It would all be so much easier if it weren’t for those pesky tenses! And we feel you, as even learning the most common of tenses can be a Mount Everest climb. Knowing how to use tenses correctly, and telling present simple and present continuous tense apart is hard enough even without having to learn all the types of past tenses. That’s when things get really tricky with those irregular verbs…

But, where there’s a will, there certainly should be a way, even with tenses. So, instead of struggling with them, why not look for a good English school for foreigners in San Diego and begin there? Yeah, we understand it would be better to be familiar with the basics, at least, which is what we’re going to do now.

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WHAT ARE THE MAIN TENSES IN ENGLISH?

When it comes to the main tenses in the English language, there are two ways to categorize them. On the one hand, we have the three main types of tenses that all other are derived from, and they are:

• Simple Present Tense
• Simple Past Tense
• Simple Future Tense.

These tenses are called main tenses because, in theory, they are enough to communicate about the past, the present, and the future. Also, all other tenses are a form of these three main ones.

However, on the other hand, when talking about language as a means of communication, we can talk about the most commonly used tenses in English. Besides the three main ones, we have to mention the Present Continuous Tense, the Present Perfect Tense, and the “to be going to”, which is not a tense per se but is nonetheless used every day.

So, there you have it, there are three main tenses in English, grammatically speaking, but six tenses which are most commonly used in day-to-day communication according to the California Department of Education.

Although theoretically, it is possible to use only the tree main tenses to communicate effectively, we definitely advise learning at least the six most commonly used tenses, so as to be prepared for any occasion.

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WHAT ARE THE 12 TYPES OF TENSES WITH EXAMPLES?

Now, let’s get better acquainted with all the 12 types of tenses in the English language. Before jumping onto that, we feel it is necessary to mention some basic distinctions between the tenses.

• There are simple tenses which you form by adding suffixes to the main verb, or by using special past forms for irregular verbs in certain tenses.
• Then, there are progressive tenses that you form by using the auxiliary verb “to be” before the main verb in addition to adding a suffix of -”ing” to the main verb.
• Finally, there are perfect tenses. You form these tenses by using the auxiliary verb “to have” before the main verb while, depending on the tense, you either add suffixes to the main verb, or you use a special form for irregular verbs.

Right now, all this sounds a bit complicated, and it is, at least until you see some examples for every tense out there, which we’re going to do immediately. Let’s take it from the top, starting with present tenses.

1. Simple Present Tense - Mostly used for habitual actions, you form this tense by adding suffixes to the main verb for third person plural. So, we have “I/You/We/They play the guitar every day”, but “He/She/It plays the guitar every day.”
2. Present Continuous Tense - Used for actions happening at the exact moment of speaking, you form it by using the auxiliary verb “to be” in the Present Simple Tense while adding the suffix “-ing” to the main verb. “I am playing the guitar”; “You/We/They are playing the guitar right now.”’ and “He/She/It is playing the guitar right now.”
3. Present Perfect Tense - Used for actions that have been completed at a certain point in the near past, before the moment of speaking. These actions usually affect the present in some way. You form it by using the auxiliary verb “to have” in Present Simple Tense and by using the past participle of the main verb. “I/You/We/They have played the guitar.”; “He/She/It has played the guitar.”
4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense - Used for describing an action that started happening sometime in the past, but continues to this day. You form it by using “have been/has been” before the main verb to which you add the suffix “-ing”. “I/You/We/They have been playing the guitar for seven years.”; “He/She/It has been playing the guitar for seven years.”
5. Simple Past Tense - Moving on to past tenses. Used for actions occurred at a certain point in the past. You form it by either adding the suffix “-ed” to the main verb, or by using the past form for irregular verbs, such as “eat-ate”, or “buy-bought”. “I/You/He/She/It/We/They played the guitar last year.”
6. Past Continuous Tense - Used to describe an action that lasted a certain amount of time in the past, two actions happening simultaneously in the past, or to indicate that one action interrupted another one, in which case you use it in conjunction with the Past Simple Tense. You form it by using the past form of the verb “to be” - “was/were” before the main verb to which you add the suffix “-ing”. “I/He/She/It was playing the guitar all day yesterday.”; “You/We/They were playing the guitar when Susan came into the room.”
7. Past Perfect Tense - Used to indicate an action that happened before another one in the past, and usually in conjunction with the Past Simple Tense. You form it by using the past tense of the verb “to have” and the past participle of the main verb. “I/You/He/She/It/We/They had played the guitar before it started to become difficult.”
8. Past Perfect Continuous Tense - Used to describe an action that started before another one in the past, but continued on and finished in the past. Woah, this one is a bit confusing. You form it by using “had been” before the main verb to which you add the suffix “-ing”. “I/You/He/She/It/We/They had been playing the guitar for three months.”
9. Simple Future Tense - Used to describe an event that will happen in the future without any connection to the present. You form it by using “will” and the main verb. “I/You/He/She/It/We/They will play the guitar.”
10. Future Continuous Tense - Used to describe an action that is going to last a certain amount of time in the future, usually longer than some other actions. You form it by using the future simple form of the verb “to be” - “will be” and the main verb with the suffix “-ing”. “I/You/He/She/It/We/They will be playing the guitar when they come back home.”
11. Future Perfect Tense - Used to describe a future event that will be completed before a different future event. You form it by using “will have” and the past participle of the main verb. “I/You/He/She/It/We/They will have played the guitar by the time it starts raining.”
12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense - Used to describe an action that will happen in the future and continue past a certain event or a certain point in the future. You form it by using “will have been” and the main verb with the suffix “-ing”. “I/You/He/She/It/We/They will have been playing the guitar for three hours tomorrow.”

So, there you have it, all 12 English tenses in one place. Some are trickier than others but, again, they are used less frequently than the simpler ones. For any beginner, mastering the six most common tenses in English should be enough for every situation.

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“Where can I learn all these tenses in San Diego if I’m a foreigner?”

There is only one San Diego English language school for foreigners worth mentioning, and it’s the College of English Language. At CEL you’ll have the finest teaching staff in San Diego helping you master the ins and outs of tenses using most modern educational technology. If you want to finally be able to ask the questions you’ve always wanted to at the San Diego Art Institute, our school is the place for you!