Tense

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Also Known As: tiempo in Spanish

Definition: A verb form that indicates, or can indicate, a relationship between the time the action in a verb occurs and the time the verb is uttered. A verb tense can also give an indication of the duration of the verb's action and when or if it is completed.

English uses conjugation to indicate simple present and simple past tenses. I speak is in the present tense, while I spoke is in the past tense. English uses auxiliary verbs to indicate other tenses. Thus I will speak is in the future tense, while I have spoken and I had spoken are in the present perfect and past perfect tenses, respectively. A progressive tense, I am speaking, can be used to indicate that the action is continuing.

Spanish also uses conjugation as well as auxiliary verbs to form the tenses. Hablo (I speak) is in the simple present, while estoy hablando (I am speaking) is in the present progressive. Spanish has a type of past tense, the imperfect, that doesn't have an exact equivalent in English. For example, hablaba can mean I spoke or I used to speak.

The grammatical tense of a verb doesn't always coincide with the actual time the verb refers to. For example, the simple present tense in both English and Spanish can refer to events of the future. Thus we leave at 8 and the Spanish equivalent, salimos a las ocho, are both in the present tense but refer to a future event.

Examples:

Tenses can be classified in various ways:

simple present
I buy
compro

progressive present
I am buying
estoy comprando

simple preterite
I bought
compré

preterite imperfect
I bought
compraba

future
I will buy
compraré

conditional
I would buy
compraría

present perfect
I have bought
he comprado

past perfect
I had bought
había comprado

future perfect
I will have bought
habré comprado

future perfect progressive:
I will have been buying.
habré estado comprando.

conditional perfect
I would have bought
habría comprado

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