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Simple Played (verb+ed) Plays (verb+s) will/shall play
(will/shall+verb)

Perfect had played has/have played will/shall have
(had+pastparticiple) (has/have+past played(will/shall+past
participle) participle)

Continuous was/were playing is/am/are playing will/shall be playing

(was/were+verb+ing) (is/am/are+verb+ing) (will/shall
be+verb+ing)

Perfect had been playing (had has/have been will/shall have been
Continuous been+verb+ing) playing(has/have playing(will/shall
been+verb+ing) have been+verb+ing)

The Simple Tenses

WHAT IS SIMPLE TENSE?
"Simple tense" is a category of verb tense. It covers the simple past tense, the simple present
tense, and the simple future tense.

The three simple tenses express facts or habitual activities. Unlike the other tenses, the simple
tenses describe actions without specifically stating whether the actions are completed or
ongoing.

The Role of the Simple Tenses
Here is an explanation of how the three simple tenses are used:

The Simple Past Tense. The simple past tense describes a completed activity that happened in
the past. In other words, the activity started in the past and ended in the past. For example:

 I went.
 He saw.
The Simple Present Tense. The simple present tense is a complex tense. It is used as the chart
below-