Comparison of Verb Tenses in English Grammar

Introduction

English grammar has three main tenses: the present, the past and the future. Each of these tenses has a progressive/continuous aspect, a perfect aspect and a perfect progressive aspect, which adds up to 12 different tenses.

Understanding the difference between simple, progressive, perfect and perfect progressive tenses in English grammar can be very difficult for non-native speakers. Here, we compare the English tenses that learners tend to confuse and explain the difference between them. Simply click on one of the links below for a detailed online lesson with exercises to test your grammar skills.