Tense

Tense
Tense is the characteristics of verbs that indicates the time of the action or state of being described. There are six tense in English: present, past perfect, past, present perfect, future, and future perfect.

The present tense indicates present action, habitual action, simple future action true for all time.

The past perfect tense indicates action completed before a previous past action.

The past tense indicates action completed in the past.

The present perfect tense indicates action begun in the past that continues in the present.

The future tense indicates simple future action.

The future perfect tense indicates action completed before a future action.

The progressive forms of these tense indicate onging action.

Consider the verb call in all its tenses and both voices.

Present active. I call.
Present passive. I am called.
Present progressive active. I am calling.
Present progressive passive. I am being called.

Past perfect active. I had called.
Past perfect passive. I had been called.
Past perfect progressive active. I had been calling.
(There is no past perfect progressive passive form.)

Past active. I called.
Past passive. I was called.
Past progressive active. I was calling.
Past progressive passive. I was being called.

Present perfect active. I have called.
Present perfect passive. I have been called.
Present perfect progressive active. I have been calling.
(There is no present perfect progressive passive form.)

Future active. I will call.
Future passive. I will be called.
Future progressive active. I will be calling.
(There is no future progressive passive form.)

Future perfect active. I will have called.
Future perfect passive. I will have been called.
Future perfect progressive active. I will have been calling.
(There is no future perfect progressive passive form.)