Present Simple

We use it for actions which happen all the time or

repeatedly.
It is used with the following words: always,
usually, often, sometimes, never.

Positive
I play
You play
He/She/It plays
We play
You play
They play

Negative
I do not [dont] play
You do not [dont] play
He/She/It does not [doesnt ] play
We do not [dont] play
You do not [dont] play
They do not [dont] play

Question
Do I play?
Do you play?
Does he/she/it play?
Do we play
Do you play?
Do they play?

Present Continuous
We use it for actions that are happening now.

Positive
I am [Im] playing
You are [Youre] playing
He/She/It is [Hes] playing
We are [Were] playing
You are [Youre] playing
They are [Theyre] playing

Negative
I am not [Im not] playing
You are not [You arent] playing
He/She/It is not [He isnt] playing
We are not [We arent] playing
You are not [You arent] playing
They are not [They arent] playing

Question
Am I playing?
Are you playing?
Is he/she/it playing?
Are we playing?
Are you playing?
Are they playing?

Past Simple
We use it for actions that are completely finished.
It is used with the following words: ago, last
week, yesterday.

Positive
I played
You played
He/She/It played
We played
You played
They played

Negative
I did not [didnt] play
You did not [didnt] play
He/She/It did not [didnt] play
We did not [didnt] play
You did not [didnt] play
They did not [didnt] play

Question
Did I play?
Did you play?
Did he/she/it play?
Did we play?
Did you play?
Did they play?

Past Continuous
We use this to say that someone was in the
middle of doing something.
We often use it to talk about a longer action in
contrast to a shorter action, for example, Anne
was watching TV [2 hours] when the phone rang
[10 seconds].

Positive
I was playing
You were playing
He/She/It was playing
We were playing
You were playing
They were playing

Negative
I was not [I wasnt] playing
You were not [werent] playing
He/She/It was not [I wasnt] playing
We were not [werent] playing
You were not [werent] playing
They were not [werent] playing

Question
Was I playing?
Were you playing?
Was he/she/it playing?
Were we playing?
Were you playing?
Were they playing?

Present Perfect
We use it to talk about an action in the past
which has a connection or impact on the present.
We use it to talk about life experiences.
We often use it to give new information or
announce something.

Positive
I have [Ive] played
You have [Youve] played
He/She/It has [Hes] played
We have [Weve] played
You have [Youve] played
They have [Theyve] played

Negative
I have not [havent] played
You have not [havent] played
He/She/It has not [hasnt] played
We have not [havent] played
You have not [havent] played
They have not [havent] played

Question
Have I played?
Have you played?
Has he/she/it played?
Have we played?
Have you played?
Have they played?

It is used with the following words: just, already,

yet.

Present Perfect Continuous

We use it to talk about a
possibly incomplete past
action.
With this tense, the activity
[continuous] and the result of
the activity [perfect] are both
important.

Positive
I have [Ive] been playing
You have [Youve] been playing
He/She/It has [Hes] been playing
We have [Weve] been playing
You have [Youve] been playing
They have [Theyve] been playing

Negative
I have not [havent] been playing
You have not [havent] been playing
He/She/It has not [hasnt] been playing
We have not [havent] been playing
You have not [havent] been playing
They have not [havent] been playing

Question
Have I been playing?
Have you been playing?
Has he/she/it been playing?
Have we been playing?
Have you been playing?
Have they been playing?

Past Perfect
We use it to talk about an
action which happened before
another action in the past.

Positive
I had [Id] played
You had [Youd] played
He/She/It had [Hed] played
We had [Wed] played
You had [Youd] played
They had [Theyd] played

Negative
I had not [hadnt] played
You had not [hadnt] played
He/she/It had not [hadnt] played
We had not [hadnt] played
You had not [hadnt] played
They had not [hadnt] played

Question
Had I played?
Had you played?
Had he/she/it played?
Had we played?
Had you played?
Had they played?

Will
This is used to talk about a
future action which is
unplanned.

Positive
I will [Ill] play
You will [Youll] play
He/She/It will [Hell] play
We will [Well] play
You will [Youll] play
They will [Theyll] play

Negative
I will not [wont] play
You will not [wont] play
He/She/It will [Hell] play
We will [Well] play
You will [Youll] play
They will [Theyll] play

Question
Will I play?
Will you play?
Will he/she/it play?
Will we play?
Will you play?
Will they play?

Going to
This is used to talk about a
future action which is planned.

Positive
I am [Im] going to play
You are [Youre] going to play
He/She/It is [Hes] going to play
We are [Were] going to play
You are [Youre] going to play
They are [Theyre] going to play

Negative
I am [Im] not going to play
You are not [You arent] going to play
He/She/It [He isnt] going to play
We are not [We arent] going to play
You are not [You arent] going to play
They are not [They arent] going to play

Question
Am I going to play?
Are you going to play?
Is he/she/it going to play?
Are we going to play?
Are you going to play?
Are they going to play?

Present Continuous
[used in a future sense]
This is used to talk about
personal arrangements in the
future.

Positive

Negative

Question

Present Simple
[used in a future sense]
This is used to express future
events that are based on a
timetable or calendar.

Positive

I am [Im] playing
You are [Youre] playing
He/She/It is [Hes] playing
We are [Were] playing
You are [Youre] playing
They are [Theyre] playing

I play
You play
He/She/It plays
We play
You play
They play

I am not [Im not] playing

You are not [You arent] playing
He/She/It is not [He isnt] playing
We are not [We arent] playing
You are not [You arent] playing
They are not [They arent] playing

Negative

I do not [dont] play

You do not [dont] play
He/She/It does not [doesnt] play
We do not [dont] play
You do not [dont] play
They do not [dont] play

Am I playing?
Are you playing?
Is he/she/it playing?
Are we playing?
Are you playing?
Are they playing?

Question

Do I play?
Do you play?
Does he/she/it play?
Do we play
Do you play?
Do they play?

Exercise 1: Write the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1.

I ____________________ my own house next year. [build]

2.

I just love this dress!! I think I ___________________ it. [buy]

3.

I ____________________my first book. [just/publish]

4.

Ella __________________ the housework when the phone __________________. [doring]

5.

I ____________________ my homework when Lucy ____________________. [finisharrive]

6.

Im absolutely exhausted. I ____________________the living room. [paint]

7.

The concert ____________________ at 10am sharp. [start]

8.

I ____________________ my GP tomorrow for a routine check-up. [see]

9.

I ____________________my boss tomorrow to talk about a pay rise. [meet]

10. Connor never ____________________ alcohol. He is a teetotaller. [drink]

11. We ____________________for our exams next week. [revise]
12. I usually ____________________, but today I ____________________to work. [drivewalk]
13. They ____________________to America several times. [be]
14. Max ______________ to work for a few weeks as he ______________ his leg. [ not/be ablebreak]
15. James ____________________ to work when the accident _________________. [drivehappen]
16. I ____________________ hard to lose weight lately. [try]
17. Jo ____________ college. To celebrate, he is _____________ a holiday in Spain. [just/finishtake]
18. William ____________________ a grandfather last year. [become]
19. Sam ____________________from his job as a civil servant. [just/retire]

Exercise 2: Write the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1. I ____________________ a lot more time with my grandchildren when I retire. [spend]

2.

The child ____________ 2 days ago. Many local people _____________ for her. [disappearsearch]

3.

Ive just realised that I dont have any money. I ____________________to the ATM. [go]

4.

I completely ______________ to post your letter. I _______________ it now. [forgotdo]

5 .

I ____________________ to Marias house but she ____________________ out. [gogo]

6.

The film ____________________ when I ____________________ at the cinema. [beginarrive]

7.

The TV was on but nobody ____________________ it. [watch]

8.

I ____________________ along the street when I ____________________ Adam. [walkmeet]

9.

I ____________________ a lot of headaches recently. I think I ______________my GP. [getvisit]

10 . The train ____________________ at 7am in the morning. [depart]

11 . I ___________ my friend tomorrow. We ______________ each other for ages. [meetnot/see]
12. Our baby Tom ____________________ now. He is just 11 months old. [walk]
13. I ____________________ learning to drive. [just/start]
14. My child looked guilty. He ____________________ the window with his football. [break]
15. I _______________ my car two days ago. I ___________ it to the garage tomorrow. [crashtake]
16 . She _________________ as a waitress in a restaurant this summer. [work]
17 . Last summer she ____________ on a farm. [work]
18. I normally _________________ at 8am, but today I _________________ until 10. [get upsleep]

 19. I _________________ in the garden, when my friend Beth _________________ . [workarrive]

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

1. Im going to build

1. Im going to spend

2. Ill take

2. disappearedare

3. Ive just published

searching

4. was doingrang

3. Ill go

5. had finishedarrived

4. forgot... Ill do

6. I have been painting

5. wenthad gone

7. starts

6. had begunarrived

8. Im seeing or Im going to see

7. was watching

9. Im meeting or Im going to

8. was walking alongmet

meet
10.drinks

9. have been gettingIll

go

11.are revising

10. departs

12.drive Im walking

11. Im meeting

13.have been

12. is walking

14.wont be ablehe has broken

13. Ive just started

15.was drivinghappened

14. had broken

16.Ive been trying

15. crashedIm going to

17.has just finishedHe is going to

take

take
16. is working

18.became

17. worked

19.has just retired

18. get upslept

19. I was
working.arrived