Many people, starting to learn English, panic when they realize that in English there are not three, but twelve tenses of the active voice! In order to better understand them, it is necessary not only to know the rules of formation and use, but also to work out as many exercises for tenses as possible in English. You can group exercises for times in different ways:
- Depending on the tense of the verb itself. (Exercises for the times of groups Present, Past, Future).
- Depending on aspects. (Exercises for the times of the Simple, Continious, Perfect, Perfect Continious groups).
- Depending on the age of the trainee.
Exercises for the times of groups Present, Past, Future
Put the verbs in brackets into the required form in Present Simple, Present Continious, Present Perfect, Present Perfect Continious.
- I … (walk) to school through the park every day.
- My mother is very tired. She … (sleep) now.
- I like English. I … (learn) it for 15years.
- I want to go to Italy. I … (not be) abroad.
2. Translate into English using the past tense.
Mike and his friends went to the movies last weekend. They watched a very interesting film. They then spent two hours at the entertainment center, but it turned out that Mike had lost his keys and had to return to the cinema. The theater staff found the keys and returned them safely to Mike.
3. Decline the following sentence in all Future tenses.
The boy … (play) football.
Use your own pointer words that make sense.
Exercises for group times Simple, Continious, Perfect, Perfect Continious
1. Translate into English using Present Simple, Past Simple or Future Simple.
- I get to school by bus every day.
- Last week I was in Greece. It is a wonderful country with amazing architecture.
- I won't have a vacation next year. I'm trying to earn money for a new car.
2. Determine at what time of the Continious group the following sentences were written. Translate them into Russian:
- I am watching TV right now. I was watching TV the whole evening yesterday, but I'm not tired.
- Who will be staying there tomorrow from 5 till 9?
- They were cleaning up the whole day.
3. Translate the following sentences into English:
- Oh no! I'm so upset! I lost my new phone today.
- Have you ever beenin New York?
- Yesterday Harry left just before you arrived. I'm sorry.
- I've been playing football since I was twelve. I have to be the champion!
Exercise for kids
Exercise for children is best done in a playful way. Irregular verbs are the hardest to remember. There are a lot of them in English. At least that's how it looks to little kids. For better memorization, use a regular ball. You must throw it to the student and name the first form of the verb. He catches and names its second form and passes it on to the next student, who must name the third form. And so in a circle. Students should be rewarded for correct answers. Therefore, take a few tokens and give them out as correct answers. Whoever gets the most tokens wins. After all, it is always more interesting to play when you know that not only praise awaits you, but also a reward!
