Comparison of Verb Tenses in English Grammar

How to choose the right tense in English

English has a lot of tenses, 12 to be precise.

Not only that, but certain tenses sound similar to each other (have done or have been doing? asked or have asked?), which makes it tricky to choose the right tense.

To help you out, we’ve compared and contrasted the most common tenses to help you avoid typical mistakes.

Click on the links below for a detailed tense comparison, key signal words and exercises where you can practise the difference.