The concept of English verb tenses is very important in establishing effective

communication. Hence, if you want to maintain both ways of communication

better, that is, speaking and writing. You need to gain mastery over English
tenses, because a command of twelve basic tenses of English language will
aid you immensely in gaining effective communication skills.

The term, tense, has been derived from the Latin word tempus meaning
time. Since there are many ways in which we express the time of action, we
use tenses. There are three main tenses, past tense, present tense and the
future tense. It is important to note that each of these tenses has four forms,
they are: Simple, progressive or continuous, perfect and perfect progressive
or perfect continuous.

It must be borne in mind that in a given situation or in accordance with the

time, one should use an appropriate tense so as to maintain effective
communication. In this way, it is necessary to determine various aspects in
terms of English verbs, such as, the state of being, continuing action or
action completed. In doing so, you need to know how to conjugate verbs
properly by focusing on the structures of tenses and modal tenses, so that
you can create clear and effective sentences.

On the hand the correct use of tenses helps you speak with people clearly
and effectively, it enables you to raise the level of readability of your
business writings on the other by allowing your readers to comprehend
accurately what you have written using English tenses.

Types of Tenses

1. Present Tense:

Simple present tense: It is used to explain an action, event or condition

that is happening in the present. For example, I play or I eat.

Present continuous tense: It describes an ongoing action or an action that

is still going. For instance, I am playing or I am eating.
 Present perfect tense: It indicates an action that began in the past and
continues into the present. For example, I have played or I have eaten.

Present perfect continuous tense: It is used to describe an action that has

been taking place for some time and is still ongoing. For example, I have
been playing or I have been eating.

2. Past Tense:

Simple past tense: It is used to explain an event or an action that has

happened in the past. For example, I played or I ate.

Past continuous tense: It is used to describe an event or an action that is

ongoing in the past. For instance, I was playing or I was eating.

Past perfect tense: It refers to an action or event that took place in the
past. For example, I had played or I had eaten.

Past perfect continuous tense: It describes a continuing action in the past

that began before another past action began or interrupted the first action.
For instance, I had been playing or I had been eating.

3. Future Tense:

Simple future tense: It is used when we plan to do something. For example,

I will play or I will eat.

Future continuous tense: It describes a continuing action that will happen

in the future. In short, it refers to an action ongoing in the future. For
instance, I will be eating at 8 oclock or I will be playing at 6 oclock.

Future perfect tense: It refers to an action that will happen in the future
before another action takes place. For example, I shall have played before 5
oclock or I shall have eaten before 9 oclock.

Future perfect continuous tense: It indicates a continuing action, which will

be completed at a specified time in the future. For instance, I shall have been
playing or I will have been eating.