Grammar tool

English tenses — full reference

Knowing the form is not enough. Each tense has a job. Pick the wrong tense and your meaning blurs — and your Grammar score drops.

IELTSTOEFLGeneral

Present tenses

Tense	Form	Use	Example
Present Simple	S + V(s/es)	Facts, routines, general truths	Most students underestimate the listening section.
Present Continuous	S + am/is/are + V-ing	Now, temporary, future arrangements	More candidates are choosing TOEFL over IELTS this year.
Present Perfect	S + have/has + V3	Past with present relevance	Researchers have found that spaced repetition outperforms cramming.
Present Perfect Continuous	S + have/has + been + V-ing	Activity that started in past, continues now	She has been preparing for IELTS for six months.

Tense	Form	Use	Example
Past Simple	S + V2	Finished past action with time	The figure rose sharply in 2024.
Past Continuous	S + was/were + V-ing	Background action in past	While I was revising, my classmate sat the exam.
Past Perfect	S + had + V3	Action before another past action	By the time he booked the test, he had already studied for a year.
Past Perfect Continuous	S + had + been + V-ing	Duration before another past action	She had been practicing daily for months before she scored 8.0.

Tense	Form	Use	Example
Future Simple (will)	S + will + V	Decision at time of speaking, prediction	I will retake the test in March.
Be going to	S + am/is/are going to + V	Plan or evidence-based prediction	She is going to apply to graduate school next autumn.
Future Continuous	S + will be + V-ing	Ongoing action at future time	This time next week, I will be sitting the exam.
Future Perfect	S + will have + V3	Completed before a future time	By December, I will have completed the 90-day plan.

Using Present Perfect with a finished time marker — wrong: "I have studied IELTS yesterday."
Mixing tenses inside one sentence without reason.
Reporting research in Past Simple instead of Present Perfect ("Researchers have shown …").
Using "will" for arranged future plans (use Present Continuous: "I am meeting my tutor at 5").

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