Review of All Verb Tenses
Master the present, past, and future tenses by avoiding common mistakes.
- check_circleI can distinguish between similar verb tenses.
- check_circleI can choose the right tense for present, past, and future situations.
Discover
Meet today's English in a real situation — no rules yet. Read it once and try to guess the pattern in the words in bold. Underlined words open a short definition.
Alex: Hey, Sam! I haven’t seen you in ages. What have you been doing recently?
Sam: Hi Alex! Well, I moved to a new apartment last month. It was a crazy process. I was packing boxes when my boss called me to say I had gotten a promotion!
Alex: Wow, congratulations! That’s incredible news. Are you going to celebrate?
Sam: Yes, we are having a party this weekend. I’ve already invited most of our friends. You should come!
Alex: I’d love to, but I will be traveling to Rome on Saturday. We booked the tickets months ago.
Sam: Oh, that sounds fantastic. Have you ever been to Rome before?
Alex: No, I haven’t. I am going to try all the pasta I can find! It is such a fascinating city.
Sam: It really is. By the time you get back, I will have finished organizing the apartment, so you can come over and see it. It’s a huge achievement for me!
Alex: I definitely will. Have a great party!
Learn
Now the rules behind what you just saw — explained simply, with examples. Underlined words open a short definition — hover on desktop, tap on a phone.
Welcome to the ultimate tense review! By the B1+ level, you already know how to form most tenses. Now, let’s focus on choosing the right one and avoiding common pitfalls.
1. The Present: Simple vs. Continuous vs. Perfect
The biggest challenge in the present is deciding whether an action is a routine, happening right now, or started in the past and continues to the present.
- Present Simple: I live in Madrid. (Permanent/Routine)
- Present Continuous: I am living in Madrid for the summer. (Temporary)
- Present Perfect: I have lived in Madrid since 2020. (Started in the past, continues now)
Common mistake: Using the present simple for actions that started in the past and continue today.
I live here for five years.- I have lived here for five years.
Here’s a useful tip for the present perfect:
Use the Present Perfect (not the Past Simple) with words like yet, already, and just.
2. The Past: Simple vs. Continuous vs. Perfect
When talking about the past, we often mix tenses to tell a story.
- Past Simple: I called you yesterday. (Finished action)
- Past Continuous: I was calling you when the train arrived. (Action in progress interrupted by another)
- Past Perfect: I had already called you before you arrived. (Action finished before another past action)
A common pitfall is using the Past Perfect too much. Only use it when you really need to show that one action happened before another past action!
3. The Future: Will vs. Going To vs. Present Continuous
Future forms are all about your intention and how certain you are.
- Will: Spontaneous decisions, promises, and predictions without evidence. (“I think it will rain.”)
- Going to: Plans made before speaking and predictions with evidence. (“Look at those clouds! It’s going to rain.”)
- Present Continuous: Fixed arrangements, usually with other people. (“I’m meeting Sarah at 5 PM.”)
- Present Perfect: Started in the past, continues now. (I have worked here for years.)
- Past Simple vs Continuous: Interrupted actions. (I was reading when he called.)
- Past Perfect: The “past in the past.” (She had left before I arrived.)
- Future: ‘Will’ for spontaneous decisions, ‘Going to’ for plans, ‘Present Continuous’ for arrangements.
Practice
Try it yourself. You'll see right away whether you got it right, plus a short explanation of why.
Use It
Now make the language yours in a real task. Use the prompt below — the editor keeps a simple word count, and nothing is saved or graded.
Before you finish — be honest. Can you do these now?