All simple tenses (past, present and future)

Past simple
For regular verbs, we add -ed to the base form of the verb (work–worked) or -d if the verb already
ends in e (move–moved).

I, she, he, it, you, we,

+ worked.
they

I, she, he, it, you, we, (full form)

they did not
− work.
(short form)
I, she, he, it, you, we, they
didn’t

work
?+ Did I, she, he, it, you, we, they
?

(full form)

Did I, she, he, it, you, we, they not

work
?–
?
(short form)

Didn’t I, she, he, it, you, we, they

In regular one-syllable verbs with a single vowel followed by a consonant, we double the final
consonant when adding -ed to make the past simple:

stop: The bus stopped suddenly.

plan: Who planned this trip?

See also:

 Spelling and verb forms

 Regular verbs

Past simple: pronunciation of -ed

For regular verbs, there are three possible pronunciations of -ed endings.

/d/ /t/ /ɪd/

after all vowel sounds and after
voiced consonants (except /d/)
/m/ /n/ /ŋ/ /l/ /g/ /dʒ/ /z/ /b/
/v/
after all voiceless consonants
after /d/ and /t/
(except /t/)/k/ /p/ /f/ /s/ /ʃ/ /tʃ/

cried, tried, hurried, weighed,

picked, hopped, laughed, decided, ended, landed,
smiled, planned, judged,
crossed, pushed, watched started, visited, waited
sneezed, lived

See also:

 Spelling and verb forms

Past simple: irregular verbs

Many verbs are irregular. Here are some common ones. Each one has to be learnt.

The verb form is the same for all persons (I, you, she, he, it, we, they), and we make questions and
negatives with irregular verbs in the same ways as for regular verbs.

irregular verb example in the past simple

be She was afraid.

begin The meal began with soup.

come Everyone came to my house for the weekend.

do Look what I did!

eat The birds ate all of the bread.

fly We flew from New York to Mexico City.

have She had such a good time.

know We knew each other well in college.

read I read that book last year. (/red/)

sing Her sister sang a beautiful song at the party.

irregular verb example in the past simple

tell He told me a funny story.

wake When she woke up, it was already 1 pm!

I wrote him an email to explain why I couldn’t meet

write
him.

See also:

 Irregular verbs

 Verbs

 Table of irregular verbs

Past simple: uses

Definite time in the past

We use the past simple to talk about definite time in the past (often we specify when something
happened, e.g. yesterday, three weeks ago, last year, when I was young):

Did you watch that film yesterday?

He left at the end of November.

When they were young, they hated meat.

See also:

 Present simple (I work)

Single or habitual events or states

We use the past simple to talk about single or regular (habitual) events or states in the past.

He fell off his bike and his friends took him to a doctor.
Events that happened once
She ran out and she phoned my brother.

They travelled to Italy every summer and always stayed in small

Events that happened more villages on the coast.
than once
As children, we played all kinds of games on the street.
 She looked a bit upset.
States
Did you feel afraid?

When we use the past simple to refer to habitual events, the meaning is similar to used to:

I did a lot of travelling when I was younger. (or I used to do a lot of travelling when I was younger.)

See also:

 Used to or would?

The past simple with no time reference

Sometimes there is no time expression when the past simple is used. This happens especially when
we know the time:

Leonardo Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa. (From our general knowledge, we know that Leonardo Da
Vinci painted the Mona Lisa a few hundred years ago.)

Simple Present Tense this verb tense is very important and regularly used in daily conversational
English. With a good understanding of the basic English Grammar tenses and grammar rules, both
your spoken and your written English will improve. The three major tenses in English are present,
past and future and the tense tells us when the action is taking place so it has everything to do with
the verb.

What can we use this tense for:

1.Declaring facts.

“My name is Jay.”

“This dog weighs 40 kilogrammes.”

“Birds fly in the sky.”

2.Specifying future actions with a future reference.

“The school bus leaves tomorrow at 10:30 pm.”

“I travel to Korea next weekend.”

“The first one who finishes will be the top of the class.”

3. Designating measurements.

“The shed measures 2 metres by 4 metres.”

“The height of this building is 30 metres.”

“The speedometer shows 120 kilometres hour.”

4. Showing the frequency of actions with a time clause.

“I play chess four times a week.”

“Camilla eats dinner every day.”

“Busses to Cape Town depart twice a week.”

5. The expression of uncertainty (Subjunctive) using words related to: desires, wishes and
expectations.

“I hope I get the scholarship.”

“He thinks he has the correct grammar.”

“James wishes he could go to University.”

6. The expression of states which are subject to change:

“I am glad.”

“Pieter is stressed.”

“The child is asleep.”

The present tense can be broken down further into three categories:

1. Simple Present

2. Continuous Present

3. Perfect Present

However, this article will only be dealing with the Simple present tense. Here is a song with a bunch
of great examples:

Simple present using the verb ‘to be’:

In simple present the various forms of the irregular verb to be are used. This is a very useful but
tricky verb to use in English writing. When building a sentence in English, a verb is always required.
The verb “be” is the most important verb to learn in English. ‘’TO BE’’ is used to describe objects,
features, locations, etc.

The verb ‘’ TO BE ‘’has three forms in the present; am, is and are;

Subject to be:
Sentence examples:

I am

I am happy.

You are

You are calm.

She is

She is a happy child.

He is

He is an ESL student.

It is

It is an English grammar book.

We are

We are writing English homework.

You are

You are native English teachers.

They are

They are in class.

Using the verb “to be” in the Simple present tense:

1. Positive or Affirmative form: Subject + To be (am / is / are) + …

2. Negative Form: Subject + To be (am / is / are) + not+ …

3. Question Form: To be (am / is / are) + Subject + …

4. Negative Question Form: To be (am / is / are) + not+ Subject + …

Here is a video that covers the verb to be in the Present Simple tense:

The only way to learn the Simple Present tense is to practice using it with the appropriate grammar
rules. As this tense is straightforward it would be very useful to use when writing English exercises.

The Simple Future Tense is a vital aspect of English Language that deals with predicting future
actions, events or states. This tense helps in conveying the message that something hasn't yet
occurred, but it will take place in the future. It is critical for students to comprehend the Simple
Future Tense as it is widely used in daily conversations, writing plans, and discussing future
predictions. Simple Future Tense Definition in English Grammar
In English Grammar, the Simple Future Tense signifies an action, event, or situation that has not
occurred yet but is expected or planned to happen in the future. It can be used for predictions,
promises, decisions, plans, or assumptions about the future. It is essential to keep in mind that when
using the Simple Future Tense, the speaker expresses an intent and not necessarily a fact.

Simple Future Tense is a form of verb tense used to describe actions, events, or states that will occur
in the future.

Some examples of the Simple Future Tense include:

 He will travel to Japan next year.

 She is going to bake a cake.

 They will attend the conference tomorrow.

Simple Future Tense Formula and Usage

To use the Simple Future Tense accurately, it is crucial to understand its formula and usage.
Essentially, there are two ways to construct sentences in the Simple Future Tense:

1. Using "will" + infinitive form of the verb

2. Using "be going to" + infinitive form of the verb

Subject Will Infinitive Example

I will study I will study for the exam.

You will play You will play football.

He, She, It will cook He will cook breakfast.

We, They will visit They will visit the museum.

For "be going to" construction, the formula is:

Subject Be Going to Infinitive Example

I am going to watch I am going to watch a movie.

You are going to run You are going to run a marathon.

He, She, It is going to buy He is going to buy a new car.

We, They are going to eat They are going to eat pizza.

Let's see another example of Simple Future Tense: "They will watch a movie" or "They are going to
watch a movie". In both cases, it conveys the same meaning, but for different contexts. The first
sentence with "will" often signifies spontaneous decisions, while the second sentence with "be going
to" usually describes premeditated plans.
By understanding the Simple Future Tense formula and usage, you can enrich your English language
skills and express your thoughts, predictions, and plans for the future more effectively.