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DEMO: Simple, continuous and perfect tenses

Worked examples

• He ___ tea every morning. The subject is "he" and the habit is in the present, so: He drinks tea every morning.
• We ___ a film last night. "Last night" is past, so: We watched a film last night.
• She ___ a letter at the moment. The action is in progress, so: She is writing a letter at the moment.
• She ___ already left. With "she" and "already": She has already left.
• I ___ you next week. "Next week" is future, so: I will call you next week.
• The children ___ when the teacher came in. An action in progress in the past: The children were playing when the teacher came in.

Key points

• "Every day" shows a habit, so use the simple present.
• With he/she/it, add -s or -es to the verb.
• "Yesterday" points to a finished time in the past.
• Use the simple past form of the verb.
• "Right now" means the action is happening at this moment.
• Present continuous = am/is/are + verb-ing.
• "Just" often goes with the present perfect.
• Present perfect = has/have + past participle; "he" takes "has".
• "Tomorrow" is in the future.
• Simple future = will + base verb.
• The rain was already in progress at a past moment.
• Past continuous = was/were + verb-ing.

Teacher video

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