All 12 English Tenses with Hindi Explanation

Master all 12 English tenses with detailed explanations in both English and Hindi. Learn the structures, rules, and usage of each tense with examples.

Present Tenses

1. Present Simple Tense (Indefinite)

Present Tense

Structure:

✅ Affirmative: Subject + V1 (+s/es)

❌ Negative: Subject + do/does + not + V1

❓ Interrogative: Do/Does + Subject + V1?

Examples:

English: I play cricket.

Hindi: मैं क्रिकेट खेलता हूँ। (Main cricket khelta hoon.)

English: She does not play.

Hindi: वह नहीं खेलती। (Vah nahi khelti.)

When to Use:

To express habits, daily routines, or general truths
For permanent situations or facts
With adverbs of frequency (always, often, sometimes, never)

Important Rules:

Add 's' or 'es' to the verb for third person singular (he, she, it)
Use 'does' for third person singular in negative and interrogative
Use 'do' for all other subjects (I, you, we, they)

2. Present Continuous Tense

Present Tense

Structure:

✅ Affirmative: Subject + is/am/are + V1+ing

❌ Negative: Subject + is/am/are + not + V1+ing

❓ Interrogative: Is/Am/Are + Subject + V1+ing?

Examples:

English: I am studying.

Hindi: मैं पढ़ रहा हूँ। (Main padh raha hoon.)

English: Are you watching TV?

Hindi: क्या आप टीवी देख रहे हैं? (Kya aap TV dekh rahe hain?)

When to Use:

Actions happening at the moment of speaking
Temporary situations
Future arrangements (with time expression)

Important Rules:

Use 'am' with I, 'is' with he/she/it, 'are' with you/we/they
Some verbs (like, love, know) are not usually used in continuous forms
For negative, add 'not' after is/am/are

3. Present Perfect Tense

Present Tense

Structure:

✅ Affirmative: Subject + has/have + V3

❌ Negative: Subject + has/have not + V3

❓ Interrogative: Has/Have + Subject + V3?

Examples:

English: I have finished my homework.

Hindi: मैंने अपना गृहकार्य पूरा कर लिया है। (Maine apna gruhakarya poora kar liya hai.)

English: She has not come yet.

Hindi: वह अभी तक नहीं आई है। (Vah abhi tak nahi aayi hai.)

When to Use:

Actions completed recently (just, already, yet)
Experiences (ever, never)
Actions that happened at an unspecified time before now

Important Rules:

Use 'has' for he/she/it, 'have' for I/you/we/they
Use past participle (V3) form of the verb
Don't use with specific past time expressions (yesterday, last week)

4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Present Tense

Structure:

✅ Affirmative: Subject + has/have been + V1+ing + since/for

❌ Negative: Subject + has/have not been + V1+ing

❓ Interrogative: Has/Have + Subject + been + V1+ing?

Examples:

English: I have been learning English for 2 months.

Hindi: मैं 2 महीने से अंग्रेजी सीख रहा हूँ। (Main 2 mahine se angrezi seekh raha hoon.)

English: He has not been coming here since morning.

Hindi: वह सुबह से यहाँ नहीं आ रहा है। (Vah subah se yahan nahi aa raha hai.)

When to Use:

Actions that started in the past and are still continuing
Actions that have recently stopped but have present results
With 'since' (point of time) and 'for' (period of time)

Important Rules:

Use 'has been' for he/she/it, 'have been' for I/you/we/they
Some verbs (like, know) are not usually used in continuous forms
Focus is on the duration of the activity

Past Tenses

5. Past Simple Tense

Past Tense

Structure:

✅ Affirmative: Subject + V2

❌ Negative: Subject + did not + V1

❓ Interrogative: Did + Subject + V1?

Examples:

English: I watched a movie yesterday.

Hindi: मैंने कल एक फिल्म देखी। (Maine kal ek film dekhi.)

English: Did you go to school?

Hindi: क्या तुम स्कूल गए थे? (Kya tum school gaye the?)

When to Use:

Completed actions in the past
Series of completed actions
Past habits or states

Important Rules:

Use past form (V2) of the verb in affirmative sentences
Use base form (V1) with 'did' in negative and interrogative
Often used with past time expressions (yesterday, last week)

6. Past Continuous Tense

Past Tense

Structure:

✅ Affirmative: Subject + was/were + V1+ing

❌ Negative: Subject + was/were not + V1+ing

❓ Interrogative: Was/Were + Subject + V1+ing?

Examples:

English: I was reading a book.

Hindi: मैं एक किताब पढ़ रहा था। (Main ek kitab padh raha tha.)

English: They were not playing cricket.

Hindi: वे क्रिकेट नहीं खेल रहे थे। (Ve cricket nahi khel rahe the.)

When to Use:

Actions in progress at a specific time in the past
Background descriptions in stories
Interrupted actions (with when + simple past)

Important Rules:

Use 'was' with I/he/she/it, 'were' with you/we/they
Some verbs (like, know) are not usually used in continuous forms
Often used with time expressions (at 5pm, while, when)

7. Past Perfect Tense

Past Tense

Structure:

✅ Affirmative: Subject + had + V3

❌ Negative: Subject + had not + V3

❓ Interrogative: Had + Subject + V3?

Examples:

English: I had eaten before you came.

Hindi: तुम्हारे आने से पहले मैं खा चुका था। (Tumhare aane se pahle main kha chuka tha.)

English: He had not called me.

Hindi: उसने मुझे नहीं बुलाया था। (Usne mujhe nahi bulaya tha.)

When to Use:

Action completed before another action in the past
To show that something happened before a specific time in the past
In reported speech

Important Rules:

Use past participle (V3) form of the verb
Often used with 'before', 'after', 'when', 'by the time'
Shows which of two past actions happened first

8. Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past Tense

Structure:

✅ Affirmative: Subject + had been + V1+ing + since/for

❌ Negative: Subject + had not been + V1+ing

❓ Interrogative: Had + Subject + been + V1+ing?

Examples:

English: She had been sleeping for 3 hours.

Hindi: वह 3 घंटे से सो रही थी। (Vah 3 ghante se so rahi thi.)

English: Had you been studying?

Hindi: क्या तुम पढ़ रहे थे? (Kya tum padh rahe the?)

When to Use:

Duration of an action before something else in the past
Cause of something in the past
With 'for' and 'since' to indicate duration

Important Rules:

Emphasizes the duration of an activity that was in progress before another activity
Some verbs (like, know) are not usually used in continuous forms
Often used with time expressions (for 2 hours, since morning)

Future Tenses

9. Future Simple Tense

Future Tense

Structure:

✅ Affirmative: Subject + will + V1

❌ Negative: Subject + will not + V1

❓ Interrogative: Will + Subject + V1?

Examples:

English: I will call you tomorrow.

Hindi: मैं कल तुम्हें फोन करूँगा। (Main kal tumhe phone karunga.)

English: Will she come?

Hindi: क्या वह आएगी? (Kya vah aayegi?)

When to Use:

Decisions made at the moment of speaking
Predictions about the future
Promises, offers, requests

Important Rules:

Use base form (V1) of the verb after 'will'
'Will not' can be contracted to 'won't'
Often used with future time expressions (tomorrow, next week)

10. Future Continuous Tense

Future Tense

Structure:

✅ Affirmative: Subject + will be + V1+ing

❌ Negative: Subject + will not be + V1+ing

❓ Interrogative: Will + Subject + be + V1+ing?

Examples:

English: I will be waiting for you.

Hindi: मैं तुम्हारा इंतज़ार कर रहा हूँगा। (Main tumhara intezaar kar raha honga.)

English: Will you be working tomorrow?

Hindi: क्या तुम कल काम कर रहे होंगे? (Kya tum kal kaam kar rahe honge?)

When to Use:

Actions in progress at a specific time in the future
Predictions about what will be happening
Polite questions about someone's plans

Important Rules:

Use present participle (V1+ing) form of the verb
Some verbs (like, know) are not usually used in continuous forms
Often used with time expressions (at 5pm tomorrow, this time next week)

11. Future Perfect Tense

Future Tense

Structure:

✅ Affirmative: Subject + will have + V3

❌ Negative: Subject + will not have + V3

❓ Interrogative: Will + Subject + have + V3?

Examples:

English: I will have finished the work by 5 PM.

Hindi: मैं 5 बजे तक काम पूरा कर चुका हूँगा। (Main 5 baje tak kaam poora kar chuka honga.)

English: Will he have arrived by then?

Hindi: क्या वह तब तक पहुँच चुका होगा? (Kya vah tab tak pahunch chuka hoga?)

When to Use:

Actions that will be completed before a specific time in the future
To express certainty about something that will be completed
With 'by' or 'by the time' to indicate the deadline

Important Rules:

Use past participle (V3) form of the verb
Often used with time expressions (by tomorrow, by next month)
Focuses on the completion of the action before a future time

12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Future Tense

Structure:

✅ Affirmative: Subject + will have been + V1+ing + since/for

❌ Negative: Subject + will not have been + V1+ing

❓ Interrogative: Will + Subject + have been + V1+ing?

Examples:

English: They will have been working for 5 hours.

Hindi: वे 5 घंटे से काम कर रहे होंगे। (Ve 5 ghante se kaam kar rahe honge.)

English: Will she have been studying since morning?

Hindi: क्या वह सुबह से पढ़ रही होगी? (Kya vah subah se padh rahi hogi?)

When to Use:

Duration of an action up to a specific time in the future
To emphasize the duration of an ongoing future action
With 'for' and 'since' to indicate duration

Important Rules:

Use present participle (V1+ing) form of the verb
Some verbs (like, know) are not usually used in continuous forms
Focuses on the duration of an ongoing activity up to a future point

All 12 English Tenses with Hindi Explanation

Present Tenses

1. Present Simple Tense (Indefinite)

Structure:

Examples:

When to Use:

Important Rules:

2. Present Continuous Tense

Structure:

Examples:

When to Use:

Important Rules:

3. Present Perfect Tense

Structure:

Examples:

When to Use:

Important Rules:

4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Structure:

Examples:

When to Use:

Important Rules:

Past Tenses

5. Past Simple Tense

Structure:

Examples:

When to Use:

Important Rules:

6. Past Continuous Tense

Structure:

Examples:

When to Use:

Important Rules:

7. Past Perfect Tense

Structure:

Examples:

When to Use:

Important Rules:

8. Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Structure:

Examples:

When to Use:

Important Rules:

Future Tenses

9. Future Simple Tense

Structure:

Examples:

When to Use:

Important Rules:

10. Future Continuous Tense

Structure:

Examples:

When to Use:

Important Rules:

11. Future Perfect Tense

Structure:

Examples:

When to Use:

Important Rules:

12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Structure:

Examples:

When to Use:

Important Rules:

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