What Are Examples of Verb Tenses?

What are verb tenses?

Verb tenses indicate when an action takes place—in the past, present, or future. Using the correct tense ensures clarity and accuracy in writing. English has 12 verb tenses, divided among three main categories.

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Past tenses and examples

Tense	Description	Example
Simple Past	Describes a completed action in the past.	She walked to school.
Past Continuous	Describes an ongoing action in the past.	She was walking to school.
Past Perfect	Describes an action completed before another past action.	She had walked to school before it started raining.
Past Perfect Continuous	Describes a past action that continued up until another past event.	She had been walking to school for ten minutes.

Present tenses and examples

Tense	Description	Example
Simple Present	Describes habitual actions or general truths.	She walks to school.
Present Continuous	Describes an ongoing action happening now.	She is walking to school.
Present Perfect	Describes an action that happened at an indefinite time or started in the past and continues.	She has walked to school.
Present Perfect Continuous	Describes an action that started in the past and is still continuing.	She has been walking to school for ten minutes.

Future tenses and examples

Tense	Description	Example
Simple Future	Describes an action that will happen in the future.	She will walk to school tomorrow.
Future Continuous	Describes an ongoing action that will be happening in the future.	She will be walking to school at 8 a.m. tomorrow.
Future Perfect	Describes an action that will be completed before a specific future time.	She will have walked to school by 9 a.m.
Future Perfect Continuous	Describes a future action that will continue up until a specific time.	She will have been walking to school for ten minutes by the time class starts.