Tense is the form taken by the verb to specify time (also continuation or completion) of action. Basically, there are three broad categories of tense:
- Present – that which is
- Past – that which was
- Future – that which will be
Since, there is a sense of continuation or completion hence, above categories can be divided in four sub-categories each:
- Simple – the action is mentioned merely. Nothing is told about/whether the action is complete.
- Continuous – the action is incomplete or continuous or else going on.
- Perfect – the action is completed or perfect with respect to a certain point of time.
- Perfect Continuous – the action is going on or relentlessly over a long period of time and yet to be completed.
Uniting the categories with the sub-categories, there are twelve categories.
| Simple | Continuous | Perfect | Perfect Continuous | ||
| Present | Active Passive | He loves He is loved | He is loving He is being loved | He has loved He has been loved | He has been loving ……. |
| Past | Active Passive | He loved He was loved | He was loving He was being loved | He had loved He had been loved | I had been loving ………. |
| Future | Active Passive | He will love He will be loved | He will be loving ……… | He will have loved He will have been loved | He will have been loving ………. |
| Simple | Continuous | Perfect | Perfect Continuous | ||
| Present | Active Passive | He + V1 He + is + V3 | He + is + V1+ing He + is + being + V3 | He + has + V3 He + has been + V3 | He + has been + V3 + ing ……. |
| Past | Active Passive | He + V2 He + was + V3 | He + was + V1 + ing He + was being + V3 | He + had + V3 He + had been + V3 | He + had been + V1 + ing ………. |
| Future | Active Passive | He + will + V1 He + will be + V3 | He + will be + V1 + ing ……… | He + will have + V3 He + will have been + V3 | He + will have been + V1 + ing ………. |
