English Verb Tenses Present and Continuous: Examples and Exercises

What are Verbs?

All sentences contain verbs, they often show action:

  • The bear growls
  • The bear runs
  • The bear sleeps

Common Verbs

Although there are many verbs, there are a group of common verbs that are often used, in real life, in conversation, and in English learning exercises.

  • ask
  • be
  • become
  • begin
  • call
  • can
  • come
  • could
  • do
  • feel
  • find
  • get
  • give
  • go
  • have
  • hear
  • help
  • keep
  • know
  • leave
  • let
  • like
  • live
  • look
  • make
  • may
  • mean
  • might
  • move
  • need
  • play
  • put
  • run
  • say
  • see
  • seem
  • should
  • show
  • start
  • take
  • talk
  • tell
  • think
  • try
  • turn
  • use
  • want
  • will
  • work
  • would

Source: https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-vocabulary/top-50-verbs/

Linking Verbs

to be

  • am  I am here 
  • is    she is here
  • are    you are here
  • being  thank you for being here
  • was  she was here
  • were  they were here
  • been  they have been here
  • be  can you be here

action – something does

  • am  … am eating
  • are  … are eating
  • was  … was eating

to be – something is

  • is  … is hungry
  • be  … to be hungry
  • been  … been hungry
  • were  … were hungry

Helping Verbs

To be   

  • Brian is eating a pizza  (he is eating now)
  • Brian was eating a pizza    (he was eating before)

To have 

  • Brian has eaten a pizza    (he has eaten the whole pizza)
  • Brian had been eating a pizza  (he was eating but has stopped)

Present Simple

past simple - future simple

past  – now (present) – future

  • past – yesterday
  • present – today
  • future – tomorrow

simple verb tense

  • simple past – yesterday
  • simple present – today
  • simple future – tomorrow

simple verb tense

  • simple past – worked
  • simple present – work
  • simple future – will work

simple verb tense

  • simple past – I worked yesterday
  • simple present – I work today
  • simple future – I will work tomorrow

Examples

  • past – I talked, I liked, I helped
  • present- I talk, I like, I help
  • past – I will talk, I will like, I will help

Practice your present simple verb use with simple games (e.g. https://www.gamestolearnenglish.com/present-simple)

Present Continuous (progressive)

past continuous (progressive) - future continuous (progressive)

The continuous verb form adds -ing to the simple form to make a verb describing a continuous action/verb. It is commonly called the ‘continuous’ verb form, or in the United States it is called the progressive verb form.

  • past continuous (UK) = past progressive (US)
  • present continuous (UK) = present progressive (US) 
  • future continuous (UK) = future progressive (US) 

Show action – present simple

  • The bear growls
  • The bear runs
  • The bear sleeps

Continuous action – present continuous (-ing)

  • The bear is growling
  • The bear is running
  • The bear is sleeping

Past Verb Tense

Regular Verbs

  • The bear growled
  • I liked it
  • We walked there
  • I watched TV
  • We wanted it
  • They worked
  • opened / closed

Irregular Verbs

  • The bear ran
  • The bear slept
  • I ate the apple

  • You studied

simple present

  • The bear growls
  • The bear runs
  • The bear sleeps

present continuous (-ing)

  • The bear is growling
  • The bear is running
  • The bear is sleeping

simple past

  • The bear growled
  • The bear ran
  • The bear slept

past  continuous (-ing)

  • The bear was growling
  • The bear was running
  • The bear was sleeping

Future Verb Tense

simple present

  • The bear growls
  • The bear runs
  • The bear sleeps

present continuous (-ing)

  • The bear is growling
  • The bear is running
  • The bear is sleeping

simple future

  • The bear will growl
  • The bear will run
  • The bear will sleep

future continuous (-ing)

  • The bear will be growling
  • The bear will be running
  • The bear will be sleeping

Verb Tense Exercises

Exercise 1

Fill the blanks with verbs (in brackets) with the present continuous form.

Greetings from our holiday destination!  Sally and I are having a fantastic time here.

  1. We are ______ here for a week (stay)
  2. The sun ________ brightly, (shine)
  3. so we like ________ refreshing drinks (drink)
  4. whilst ________ by the pool. (sit)
  5. Before breakfast it is good to go ________  (swim)
  6. And after relax ________ others having fun in the water. (watch)
  7. During the day, we like ________ to nearby towns and explore their charm.(travel)
  8. Sally likes ________ books, (read)
  9. on the other hand, I am always ________ postcards. (write)

Exercise 2

Put the words in brackets in the present simple or present continuous.

0. What ____________ (you/do)?       A. What are you doing (you/do)?

  1. They __________ (play) soccer every weekend.
  2. What __________ (you/do) after school?
  3. Look! The cat __________ (chase) its tail.
  4. She __________ (study) English at the moment.
  5. What __________ (you/wear) to the party tonight?
  6. We __________ (watch) a movie right now.
  7. It usually __________ (rain) a lot in this season.
  8. What are you currently ______ on? (work)
  9. The teacher __________ (explain) the lesson to the students

Exercise 3

Complete the sentences with the following verbs but use the present continuous form

eat    meet    play    study    swim    watch

  1. _____ Maths at home these days
  2. _____ lunch with friends tomorrow.
  3. _____ at the pool later.
  4. _____ a new TV series tonight.
  5. _____ the piano this evening.
  6. _____ my friends for coffee later.

Exercise 4

Complete the sentences with the following verbs but use the present continuous form

  1. Emma: What are you _______? (do)                      John: I’m _______? TV. (watch)
  2. Sarah: Where are you _______?                              David: I’m _______? to the park. (go)
  3. Lisa: Who are you _______ to on the phone?      Michael: I’m _______? to my sister. (talk)
  4. Emily: What are you _______ to the party?         Daniel: I’m _______? a red dress. (wear)
  5. Olivia: What are you _______ to?                            Sophie: I’m _______? to my favorite song. (listen)
  6. Alex: Why are you _______?                                     Grace: I’m _______? because I’m happy. (smile)

Past Verb Tense Exercises

Exercise 1

Write the past form of the verb in the following sentences:

  1. I like ice cream.
  2. She walks to school.
  3. They play football every Saturday.
  4. He reads books in his free time.
  5. We visit our grandparents regularly.
  6. The sun sets in the evening.
  7. You drink coffee in the morning.
  8. It rains in the summer.
  9. Cats chase mice.
  10. Birds sing in the trees.
  11. The train arrives at 9 AM.
  12. We study English at school.

Exercise 2

Write the following sentences using the past simple verb tense:

  1. I work in an office.
  2. The weather is sunny today.
  3. My friends and I hang out at the park.
  4. She travels to different countries for work.
  5. We go to school from Monday to Friday.
  6. They play football every weekend.

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