Present tenses
Present Simple
1. a habit
2. a fact or something true
3. timetables (future reference)
• I often start work at 8:30 everyday
• The world is round
• The trains leaves at 3:45
What tasks do you carry out on a daily basis?
Which dates are public holidays in your country?
When does the performance review usually take place?
Present Continuous
[is/am/are + ing]
1. an action in progress at the moment of speaking
2. a current (unfinished) project
3. a temporary activity
4. an arranged future (future reference)
• We’re doing a grammar review (now)
• This year I am doing an online trainning course on "Leadership"
• I’m staying here for only one month
• I’m having my haircut today at 3:00
What is your partner doing right now?
What projects are you currently working on?
What TV shows are you watching and what are you reading these days?
What are you doing this evening / yomorrow / this weekend?
Stative and action verbs
Past Tenses
Present Perfect Simple
[have/has +/past participle]
1. an action that occurred in the past and connects to now
2. a past experience
§ Adverbs (for/since/ just/never/ever /yet/still)
§ Time expressions (today / recently / this morning..)
• They’ve lived here since 2011
• He’s had a mobile phone for 1 year
• We’ve just seen Peter
• I’ve never been to Japan
How long have you been in your present job?
Have you ever been fired/ resigned?
https://www.eslconversationquestions.com/present-perfect/
Present perfect Continuous
[Have/has +been+ing]
1. an activity that started in the past but continues up to now.
• I’ve been studying English for 9 years
How long have you been living in your present house/apartment?
Past Simple
[past simple form]
1. a finished action in the past
• I lived in Spain in 2009
When did you graduate? Where did you study?
Past Continuous
[was/were+ing]
1. an activity /activities in the past /
2. an activity in progress when another action took place.
• I was watching TV last night (at 9:00)
• While I was watching TV, a friend arrived.
What were you doing at 7 o'clock yesterday evening?
Think about a shocking event that you heard in the news: What were you doing when you listened to it?
Past perfect Simple
[had + past participle]
1. the past of the past (before / after / when)
• John was not home, he had gone shopping
• When we arrived, he hadn’t eaten his dinner
How long had you studied English before starting this course?
Which different jobs had you done before joining this company?
Past Perfect Continuous
[had+been+ing]
1. a past activity of a past action (before / after/when)
• I had been waiting for 20 mins before the bus came.
Used to (habits in the past)
Is there a singer or a kind of music you used to listen but you don´t anymore?Future Tenses
Future Simple
[will+infinitive]
1. future facts
2. predictions
3. spontaneous decisions
4. promises, offers, threats
• The world cup will be held in Russia in 2018
• We will live on Mars in 2050.
• I think I’ll go shopping this afternoon
• I’ll help you with your homework later (offer)
When will the next Footbal World Cup take place?
Do you think the number of people getting divorced will go up or down in the future?
Teams/Zoom/Meet? Coke or Pepsi? The beach or the mountain? What will you choose?
Future simple
[going+to+infinitive]
1. plans & decision made before speaking
2. predictions made with present evidence
• She is going to play badminton tonight (a plan)
• Look at those black clouds - It’s going to rain
What are you going to do after this class finishes?
Where are you going to travel for your future holidays?
Future Continuous (time)
[will+be+ing]
1. an activity in progress in the future
• I will be travelling to London tomorrow evening
What will you be doing ...
tomorrow at this time?
next year in June?
Future Perfect Simple
[will+been+past participle]
1. an action will be completed sometime in the future (by / in)
• By June, I’ll have been here for 2 months
Do you think you will have mastered a new skill by the end of the year?
What will you have accomplished by the time you are 40/50/60?
Future Perfect Continuous
[will+have+been+ing]
1. an activity will be completed sometime in the future (by/ in)
• In April, I’ll have been living here for 5 years