The 12 tenses at a glance
12ቱ ጊዜያት በአንድ እይታ (tenses)
English has three times (past, present, future) and four aspects (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous): 3 × 4 = 12 tenses. This page puts them all in one table, so you can see how they are built and when each one is used.
Time and aspect
Every English tense answers two questions. First, WHEN: past, present or future? Second, HOW do we see the action: as a simple fact (simple), as something in progress (continuous, be + -ing), as something finished before a point (perfect, have + past participle), or as something that went on for a while up to a point (perfect continuous, have been + -ing). Amharic also has a past (ሄድኩ), a present-future (እሄዳለሁ) and a progressive (እየሄድኩ ነው), but it does not split the present into four like English does. That is why I've lived here and I live here feel the same to an Amharic speaker, but they are different in English.
In Amharic
እያንዳንዱ የእንግሊዝኛ ጊዜ ሁለት ጥያቄዎችን ይመልሳል። መጀመሪያ፣ መቼ፦ ያለፈ፣ የአሁን ወይስ የወደፊት? ሁለተኛ፣ ድርጊቱን እንዴት እናየዋለን፦ እንደ ቀላል እውነታ (simple)፣ በሂደት ላይ እንዳለ (continuous፣ be + -ing)፣ ከአንድ ነጥብ በፊት እንደተጠናቀቀ (perfect፣ have + past participle)፣ ወይም እስከ አንድ ነጥብ ለተወሰነ ጊዜ እንደቀጠለ (perfect continuous፣ have been + -ing)። አማርኛም ያለፈ (ሄድኩ)፣ የአሁን-የወደፊት (እሄዳለሁ) እና ቀጣይ (እየሄድኩ ነው) አለው፤ ነገር ግን እንደ እንግሊዝኛ የአሁኑን ጊዜ ለአራት አይከፍልም። ስለዚህ I've lived here እና I live here ለአማርኛ ተናጋሪ አንድ ይመስላሉ፤ በእንግሊዝኛ ግን ይለያያሉ።
| Simple | Continuous | Perfect | Perfect continuous | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past | worked | was / were working | had worked | had been working |
| Present | work / works | am / is / are working | have / has worked | have / has been working |
| Future | will work | will be working | will have worked | will have been working |
- Continuous = a form of be + verb-ing.
- Perfect = a form of have + past participle (worked, eaten, gone).
- Perfect continuous = a form of have + been + verb-ing.
- Only the first helping verb changes for the person and the time: she has been working, they had been working.
- I work at the airport. (a fact about my life)
- I'm working the night shift this week. (in progress, for now)
- I've worked here for three years. (from the past until now)
- I've been working since six this morning. (an activity going on until now)
- I'll work on Saturday if they need me. (a decision about the future)
All 12 tenses: form, example and when
Here is every tense with the verb work. Read across: the name, how it is built, an example, and the job it does. Each tense has its own page with the full table and practice.
In Amharic
እያንዳንዱ ጊዜ በ work ግሥ እዚህ አለ። በአግድም ያንብቡ፦ ስሙ፣ እንዴት እንደሚመሠረት፣ ምሳሌ እና የሚሠራው ሥራ። እያንዳንዱ ጊዜ ሙሉ ሰንጠረዥና ልምምድ ያለው የራሱ ገጽ አለው።
| Tense | Form | Example | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present simple | work / works | She works at a hotel. | facts, habits, routines |
| Present continuous | am / is / are + -ing | She's working now. | now; temporary; fixed plans |
| Present perfect | have / has + participle | She's worked here since 2020. | past to now; experience; result now |
| Present perfect continuous | have / has been + -ing | She's been working all day. | activity from the past to now, how long |
| Past simple | worked / went | She worked late yesterday. | finished action, finished time |
| Past continuous | was / were + -ing | She was working when I called. | in progress at a past moment |
| Past perfect | had + participle | She had left when I arrived. | earlier past, before another past |
| Past perfect continuous | had been + -ing | She had been working for hours. | how long, up to a past moment |
| Future simple | will + verb | She'll call you back. | decisions now, promises, predictions |
| Future continuous | will be + -ing | She'll be working at 8 tonight. | in progress at a future moment |
| Future perfect | will have + participle | She'll have finished by Friday. | done before a future point |
| Future perfect continuous | will have been + -ing | By June she'll have been working here a year. | how long, up to a future point |
- be going to + verb is not one of the 12, but it is the most common way to talk about plans: I'm going to apply.
- The present continuous also talks about the future when it is arranged: I'm seeing the doctor on Monday.
- We moved to Las Vegas in 2019. (past simple)
- We had lived in Virginia for two years before that. (past perfect)
- I'll be driving home at five, so call me after six. (future continuous)
- By the end of the course, you'll have learned all twelve tenses. (future perfect)
Time words that signal a tense
Some time words almost always go with one tense. When you see yesterday or ago, think past simple. When you see since or for + until now, think present perfect. These words are good clues in tests and when you write an email, but meaning always decides in the end.
In Amharic
አንዳንድ የጊዜ ቃላት ሁልጊዜ ማለት ይቻላል ከአንድ ጊዜ ጋር ይሄዳሉ። yesterday ወይም ago ሲያዩ ያለፈ ቀላልን ያስቡ። since ወይም for + እስከ አሁን ሲያዩ የአሁን ፍጹምን ያስቡ። እነዚህ ቃላት በፈተናና ኢሜይል ሲጽፉ ጥሩ ፍንጮች ናቸው፤ በመጨረሻ ግን የሚወስነው ትርጉሙ ነው።
| Tense | Signal words |
|---|---|
| Present simple | always, usually, often, sometimes, never, every day, on Mondays |
| Present continuous | now, right now, at the moment, today, this week, Look! Listen! |
| Present perfect | ever, never, already, yet, just, so far, since, for, recently |
| Present perfect continuous | for, since, all day, all morning, lately, How long…? |
| Past simple | yesterday, last week, in 2019, two days ago, when I was a child |
| Past continuous | while, when, at 9 last night, all evening |
| Past perfect | before, after, already, by the time, by then |
| Future (will / going to) | tomorrow, next week, soon, in two days, I think, probably |
| Future perfect | by Friday, by the end of the month, by the time you arrive |
- ago always needs the past simple: I came here two years ago (not I have come here two years ago).
- since needs a perfect tense: I've lived here since 2019 (not I live here since 2019).
- I usually take the bus, but today I'm driving.
- Have you paid the rent yet? — Yes, I paid it yesterday.
- While I was cooking, the smoke alarm went off.
- By the time we got to the clinic, it had already closed.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I've lived here since 2019. | since + still true now needs the present perfect. | |
| I saw him yesterday. | A finished time (yesterday) needs the past simple. | |
| I know the answer. | Don't add am/is/are to a simple tense; and know is a state verb. | |
| She has been working here for a year. | Perfect continuous: have been + -ing. | |
| Tomorrow I'll go to the DMV, I promise. | Promises about the future use will. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
Which tense is “they had finished”?
Which tense is “I'll be working”?
Complete with “live”: We ___ here since 2018. (two words, short form OK)
I met her two years ___.
Which word signals the present continuous?
Perfect continuous = have + ___ + verb-ing (one word)
Which sentence is the present perfect continuous?
Complete with “finish”: By Friday, I ___ the report. (future perfect, three words)
Which sentence is correct?
How many aspects does each time (past, present, future) have?