Tenses overview

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 2

Tenses: overview

Present simple

Use: 

- facts, general truths

- actions that happen regularly

- habits

!!! every, often, sometimes, regularly, always, usually,...

Present simple

Form: 

I / you / we / they:   infinitive

he / she / it:   infinitive + s / es / ies

Present simple

Present simple

Practice: 

- exercise 1

- exercise 2

- exercise 3

- exercise 4

- exercise 5

- exercise 6

Present continuous

Use:

- something that is happening at this moment or around this time

- future arrangement: when you have already decided and arranged to do it

Present continuous

Form:

am / is / are    +     verb + ing

Present continuous

Present continuous

Practice:

- present continuous affirmative

- present continuous negative

- present continuous interrogative

- present simple or present continuous?

- present simple or present continuous?

- present simple or present continuous? 

Past simple

Use:

- actions that took place in the past and are completely finished now

- often with expression of time (last, ago, yesterday, in 2002,...)

Past simple

Form:

- regular verbs:  verb + (e)d

- irregular verbs: see list (study by heart)

Past simple

Past simple

Practice:

- past simple affirmative

- past simple affirmative

- past simple negative

- past simple negative

- past simple interrogative

- past simple interrogative

Past continuous

Use:

- something that was going on at a certain moment in the past

- an action that happened in the middle of another action (often with 'while')

Past continuous

Form:

was / were    +     verb + ing

Past continuous

Past continuous

Practice:

- Past continuous

- Past continuous

- Past continuous

- Past simple or Past continuous?

- Past simple or Past continuous?

- Past simple or Past continuous?

Present perfect

Use:

- an action that started in the past and continues up to the present

- an experience (without expression of time)

- an action that happened in the past, but still has a result in the present 

- often with 'just, yet, (n)ever, already, for, since,...' 

Present perfect

Form:

have / has   +    past participle*   

* (regular verbs:  infinitive + ed, irregular verbs: 3rd column)

Present perfect

Present perfect

Practice:

- Present perfect 

- Present perfect 

- Present perfect mixed

- Past simple or present perfect?

- Past simple or present perfect?

- Past simple, past continuous or present perfect?

Past perfect

Use:

When we talk about an event that happened BEFORE another event in the past (for that other event we use the past simple)

Past perfect

Form:

had + past participle*

* (regular verbs: infinitive + ed, irregular verbs: 3rd column)

Past perfect

Past perfect

Practice:

- Past simple, Past continuous or Past perfect?

- Past simple, Past continuous or Past perfect?

- Past simple, Past continuous or Past perfect?

- mixed exercise 1

- mixed exercise 2

- mixed exercise 3