In this article, I’ll be covering only the simple aspect for each tense. As you continue learning English, you can delve into more complex English verb tense forms to express more specific ideas. The good news is that some verb tenses are more common than others. Many native English speakers struggle with this, too. These aspects affect how the verb is conjugated, as well as which auxiliary words are used in the sentence (if any).ĭon’t worry if this seems too complicated. This emphasizes the duration of the past action. Tony started running in the past, up until the present moment. Tony ran in the past and up until the present moment.Įxpresses something that began in the past, but continues into the future. Now, there are four aspects of each tense: SimpleĮxpresses something that takes place during a limited period of time.Įxpresses something that occurred in the past, but is linked to another point in the future. Verb tense is formed based on a sentence’s main verb and the auxiliary words around that verb. There are three basic tenses in English: present, past, and future. In this article, I’ll briefly explain each English tense and show you how it affects verb conjugation.Ī tense indicates the timing of an action. They allow speakers to clarify the timing of an action so that there’s no confusion. Jokes aside, tenses are an important part of English grammar. Does this title make you feel a bit…tense? (Yeah, me too.)