Tenses — The 12 Forms and How Exams Test Them

The 12-Box Grid

English has three times (past, present, future) and four aspects (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous). Three times × four aspects = 12 tenses. That is the whole system.

Simple · Continuous · Perfect · Perfect Cont.

Present · write / writes · am writing · have written · have been writing

Past · wrote · was writing · had written · had been writing

Future · will write · will be writing · will have written · will have been writing

Once you can fill this grid from memory, error-spotting and fill-in-the-blank questions stop being guesswork.

The helping verb tells you the tense. *Have/has* = present perfect. *Had* = past perfect. *Will have* = future perfect. Spot the auxiliary first, then check whether the main verb form matches it.

1. Choose the correct sentence:

2. She ______ in this school since 2018.

3. The teacher told the students that the sun ______ in the east.

4. I will call you as soon as I ______ the station.

5. By the time the police arrived, the thief ______.

6. Which sentence is grammatically incorrect?

7. They ______ for three hours before the match was finally called off.

8. Identify the tense: "She will have completed the project by Friday."