← Back to the note on cengiz.ilerler.info

English Tenses

An interactive, visual guide to master the 12 English tenses, designed for quick reference and active recall.

Group By:
Self-Study Mode

Simple Tenses

Simple tenses are used whenever we are talking about a point in time.

PAST NOW FUTURE point in past general truth point in future

Simple Past

Past

Use for an action that happened at a point in time in the past.

+ S + V2 / V-ed
- S + did not + V1
? Did + S + V1?
  • I ate breakfast this morning.
    Bu sabah kahvaltı ettim.
  • I went to school.
    Okula gittim.
  • I lost my bag yesterday.
    Dün çantamı kaybettim.
Signal Words
yesterday last night ago in 2010

Simple Present

Present

Use when making a general statement of truth at the present point in time.

+ S + V1 / V-s
- S + do/does not + V1
? Do/Does + S + V1?
  • I eat breakfast every day.
    Her gün kahvaltı ederim.
  • I go to school.
    Okula giderim.
  • I take English classes every Monday.
    Her pazartesi İngilizce dersleri alırım.
  • I drink milk every morning.
    Her sabah süt içerim.
Signal Words
every day always usually often sometimes

Simple Future

Future

Use for an action that will happen at a point in time in the future.

+ S + will + V1
- S + will not + V1
? Will + S + V1?
  • I will eat breakfast later.
    Daha sonra kahvaltı edeceğim.
  • I will go to school.
    Okula gideceğim.
  • I will go to Ankara tomorrow.
    Yarın Ankara'ya gideceğim.
Signal Words
tomorrow next week later soon

Continuous Tenses

Continuous tenses are used whenever we are talking about a length of time (ongoing action).

PAST NOW FUTURE was eating brother arrived am eating will be eating 9:00 9:30

Past Continuous

Past

Use for an action that was happening for a length of time in the past when another action happened in the middle of it.

+ S + was/were + V-ing
- S + was/were not + V-ing
? Was/Were + S + V-ing?
  • I was eating breakfast when my brother arrived.
    Kardeşim geldiğinde kahvaltı ediyordum.
  • I was going to school.
    Okula gidiyordum.
  • I was washing the car when it rained.
    Yağmur yağdığında arabayı yıkıyordum.
  • I was watching television last night.
    Dün gece televizyon izliyordum.
Signal Words
when while at that time as

Present Continuous

Present

Use for an action that is happening now.

+ S + am/is/are + V-ing
- S + am/is/are not + V-ing
? Am/Is/Are + S + V-ing?
  • Right now, I am eating breakfast.
    Şu anda kahvaltı ediyorum.
  • I am going to school.
    Okula gidiyorum.
  • I am studying.
    Ders çalışıyorum.
  • I am studying English now.
    Şimdi İngilizce çalışıyorum.
Signal Words
now right now at the moment currently look!

Future Continuous

Future

Use for an action that will be happening for a length of time in the future.

+ S + will be + V-ing
- S + will not be + V-ing
? Will + S + be + V-ing?
  • I will be eating breakfast from 9:00 to 9:30.
    Saat 9:00'dan 9:30'a kadar kahvaltı ediyor olacağım.
  • I will be going to school.
    Okula gidiyor olacağım.
  • I will be fishing this time next week.
    Gelecek hafta bu zamanlar balık tutuyor olacağım.
  • I will be going to school at eight o'clock tomorrow morning.
    Yarın sabah sekizde okula gidiyor olacağım.
Signal Words
at this time tomorrow from 9:00 to 9:30 next week this time next year

Perfect Tenses

Perfect tenses are used whenever we are talking about a point in time before another point in time.

PAST NOW FUTURE breakfast brother arrived breakfast breakfast brother arrives

Past Perfect

Past

Use for an action that happened in the past before another action.

+ S + had + V3
- S + had not + V3
? Had + S + V3?
  • I had already eaten breakfast when my brother arrived.
    Kardeşim geldiğinde kahvaltı etmiştim.
  • I had gone to school.
    Okula gitmiştim.
  • I had washed the car before it rained.
    Yağmur yağmadan önce arabayı yıkamıştım.
  • I had finished my homework before I went out.
    Dışarı çıkmadan önce ev ödevimi bitirmiştim.
Signal Words
already before by the time after

Present Perfect

Present

Use for an action that happened in the past before the present moment, carrying relevance to now.

+ S + have/has + V3
- S + have/has not + V3
? Have/Has + S + V3?
  • I have already eaten breakfast.
    Çoktan kahvaltı ettim.
  • I have been to school.
    Okulda bulundum (Okula gittim).
  • I have already studied the tenses today.
    Bugün zamanlar konusuna çoktan çalıştım.
  • I have studied English.
    İngilizce çalıştım.
Signal Words
already yet just since for ever / never

Future Perfect

Future

Use for an action that will happen in the future before another action or point in time.

+ S + will have + V3
- S + will not have + V3
? Will + S + have + V3?
  • I will have already eaten breakfast by the time my brother arrives.
    Kardeşim gelene kadar kahvaltı etmiş olacağım.
  • I will have gone to school.
    Okula gitmiş olacağım.
  • I will have learned all the tenses by tomorrow.
    Yarına kadar tüm zamanları öğrenmiş olacağım.
  • I will have finished painting the wall by dinner time.
    Akşam yemeğine kadar duvarı boyamayı bitirmiş olacağım.
Signal Words
by tomorrow by the time by dinner time in 5 years

Perfect Continuous Tenses

Perfect continuous tenses are used whenever we are talking about a length of time up to a point in time.

PAST NOW FUTURE had been eating brother arrived have been eating will have been eating brother arrives

Past Perfect Continuous

Past

Use for an action that was happening for a length of time in the past up to the moment when another action happened.

+ S + had been + V-ing
- S + had not been + V-ing
? Had + S + been + V-ing?
  • I had been eating breakfast for 30 minutes when my brother arrived.
    Kardeşim geldiğinde 30 dakikadır kahvaltı etmekteydim.
  • I had been going to school.
    Okula gitmekteydim.
  • I had been going to school for a year when it was closed.
    Okul kapandığında bir yıldır okula gitmekteydim.
  • I had been running for two hours when my brother arrived.
    Kardeşim geldiğinde iki saattir koşmaktaydım.
Signal Words
for 2 hours since before when

Present Perfect Continuous

Present

Use for an action that was happening for a length of time up to the present moment.

+ S + have/has been + V-ing
- S + have/has not been + V-ing
? Have/Has + S + been + V-ing?
  • I have been eating my breakfast for 30 minutes.
    30 dakikadır kahvaltımı etmekteyim.
  • I have been going to school.
    Okula gitmekteyim.
  • I have been learning English for three years.
    Üç yıldır İngilizce öğrenmekteyim.
  • I have been studying English for two years.
    Ben iki yıldır İngilizce çalışmaktayım.
Signal Words
for since all day recently

Future Perfect Continuous

Future

Use for an action that will be happening in the future for a length of time up to the moment when another action will happen.

+ S + will have been + V-ing
- S + will not have been + V-ing
? Will + S + have been + V-ing?
  • I will have been eating my breakfast for 30 minutes by the time you arrive.
    Sen gelene kadar 30 dakikadır kahvaltımı ediyor olacağım.
  • I will have been going to school.
    Okula gitmekte olacağım.
  • I will have been studying English for three years by this summer.
    Bu yaza kadar üç yıldır İngilizce çalışmakta olacağım.
  • I will have been sleeping for two hours by midnight.
    Gece yarısı geldiğinde ben iki saattir uyumakta olacağım.
Signal Words
by next year for by the time

Past Tenses

Tenses used to describe events, actions, or states that occurred in the past.

NOW Simple Past Past Continuous Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous breakfast was eating brother arrived breakfast brother arrived had been eating brother arrived

Simple Past

Past

Use for an action that happened at a point in time in the past.

+ S + V2 / V-ed
- S + did not + V1
? Did + S + V1?
  • I ate breakfast this morning.
    Bu sabah kahvaltı ettim.
  • I went to school.
    Okula gittim.
  • I lost my bag yesterday.
    Dün çantamı kaybettim.
Signal Words
yesterday last night ago in 2010

Past Continuous

Past

Use for an action that was happening for a length of time in the past when another action happened in the middle of it.

+ S + was/were + V-ing
- S + was/were not + V-ing
? Was/Were + S + V-ing?
  • I was eating breakfast when my brother arrived.
    Kardeşim geldiğinde kahvaltı ediyordum.
  • I was going to school.
    Okula gidiyordum.
  • I was washing the car when it rained.
    Yağmur yağdığında arabayı yıkıyordum.
  • I was watching television last night.
    Dün gece televizyon izliyordum.
Signal Words
when while at that time as

Past Perfect

Past

Use for an action that happened in the past before another action.

+ S + had + V3
- S + had not + V3
? Had + S + V3?
  • I had already eaten breakfast when my brother arrived.
    Kardeşim geldiğinde kahvaltı etmiştim.
  • I had gone to school.
    Okula gitmiştim.
  • I had washed the car before it rained.
    Yağmur yağmadan önce arabayı yıkamıştım.
  • I had finished my homework before I went out.
    Dışarı çıkmadan önce ev ödevimi bitirmiştim.
Signal Words
already before by the time after

Past Perfect Continuous

Past

Use for an action that was happening for a length of time in the past up to the moment when another action happened.

+ S + had been + V-ing
- S + had not been + V-ing
? Had + S + been + V-ing?
  • I had been eating breakfast for 30 minutes when my brother arrived.
    Kardeşim geldiğinde 30 dakikadır kahvaltı etmekteydim.
  • I had been going to school.
    Okula gitmekteydim.
  • I had been going to school for a year when it was closed.
    Okul kapandığında bir yıldır okula gitmekteydim.
  • I had been running for two hours when my brother arrived.
    Kardeşim geldiğinde iki saattir koşmaktaydım.
Signal Words
for 2 hours since before when

Present Tenses

Tenses used to describe events, actions, or states occurring in the current timeframe.

NOW Simple Present Present Continuous Present Perfect Present Perfect Continuous eat (habit) am eating breakfast have been eating

Simple Present

Present

Use when making a general statement of truth at the present point in time.

+ S + V1 / V-s
- S + do/does not + V1
? Do/Does + S + V1?
  • I eat breakfast every day.
    Her gün kahvaltı ederim.
  • I go to school.
    Okula giderim.
  • I take English classes every Monday.
    Her pazartesi İngilizce dersleri alırım.
  • I drink milk every morning.
    Her sabah süt içerim.
Signal Words
every day always usually often sometimes

Present Continuous

Present

Use for an action that is happening now.

+ S + am/is/are + V-ing
- S + am/is/are not + V-ing
? Am/Is/Are + S + V-ing?
  • Right now, I am eating breakfast.
    Şu anda kahvaltı ediyorum.
  • I am going to school.
    Okula gidiyorum.
  • I am studying.
    Ders çalışıyorum.
  • I am studying English now.
    Şimdi İngilizce çalışıyorum.
Signal Words
now right now at the moment currently look!

Present Perfect

Present

Use for an action that happened in the past before the present moment, carrying relevance to now.

+ S + have/has + V3
- S + have/has not + V3
? Have/Has + S + V3?
  • I have already eaten breakfast.
    Çoktan kahvaltı ettim.
  • I have been to school.
    Okulda bulundum (Okula gittim).
  • I have already studied the tenses today.
    Bugün zamanlar konusuna çoktan çalıştım.
  • I have studied English.
    İngilizce çalıştım.
Signal Words
already yet just since for ever / never

Present Perfect Continuous

Present

Use for an action that was happening for a length of time up to the present moment.

+ S + have/has been + V-ing
- S + have/has not been + V-ing
? Have/Has + S + been + V-ing?
  • I have been eating my breakfast for 30 minutes.
    30 dakikadır kahvaltımı etmekteyim.
  • I have been going to school.
    Okula gitmekteyim.
  • I have been learning English for three years.
    Üç yıldır İngilizce öğrenmekteyim.
  • I have been studying English for two years.
    Ben iki yıldır İngilizce çalışmaktayım.
Signal Words
for since all day recently

Future Tenses

Tenses used to describe events, actions, or states that will occur in the future.

NOW Simple Future Future Continuous Future Perfect Future Perfect Continuous will eat will be eating 9:00 9:30 breakfast brother arrives will have been eating brother arrives

Simple Future

Future

Use for an action that will happen at a point in time in the future.

+ S + will + V1
- S + will not + V1
? Will + S + V1?
  • I will eat breakfast later.
    Daha sonra kahvaltı edeceğim.
  • I will go to school.
    Okula gideceğim.
  • I will go to Ankara tomorrow.
    Yarın Ankara'ya gideceğim.
Signal Words
tomorrow next week later soon

Future Continuous

Future

Use for an action that will be happening for a length of time in the future.

+ S + will be + V-ing
- S + will not be + V-ing
? Will + S + be + V-ing?
  • I will be eating breakfast from 9:00 to 9:30.
    Saat 9:00'dan 9:30'a kadar kahvaltı ediyor olacağım.
  • I will be going to school.
    Okula gidiyor olacağım.
  • I will be fishing this time next week.
    Gelecek hafta bu zamanlar balık tutuyor olacağım.
  • I will be going to school at eight o'clock tomorrow morning.
    Yarın sabah sekizde okula gidiyor olacağım.
Signal Words
at this time tomorrow from 9:00 to 9:30 next week this time next year

Future Perfect

Future

Use for an action that will happen in the future before another action or point in time.

+ S + will have + V3
- S + will not have + V3
? Will + S + have + V3?
  • I will have already eaten breakfast by the time my brother arrives.
    Kardeşim gelene kadar kahvaltı etmiş olacağım.
  • I will have gone to school.
    Okula gitmiş olacağım.
  • I will have learned all the tenses by tomorrow.
    Yarına kadar tüm zamanları öğrenmiş olacağım.
  • I will have finished painting the wall by dinner time.
    Akşam yemeğine kadar duvarı boyamayı bitirmiş olacağım.
Signal Words
by tomorrow by the time by dinner time in 5 years

Future Perfect Continuous

Future

Use for an action that will be happening in the future for a length of time up to the moment when another action will happen.

+ S + will have been + V-ing
- S + will not have been + V-ing
? Will + S + have been + V-ing?
  • I will have been eating my breakfast for 30 minutes by the time you arrive.
    Sen gelene kadar 30 dakikadır kahvaltımı ediyor olacağım.
  • I will have been going to school.
    Okula gitmekte olacağım.
  • I will have been studying English for three years by this summer.
    Bu yaza kadar üç yıldır İngilizce çalışmakta olacağım.
  • I will have been sleeping for two hours by midnight.
    Gece yarısı geldiğinde ben iki saattir uyumakta olacağım.
Signal Words
by next year for by the time

Study Table

Compare the tenses across different timeframes and aspects side-by-side.

Time Tenses Formula Sentence Translation & Comparison
Past Simple Past S + V2 / V-ed He worked.
O, çalıştı.
yaptım
Past Past Continuous S + was/were + V-ing He was working.
O, çalışıyordu.
yapıyordum
Past Past Perfect S + had + V3 He had worked.
O, çalışmıştı.
yapmıştım
Past Past Perfect Continuous S + had been + V-ing He had been working.
O, çalışmakta idi.
yapmaktaydım
Present Simple Present S + V1 / V-s He works.
O, çalışır.
yaparım
Present Present Continuous S + am/is/are + V-ing He is working.
O, çalışıyor.
yapıyorum
Present Present Perfect S + have/has + V3 He has worked.
O, çalıştı. (çalışmış bulunuyor)
yaptım (yeni bitti)
Present Present Perfect Continuous S + have/has been + V-ing He has been working.
O, çalışmaktadır.
yapmaktayım
Future Simple Future S + will + V1 He will work.
O, çalışacak.
yapacağım
Future Future Continuous S + will be + V-ing He will be working.
O, çalışıyor olacak.
yapıyor olacağım
Future Future Perfect S + will have + V3 He will have worked.
O, çalışmış olacak.
yapmış olacağım
Future Future Perfect Continuous S + will have been + V-ing He will have been working.
O, çalışmakta olacak.
yapmakta olacağım