/ Aron Thode

Discussion Practice for Verb Tenses

How many verb tenses are there in English? As few as two? Some say there are three verb tenses and four grammatical aspects.

I’ve seen teachers count sixteen tenses by including conditionals, and others count twenty-four by including both passive and active voices.

The confusing range of counts is what happens when a) trying to describe and analyze language meets b) trying to teach language. The first effort is exhaustive and detailed, the second, simplifying and prioritizing.

ESL textbooks and teachers usually teach twelve verb tenses in English, which, I think, is a practical number to settle on. I wanted to create at least one conversation question set for each of them, and I've finally done it.

The Simple Tenses

Simple Present
Simple Past ✔, Irregular Simple Past
Simple Future


The Continuous Tenses (aka The Progressive Tenses)

Present Continuous
Past Continuous
Future Continuous


The Perfect Tenses

Present Perfect
Past Perfect
Future Perfect


The Perfect Continuous Tenses

Present Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect Continuous
Future Perfect Continuous


Lastly, I've tried to make a helpful verb tense reference chart. For printing, the PDF versions are ideal and come in color and black and white.

A four by three chart of the verb tenses in English. Under each tense name there are one or two example sentences. This chart is in color.


A four by three chart of the verb tenses in English. Under each tense name there are one or two example sentences. This chart is in black and white.