Topic 1.1.5 Verb Tenses Review

Here are some examples of the structures of the tenses in English.

Verb Tense Table

Past Present Future
Simple I worked at that company for 5 years. I work in the Headquarters in Madrid. I will work tomorrow if I have to.
Perfect Simple I had worked in the same line of work before I came here. I have worked until 8.00 every day this week. When Friday comes, I will have worked until 8.00 every day this week
Continuous I was working in a factory when it suddenly closed. I am working on a project for only three weeks. I will be working on this project until it is finished.
Perfect Continuous I had been working in the same company for 10 years before I got a decent salary. I have been working in this company for 20 years now. In July, I will have been working in this company for 25 years.

Uses and Examples of all Verb Tenses

Uses Examples
Present Simple to talk about general facts, states, and situations The purpose of a business is to make a profit
to talk about regular or repeated actions, or permanent situations Jack works for Nissan.
to talk about future timetabled events Tomorrow the meeting starts at 10.00
Present continuous to talk about an action in progress at the time of speaking/writing I'm trying to get through to Jon Berks
to talk about a current activity, taking place around the time of speaking They are pushing the area for development.
to talk about temporary situations I am working in this department while my colleague is sick.
to talk about annoying present habits (usually with always) My boss is always telling me off.
to talk about fixed plans and arrangements in the future I am meeting the management committee on Friday.
Present perfect simple to talk about actions which finished recently and for which there is a present result The IT guys have changed all the access codes.
to talk about actions that started in the past and are still going on. Silvio has worked for us since he left school.
to talk about experiences in your life or events in history at a time in the past which is not mentioned I've never been to Bahrain.
Present perfect continuous to talk about a recently completed action. The focus is on the activity, not the result The It guys have been changing all the access codes this week.
to talk about actions which have stopped just before the present moment I am out of breath because I have been running to avoid the rain.
Past simple to talk about past actions which are over at the time of speaking I heard from the locals that there were several interesting sites.
to talk about past states or permanent situations I worked in Paris for many years.
to talk about habits, general truths, and facts about the past In the 1980s we didn't have mobile phones.
Past continuous to talk about being in the middle of a past action - there is likely to be an interruption (past simple) in the sentence Everything was going really smoothly, when John took over the project.
to talk about two actions happening at the same time While I was brushing my teeth I was listening to the business news.
to talk about annoying past habits (usually with always) My boss was always shouting.
to talk about temporary situations in the past. I was working in London for three months last year.
Past perfect simple to talk about completed actions, situations, and states before the past I had worked in the company for 5 years before I got a pay rise.
Past perfect continuous to refer to an action in progress before something else happened He was the one who had been working on the project, but his boss was the one who got all the credit.
Future simple facts about the future The website will come online next week.
predictions not based on present evidence In the future everyone will have their own flying car.
decisions made at the time of speaking I've decided! I will have my holidays in September this year.
offers, suggestions and requests I'll help you with the presentation if you like.
Future continuous actions in progress at a point in the future This time next week, I'll be attending the business course in NY
Habits or repeated actions at a point in the future In the future, we'll all be flying around using jetpacks.
Future perfect simple Actions which are completed some time between now and a point in the future I'll have finished this report by the end of the day.
Future perfect continuous Actions in progress up to a point in the future At 7 o'clock, I'll have been working non-stop for eleven hours.

Practice exercises

Choose the correct option, a, b or c to complete the gaps

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS - VERB TENSES

Present Simple & Present Continuous

  1. What are your main responsibilities in your current role? Are there any new tasks or projects you are currently managing?
  2. How do you typically handle scheduling conflicts? Are you facing any specific challenges with your current scheduling system?

Past Simple & Past Continuous

  1. Can you describe a time when you successfully organized a major event or meeting? What were you focusing on during the preparation?
  2. Think of a situation when a critical piece of information was missing. What were you doing at the time, and how did you resolve the issue?

Present Perfect & Present Perfect Continuous

  1. How has your role evolved since you started at your current company? 
  2. How long have you been using your current office management software? What improvements have you noticed since you began using it?

Past Perfect & Past Perfect Continuous

  1. Before your current position, what had you been doing? 
  2. Describe a situation where you had been preparing for an important presentation or report. What were the steps you had taken before the final submission?

Future Simple & Future Continuous

  1. How do you think A.I. will affect your business operations in the coming years?
  2. In a year’s time, how do you think your daily responsibilities will have changed? What new skills will you be focusing on developing?

Future Perfect & Future Perfect Continuous

  1. By the end of this quarter, what will you have accomplished that will improve office efficiency?
  2. In five years, how long will you have been in your current role? What professional achievements do you anticipate having by then?

Homework

Try some exercises on this website.

https://agendaweb.org/verbs/mixed_tenses-exercises.html

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