List Of Common Verb Tense Examples

Verbs are essential components of language that express actions, states, or occurrences. The tense of a verb indicates the time at which an action or state occurs.

In English, there are 12 verb tenses in total, each with a unique form and usage. Understanding verb tenses is crucial for effective communication, as it allows speakers and writers to convey accurate information about when events occurred or will occur. Verbs are usually used in conjunction with a noun or pronoun to describe what the noun or pronoun is doing.

Simple Present: used to describe general truths or habitual actions.
Example: I walk to work every day.

Present Continuous: used to describe actions happening now or at the moment of speaking.
Example: She is cooking dinner.

Simple Past: used to describe completed actions in the past.
Example: I walked to the store yesterday.

Past Continuous: used to describe ongoing actions in the past.
Example: They were playing soccer when it started raining.

Present Perfect: used to describe actions that started in the past and continue up to the present.
Example: I have lived in this city for three years.

Present Perfect Continuous: used to describe actions that started in the past and continue up to the present, with an emphasis on the ongoing nature of the action.
Example: She has been studying for her exam for hours.

Past Perfect: used to describe completed actions that occurred before another past action.
Example: They had finished dinner by the time we arrived.

Past Perfect Continuous: used to describe ongoing actions that occurred before another past action.
Example: She had been practicing the piano for two hours before she stopped.

Simple Future: used to describe actions that will happen in the future.
Example: I will study for my exam tomorrow.

Future Continuous: used to describe actions that will be ongoing in the future.
Example: I will be studying for my exam at 10 p.m. tonight.

Future Perfect: used to describe actions that will be completed in the future before another future action.
Example: By the time we arrive, she will have finished cooking.

Future Perfect Continuous: used to describe actions that will be ongoing up to a certain point in the future.
Example: By the end of the year, he will have been working at the company for 10 years.

Irregular Verbs And Tense

Irregular verbs are verbs in English that do not follow the regular pattern of adding -ed to form the past tense and past participle. Instead, they have their own unique forms that must be memorized.

It’s important to memorize their forms because they do not follow the regular patterns of adding -ed to form the past tense and past participle. By knowing these irregular verbs, you can improve your English communication skills and avoid making common errors in your writing and speaking!

Here are some examples of irregular verbs with their present, past, and past participle forms:

For example verb “bite” listed below is irregular, which means it does not follow the typical pattern of adding “-ed” to the base form to make past tense or past participle forms. Here are the three forms of “bite” and their respective tenses:

Present: bite/bites
Past: bit
Past participle: bitten

An example of the present tense would be: The dog bites the bone.
An example of past tense: The dog bit the bone yesterday.
An example of the past participle would be: The bone was already bitten when the dog arrived.

Some more very common examples of irregular verbs are:

“Be”
Present: am/is/are
Past: was/were
Past participle: been

“Break”
Present: break/breaks
Past: broke
Past participle: broken

“Come”
Present tense: come/comes
Past: came
Past participle: come

“Do”
Present: do/does
Past: did
Past participle: done

“Eat”
Present: eat/eats
Past: ate
Past participle: eaten

“Give”
Present: give/gives
Past: gave
Past participle: given

“Have”
Present: have/has
Past: had
Past participle: had

“Run”
Present: run/runs
Past: ran
Past participle: run

“Say”
Present: say/says
Past: said
Past participle: said

“Take”
Present: take/takes
Past: took
Past participle: taken

Present Tense	Past Tense	Past Participle
awake	awoke	awoken
bear	bore	born
beat	beat	beat
become	became	become
begin	began	begun
bend	bent	bent
beset	beset	beset
bet	bet	bet
bid	bid	bid
bind	bound	bound
bite	bit	bitten
bleed	bled	bled
blow	blew	blown
break	broke	broken
breed	bred	bred
bring	brought	brought
broadcast	broadcast	broadcast
build	built	built
burn	burnt	burnt
burst	burst	burst
buy	bought	bought
cast	cast	cast
catch	caught	caught
choose	chose	chosen
cling	clung	clung
come	came	come
cost	cost	cost
creep	crept	crept
cut	cut	cut
deal	dealt	dealt
dig	dug	dug
dive	dove	dived
do	did	done
draw	drew	drawn
dream	dreamt	dreamt
drive	drove	driven
drink	drank	drunk
eat	ate	eaten
fall	fell	fallen
feed	fed	fed
feel	felt	felt
fight	fought	fought
find	found	found
fit	fit	fit
flee	fled	fled
fling	flung	flung
fly	flew	flown
forbid	forbade	forbidden
forget	forgot	forgotten
forego	forewent	foregone
forgo	forewent	foregone
forgive	forgave	forgiven
forsake	forsook	forsaken
freeze	froze	frozen
get	got	gotten
give	gave	given
go	went	gone
grind	ground	ground
grow	grew	grown
hang	hung	hung
hear	heard	heard
hide	hid	hidden
hit	hit	hit
hold	held	held
hurt	hurt	hurt
is	was	were
keep	kept	kept
kneel	knelt	knelt
knit	knit	knit
know	knew	know
lay	laid	laid
lead	led	led
leap	lept	lept
learn	learned	learned
leave	left	left
lend	lent	lent
let	let	let
lie	lay	lain
light	lit	lighted
lose	lost	lost
make	made	made
mean	meant	meant
meet	met	met
misspell	misspelt	misspelt
mistake	mistook	mistaken
mow	mowed	mowed
overcome	overcame	overcome
overdo	overdid	overdone
overtake	overtook	overtaken
overthrow	overthrew	overthrown
pay	paid	paid
plead	pled	pled
prove	proved	proved
put	put	put
quit	quit	quit
read	read	read
rid	rid	rid
ride	rode	ridden
ring	rang	rung
rise	rose	risen
run	ran	run
saw	sawed	sawn
say	said	said
see	saw	seen
seek	sought	sought
sell	sold	sold
send	sent	sent
set	set	set
sew	sewed	sewn
shake	shook	shaken
shave	shaved	shaven
shear	shore	shorn
shed	shed	shed
shine	shone	shone
shoe	shoed	shod
shoot	shot	shot
show	showed	shown
shrink	shrank	shrunk
shut	shut	shut
sing	sang	sung
sink	sank	sunk
sit	sat	sat
sleep	slept	slept
slay	slew	slain
slide	slid	slid
sling	slung	slung
slit	slit	slit
smite	smote	smitten
sow	sowed	sown
speak	spoke	spoken
speed	sped	sped
spend	spent	spent
spill	spilled	spilled
spin	spun	spun
spit	spat	spit
split	split	split
spread	spread	spread
spring	sprang	sprung
stand	stood	stood
steal	stole	stolen
stick	stuck	stuck
sting	stung	stung
stink	stank	stunk
stride	strod	stridden
strike	struck	struck
string	strung	strung
strive	strove	striven
swear	swore	sworn
sweep	swept	swept
swell	swelled	swollen
swim	swam	swum
swing	swung	swung
take	took	taken
teach	taught	taught
tear	tore	torn
tell	told	told
think	thought	thought
thrive	thrived	thrived
throw	threw	thrown
thrust	thrust	thrust
tread	trod	trodden
understand	understood	understood
uphold	upheld	upheld
upset	upset	upset
wake	woke	woken
wear	wore	worn
weave	wove	woven
wed	wed	wed
weep	wept	wept
wind	wound	wound
win	won	won
withhold	withheld	withheld
withstand	withstood	withstood
wring	wrung	wrung
write	wrote	written