User scenarios describe the changes in the system’s state:
- A “given” statement is a precondition. It describes the past state.
- A “when” statement is the current event. It is what is happening now.
- A “then” statement describes the future; what we would like the state to look like after the event.
To that end, in 4 Rules for Writing Good Gherkin, Andy Knight recommends the following tenses when writing scenarios:
- Given steps should use past or present-perfect tense, because they represent an initial state that must already be established.
- When steps should use present tense, because they represent actions actively performed as part of the behavior.
- Then steps should use present or future tense, because they represent what should happen after the behavior actions.
Use the correct tense, and your BDD scenarios will be clearer.