Present & Past Tense Forms
Section: Use of English | Syllabus: Cambridge Primary English as a Second Language (0057)
Present Simple: Active and Passive
- Use the present simple for facts, routines and things that are generally true: "Water boils at 100°C." "She plays football on Saturdays."
- Active form: subject + verb (add -s/-es for he/she/it): "The teacher marks the homework."
- Begin to use the passive form too: object + is/am/are + past participle: "The homework is marked by the teacher."
- Use the passive when the action matters more than who does it, or when the doer is unknown or unimportant: "Rice is grown in many countries."
The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
Past Simple: Habits, States and Passive Forms
- Use the past simple for habits and states that were true in the past but are not necessarily true now: "She lived in Cairo when she was young." "They played chess every weekend last year."
- Regular verbs add -ed ("walked"); many common verbs are irregular ("went," "saw," "had").
- Begin to use the passive form: object + was/were + past participle: "The letter was written last week." "The windows were cleaned yesterday."
Present Continuous: Now and Future Plans
- Form: am/is/are + verb-ing.
- Use for actions happening right now: "She is reading a book."
- Also use for future arrangements already decided, usually with a time expression: "We are meeting our cousins tomorrow." "I am starting a new class next week."
Past Continuous: Background, Parallel and Interrupted Actions
- Form: was/were + verb-ing.
- Use for a background action in a story: "The sun was shining and birds were singing."
- Use for two actions happening at the same time in the past: "While she was cooking, he was setting the table."
- Use alongside the past simple for an action interrupted by a shorter one: the past continuous shows the longer background action, and the past simple shows the shorter action that interrupts it, e.g. "I was walking home when it started to rain."
Question: Combine these ideas into one sentence using the past simple and past continuous correctly: "I was walking home. It started to rain."
Step 1 — Identify the longer, background action: "walking home" — this uses the past continuous. Step 2 — Identify the shorter action that interrupts it: "it started to rain" — this uses the past simple. Step 3 — Join the two actions with "when," background action first. Answer"I was walking home when it started to rain."
Present Perfect: Recent, Indefinite and Unfinished Past
- Form: have/has + past participle.
- Use for a recent action with a present result: "I have just finished my homework."
- Use for an indefinite past action, when you don't say exactly when it happened: "She has visited Paris."
- Use for an unfinished time period that continues up to now, often with since or for: "We have lived here since 2020." "He has played the guitar for six years."
Common Mistakes
MistakeUsing the past simple instead of the present perfect for an unfinished time period, e.g. "I lived here since 2020."
FixUse the present perfect (have/has + past participle) whenever the time period is introduced by "since" or "for" and continues up to now: "I have lived here since 2020."
MistakeUsing the present continuous for permanent facts instead of the present simple, e.g. "Water is boiling at 100°C."
FixUse the present simple for facts and routines, and the present continuous only for actions happening now or fixed future plans.
MistakeUsing the past simple for both actions when describing two things happening at the same time in the past.
FixUse the past continuous for the longer, background action and the past simple for the shorter action that interrupts it.
Worked Example: Choosing the Correct Present TenseQuestion: Complete the sentence with the correct form of "live": "She ___ in this town since 2019."
Step 1 — Look at the time expression "since 2019": it signals a period that started in the past and continues up to now. Step 2 — This calls for the present perfect: have/has + past participle. Step 3 — The subject "she" is third person singular, so use "has". Answer"She has lived in this town since 2019."
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