There are three basic tenses: past, present and future. These tenses are called basic, because they're the ones that are most often used. For present tense, you often use the infinitive version of the verb, adding "s" or "es" for third person singular verbs. Take the word "like" for instance. The infinitive is "like." If you're talking about something you currently like, you say, "I like." If you're talking about someone in the third person you say, "He likes." If someone used to like something, you're now talking about past tense, and that becomes "I liked" or "He liked" and so on. If you're talking about something that will happen in the future, you're using future tense, which typically means adding "will" or "shall," such as, "I will like" or "He shall like."
Like basic tenses, there are three perfect tenses, past perfect, present perfect and future perfect. These are verbs often with "has," "had," or "will have" in front of them, such as something that "had happened," "has happened" or "will have happened." This, in effect, shows actions that have already been completed. To make a perfect tense, combine the appropriate tense of "to have" along with the past participle of the verb. For present perfect, with the verb "collect," the sentence would be written as: "I have collected it." For past perfect: "I had collected it." Future perfect: "I will have collected it."
Progressive tenses show continual actions. Instead of "I like" or "I liked," it becomes "I am liking," which shows you are continually liking. Progressive tense is formed by using the appropriate tense of the verb "to be" and then the present participle. There are six progressive tenses in all, three for the basic tenses and three for the past perfect tenses. Present progressive: "I am smiling." Past progressive: "I was smiling." Future progressive: "I will be smiling." Present perfect progressive: "I have been smiling." Past perfect progressive: "I had been smiling." Future perfect progressive: "I will have been smiling."
Emphatic tenses emphasize something. They're often used with questions. There are two types of emphatic tenses: present emphatic and past emphatic. For present emphatic you use the present tense version of the verb "to do," which is "do" or "does" with the present tense of the verb you're using. Example: "He does smile a lot." This sentence might be used if asked, "Does he smile a lot?" Past emphatic is made a similar way, except you use the past tense of the verb "to do," which is "did," but still the present tense of the other verb you're using. Example: "He did smile a lot," which again might be used when asked, "Did he smile a lot?"
As with any English grammar rules, there are exceptions. The verb "go" in basic past tense does not become "goed," but rather, "went." With present perfect it would be written as: "I have gone." Likewise, "do" in past tense is "did," not "doed." It can take getting more experience with English grammar rules before understanding and learning all the exceptions.