simple tense

simple tense (plural simple tenses)

1. (grammar) In English, the tense of a verb which is used specifically in the simple aspect--that is, the verb alone does not indicate whether the action is complete or habitual--and is usually used independently of any auxiliary verbs, with the known exceptions of 'will', 'shall', and 'would'.

   Present tense is a simple tense, even when used in complex ways, such as to describe past events.

   Please use only simple tenses in titles when submitting articles to our publication.

For details of the uses of these constructions, as well as additional verb forms representing different grammatical moods, see Uses of English verb forms on Wikipedia.Wikipedia