Tenses
The twelve tense-aspect forms, what each says about time and completeness, the present perfect versus the past simple, and the tense shifts required in reported speech and after past main verbs.
What you will be able to do
- Match each of the twelve tense forms to the time and aspect it expresses.
- Choose between the present perfect and the past simple correctly.
- Apply the sequence-of-tenses rule after a past main verb.
- Shift tenses correctly when turning direct speech into reported speech.
What is inside this lesson
- 1Tense and aspect
- 2The twelve forms at a glance
- 3Present perfect or past simple?
- 4Sequence of tenses
- 5Direct to reported speech
- 6Worked example: choosing the tense
- 7Common mistakes
- 8Quick revision
- 9Practice
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Tense and aspect
English verbs carry two pieces of information at once. Tense places the action in time: past, present or future. Aspect says how the action sits in that time: simple (a whole event), continuous or progressive (in progress), perfect (completed and relevant now), or perfect continuous (in progress up to a point).
Three times times four aspects gives twelve forms. You rarely need to name them in the exam, but you do need to pick the one that matches the time words and the logic of the sentence.
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