# Tenses — All 12 on One Card, With the Rules Tests Check

Source: https://skills101.in/learn/verbal/english-tenses — Skills101 free tutorial (Verbal Ability (English)). Updated 2026-11-09.

A tense tells **when** something happens. English has 3 times (past, present, future) and 4 forms of each, giving 12 tenses. You don't need grammar terms in the exam — you need to pick the right form quickly.

![A chart of the 12 tenses for the verb write: wrote, was writing, had written, had been writing; write, is writing, has written, has been writing; will write, will be writing, will have written, will have been writing](https://skills101.in/learn-img/verbal/tense-grid.svg)

## 1. The four forms

| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| **Simple** | a fact, habit or completed action | She **writes** code every day. |
| **Continuous** | in progress at that time | She **is writing** code now. |
| **Perfect** | completed before a point in time | She **has written** 200 programs. |
| **Perfect continuous** | started earlier and still going (or just stopped) | She **has been writing** since 9 am. |

## 2. Time words are your clue

| Clue word | Tense |
|---|---|
| yesterday, last year, ago, in 2020 | **Simple past** (I *went*) |
| every day, usually, always | **Simple present** (He *goes*) |
| now, at the moment, look! | **Present continuous** (She *is going*) |
| just, already, yet, ever, never, so far | **Present perfect** (I *have finished*) |
| since + point, for + duration (still continuing) | **Present perfect (continuous)** (I *have lived* here for 5 years) |
| by the time, before (in the past) | **Past perfect** for the earlier action |
| tomorrow, next week | **Simple future** (I *will call*) |

## 3. The rules tests check most

### Rule 1 — no present perfect with a finished past time
- ✗ "I **have seen** him yesterday." → ✓ "I **saw** him yesterday."

The present perfect connects the past to **now**, so it can't be used with "yesterday", "last year", "in 2020".

### Rule 2 — since vs for
- **since** + a point in time: since 2019, since Monday, since morning
- **for** + a length of time: for 5 years, for two hours

✓ "He has been working here **since** 2021" / "**for** five years."

### Rule 3 — past perfect for the earlier of two past actions
✓ "When I reached the station, the train **had left**." (The train left first.)

### Rule 4 — after "did / does / do", use the base verb
- ✗ "She did not **went**." → ✓ "She did not **go**."
- ✗ "Does he **knows**?" → ✓ "Does he **know**?"

### Rule 5 — state verbs are not used in continuous forms
Verbs like **know, understand, believe, like, want, own, belong** describe states, not actions.
- ✗ "I **am knowing** the answer." → ✓ "I **know** the answer."

### Rule 6 — no "will" after if/when for the future
- ✗ "If it **will rain**, we will stay home." → ✓ "If it **rains**, we will stay home."

## Common mistakes

- Using "have seen" with "yesterday".
- Using "since" with a duration ("since five years" ✗).
- Using continuous forms of know, like, want.
- Using "will" after "if" or "when".

## Quick recap

- Look for time words — they decide the tense.
- Present perfect = past connected to now; never with "yesterday".
- since + point, for + duration.
- Past perfect = the earlier of two past actions.
- did/does/do + base verb; no "will" after if/when.


Practice quiz and free certificate: https://skills101.in/learn/verbal/english-tenses