Master the English Tenses

Course Handbook – Study Guide

Introduction

Welcome all to this comprehensive course on English verb tenses!

In my experience, verb tenses often pose the greatest challenge to students at all levels.
Whether you have just started to learn them, or have already learned and use them,
their number and their complexity can be overwhelming.

In this course, I set out to take you through the different tenses step by step, so you can
learn (or review) and assimilate them slowly but surely, and be able to use them
confidently when you speak or write.

Course Content

The course consists of about 2 hours of video lessons and 90 minutes of

supplementary audio exercises, which enable you to practise everything you are
learning orally. Oral practice is the key to using the tenses spontaneously when you
speak, and to improving your pronunciation and fluency at the same time.

The first 9 video lessons contrast two or three tenses that are often confused with each
other. These lessons finish with a ‘common mistakes’ section to deepen your
understanding of their differences. Each lesson is followed by audio exercises to help
your assimilation. The final lesson is a review of all the tenses including a separate video
with exercises.

Here is a list of the lessons:

1. Present Simple & Present Continuous

2. Present Continuous & Present Perfect Continuous
3. Present Perfect Continuous & Present Perfect
4. State Verbs & Action Verbs
5. Present Perfect & Past Simple
6. Past Continuous & Past Perfect & past Perfect Continuous
7. ‘will’ & ‘going to’
8. ‘’going to’ & Present Continuous (+ future time marker)
9. Future Continuous & Future Perfect & Future Perfect Continuous
10. All Tenses: Lesson
11. All Tenses: Exercises

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 Your Step-by-step Study guide

To ensure that you gain maximum benefit out of this course, it is important that
you follow the study guide closely, and that you do not skip any of the steps.

Please start by reading the step-by-step study guide on the next three pages to
get an idea of the activities and the timescale involved. Then, refer to your
study guide regularly and follow the instructions closely as you progress
through each stage of the course.

LESSONS 1 – 9

Step 1: Prepare
1. Print all the pdf files in your handbook (Study Guide, Study File,
Transcripts)
2. Study the section ‘Summary of Tenses’ in your ‘Study File’ for a global
overview, but don’t worry about the details yet.

Step 2: Study
1. Watch the first video lesson twice;
2. Make notes of the important points in your Study File;

Step 3: Written exercises

1. Find the pdf transcript of the audio exercises for this lesson;
2. Do the exercises on paper to test your assimilation;
3. If you have made some mistakes and don’t understand why they are
mistakes, review the video lesson again until it is clear to you;
4. In your ‘Study File’, write down 2-3 examples of your own for each
tense that you have just studied.

Step 4: Oral exercises

1. Put your papers away;

2. Go to the audio file corresponding to this lesson, and do the exercises
orally several times, without looking at your written exercises.

Repeat steps 1 to 4 for each of the first 9 video lessons.

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LESSONS 10 - 11

Step 1: Prepare
1. Review the ‘Summary of Tenses’ in your Study File
2. Review your own notes and examples in your Study File

Step 2: Study
1. Watch lesson 10 (All Tenses) twice;
2. If necessary, make further notes in your Study File;
3. Watch lesson 11 and do the exercises several times until you answer
all the questions correctly and without hesitation.

Step 3: Written exercises

1. Find the pdf transcript of the final audio exercises;
2. Do the exercises on paper to test your assimilation;
3. If you have made some mistakes and don’t understand why they are
mistakes, review lesson 10 and your Study File again until it is clear to
you.

Step 4: Oral exercises

4. Put your papers away;

5. Go to the audio file (All Tenses: Exercises) and do the exercises orally
several times, without looking at your written exercises, until you can
answer all the questions correctly and without hesitation.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Make sure you do the oral exercises several times without looking
at your paper until you get them right each time.

This is extremely important if you want to be able to use the

tenses naturally and reflexively, not only when you write, but also
when you speak.

This will also improve your general fluency and pronunciation.

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RECOMMENDED STUDY PROGRAMME

Naturally, you will each progress at a different speed, depending on your own current
level. However, whatever pace you would like to adopt, I strongly recommend that you
set yourself a study programme before you start.

Here is an example of a 2-week study programme: (60 - 90 minutes / day)

Day 1: Preparation & lesson 1 (video, pdf & audio)

Day 2: Lesson 2 (video, pdf & audio)
Day 3: Lesson 3 (video, pdf & audio)
Day 4: Lesson 4 (video, pdf & audio)
Day 5: Lesson 5 (video, pdf & audio)
Day 6: Lesson 6 (video, pdf & audio)
Day 7: Lesson 7 (video, pdf & audio)
Day 8: Lesson 8 (video, pdf & audio)
Day 9: Lesson 9 (video, pdf & audio)
Day 10: Lessons 10 & 11 (pdf & video)
Day 11: Repeat lessons 10 & 11 (video)
Day 12: Final audio (all tenses)
Day 13: Repeat all audio exercises for Lessons 1 – 9
Day 14: Repeat Final audio (all tenses)

I hope you’ll enjoy the course.

Make sure you post any questions that come up for you in the
‘Discussions Forum’.

And when you have completed the course, please remember to

rate and review it.

I wish you a lot of success with all your English studies!

Minoo

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