Present tense: actions that are ongoing in the present moment.
Present tense is constructed by adding appropriate prefixes to the present tense verb stem. The verb stem is the verb root plus the tense suffix along (either -a or -i for present tense) with changes to the root caused by sound juxtapositions.
To find the present tense stem, remove the prefixes from the "Verb 1st present" entry. Unless there are other pre-pronominal prefixes required for this verb (like w(i)-, d(a)-, or n(i)-), those prefixes are either:

For "set A" verbs: g- (before stems beginning in a vowel), ji- (before stems beginning in a consonant), or jiya- (when there is an animate object receiving the action of the verb).

For "set B" verbs: agw- (before stems beginning in a vowel) or agi- (before stems beginning in a consonant).

Jiy- or jiya- (when there is an animate object (like a person) receiving the action of the verb).
Thus, the basic present tense is:
*pronominal prefixes + verb root (along with sound changes) + present tense suffix (a or i)
(*plus any obligatory pre-pronominal prefixes required for this specific verb, like w(i)-, d(a)-, or n(i)-).
Additional prefixes and suffixes can be added to modify the meaning of most verbs. Explanations of these can be found in the following resources:
Feeling, Durbin. 1975. Cherokee-English dictionary. ed. by William Pulte. Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
Montgomery-Anderson, Brad. 2015. Cherokee Reference Grammar. University of Oklahoma Press.

Remote past tense: actions that occurred yesterday or earlier, that were experience by the speaker or otherwise known definitively to have occurred.
Remote past tense is constructed by adding appropriate prefixes to the remote past tense verb stem. The verb stem is the verb root plus the tense suffix along (-vi for remote past) with changes to the root caused by sound juxtapositions.
To find the remote past tense stem, remove the prefixes from the "Verb 3rd past" entry. Unless there are other pre-pronominal prefixes required for this verb (like w(i)-, d(a)-, or n(i)-), those prefixes are either u- (before stems beginning in a consonant) or uw- (before stems beginning in a vowel).
Thus, the basic remote past tense is:
*pronominal prefixes + verb root (along with sound changes) + remote past tense suffix (vi)
(*plus any obligatory pre-pronominal prefixes required for this specific verb, like w(i)-, d(a)-, or n(i)-).
Note: if the action was not directly experienced but reported by others (like in a story) or there is any doubt that it absolutely occurred, then use the reportative past tense. That’s easy, just use -ei instead of -vi for the tense suffix.
Additional prefixes and suffixes can be added to modify the meaning of most verbs. Explanations of these can be found in the following resources:
Feeling, Durbin. 1975. Cherokee-English dictionary. ed. by William Pulte. Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
Montgomery-Anderson, Brad. 2015. Cherokee Reference Grammar. University of Oklahoma Press.

Present habitual: actions that habitually occur or are generally true (e.g., "The sun rises in the east").

Present habitual tense is constructed by adding appropriate prefixes to the present habitual verb stem. The verb stem is the verb root plus the tense suffix along (-oi for habitual present) with changes to the root caused by sound juxtapositions.
To find the present habitual tense stem, remove the prefixes from the "Verb 3rd present habitual" entry. This is a little complicated, as the third person form might lack a prefix. Therefore, to find out what the stem is, look at the "Verb 1st present" entry to find out how the stem begins. Unless there are other pre-pronominal prefixes required for this verb (like w(i)-, d(a)-, or n(i)-), those first-person prefixes are either:

For "set A" verbs: g- (before stems beginning in a vowel), ji- (before stems beginning in a consonant), or jiya- (when there is an animate object receiving the action of the verb).

For "set B" verbs: agw- (before stems beginning in a vowel) or agi- (before stems beginning in a consonant).
Thus, the basic present habitual tense is:
*pronominal prefixes + verb root (along with sound changes) + present habitual suffix (oi)
(*plus any obligatory pre-pronominal prefixes required for this specific verb, like w(i)-, d(a)-, or n(i)-).
Additional prefixes and suffixes can be added to modify the meaning of most verbs. Explanations of these can be found in the following resources:
Feeling, Durbin. 1975. Cherokee-English dictionary. ed. by William Pulte. Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
Montgomery-Anderson, Brad. 2015. Cherokee Reference Grammar. University of Oklahoma Press.

Imperative and immediate tenses:
These tenses are almost identical, though differ tonally. You can tell what is meant in context.
Imperative tense: commands ("Do it!") or declarations of things that will definitively happen ("I shall do it!", or "Let’s do it!").
Immediate tense: the action happened in the recent past (just now or today), or is likely to happen in the near future (in which case, be sure to add yi- (before consonants) or y- (before vowels) to express the existence of some uncertainty that it will occur).
Both tenses are constructed by adding the appriate prefixes to the imperative/immediate verb stem. The verb stem is the verb root plus the tense suffix along (-a or -i for imperative/immediate) with changes to the root caused by sound juxtapositions.
To find the imperative/immediate stem, remove the prefixes from the "Verb 2nd imperative" entry (this stem is given in second person singular because that is the most common form of command). Unless there are other pre-pronominal prefixes required for this verb (like w(i)-, d(a)-, or n(i)-), those prefixes are either:

For "set A" verbs: hi- (before stems beginning in consonants) or h- (before stems beginning in vowels)

For "set B" verbs: ja- (before stems beginning in consonants) or j- (before stems beginning in vowels)

hiy- or hiya- (when there is an animate object (like a person) receiving the action of the verb).
Thus, the basic imperative/immediate tense is:
*pronominal prefixes + verb root (along with sound changes) + imperative/immediate suffix (a or i)
(*plus any obligatory pre-pronominal prefixes required for this specific verb, like w(i)-, d(a)-, or n(i)-).
For immediate future, add yi- (before consonants) or y- (before vowels) to the very front of the verb.
Additional prefixes and suffixes can be added to modify the meaning of most verbs. Explanations of these can be found in the following resources:
Feeling, Durbin. 1975. Cherokee-English dictionary. ed. by William Pulte. Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
Montgomery-Anderson, Brad. 2015. Cherokee Reference Grammar. University of Oklahoma Press.

Infinitive: used in infinitive clauses (like, "I want (for me) to speak Cherokee").
Infinitive forms are constructed by adding appropriate prefixes to the infinitive verb stem. The verb stem is the verb root plus the tense suffix along (-di for infinitive) with changes to the root caused by sound juxtapositions and other information necessary to create an infinitive.
To find the infinitive stem, remove the prefixes from the "Verb 3rd infinitive" entry. Unless there are other pre-pronominal prefixes required for this verb (like w(i)-, d(a)-, or n(i)-), those prefixes are either u- (before stems beginning in a consonant) or uw- (before stems beginning in a vowel).
Thus, the basic infinitive is:
*pronominal prefixes + verb root (along with sound changes) + infinitive suffix (di)
(*plus any obligatory pre-pronominal prefixes required for this specific verb, like w(i)-, d(a)-, or n(i)-).
The infinitive form is also a common way to construct nouns from verbs (like speech from "to speak"). Additional prefixes and suffixes can be added to modify the meaning of most verbs. Explanations of these concepts can be found in the following resources:
Feeling, Durbin. 1975. Cherokee-English dictionary. ed. by William Pulte. Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
Montgomery-Anderson, Brad. 2015. Cherokee Reference Grammar. University of Oklahoma Press.

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