Lesson 3.6 · From the past to the present
Describing charts and graphs: which tense?
When you present a chart, the tense tells your audience whether a trend is finished or still happening. The past simple describes what the line did; the present perfect continuous describes where it is still going now.
From How to Use English Verb Tenses in Business by David Cox · 200+ diagrams for professional English
Past simple or present perfect continuous in graphs
The question is whether the line has changed direction, or is still moving the same way now.
Past simple…
is used when the graph has since changed direction. We also usually say when it happened.
Profits increased last year,
Present perfect continuous…
is used when the graph is still moving in the same direction now. We also usually use words such as ‘for’ or ‘since’ here.
but they have been decreasing since the start of this year.
The same words for the timeframe
Often, we can use the same words to talk about the timeframe:
| Past simple | Present perfect continuous | |
|---|---|---|
| During: | Profits increased during 2025… | but they have been decreasing during 2026. |
| In 2025/26: | Profits increased in 2025… | They have been decreasing in 2026. |
| Last year: | Profits increased last year… | but this year they have been decreasing. |
Adding a number: present perfect simple
If we add a number or percentage to the graph, we use the present perfect simple instead of the present perfect continuous for the final part of the graph.
Past simple
Profits increased by 4% in 2025,
Present perfect simple
but they have decreased by 6% this year.
Other examples:
| Past simple | Present perfect simple | |
|---|---|---|
| by $4m: | Profits went up by $4m in 2025… | but so far this year we have lost $3.5 million. |
| to $100: | The stock price increased to $100… | but during this year it has decreased to $90. |
Mixing tenses: describing a graph
As you can see, we can use the past simple until the final part of the graph.
Profits decreased in 2023.
Past simple to talk about a past event when we say ‘when’ it happened
They were stable in 2024.
Past simple to talk about a past event when we say ‘when’ it happened
They increased in 2025,
Past simple to talk about a past event when we say ‘when’ it happened
but since the beginning of 2026 they have been decreasing.
Present perfect continuous with ‘since’ to talk about how long something has been happening so far
Practise this lesson
Test yourself on charts and graphs with sentences from real meetings, emails and updates.
Teachers: use these diagrams
You are welcome to use these diagrams in your lessons and materials. Please credit Fluency Space with a link to this page.
Diagram: Fluency Space – fluencyspace.com/grammar/verb-tenses/present-perfect-continuous-charts-graphs/Correct on paper is not the same as natural in the boardroom
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