Mastering English Grammar: Tenses Edition

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 3

Mastering English Grammar: Tenses Edition

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson, you have a better idea of the Present Simple, Present Continuous, Present Perfect, Past Simple, Past Continuous, and Past Perfect tenses in English.

What do you already know about English verb tenses?

Present Simple

Describes regular habits, general truths, and scheduled events. 

Example: I eat breakfast every morning.

Present Continuous

Describes actions happening now or around the present time. 

Example: She is studying for her exam.

Present Perfect

Describes actions that happened at an unspecified time before now or have an impact on the present. 

Example: They have visited Paris many times.

Past Simple

Describes completed actions in the past. 

Example: I finished my homework yesterday.

Past Continuous

Describes actions that were ongoing at a specific moment in the past. 

Example: They were playing football when it started raining.

Past Perfect

Describes an action that took place before another action in the past. 

Example: She had already finished her work when he arrived.

Practice Exercise 1

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the given verb in the appropriate tense.

He ____________ (travel) to many countries since he graduated.

1. has traveled
2. travels
3. traveling
4. traveled

I'm sorry, I can't talk right now. I ____________ (have) a meeting.

1. had
2. having
3. am having
4. have

They ____________ (live) in London for five years before moving to Paris.

1. lived
2. had lived
3. living
4. live

She ____________ (study) for her exams at the moment.

1. is studying
2. will study
3. studying
4. study

I ____________ (watch) a movie last night.

1. watching
2. watched
3. watches
4. watch

What ________ (you / do) when I called you?

1. were you do
2. did you do
3. have you done
4. were you doing

She ________ (visit) Paris twice in the last year.

1. visit
2. has visited
3. visited
4. has been visiting

By the time I got to the party, they ________ (already / leave).

1. already leaving
2. have already left
3. already left
4. had already left

When we arrived, they ________ (have) dinner.

1. having
2. have
3. were having
4. had

I ________ (study) English every day.

1. is studying
2. studies
3. study
4. studied

Practice Exercise 2

Rewrite the sentences in a different tense without changing the meaning.

I felt a bit ill today.

Paul had an argument with his boss.

The dog sleeps all day.

Interactive Game

Play a game where students have to identify the correct tense of given sentences within a time limit.

By the time I arrived, he /had already finished/ his work.

1. Past Perfect
2. Past Continuous
3. Past Simple
4. Present Perfect

He /wrote/ a novel when he was in college.

1. Past Continuous
2. Past Perfect
3. Present Perfect
4. Past Simple

They /has visited/ several countries in the last year.

1. Past Perfect
2. Past Continuous
3. Past Simple
4. Present Perfect

I /had finished/ my work before I went to bed.

1. Past Simple
2. Past Continuous
3. Present Perfect
4. Past Perfect

She /was cooking/ dinner when the guests arrived.

1. Past Simple
2. Past Perfect
3. Present Perfect
4. Past Continuous

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.