Verb Tenses Timeline
All English tenses mapped on a timeline with their structure, uses, and signal words.
PRESENT Present Tenses
- Facts, habits, routines
- General truths
- Timetables & schedules
alwaysusuallyoften
every dayneversometimes
She works at a hospital. / Water boils at 100°C.
- Actions happening right now
- Temporary situations
- Future arrangements
nowright nowat the moment
currentlytodaythis week
She is working from home today. / I 'm meeting John tomorrow.
PAST Past Tenses
- Completed actions at a specific past time
- Sequences of past events
- Past habits (used to)
yesterdaylast weekin 2020
agowhen I was...
She worked there for 5 years. / I saw him yesterday.
- Action in progress at a past moment
- Background action interrupted by another
- Two parallel past actions
whilewhenat that time
as
I was sleeping when the phone rang. / While she was cooking, he was reading.
FUTURE Future Tenses
- Spontaneous decisions
- Predictions (opinion-based)
- Promises, offers, requests
tomorrowI think...probably
next yearin the future
I will help you. / It will rain tomorrow, I think.
- Plans & intentions (decided before)
- Predictions based on evidence
tonightthis weekendsoon
Look! (evidence)
I 'm going to study medicine. / Look at those clouds — it 's going to rain.
PERFECT Perfect Tenses
- Past action with present relevance
- Life experience (ever/never)
- Unfinished time (today, this week)
- Duration with for/since
everneveralready
yetjustsince
forso far
I have visited Paris twice. / She has lived here since 2019.
- Action completed BEFORE another past action
- "The past of the past"
beforeafterby the time
alreadywhen (+ past simple)
When I arrived, she had already left. / I had never seen snow before that trip.
⚡ Key Comparisons
| Situation | Tense | Why |
|---|
| I live in Madrid. (permanent) | Present Simple | Fact / state |
| I'm living in Madrid. (temporary) | Present Continuous | Temporary now |
| I visited Paris last year. | Past Simple | Specific time |
| I've visited Paris (in my life). | Present Perfect | Experience, no time |
| I'll help you! (just decided) | will | Spontaneous |
| I'm going to help you. (planned) | going to | Prior intention |
| When I arrived, she had left. | Past Perfect | Earlier past action |
| I've read the book. (finished) | Present Perfect Simple | Completed result |
| I've been reading for 3 hours. | Present Perfect Continuous | Duration / ongoing activity |
⚖️ Have / Has / Had — Which One?
| Subject | Auxiliary | Example |
|---|
| I / you / we / they | have | I have been waiting since noon. |
| he / she / it | has | She has been living in Rome. |
| any subject, past perfect | had | By the time we arrived, the film had started. |