Overview of 12 Tenses in Simple English with Examples

Here’s an overview of the 12 tenses in English, along with examples:

1. Present Simple:
   • Used to talk about general truths, habits, and routines.
   • Example: “She always eats breakfast at 8 a.m.”
2. Present Continuous:
   • Used to talk about actions happening at the present moment.
   • Example: “They are playing football in the park.”
3. Present Perfect:
   • Used to talk about past actions that have a connection to the present.
   • Example: “I have finished my homework.”
4. Present Perfect Continuous:
   • Used to talk about actions that started in the past and are still ongoing.
   • Example: “She has been studying for five hours.”
5. Past Simple:
   • Used to talk about completed actions in the past.
   • Example: “He visited his grandparents last weekend.”
6. Past Continuous:
   • Used to talk about actions that were happening in the past.
   • Example: “We were watching a movie when the power went out.”
7. Past Perfect:
   • Used to talk about actions that happened before another past action.
   • Example: “She had already left when I arrived.”
8. Past Perfect Continuous:
   • Used to talk about ongoing actions that happened before another past action.
   • Example: “They had been waiting for hours before the concert started.”
9. Future Simple:
   • Used to talk about actions that will happen in the future.
   • Example: “I will go to the party tomorrow.”
10. Future Continuous:
    • Used to talk about ongoing actions that will happen in the future.
    • Example: “At 8 p.m. tomorrow, I will be watching a movie.”
11. Future Perfect:
    • Used to talk about actions that will be completed before a future time.
    • Example: “By next month, she will have finished her project.”
12. Future Perfect Continuous:
    • Used to talk about ongoing actions that will be completed before a future time.
    • Example: “By the time you arrive, I will have been waiting for two hours.”

These examples should give you a basic understanding of the 12 tenses in English. Remember that verb tenses are used to convey different meanings and time relationships between actions.