A verb is a word that expresses an action, state of being, or an occurrence. If you ask a linguist, they’ll tell you there are only two verb tenses in the English language—past and present; however, you’re more likely to be told there are three—past, present, and future.

For most people, including writers, we consider verbs to have three main tenses—past, present, and future—and four sub-tenses—simple, progressive (or continuous), perfect, and perfect progressive (or continuous).

Writers use the different verb tenses to tell readers when in time events or actions occurred. A chart has been provided below to show examples, usage, and the formula for each verb tense.

This chart has been provided as both an image and an HTML table for visitor accessibility and ease of sharing.