Tiempos verbales en inglés

1. Introducción: ¿Por qué son importantes?

Los tiempos verbales (tenses) indican cuándo ocurre una acción y cómo se desarrolla (terminada, en progreso, repetida, etc.). En inglés hay 12 tiempos principales, organizados en 4 grupos × 3 tiempos.

Tabla general de los 12 tiempos

	Simple	Continuous	Perfect	Perfect Continuous
Present	I work	I am working	I have worked	I have been working
Past	I worked	I was working	I had worked	I had been working
Future	I will work	I will be working	I will have worked	I will have been working

2. PRESENTE

a) Presente Simple

Uso: Rutinas, hábitos, verdades generales, horarios.

Estructura:

Afirmativa: S + V (base / +s/-es en 3ª persona)
Negativa: S + do/does + not + V
Pregunta: Do/Does + S + V?

Ejemplos:

I work in an office.
She works in a hospital.
They don't like coffee.
Does he speak English?

Palabras clave: always, usually, often, sometimes, never, every day, on Mondays.

b) Presente Continuo

Uso: Acciones que ocurren ahora, temporalmente, o planes futuros cercanos.

Estructura: S + am/is/are + V-ing

Ejemplos:

I am studying right now.
She is working from home this week.
They aren't listening to me.
Are you coming to the party?

Palabras clave: now, right now, at the moment, currently, today, this week.

Regla del -ing:

work → working
make → making (se quita la -e)
run → running (se duplica consonante)
study → studying

c) Presente Perfecto

Uso: Acciones pasadas con relevancia en el presente, experiencias, acciones que empezaron en el pasado y continúan.

Estructura: S + have/has + V (participio pasado)

Ejemplos:

I have visited Paris three times.
She has finished her homework.
They haven't seen that movie.
Have you ever eaten sushi?

Palabras clave: ever, never, already, yet, just, since, for, recently, so far.

Diferencia clave:

I have lived here for 5 years. (empezó antes y sigue)
I lived there in 2010. (terminado, sin conexión con el presente)

d) Presente Perfecto Continuo

Uso: Acciones que empezaron en el pasado y siguen ocurriendo o acaban de terminar.

Estructura: S + have/has + been + V-ing

Ejemplos:

I have been studying English for 3 years.
She has been working all day.
It has been raining since morning.

Palabras clave: for, since, all day, how long.

3. PASADO

a) Pasado Simple

Uso: Acciones terminadas en un momento específico del pasado.

Estructura: S + V-ed (regular) / V irregular

Ejemplos:

I worked yesterday.
She went to Madrid last year.
They didn't come to the party.
Did you see the game?

Palabras clave: yesterday, last night/week/year, ago, in 2010, when.

Verbos irregulares comunes:

Base	Pasado	Participio
go	went	gone
see	saw	seen
eat	ate	eaten
have	had	had
do	did	done
make	made	made

b) Pasado Continuo

Uso: Acción en progreso en un momento del pasado; dos acciones simultáneas; acción interrumpida.

Estructura: S + was/were + V-ing

Ejemplos:

I was watching TV at 8 pm.
They were playing when it started to rain.
She wasn't listening to the teacher.

Palabras clave: while, when, at that moment, at 5 pm yesterday.

Combinación típica:

While I was cooking, the phone rang. (continuo + simple)

c) Pasado Perfecto

Uso: Acción que ocurrió antes de otra acción pasada. El "pasado del pasado".

Estructura: S + had + V (participio)

Ejemplos:

I had finished dinner before she arrived.
They had already left when we got there.
She hadn't seen the movie before.

Palabras clave: before, after, already, by the time, when.

d) Pasado Perfecto Continuo

Uso: Acción que estaba en progreso antes de otra acción pasada.

Estructura: S + had + been + V-ing

Ejemplos:

I had been waiting for 2 hours when the bus arrived.
She had been working there for 10 years before she retired.

Palabras clave: for, since, how long, before.

4. FUTURO

a) Futuro Simple (will)

Uso: Predicciones, decisiones espontáneas, promesas, ofrecimientos.

Estructura: S + will + V (base)

Ejemplos:

I will call you tomorrow.
It will rain tonight.
She won't come to the party.
Will you help me?

Palabras clave: tomorrow, next week, in the future, I think, probably.

b) Futuro con "going to"

Uso: Planes e intenciones; predicciones basadas en evidencia.

Estructura: S + am/is/are + going to + V

Ejemplos:

I am going to travel to Japan next year. (plan)
Look at those clouds! It is going to rain. (evidencia)

Diferencia will / going to:

I will help you. (decisión espontánea)
I am going to help you. (ya lo planeé)

c) Futuro Continuo

Uso: Acción en progreso en un momento futuro.

Estructura: S + will + be + V-ing

Ejemplos:

This time tomorrow, I will be flying to London.
She will be working when you arrive.

d) Futuro Perfecto

Uso: Acción que estará terminada antes de un momento futuro.

Estructura: S + will + have + V (participio)

Ejemplos:

By next year, I will have finished my degree.
By 8 pm, she will have left.

Palabras clave: by, by the time, before.

e) Futuro Perfecto Continuo

Uso: Duración de una acción hasta un punto futuro.

Estructura: S + will + have + been + V-ing

Ejemplos:

By December, I will have been working here for 5 years.
Next month, she will have been living in Paris for a year.

5. Tabla resumen con ejemplos

Tiempo	Estructura	Ejemplo	Traducción
Presente Simple	S + V(s)	She works	Ella trabaja
Presente Continuo	S + am/is/are + V-ing	She is working	Ella está trabajando
Presente Perfecto	S + have/has + P.P.	She has worked	Ella ha trabajado
Pres. Perf. Continuo	S + have/has + been + V-ing	She has been working	Ella ha estado trabajando
Pasado Simple	S + V-ed	She worked	Ella trabajó
Pasado Continuo	S + was/were + V-ing	She was working	Ella estaba trabajando
Pasado Perfecto	S + had + P.P.	She had worked	Ella había trabajado
Pas. Perf. Continuo	S + had + been + V-ing	She had been working	Ella había estado trabajando
Futuro Simple	S + will + V	She will work	Ella trabajará
Futuro Continuo	S + will + be + V-ing	She will be working	Ella estará trabajando
Futuro Perfecto	S + will + have + P.P.	She will have worked	Ella habrá trabajado
Fut. Perf. Continuo	S + will + have + been + V-ing	She will have been working	Ella habrá estado trabajando

6. Reglas importantes

Regla 1: Tercera persona singular en presente simple

I work → He works
I watch → She watches
I study → He studies (consonante + y → ies)
I go → She goes

Regla 2: Formación del participio pasado

Regulares: V + -ed (worked, played, studied)
Irregulares: tabla (gone, seen, eaten, written)

Regla 3: El auxiliar define el tiempo

do/does → presente simple
did → pasado simple
have/has → presente perfecto
had → pasado perfecto
will → futuro

Regla 4: Después de un modal, el verbo va en base

✅ She can swim.
❌ She can swims / to swim / swimming.

Regla 5: Después de "did", el verbo va en base

✅ I didn't go.
❌ I didn't went.

Regla 6: "Since" vs "for"

Since + punto en el tiempo: since 2020, since Monday
For + duración: for 3 years, for 2 hours

7. Errores comunes

Error	Corrección	Explicación
I am knowing	I know	Verbos de estado no van en continuo
She have worked	She has worked	3ª persona usa has
I didn't went	I didn't go	Después de did, base
I have saw	I have seen	Participio, no pasado
When I will arrive	When I arrive	No se usa will en cláusulas de tiempo
I am living here since 2010	I have lived/been living here since 2010	Con since se usa perfecto

8. Verbos que NO se usan en continuo (stative verbs)

Estos verbos expresan estados, no acciones:

like, love, hate, want, need, know, believe, understand, remember, seem, belong, cost, mean
✅ I know the answer.
❌ I am knowing the answer.

9. Cómo elegir el tiempo correcto

Pregúntate:

¿Cuándo? → pasado / presente / futuro
¿Terminó o continúa? → simple vs perfect
¿Está en progreso? → continuous
¿Hay conexión con otro momento? → perfect

Ejemplo práctico:

"Vivo aquí desde 2020" → empezó en el pasado y continúa → I have lived here since 2020.
"Viví allí en 2010" → terminado → I lived there in 2010.
"Estoy viviendo con mis padres" → temporal → I am living with my parents.

10. Ejercicios prácticos

Completa con el tiempo correcto:

She ______ (study) English every day.
Right now, they ______ (watch) a movie.
I ______ (never/be) to Japan.
We ______ (go) to the beach last weekend.
While I ______ (cook), he ______ (call) me.
By next year, I ______ (finish) my career.
She ______ (wait) for 2 hours when the bus arrived.
Don't call me at 8; I ______ (have) dinner then.

Respuestas:

studies
are watching
have never been
went
was cooking / called
will have finished
had been waiting
will be having

11. Resumen visual

PASADO ←—————— PRESENTE ——————→ FUTURO

Simple:      I worked     | I work      | I will work
Continuo:    I was working| I am working| I will be working
Perfecto:    I had worked | I have worked| I will have worked
Perf.Cont.:  I had been.. | I have been..| I will have been..

¿Quieres que profundice en algún tiempo específico, o prefieres un tutorial sobre verbos irregulares, verbos modales o condicionales