At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
- Form all verb tenses correctly
- Choose the correct verb tense for a variety of situations
SPC-ELL: Verb Tense Review
Self-Paced Collection of English Language Lessons
Make sure you "allow" blocked content and turn your speakers on to use this SoftChalk lesson. Watch the videos, listen to the recordings, and read the explanations on each page. Put your mouse over the bold words to read and see more. You can visit each page and try each activity as often as you want for practice.
When you want your answers to count, complete all activities and questions in order on each page, click "Check Answers" and then next page to continue.
Important - if you want to submit your scores, click Print Score Summary and/or Email Score on the last page according to your teacher's instructions. If you see a Finish button on the last page, click on it to submit your scores directly to your teacher (not all students will see the "Finish" button).
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At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
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Let's begin. Click on the arrow to watch the video. Then go to the next page.
Click the play arrow above to listen.
Listen to the explanation as you read the information in the table below.
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Present Tense |
Example Sentence |
Meaning/When to Use |
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Simple Present |
I work. |
General statements, truths, facts, permanent situations, habits, everyday activities |
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Present Progressive (be + ing) |
I am working. |
Activities/events in progress at the moment of speaking |
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Past Tense |
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Simple Past |
I worked. |
A completed activity/event in the past |
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Past Progressive (be + ing) |
I was working. |
An activity/event that was in progress for a period of time in the past |
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Future Tense |
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Simple Future |
I will (am going to) work. |
Prediction or plan in the future. Decision made at the moment of speaking |
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Future Progressive (be + ing) |
I will be working. |
An activity/event that will be in progress for a period of time in the future |
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Perfect & Perfect Progressive Tenses |
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Present Perfect (have + past participle) |
I have worked... |
An activity/event that began in the past and continue until the present |
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Present Perfect Progressive (have + been + ing) |
I have been working... |
Expresses how long an activity/event that began in the past has been in progress |
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Past Perfect (have + past participle) |
I had worked... |
Expresses an activity/event that was complete before another activity in the past (2 past events) |
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Past Perfect Progressive (have + been + ing) |
I had been working... |
Emphasizes the duration/how long an activity was in progress before another activity in the past |
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Future Perfect (have + past participle)* |
I will have worked... |
Expresses an activity/event that will be completed before another event in the future (2 future events) |
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Future Perfect Progressive (have + been + ing)* |
I will have been working... |
Emphasizes the duration/how long an event will be in progress before another event in the future |
Progressive = Continuous
*More advanced & less common
Try these 3 games to test your knowledge of how to form verb tenses in English.
These online games are NOT part of my course or this SoftChalk lesson, but they are good practice. Do NOT click on any of the advertisements or links next to this game!
To move to the next page in the game, click on the button in the bottom right corner.
(Make sure your speakers are on.)
Test Your Tenses 1
Test Your Tenses 2
Test Your Tenses 3
Click the play arrow above to listen.
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Time |
Activity |
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6:30 AM |
get up |
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7:00 AM |
fix breakfast |
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7:45 AM |
leave for school |
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9:00 AM |
attend a math lecture |
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12:15 AM |
talk to friends |
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12:30 PM |
eat lunch |
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2:30 PM |
study in the library |
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4:30 PM |
leave for work |
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11:00 PM |
go to bed |
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Maria's Schedule At the left is a time table with Maria's daily schedule. Below are some example sentences using a variety of verb tenses. Study the table and sentences. Then, try the matching activity below.
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Maria usually gets up at 6:30 every morning, fixes breakfast at 7:00, and then leaves for school at 7:45. Today, before she ate lunch at 12:30, she had attended a math lecture from 9-10:00. At about 12:15, she was talking to friends for about 15 minutes before lunch time. Right now it is 2:00, and I am waiting to meet her so we can go to the library at 2:30. Maria has already had a busy day. At 4:30, she will leave for work, so I know she is going to be tired tonight. By the time she goes to bed at 11:00 PM, she will have been awake for over 16 hours!
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Bonus Question:
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Last Saturday, it began to rain. It had been raining for three days in a row before it finally stopped on Monday. Today is Tuesday. It is a beautiful, warm, sunny day. I am enjoying the sunshine alot because we have had so much rain this summer. The weather man is predicting that we will have another change soon. On Thursday, it is going to get cold. By the time the week ends, we will have had three different types of weather in just one week! |
Try this final Quiz Group on verb tenses. (You may want to print the handout on page 6 to help you.)
Congratulations! You are now an expert on the English verb tenses!
Important - if you want to submit your scores, click Finish on the last page.
Azar, B. & Hagen, S., (2009). Understanding and Using English Grammar (4th Edition). White Plains, NY: Pearson Longman.
http://www.azargrammar.com/materials/FWG_TOC.html