Simple Present: Used for habitual actions or general truths. (e.g., “I eat breakfast every morning.”)
Present Continuous: Describes ongoing actions happening right now. (e.g., “I am eating breakfast now.”)
Past Tenses:
Simple Past: Used for actions completed in the past. (e.g., “I ate breakfast an hour ago.”)
Past Continuous: Describes past actions that were in progress at a specific time. (e.g., “I was eating breakfast when you called.”)
Future Tenses:
Simple Future: Refers to actions that will happen. (e.g., “I will eat breakfast tomorrow.”)
Future Continuous: Describes actions that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. (e.g., “I will be eating breakfast at 8 AM tomorrow.”)
Perfect Tenses:
Present Perfect: For actions that occurred at an unspecified time or have relevance to the present. (e.g., “I have eaten breakfast already.”)
Past Perfect: Indicates an action that was completed before another past event. (e.g., “I had eaten breakfast before you arrived.”)
Future Perfect: Describes actions that will be completed before a certain future time. (e.g., “I will have eaten breakfast by the time you arrive.”)
Perfect Continuous Tenses:
Present Perfect Continuous: Focuses on the duration of an action that started in the past and continues into the present. (e.g., “I have been eating breakfast for 30 minutes.”)
Past Perfect Continuous: Indicates ongoing action in the past that was completed before another action. (e.g., “I had been eating breakfast when the phone rang.”)
Future Perfect Continuous: Refers to long actions that will continue up to a point in the future. (e.g., “I will have been eating breakfast for 30 minutes by the time you arrive.”)