English Grammar for ESL learners
VERB TENSE REVISION
Revision of all tenses of English verbs with a brief
explanation and an example.
(The verb 'play' is used as an example.)
| VERB | TENSE | USE | EXAMPLE |
| I play | Present Simple | Regular activities and routine | Amy and Sue play tennis on Saturdays. |
| I am playing | Present Continuous | Continuous present action | Amy and Sue are playing at the moment. |
| I have played | Present Perfect Simple | 1. Finished part of continuous action. 2. Completed actions in unfinished time. 3. Recent events (unspecified time) 4. Past action with a result in the present. 5. Experiences up to now. |
1. Amy and Sue have played two sets. 2. They have played several other matches this year. 3. Their parents have just arrived. 4. Sue has broken her racket so she can't continue. 5. They have played in many tournaments. |
| I have been playing | Present Perfect Continuous | Actions begun in the past which continue at the time of speaking. | They have been playing tennis since 2 o'clock this afternoon. |
| I played | Past Simple | Finished actions at a specific time in the past. | Last Saturday Sue played in another tournament. |
| I was playing | Past Continuous | Past continuous actions. | At 2.45 pm they were playing the second set. |
| I had played | Past Perfect Simple | Completed actions before a specific time or event in the past. | Two other people had played a match before Amy and Sue arrived. |
| I had been playing | Past Perfect Continuous | Continuous actions before a specific time or event in the past. | At 4 pm they had been playing for 2 hours. |
| I will play | Future Simple | 1. Predictions 2. Spontaneous decisions/offers |
1.Amy will win the match today. 2. I'll lend you my racket! |
| I will be playing | Future Continuous | Continuous future action | Tomorrow they will be playing in another club. |
| I will have played | Future Perfect simple | Completed future action | By September they will have played ten matches. |
| I will have been playing | Future Perfect Continuous | Continuous future action estimated at a time in the future. | A 5 pm Amy and Sue will have been playing for 3 hours. |
| *Conditional forms here |