What Are the Most Important English Tenses?

What are the most important English tenses?

Level: intermediate (B1)

Fun fact before we start: If you ask a linguist, they will tell you that English only has two tenses--the present and the past. For this post, I am referring to "the twelve tenses" that are typically taught in English grammar books: the simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous forms of the present, past, and future.

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Do You Need to Learn All 12 English Tenses? (A Guide for Learners)

English students often ask me, "Do I really need to learn all twelve tenses?" The short answer is "yes" if you want to be a complete and proficient English speaker. However, some tenses are used much more often than others, and it is completely possible to be fluent and functional in English with just five tenses. This is especially true for everyday conversations about work, school, family, food, your weekend, and so on.

So, which five tenses should you learn, and which ones can wait until later? Let's divide your English learning journey into three levels.

Level 1: The 5 Most Important English Tenses

The 5 most important English tenses

Before you worry about learning more complex English tenses, make sure you are comfortable and confident with these five. You probably know the two most important ones because they are usually the first two tenses that language learners want to know about in any language.

"The most important tenses are the present simple and the past simple, right?" Right! These are also the most commonly used English tenses. Let's take a look at these two essential tenses, and three others that are used a lot by English speakers.

Present Simple

You use the present simple to talk about facts, general truths, opinions, routines, preferences, beliefs, schedules, thoughts, feelings, and permanent situations. It is nearly impossible to have a conversation without the present simple. Here are three brief conversations which show the present simple in action.

Bret: What time do you usually wake up?

Vanessa: I set my alarm for 6:30, but I don't get up until 7.

Mia: Do you want milk in your tea?

Emma: No, thanks. I like my tea black.

Tom: Where does your brother work?

Jason: He has a job at the library.

When a student starts studying English, they usually start by conjugating the verb to be. After that? The present simple is the next natural step. This is because it is impossible to speak English without it.

What to remember

• Structure: subject + verb. ("I go to the gym every week.")

• Add 's' to affirmative third person present simple sentences. ("He lives in India.")

• Questions: Use do with I, you, we, and they. Use does with he, she, and it. ("What time does your son finish school?" / "Do they live here?")

• Negatives: Use don't with I, you, we, and they. Use doesn't with he, she, and it. ("We don't want to leave." / "She doesn't like blueberries.")

Past Simple

You use the past simple to talk about actions or events that started and finished in the past. When you talk about yesterday, your weekend, or your last vacation, you need to use the past simple. Take a look at this dialogue between a mother and her son to see what I mean.

Mom: What did you do yesterday?

Son: I worked from 8 to 4, and then I went to the gym. After the gym, I felt really tired, so I picked up some food, drove home, ate, took a shower, and fell asleep on the couch.

Mom: I called you at 8, but you didn't answer your phone.

Son: Sorry, Mom. I didn't hear the phone. I left it on silent because I didn't want anyone to disturb me.

Mom: That's okay. You had a busy day and needed some rest.

Son: Yes, I did.

After you learn some sentences in the present simple, it is natural to ask, "How do I say that in the past?" That's when you start learning about the second most important English tense: the past simple.

What to remember

• Structure: subject + past verb. ("We left the party at 10 o'clock.")

• Add -ed to regular verbs to turn them into past verbs (started, walked, played, wanted, etc.).

• Questions: Use did with all subjects. ("What did you do last night?")

• Negatives: Use didn't with all subjects. ("They didn't go to the concert.")

• Regular verbs past tense pronunciation

  • Say -id when the present verb ends in t or d (wanted, needed, started, etc.).

  • Say -t when the present verb ends in a voiceless sound (walked, watched, rushed, etc.).

  • Say -d when the present verb ends in a voiced sound (played, grabbed, called, etc.).

• Learn the most common irregular past simple verbs (go = went, have = had, etc.).

Future with Will and Be Going to

And that's a promise.

So far, we have the present simple and the past simple. Naturally, you want to learn about the future simple next, right? Exactly! For this, you need to learn how to use will and be going to. You can use both to state your future intentions. The difference is that be going to is used for future plans and arrangements that you are confident about. Because of this, be going to is considered stronger than will. On the other hand, we use will for promises, decisions made at the moment of speaking, offers, present real conditionals, predictions without strong evidence, and future facts. Most grammar books just list will as the future simple form, but it is important to know that there are many ways to talk about the future in English. Here are some examples and explanations of how to use will and be going to.

• I'm going to visit my cousins tomorrow. (We have already arranged this meeting, and I probably already know when and where I'm going to meet my cousins.)

• I will do my homework later. (This is a promise to myself, or a statement of my intention.)

• You're thirsty? Please, don't get up. I will get you a drink. (A decision made at the moment of speaking. Also, an offer.)

• I think Max will be late today. (This is a prediction.)

• I will call you if I can. (Present real conditional.)

• Halloween will be on a Friday this year. (This is a future fact. You can also just use the present simple in this case.)

At this stage, do not become obsessed with using will for everything. Often, be going to is what you really want to use, especially if you feel very certain about a future plan. For example, if someone asks you, "What are your plans for the weekend?", it sounds a little strange to say, "I will cut the grass tomorrow" instead of "I'm going to cut the grass tomorrow" when you are confident about your statement and if you made this decision before you spoke.

What to remember

• Structure: subject + will + bare infinitive. ("I will see you later.")

• Questions: Will is never conjugated. It is a modal verb. ("What will you do if you don't get the job?")

• Negatives: The negative of will is will not. The contracted negative is won't. ("They won't be available tomorrow.")

• Will is a modal verb. It is always followed by a bare infinitive verb (will see, will go, will make, etc.).

• Be going to is also always followed by a bare infinitive verb (I'm going to visit..., we're going to watch..., etc.)

Present Continuous

The present continuous is used to talk about actions that are happening right now and about future arrangements that are already planned or agreed upon with other people. These future plans are usually very certain (around 99%). This tense is a natural one to learn after will and be going to because it is also used to talk about the future. In fact, the most common present and future question in English is probably, "What are you doing?" Take a look at these four short dialogues.

Luca: What are you doing this weekend?

Rita: Nothing. I will probably just stay home. (Rita just decided this, or she made a weak prediction about what she will probably do on the weekend. Remember how to use will?)

Dad: Why is the dog barking? (The dog is barking right now.)

Daughter: I don't know. Maybe someone is looking at him in a strange way.

Son: Hey, Mom. That smells delicious. What are you making? (What are you making right now? Something smells really good.)

Mom: I'm cooking beef stew.

Jack: Do you want to go to the movie theatre this weekend?

Dan: Sorry. I'm visiting my grandma this weekend. (This is an arrangement I have already made with my grandma. She knows I am coming to her house on the weekend, and I am committed to this arrangement.)

The present continuous is important to learn because it does not exist in some languages. This is the first tense that is more challenging to learn for some students, but when they understand how it works, it's actually simple.

What to remember

• Structure: subject + am/is/are + verb+ing. ("He's reading in his room.")

• You always need to use the verb to be before a continuous -ing verb ("He is singing." "She is crying." "Where are you going?" etc.)

• Questions: Remember to use -ing with continuous verbs. ("What time are you leaving?")

• Negatives: Use not before the continuous verb. (She's not studying. She's just playing on her phone.")

• The present continuous and be going to are often interchangeable when discussing pre-arranged plans in the future. "I'm seeing a movie with my brother" and "I'm going to see a movie with my brother" express the same idea. The only difference is that "I'm seeing" sounds more certain and confident.

• Some of the most common verbs that are used for future arrangements with the present continuous include visiting, going, getting together with, meeting, leaving, coming, and seeing.

• Some verbs are not commonly used with continuous tenses. These are called stative verbs. Stative verbs include know, understand, seem, love, and more. However, some verbs--especially have--have idiomatic meanings and can be used in the continuous tense, as in, "I'm having dinner" or "Are you having a good time?"

Present Perfect

This is the last tense you should start learning as an English beginner. The present perfect has many uses, but in general, it is used to connect the past with the present. You can use it to talk about life experiences, recently completed actions, and actions or events that started in the past and which are still happening now. Step one of learning the present perfect is the question form, "Have you ever...?" to ask about your life experience. Here is an example of that question form, and several other uses of the present perfect.

• Have you ever been to Norway? (life experience)

• I have lived here for five years. (duration from the past until now)

• She has finished her test. (recently completed action)

• I haven't seen William today. (current period--it is still today)

• The car has run out of gas. (recent action with a present result)

When you are just learning how to use the present perfect, start with life experiences and with durations from the past until now. After you become comfortable with these two uses, you can move on to the other ones.

What to remember

• Structure: subject + have/has + past participle. ("They have sold their house.")

• The present perfect always needs a conjugated form of have and a past participle verb. ("We have lived here since 2017." / "She hasn't finished her homework yet.")

• Questions: Use have and a past participle, as in affirmatives and negatives. ("Have you seen my keys?" / "How long have you worked here?")

• Negatives: Use have not and has not to form negatives with the present perfect, or the contracted forms, haven't and hasn't. ("My mom hasn't called me this week.")

• Use for to talk about durations (for 5 days, for 6 hours, for 1 year), and use since to talk about starting points or the last time something happened (since high school, since yesterday, since 2017).

• You can use never with the present perfect to talk about life experiences that you have not had. You emphasize the negation when you use this word. ("I have never seen that movie.")

That's it! These are the five most common tenses in English, and they cover about 80 to 90% of English conversations. If you practice and master these tenses, you will be able to participate in the vast majority of English conversations.

Level 2: The Useful but Not Urgent Tenses

These tenses are also important, but they aren't the first tenses you should learn.

Can you use all of the Level 1 tenses? Congratulations! You are probably at least an intermediate English user, and you are probably fluent and functional in English. What's next? Let me tell you. The following four tenses are still common and useful, especially if you want to become an advanced English speaker. With that in mind, here are the tenses that you should focus on before you even think about Level 3.

Past Continuous

The past continuous is like the present continuous, but in the past. We use the past continuous to talk about an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past. For example, imagine that I called you at 6 o'clock last night, but you didn't answer your phone. Why not? You can explain your reasoning by saying something like this: "Sorry. I was having dinner with my family when you called." Here is a short dialogue between a mother and daughter that shows the past continuous in action.

Mom: Hey, Lisa. Can I talk to you?

Lisa: Sure. Just hold on a minute.

Mom: Okay.

Lisa: Okay! I'm done. Sorry, I was just writing a message to a friend.

Mom: Uh-huh. So, listen. Your dad and I were talking earlier, and we decided that it's time for you to move out of the house.

Lisa: What?! Why?

Mom: You need to learn how to take care of yourself and how to be more responsible.

Lisa: I am responsible!

Mom: Lisa, yesterday, you were just looking at your phone all afternoon. And in the evening, when I told you to come for dinner, you said you couldn't because you were watching a movie. And the day before that, you didn't come with us to your grandma's birthday because you were too busy playing an online game with your friends.

Lisa: Those things are important to me, Mom! You just don't understand me!

Remember, you can use the past continuous to talk about a longer action that was interrupted by a quick action. For example, "I was taking a shower when the doorbell rang." Got it? Good.

What to remember

• Structure: subject + was/were + verb+ing. ("She was listening to music all day.")

• Questions: Make sure you use was/were and verb+ing. ("What were you doing at 6 o'clock?")

• Negatives: Use was not and were not, or wasn't and weren't before verb+ing. ("Lisa's mom wasn't joking when she told her daughter to move out.")

• While and when are commonly used with the past continuous. ("You called me while I was sleeping." / "When you saw me, I was writing an email for work.")

Present Perfect Continuous

A continuous or repeated action from the past until now.

Okay, so now you know how to talk about actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past. But what about actions or events that started in the past and are still in progress now? That's exactly what the present perfect continuous is for. If you are asking me about the difference between the present perfect and the present perfect continuous, the present perfect focuses on the result, and the present perfect continuous focuses on the process, and is often used for longer actions. Here are some examples to illustrate this.

• We've been waiting here for two hours. (And we will probably continue to wait!)

• She hasn't been returning my messages. (I have been sending her messages regularly, but she hasn't responded to any of them.)

• How long have you been working here? (You can also say, "How long have you worked here?" but "have you been working" has a stronger feeling of continuity.)

• I've been reading an interesting book lately. (I haven't finished the book yet. I will continue reading it.)

What to remember

• Structure: subject + have/has + been + verb+ing. ("She has been sleeping all afternoon.")

• Questions: Make sure you keep all of the elements mentioned in the first point above. ("How long have you been living here?")

• Negatives: Use have not and has not, or the contracted haven't and hasn't before been and the continuous verb. ("She hasn't been attending her violin lessons.")

• Use for to discuss durations, and since to discuss starting points or the last time something happened. ("We've been waiting here for two hours." / "We've been waiting here since 11 o'clock.")

Past Perfect

Ah, yes. "The past of the past." To clarify, English speakers use the past perfect to talk about an action that happened before another past action. When you use this tense, imagine that you are taking two steps back (or more!) into the past. For instance, "When I came home last night, my husband had already prepared dinner." What was the sequence of events here? First, the person's husband prepared dinner, and then the person came home. So, the person's husband had prepared dinner before the person came home. Here are some more examples to clarify this.

• Last Saturday was my first time having sushi. Before then, I had never tried it.

• By the time we got to the stadium, the game had started.

• The person at the bank said that someone had used my credit card.

• I ran to the bus stop, but the bus had already left.

• They hadn't met each other before the party.

What to remember

• Structure: subject + had + past participle. ("Martin had left before we arrived.")

• Questions: Make sure you include had and the past participle in your question. ("How many cookies had you eaten before I walked into the room?")

• Negatives: Use had not or the contracted hadn't before the past participle verb. ("We hadn't closed the door, so the thieves had easy access to the room.")

• Some common key words that are used in past perfect sentences are before, when, by the time, already, and yet. ("By the time we arrived, the store had already closed.")

• Sometimes, you can use the past simple interchangeably with the past perfect. "She screamed because you scared her" and "She screamed because you had scared her" are both correct and easy to understand.

Future Continuous

By now, you are probably comfortable speaking about the future in English. However, you want to expand your skills. "How do I use the future continuous?" you ask. Allow me to tell you. We use the future continuous to talk about an action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. Here are four short dialogues to demonstrate this tense.

Matt: I'll call you later.

Dean: Okay, but don't call me between 6 and 7:30. I'll be playing volleyball then.

Trisha: Are you going to be giving a speech at your brother's wedding?

Maria: I think so. (You can also say, "Will you be giving a speech?" Both mean, "During your brother's wedding, will you give a speech?")

Dad: What's a good time for me to visit you?

Son: Any time after 5 is okay. Before then, I'll be working.

Hotel receptionist: How long will you be staying with us?

Customer: Just one night. ("How long will you be staying?" is a polite form. You might also hear, "How long are you staying?" or "How many nights do you need?" Remember, there are many ways to talk about the future.)

What to remember

• Structure: subject + will be + verb+ing. ("I'll be driving then, so don't call me.")

• Many grammar books don't mention that English speakers also use be going to + be + verb+ing in a similar way. ("I'm going to be driving then, so don't call me.")

• Questions: Remember to use be before the continuous verb. ("What time will he be working until tomorrow?")

• Negatives: Use will not or won't followed by the usual structure. ("I won't be joining you for the trip. I have other things to do.")

• You can often use a different tense than the future continuous to express similar ideas. For example, instead of saying, "At that time, I'll be having dinner with my sister," you can say, "At that time, I'll be at my sister's house for dinner."

• Common words and phrases in future continuous sentences include then, at that time, until, by, and at + a specific time. ("She'll be doing yoga until 5.")

Wow! You know A LOT of English tenses now. In fact, you probably know enough to write a blog post like this one by yourself, and you definitely know enough to understand most modern English novels. When you reach this stage, you feel like you "get" English and like you can easily work for an English company or maybe even give a speech in English.

So, what's left to learn? What do you need to study and practice to become a complete and proficient English user? At this point, if you're really curious and dedicated, it's time to move on to the final level.

Level 3: The Rarely Used Tenses

You will rarely use these tenses, so focus on mastering the tenses above them first.

Don't worry about learning these tenses until much later on your English journey. The truth is, you will almost never use them, although you might see them in literature or hear them on the news. As mentioned at the beginning of this page, you need to know all of the tenses to be a complete and proficient English speaker, but if your goal isn't to master English, but to be fluent and functional in it, you shouldn't worry about these tenses until you are comfortable with the nine that are above them. In any case, let's talk about the final level of English tenses.

Past Perfect Continuous

In many cases, you can use the past perfect or the past continuous instead of the past perfect continuous, but this tense is still useful. We use the past perfect continuous to talk about actions that began before another time in the past, and which were still in progress during a more recent past time. It's "the past of the past," but with a focus on longer actions and processes meeting with a more recent past time. If that sounds confusing, here are some examples to show you what I mean.

• The dentist had been working on my teeth for two hours before he finally stopped.

• We had been waiting in the cold for thirty minutes when they opened the door to the mall.

• When they ended their relationship, they had been dating for three years.

• I had been trying to fall asleep for hours, but the neighbour's dog kept waking me up.

• We finally decided to check in to a hotel because we'd been driving since sunrise.

Notice the verbs: working, waiting, dating, trying, driving. These are all verbs that require consistent effort or action. It's natural for verbs like these to be used in a continuous form in addition to a simple form. Is it an activity that requires some sense of duration? A continuous form can be used with it!

What to remember

• Structure: subject + had been + verb+ing. ("She had been waiting for his call all day.")

• Questions: Separate had and been if you mention a subject in the middle of your question. ("What had they been doing before you arrived?")

• Negatives: Use had not or hadn't before been and verb+ing. ("It hadn't been raining long when we decided to go outside.")

• Common words and phrases that are used with the past perfect continuous: for, since, before, until, all [day/week/month/year]. ("They had been arguing all afternoon.")

Future Perfect

You're almost there. Just two perfect tenses left.

The final two tenses on this list are future forms. These are the rarest of the rare--even though we do still use them from time to time. First of all, the future perfect is used to talk about actions that will be finished by a specific time in the future. These are usually scheduled events or things we are very confident about. Take a look at this conversation and note the bolded words.

Tim: I'm starting a new company next year. Do you want to be my vice president?

Steve: Next year? But I won't have graduated by then.

Tim: Steve, this is more important than school. If you don't act fast, you will have missed the opportunity of a lifetime.

Steve: Maybe, but at least I won't have dropped out of school.

Tim: Fine. It's your decision, but I think you'll regret it. In three years, I will have made over a million dollars, and you will have done nothing with your university degree.

Steve: Tim, if you keep talking to people like this, you will have chased away all of your friends a year from now.

When you use the future perfect, you are stating or predicting what will be done by a specific time. You can also use this tense to talk about schedules, as in, "You won't be able to buy milk after 9 o'clock. The grocery store will have closed by then."

What to remember

• Structure: subject + will have + past participle. ("She will have left by the time you arrive.")

• Be going to is not commonly used with this tense. Stick with will.

• Questions: Separate will and have if you mention a subject in the middle of your question. ("How many people will you have interviewed by the end of the day?")

• Negatives: Use will not have or won't have before the past participle. ("She won't have finished dinner before 6 o'clock.")

• Common words and phrases used with the future perfect: by [then/that time/a specific time], before, in, already, [time period] from now. ("The dog won't have eaten in 8 hours if we leave him home alone until 4 o'clock.")

Future Perfect Continuous

This is it. The final tense that an English learner should want to master. I know I have said it before, but I will say it again: There are much more important tenses to learn than this one. You really should not care about learning the future perfect continuous if you are a beginner English learner. However, when you reach the advanced stage, this should be your final challenge. To sum up, we use the future perfect continuous to talk about actions that will be in progress for a period of time up to a specific point in the future—and may continue after that point as well. As with other continuous tenses, the focus is often on duration. Take a look at the following examples to get a sense of what I mean.

• If we keep going for another twenty minutes, we will have been driving for three hours without a break.

• By this time next year, he will have been teaching for twenty years.

• By the end of November, the band will have been touring for an entire year.

• In a month, I will have been working on my next book for over two years.

• When I get home, I hope that the kids will have been sleeping for hours.

As you can see, the words by and for are very common with this tense. Remember that by means at or before a certain time.

What to remember

• Structure: subject + will have been + verb+ing. ("The computer will have been running for two days straight by then.")

• Just like the future perfect, be going to is not common at all with this tense. Just use will.

• Questions: If you have a subject in the middle of your question, put it after will. ("How long will we have been waiting by that time?")

• Negatives: Use will not or won't followed by the usual structure. ("Are you really going to ask for more money at the end of the month? You won't have been working here very long.")

• Common words and phrases: for + duration, by [then/that time/a specific time]. ("She'll have been taking judo for three years by then.")

Conclusion: The Most Important English Tenses

Learn the core English tenses first, then go to the next level.

Do not rush to learn all of the tenses. Remember: Learning is a journey, and journeys take time. It doesn't make sense to study the future perfect if you are not comfortable with the past continuous. Think of it like this: You have to learn to walk before you can learn to run. Just go one step, one level at a time.

To sum everything up, focus on learning and practicing the most common tenses first. If your goal is to be fluent and functional in English, it is better to master the tenses that are used most frequently than to use twelve tenses poorly. If you want to learn the English tenses in a systematic way, here is your study plan:

Your English Tenses Study Plan

Level 1	present simple past simple future simple (will, be going to) present continuous present perfect
Level 2	past continuous present perfect continuous past perfect future continuous
Level 3	past perfect continuous future perfect future perfect continuous

Have you been trying to learn difficult tenses despite being weak in the core tenses? That's okay! The most important thing is that you stay on the learning path and keep moving forward. And now, with this guide in your hands, you have a map to help you on your learning journey. Follow the road, and I know your English speaking confidence will continue to grow.

Thank you for reading this far! You must really love learning if you're here. So, if you thought this page was useful, please consider supporting my work by getting one of my books. They are available in PDF, e-book, and paperback formats. All of them were written with English learners (and teachers) in mind.

Thanks for learning with me, and good luck with your English practice.

Related Pages

Present Perfect: Rules, Uses, and Common Mistakes

Present Simple Conversation Questions (100+)

Present Continuous Conversation Questions (100+)

Present Tenses SPEAKING PRACTICE (video and quiz)

English Conversation Questions Hub (go to Tenses section)