A tense of a verb is a past or present form.

Example
Tenses of the verb 'go' include past simple 'I went on Saturday', past perfect 'We had already gone when he got there', present perfect 'The cat's gone' and present continuous 'We're going to the party tonight'.

In the classroom
Teachers have to establish with learners that tense does not mean time. For example, in English the present tense is used for the future time, e.g. 'We're leaving next week' and the past is used for present conditionals, e.g. 'If I had the time, I'd help you'.