Tense and Aspect Review

• Remember that English tenses combine time with aspect. Simple tenses show facts or habits, continuous tenses show ongoing actions, and perfect tenses connect one time to another.
• Aspect
• Form
• Function
• Simple
• plays / played
• Habits, facts, completed whole actions
• Continuous
• is / was playing
• Actions in progress at a specific time
• Perfect
• have / had played
• Actions completed before another point in time
• Remember
• Use the present simple for permanent situations and routines.
• Use the past continuous for an action interrupted by another.
• Use the present perfect for past actions with current relevance.
• Use the past perfect for an action that happened before another past event.
• Examples
• Mark lives in Boston now.
• She was working in Chicago when the offer arrived.
• They have already moved to Seattle.
• By the time he retired, he had lived in four different states.
• Common mistakes
• I am knowing her for ten years.
• I have known her for ten years.
• When I arrived, they ate dinner.
• When I arrived, they were eating dinner.

Complete the sentences

• By last autumn, Kevin (live) ____ in Austin for five years.
• Right now, Sarah (search) ____ for a new apartment in Denver.
• Brian usually (work) ____ from his home office in Philadelphia.
• While we (travel) ____ through Ohio, we visited three museums.
• She (already / finish) ____ her degree at Boston University.
• Next month, they (celebrate) ____ their tenth wedding anniversary in Miami.

Sources: photo by Pixabay on Pexels