Cainye employs several tense-aspect (post-)particles, they are divided into the three main tenses, present, past, future.

The present tense is the natural tense of a verb, and its aspect is ambiguous but usually continuous. In subclauses, and seperate, independent clauses that refer to a previous, also independent clause, the present is expressed with the particle fén.

Xèyân wun
"I'm singing."

Xèyân wun là, à qú fén"I was (just) singing, but now I'm speaking."

The past has more particles; I will use their prescriptive names. Là is the "perfect", it expresses an action completed earlier in the present day, including moments after the speaker has completed an action, it can be translated with the English adverbs “already” and “just.”

Xèyân yàm là fé! "I just said that!"

Ké càuk ngam là mà?
"Did you eat at lunch?"

Kù is the "past", or "past perfect", particle; it expresses an action completed more distantly in the the past than the perfect—anything further than a day.

Nanli yīng lohìng kù
"I cooked yesterday."

Bāu róng bōxō kù
"It rained two days ago."

The perfect and past particles can be combined to make the experiential particle, kùlà, expressing that the action has been experienced at least once; this is also another way to form the generic.

Xèyân hongqé ngam kùlà hâukēi
"I've never eaten fish before."

Màng kāte kùlà
"They've done this before."

The present particle, fén, and the perfect particle can combined to form the continuous habitual particle; the past particle can do the same thing for form the cessative habitual.

The former, fénlà, expresses a continuous or habitual past; that continues to this day (especially with the adverb mōngá "still"), and the latter, fénkù, is the same, but it ceased some point in the past, and does not continue to the present.

Xèyân làngdi fénlà zí
"I used to be short (and still am)" / "I've been short."

Nánmàng bàm fénkù nánmàng
"He used to hate him (and no longer does)."

The future tense has one particle, pè, which also expresses intention to do an action in the future, and also used for generic/gnomic statements.

Xèyân munwèm pè
"I will get older."

Màng pà qidi pè
"They want to (go for a) walk."

Gómàng git léiróng yá pè xèyân
"She's going to call me in ten minutes."

The time frame and distribution of the action throughout that time frame is otherwise expressed with adverbs.

Pè and là can be combined to form pèlà, which expresses commands and allowence.

Ké wun pèlà
"You may sing." / "Sing (command)."