep every night.

The one exception for standard English usage is that when the subject is in the third person singular, the verb has an –s suffix.

The small boy cries in his sleep every night.

There are a few irregular forms such as does and has. The verb to be is thoroughly irregular, including in the present tense am, are, and is.

Regular Form:

I laugh
you laugh
he, she, it laughs
we laugh
you laugh
they laugh

Past Tense
Past tense is used as it says it is, to show time that is past. It is also used conventionally in fiction to tell a story.

For regular verbs, the past tense is made by adding the –ed suffix to the end of the verb. There is also a rather long list of commonly used verbs which are irregular and form their past tense by vowel changes or even changes in the entire word: ran, sang, swarm, wrote, swept, went. Some verbs have acceptable regular and irregular forms: lit, lighted. The verb to be has two past tense forms, was and were.

I laughed
you laughed
he, she, it laughed
we laughed
you laughed
they laughed
I ran
you ran
he, she, it ran
we ran
you ran
they ran

Future Tense
Linguists say that there is no true future tense in English; however, there are ways of showing future time and many of them involve the verb phrase, so grammar books always talk about the future tense. The future tense is used to talk about future time.

The most common way to show future in written English is to use will before the uninflected base verb; this is what is usually called future tense by grammar books.

Jane will move to California next year.

In spoken English, future is most often shown with am going to before the uninflected base verb.

Jane is going to move to California next year.

Future can even be shown with present tense and an adverb of time.

I leave for California tomorrow.

Notice that will can be used to indicate intent as well as future time.

I will return as soon as I can.

In fact, it was this use of will which created its use to make future; if you promise your intent to do something, you usually do it in the future.

I will laugh
you will laugh
he, she, it will laugh
we will laugh
you will laugh
they will laugh
I am going to laugh
you are going to laugh
he, she, it is going to laugh
we are going to laugh
you are going to laugh
they are going to laugh

Progressive Tense
In addition to the tenses discussed below, the progressive tenses can also be put in the passive.

It is being eaten.
It was being eaten.
It will be being eaten.

Present Progressive
The present progressive is used to show action which is going on at the present moment while the statement is being written or spoken. It is formed with the present tense of the verb to be plus the present participle, a form of the verb with the –ing suffix.

I am typing now.

I am laughing
you are laughing
he, she, it is laughing
we are laughing
you are laughing
they are laughing

Past Progressive
The past progressive is used to show action which is going on while another action in the past is going on. The past progressive is formed with the past tense of the verb to be and the present participle of the base verb.

While I was driving to California, I listened to Willie Nelson tapes.

I was laughing
you were laughing
he, she, it was laughing
we were laughing
you were laughing
they were laughing

Future Progressive
The future progressive is used to show an action going on while an anticipated future action will be going on or to indicate an ongoing future action. The future progressive is formed with will + be + ing.

When you arrive, I will be packing for my trip to California. I will be driving all day tomorrow.

I will be laughing
you will be laughing
he, she, it will be laughing
we will be laughing
you will be laughing
they will be laughing

Perfect Tenses
Linguists and some newer grammar books talk about the perfect as an aspect of the verb, not a tense of the verb. They are correct, but we will follow the traditional name and call them perfect tenses. In addition to the tenses discussed below, there is also a perfect version of passive voice in all of the tenses.

It has been eaten.
It had been eaten.
It will have been eaten.
It has been being eaten.
It had been being eaten.
It will have been being eaten.

Present Perfect
The present perfect has a multitude of uses, close to impossible to define. It indicates a past time which might have ended many years ago or a past time which may have just ended or even a past time which is still not ended. It is formed with the present tense of have plus the past participle of the verb.

I have visited California.
I have already eaten lunch.
I have been in college for twenty-nine years.

When specific time in the past is named, the perfect tense is not used. (Never: I have visited California last year.)

I have laughed
you have laughed
he, she, it has laughed
we have laughed
you have laughed
they have laughed

Past Perfect
The past perfect is used to indicate a time before a time in the past. It is formed with the past tense of have–had– plus the past participle.

Before I went to California, I had never seen a live tortoise.

I had laughed
you had laughed
he, she, it had laughed
we had laughed
you had laughed
they had laughed

Future Perfect
The future perfect is used to indicate an anticipated completed future action. It is made withwill + have + past participle.

By noon, I will have reached the California border.

I will have laughed
you will have laughed
he, she, it will have laughed
we will have laughed
you will have laughed
they will have laughed

Perfect Progressive Tense
The perfect progressive tenses are formed with have + be + –ing.

I have been laughing.
I had been laughing.
I will have been laughing.

This material was provided by instructor Michael Kischner.