When learning a new language, one of the most important things to remember are the tenses. What does the word “tense” mean? The word “tense” is derived from the Latin word “tempus” which means time so when we refer to tenses, we refer to verb structures which indicate and talk about time , whether it be the present, past or future. We are going to look at the three basic English tenses and subcategories so you can learn and practise them. They are: The Present Tense The Past Tense The Future Tense As you will soon see for yourself, each tense has a simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous form .