12 Types of Tenses with Examples, Formula, V-Inflections

Tabular presentation of 12 types of tenses with examples, formulae, and verb inflections.

Learning Tenses Through Verb Inflections – 12 Types of Tenses with Examples

This article gives a glimpse as well as a deep understanding of all aspects of the 12 types of tenses with examples, formulae, auxiliary and main verb combinations, identification in Urdu, and verb inflections.

Also read: 70+ Passive Voice Exercises with Answers, 10 Differences

While non-grammatical tense means stiff, rigid, tight, or nervous, the grammatical one assumes the role of time reference in English and other languages.

Content/Tabular Breakdown:

Table 1: Simple/Affirmative/Positive Sentences (Auxiliary + Main Verb Combinations)
Table 2: Simple/Affirmative/Positive Sentences (Formulae + Identification in Urdu)
Table 3: Negations/Negative Sentences (Auxiliary + Main Verb Combinations)

Table 4: Negations/Negative Sentences (Formulae + Identification in Urdu)
Table 5: Interrogative Sentences + Use of QW-Family (Auxiliary + Main Verb Combinations)
Table 6: Interrogative Sentences + Use of Question Word (Formulae + Identification in Urdu)

Table 7: Interrogative + Negative Sentences (Auxiliary + Main Verb Combinations)
Table 8: Interrogative + Negative Sentences (Formulae + Identification in Urdu)

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Did you know?

There are just 3 tenses in English, with each having four aspects – simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive. This is what takes the count to 12!
The 2^nd (past) inflection makes the least contribution to tenses and their aspects
The tabular presentation of the 12 types of tenses with examples, formulae, and V-inflections will reveal that 4^th (-ing) form is the most widely used one.

The in simple (non-negative, non-interrogative) sentences, the 1^st and 2^nd inflections of the verbs do not take any helping verbs before them.

In fact, here you are going to learn the 12 basic English tenses through verb inflections. And this approach to learning tenses makes sense because tenses reflect or manifest themselves in a language through verb inflections, modifications, or conjugations.

For example, you use the first (present) form of a verb to express presentness in your text and talk.

Key Facts about Verb Inflections in 12 Types of Tenses with Examples

Present inflection (form) is used in 2 out of the 12 tenses, i.e. present simple and future simple. In the present tense, when the subject is he, she, it, or a singular noun, it is further inflected as an s-form. And depending on their ending letters, the verbs will take either “s” or “es”.
Past inflection (form) of a verb is used in a single sense, i.e. past simple or indefinite. And, also, there is no further inflection.
Past participle inflection – 3^rd form of the verb – is used in 3 out of the 12 basic English tenses, i.e. present perfect, past perfect and past perfect. However, here it has a further requirement of an auxiliary (a helping verb) to precede it that may be has, have, or had. In the present perfect tense, you use either has or have depending on the singularity, plurality, or exceptional cases of the subject. In the case of past perfect tense, you always use had as an auxiliary. And when it comes to future perfect tense, you usually use ‘have’ and it further preceded by another auxiliary, i.e. will or shall.

Present participle – also called the 3^rd or -ing form) is the most widely used inflection that is used in as many as 6 out of the 12 tenses. It’s used in the perfect and perfect continuous aspects of all the three tenses.

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Table 1: Simple/Affirmative/Positive Sentences(Auxiliary + Main Verb Combinations)

Sr. #	Aspect	Helping Verb/ Auxiliary	Main Verb (Form)	Example Sentences
	Simple Past	–	2^nd Form	S/he relearnt tenses through verb inflections.
	Past Progressive	Was/were	-ing Form	S/he was relearning tenses through verb inflections.
	Past Perfect	Had	3^rd Form	S/he had learnt tenses through verb inflections.
	Past Perfect Progressive	Had been	-ing Form	S/he had been relearning tenses through verb inflections for ten minutes.
	Present Indefinite	–	1^st Form	S/he relearns tenses through verb inflections.
	Present Progressive	Is/am/are	-ing Form	S/he is relearning tenses through verb inflections.
	Present Perfect	Has/have	3^rd Form	S/he has relearnt tenses through verb inflections.
	Present Perfect Progressive	Has been/ have been	-ing Form	S/he has been learning tenses through verb inflections for ten minutes.
	Future Indefinite	Will/shall	1^st Form	S/he will relearn tenses through verb inflections.
	Future Progressive	Will be/ shall be	-ing Form	S/he will be relearning tenses through verb inflections.
	Future Perfect	Will have/ shall have	3^rd Form	S/he will have relearnt tenses through verb inflections.
	Future Perfect Progressive	Will have been/ shall have been	-ing Form	S/he will have been relearning tenses through verb inflections for ten minutes.

Table 2: Simple/Affirmative/Positive Sentences (Formulae + Identification in Urdu) 12 Types of Tenses with Examples

Sr. #	Aspect	Identification in Urdu	Formula	Example Sentences
	Simple Past	تا تھا، تی تھی، تے تھے/ ا،ی، ے	S + V_{2nd Form} + O	S/he relearnt 12 types of tenses with examples.
	Past Progressive	رہا تھا، رہی تھی، رہے تھے	S + was/were + V_{-ing Form} + O	S/he was learning 12 types of tenses with examples.
	Past Perfect	چکا تھا، چکی تھی، چکے تھے	S + had + V_{3rd Form} + O	S/he had relearnt 12 types of tenses with examples.
	Past Perfect Progressive	تارہا تھا، تی رہی تھی، تے رہے تھے	S + had been + V_{-ing Form} + O + since/for + time (Object of Preposition)	S/he had been relearning 12 types of tenses with examples for an hour.
	Present Indefinite	تا ہے، تی ہے، تے ہیں	S + V_{1st Form+s/es}+ O	S/he relearns 12 types of tenses with examples.
	Present Progressive	رہا ہے، رہی ہے، رہے ہیں	S + is/am/are + V_{-ing Form}+ O	S/he is relearning 12 types of tenses with examples .
	Present Perfect	چکا ہے، چکی ہے، چکے ہیں۔	S + has/have + V_{3rd Form} + O	S/he has relearnt 12 types of tenses with examples.
	Present Perfect Progressive	تا رہا ہے، تی رہی ہے، تے رہے ہیں	S + has been/have been + V-_{ing Form} + O + since/for + time	S/he has been relearning 12 types of tenses with examples for an hour.
	Future Indefinite	گا، گی، گے	S + will/shall + V_{1st Form}+ O	S/he will relearn 12 types of tenses with examples.
	Future Progressive	رہا ہوگا، رہی ہوگی، رہے ہونگے	S + will be/shall be + V_{-ing Form}+ O	S/he will be relearning 12 types of tenses with examples.
	Future Perfect	چکا ہوگا، چکی ہوگی، چکے ہونگے	S + will have/ shall have + V_{3rd Form} + O	S/he will have relearnt 12 types of tenses with examples.
	Future Perfect Progressive	تا رہا ہوگی، تی رہی ہوگی، تے رہے ہونگے	S + will have been/ shall have been + V-_{ing Form} + O + since/for + time	S/he will have been relearning 12 types of tenses with examples for an hour.

Table 3: Negative Sentences (Auxiliary + Main Verb Combinations) 12 Types of Tenses with Examples

Sr. #	Aspect	Helping Verb/ Auxiliary	Main Verb (Form)	Example Sentences
	Simple Past / Past Indefinite	Did	1^st Form	S/he did not teach 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Past Progressive/ Continuous	Was/were	-ing Form	S/he was not teaching 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Past Perfect	Had	3^rd Form	S/he had not taught 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Past Perfect Progressive/ Continuous	Had been	-ing Form	S/he had not been teaching 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Simple Present / Present Indefinite	Do/does	1^st Form	S/he does not teach 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Present Progressive/ Continuous	Is/am/are	-ing Form	S/he is not teaching 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Present Perfect	Has/have	3^rd Form	S/he has not taught 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Present Perfect Progressive/ Continuous	Has been/ have been	-ing Form	S/he has not been teaching 12 kinds of tenses in English for five days.
	Simple Future/ Future Indefinite	Will/shall	1^st Form	S/he will not teach 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Future Progressive/ Continuous	Will be/ shall be	-ing Form	S/he will not be teaching 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Future Perfect	Will have/ shall have	3^rd Form	S/he will not have taught 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Future Perfect Progressive/ Continuous	Will have been/ shall have been	-ing Form	S/he will not have been teaching 12 kinds of tenses in English for five days.

Table 4: Negative Sentences (Formulae + Identification in Urdu) 12 Types of Tenses with Examples

Sr. #	Aspect	Identification in Urdu	Formula	Example Sentences
	Simple Past / Past Indefinite	تا تھا، تی تھی، تے تھے/ ا،ی، ے	S + did not + V_{1st Form} + O	S/he did not teach 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Past Progressive/ Continuous	رہا تھا، رہی تھی، رہے تھے	S + was not/were not + V_{-ing Form} + O	S/he was not teaching 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Past Perfect	چکا تھا، چکی تھی، چکے تھے	S + had not + V_{3rd Form} + O	S/he had not taught 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Past Perfect Progressive/ Continuous	تارہا تھا، تی رہی تھی، تے رہے تھے	S + had not been + V_{-ing Form} + O + since/for + time (Object of Preposition)	S/he had not been teaching 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Simple Present / Present Indefinite	تا ہے، تی ہے، تے ہیں	S + do/does + not + V_{1st Form}+ O	S/he does not teach 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Present Progressive/ Continuous	رہا ہے، رہی ہے، رہے ہیں	S+is/am/are+not+V_{-ing Form}+ O	S/he is not teaching 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Present Perfect	چکا ہے، چکی ہے، چکے ہیں۔	S + has/have + not + V_{3rd Form} + O	S/he has not taught 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Present Perfect Progressive/ Continuous	تا رہا ہے، تی رہی ہے، تے رہے ہیں	S + has not been/have not been + V-_{ing Form} + O + since/for + time	S/he has not been teaching 12 kinds of tenses in English for five days.
	Simple Future/ Future Indefinite	گا، گی، گے	S + will / shall + not + V_{1st Form}+ O	S/he will not teach 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Future Progressive/ Continuous	رہا ہوگا، رہی ہوگی، رہے ہونگے	S + will not be/shall not be + V_{-ing Form}+ O	S/he will not be teaching 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Future Perfect	چکا ہوگا، چکی ہوگی، چکے ہونگے	S + will not have/ shall not have + V_{3rd Form} + O	S/he will not have taught 12 kinds of tenses in English.
	Future Perfect Progressive/ Continuous	تا رہا ہوگی، تی رہی ہوگی، تے رہے ہونگے	S + will not have been/ shall not have been + V-_{ing Form} + O + since/for + time	S/he will not have been teaching 12 kinds of tenses in English for five days.

Table 5: Interrogative Sentences + Use of Question Word (Auxiliary + Main Verb Combinations) 12 Types of Tenses with Examples

Sr. #	Aspect	Helping Verb	Main Verb (Form)	Example Sentences
	Simple Past / Past Indefinite	Did	1^st Form	Did s/he revise 12 tenses with examples? When did s/he revise 12 tenses with examples?
	Past Progressive/ Continuous	Was/were	-ing Form	Was s/he revising 12 tenses with examples? Why was s/he revising 12 tenses with examples?
	Past Perfect	Had	3^rd Form	Had s/he revised 12 tenses with examples? When had s/he revised 12 tenses with examples?
	Past Perfect Progressive/ Continuous	Had been	-ing Form	Had s/he been revising 12 tenses with examples for six days? How had s/he been revising 12 tenses with examples for six days?
	Simple Present / Present Indefinite	Do/does	1^st Form	Does s/he revise 12 tenses with examples? When does s/he revise 12 tenses with examples?
	Present Progressive/ Continuous	Is/am/are	-ing Form	Is s/he revising 12 tenses with examples? Where is s/he revising 12 tenses with examples?
	Present Perfect	Has/have	3^rd Form	Has s/he revised 12 tenses with examples? How has s/he revised 12 tenses with examples?
	Present Perfect Progressive/ Continuous	Has been/ have been	-ing Form	Has s/he been revising 12 tenses with examples for six days? Why has s/he been revising 12 tenses with examples for six days?
	Simple Future/ Future Indefinite	Will/shall	1^st Form	Will s/he revise 12 tenses with examples? When will s/he revise 12 tenses with examples?
	Future Progressive/ Continuous	Will be/ shall be	-ing Form	Will s/he be revising 12 tenses with examples? When will s/he be revising 12 tenses with examples?
	Future Perfect	Will have/ shall have	3^rd Form	Will s/he have revised 12 tenses with examples? How will s/he have revised 12 tenses with examples?
	Future Perfect Progressive/ Continuous	Will have been/ shall have been	-ing Form	Will s/he have been revising 12 tenses with examples for six days? Why will s/he have been revising 12 tenses with examples for six days?

Note: To make interrogatives with a question word, put a suitable question word in the beginning of a simple interrogative, e.g. “Did he say his prayer?” will be converted into “When did he say his prayer?”

Table 6: Interrogative Sentences + Use of Question Word (Formulae + Identification in Urdu) 12 Types of Tenses with Examples

Sr. #	Aspect	Identification in Urdu	Formula	Example Sentences
	Simple Past / Past Indefinite	تا تھا، تی تھی، تے تھے/ ا،ی، ے	Did + S + V_{1st Form} + O Q.W. + did + S + V_{1st Form} + O	Did s/he revise 12 tenses with examples? When did s/he revise 12 tenses with examples?
	Past Progressive/ Continuous	رہا تھا، رہی تھی، رہے تھے	Was/were + S + V_{-ing Form} + O Q.W.+was/were+ S + V_{-ing Form}+ O	Was s/he revising 12 tenses with examples? Why was s/he revising 12 tenses with examples?
	Past Perfect	چکا تھا، چکی تھی، چکے تھے	Had + S + V_{3rd Form} + O	Had s/he revised 12 tenses with examples? When had s/he revised 12 tenses with examples?
	Past Perfect Progressive/ Continuous	تارہا تھا، تی رہی تھی، تے رہے تھے	Had + S + been + V_{-ing Form} + O + since/for + time (Object of Preposition)	Had s/he been revising 12 tenses with examples for six days? How had s/he been revising 12 tenses with examples for six days?
	Simple Present / Present Indefinite	تا ہے، تی ہے، تے ہیں	Do/does + S + V_{1st Form}+ O	Does s/he revise 12 tenses with examples? When does s/he revise 12 tenses with examples?
	Present Progressive/ Continuous	رہا ہے، رہی ہے، رہے ہیں	Is/am/are + S +V_{-ing Form}+ O	Is s/he revising 12 tenses with examples? Where is s/he revising 12 tenses with examples?
	Present Perfect	چکا ہے، چکی ہے، چکے ہیں۔	Has/have + S + V_{3rd Form} + O	Has s/he revised 12 tenses with examples? How has s/he revised 12 tenses with examples?
	Present Perfect Progressive/ Continuous	تا رہا ہے، تی رہی ہے، تے رہے ہیں	Has/have + he + been + V-_{ing Form} + O + since/for + time	Has s/he been revising 12 tenses with examples for six days? Why has s/he been revising 12 tenses with examples for six days?
	Simple Future/ Future Indefinite	گا، گی، گے	Will/shall + he + V_{1st Form}+ O	Will s/he revise 12 tenses with examples? When will s/he revise 12 tenses with examples?
	Future Progressive/ Continuous	رہا ہوگا، رہی ہوگی، رہے ہونگے	Will/shall + S + be + V_{-ing Form}+ O	Will s/he be revising 12 tenses with examples? When will s/he be revising 12 tenses with examples?
	Future Perfect	چکا ہوگا، چکی ہوگی، چکے ہونگے	Will/shall + S + have + V_{3rd Form} + O	Will s/he have revised 12 tenses with examples? How will s/he have revised 12 tenses with examples?
	Future Perfect Progressive/ Continuous	تا رہا ہوگی، تی رہی ہوگی، تے رہے ہونگے	Will/shall + S + have been + V-_{ing Form} + O + since/for + time	Will s/he have been revising 12 tenses with examples for six days? Why will s/he have been revising 12 tenses with examples for six days?

Table 7: Interrogative + Negative Sentences (Auxiliary + Main Verb Combinations) 12 Types of Tenses with Examples

Sr. #	Aspect	Helping Verb	Main Verb (Form)	Example Sentences
	Simple Past	Did	1^st Form	Did s/he not study the simplified tenses chart? Why did s/he not study the simplified tenses chart?
	Past Progressive	Was/were	-ing Form	Was s/he not studying the simplified tenses chart? Why was s/he not studying the simplified tenses chart?
	Past Perfect	Had	3^rd Form	Had s/he not studied the simplified tenses chart? Why had s/he not studied the simplified tenses chart?
	Past Perfect Progressive	Had been	-ing Form	Had s/he not been studying the simplified tenses chart for 15 minutes? Why had s/he not been studying the simplified tenses chart for 15 minutes?
	Present Indefinite	Do/does	1^st Form	Does s/he not study the simplified tenses chart? Why does s/he not study the simplified tenses chart?
	Present Progressive	Is/am/are	-ing Form	Is s/he not studying the simplified tenses chart? Why is s/he not studying the simplified tenses chart?
	Present Perfect	Has/have	3^rd Form	Has s/he not studied the simplified tenses chart? Why has s/he not studied the simplified tenses chart?
	Present Perfect Progressive	Has been/ have been	-ing Form	Has s/he not been studying the simplified tenses chart for 15 minutes? Why has s/he not been studying the simplified tenses chart for 15 minutes?
	Future Indefinite	Will/shall	1^st Form	Will s/he not study the simplified tenses chart? Why will s/he not study the simplified tenses chart?
	Future Progressive	Will be/ shall be	-ing Form	Will s/he not be studying the simplified tenses chart? Why will s/he not be studying the simplified tenses chart?
	Future Perfect	Will have/ shall have	3^rd Form	Will s/he not have studied the simplified tenses chart? Why will s/he not have studied the simplified tenses chart?
	Future Perfect Progressive	Will have been/ shall have been	-ing Form	Will s/he not have been studying the simplified tenses chart for 15 minutes? Why will s/he not have been studying the simplified tenses chart for 15 minutes?

Table 8: Interrogative + Negative Sentences (Formulae + Identification in Urdu) 12 Types of Tenses with Examples

Sr. #	Aspect	Identification in Urdu	Formula	Example Sentences
	Simple Past	تا تھا، تی تھی، تے تھے/ ا،ی، ے	Did + S + not + V_{1st Form} + O Q.W. + did + S + not+ V_{1st Form} + O	Did s/he not study the simplified tenses chart? Why did s/he not study the simplified tenses chart?
	Past Progressive	رہا تھا، رہی تھی، رہے تھے	Was/were + S +not+ V_{-ing Form} + O Q.W. + was/were+ S+not + V_{-ing Form}+ O	Was s/he not studying the simplified tenses chart? Why was s/he not studying the simplified tenses chart?
	Past Perfect	چکا تھا، چکی تھی، چکے تھے	Had + S + not+ V_{3rd Form} + O Q.W. had + S + not+ V_{3rd Form} + O	Had s/he not studied the simplified tenses chart? Why had s/he not studied the simplified tenses chart?
	Past Perfect Progressive	تارہا تھا، تی رہی تھی، تے رہے تھے	Had + S + not+ been + V_{-ing Form} + O + since/for + time (Object of Preposition)	Had s/he not been studying the simplified tenses chart for 15 minutes? Why had s/he not been studying the simplified tenses chart for 15 minutes?
	Present Indefinite	تا ہے، تی ہے، تے ہیں	Do/does + S + not+ V_{1st Form}+ O	Does s/he not study the simplified tenses chart? Why does s/he not study the simplified tenses chart?
	Present Progressive	رہا ہے، رہی ہے، رہے ہیں	Is/am/are + S +not+V_{-ing Form}+ O	Is s/he not studying the simplified tenses chart? Why is s/he not studying the simplified tenses chart?
	Present Perfect	چکا ہے، چکی ہے، چکے ہیں۔	Has/have + S +not+ V_{3rd Form} + O	Has s/he not studied the simplified tenses chart? Why has s/he not studied the simplified tenses chart?
	Present Perfect Progressive	تا رہا ہے، تی رہی ہے، تے رہے ہیں	Has/have + he +not+ been + V-_{ing Form} + O + since/for + time	Has s/he not been studying the simplified tenses chart for 15 minutes? Why has s/he not been studying the simplified tenses chart for 15 minutes?
	Future Indefinite	گا، گی، گے	Will/shall + he +not+ V_{1st Form}+ O	Will s/he not study the simplified tenses chart? Why will s/he not study the simplified tenses chart?
	Future Progressive	رہا ہوگا، رہی ہوگی، رہے ہونگے	Will/shall + S +not+ be + V_{-ing Form}+ O	Will s/he not be studying the simplified tenses chart? Why will s/he not be studying the simplified tenses chart?
	Future Perfect	چکا ہوگا، چکی ہوگی، چکے ہونگے	Will/shall + S +not+have + V_{3rd Form} + O	Will s/he not have studied the simplified tenses chart? Why will s/he not have studied the simplified tenses chart?
	Future Perfect Progressive	تا رہا ہوگی، تی رہی ہوگی، تے رہے ہونگے	Will/shall + S +not+ have been + V-_{ing Form} + O + since/for + time	Will s/he not have been studying the simplified tenses chart for 15 minutes? Why will s/he not have been studying the simplified tenses chart for 15 minutes?

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