Simple tenses and time

Brijbox English · Learn the idea

Rule: Match the verb form to the time you mean.

Pattern: Every day I play. Yesterday I played. Tomorrow I will play.

Verb forms help show when something happens. Start with these simple forms.

Use the present for things that happen regularly: I walk every day. Use the past for something that already happened: I walked yesterday.

We can use will with a verb to talk about the future: I will walk tomorrow.

Look at these examples

Every day, we play outside.

Play is simple present here. It describes something we do regularly.

Yesterday, we played outside.

Played is simple past. The playing already happened.

Tomorrow, we will play outside.

Will play points to the future. The playing has not happened yet.

Watch out

Simple present can show a habit. It does not always mean an action is happening right this second.

Your turn

Say or write your answers. An adult can read the questions aloud.

1. Yesterday, Ava painted a boat.

When did the painting happen? In the future. / In the past. / Every day.

2. Every Saturday, we ___ chess.

Choose the present-tense form for a regular activity. played / will play / play

3. Tomorrow, I ___ the plants.

Choose the words that point to the future. will water / watered / was watering

4. Yesterday, we ___ the gate.

Choose the past-tense form. will open / opened / open

Sentence workshop

Try each task before looking at the grown-up guide. Say your answer or write on paper.

Move the action in time.

Every day, I jump over the puddle.

Say it again starting with Yesterday. Then say it starting with Tomorrow.

Explain: How did the verb change to match each time?

Repair the time.

Yesterday, we will open the box.

Keep Yesterday. Change the verb so the sentence tells what already happened.

Explain: Why does will open not fit this past-time sentence?

Make your own sentences

Write three sentences about playing. Begin one with “Every day”. Begin one with “Yesterday”. Begin one with “Tomorrow”, and use will.

Grown-up guide

This is an introduction to simple present, simple past and future time with will. Start here, then try continuous tenses, present perfect and past perfect in separate sittings. Understanding the time and meaning matters more than remembering the labels.

Practice answers

1. In the past. It happened in the past. Painted is the past form of paint.

2. play. Every Saturday, we play chess. The simple present can describe regular activities.

3. will water. Tomorrow, I will water the plants. Will water tells us about a future action.

4. opened. Yesterday, we opened the gate. Opened matches the past time.

Sentence workshop examples

Yesterday, I jumped over the puddle. Tomorrow, I will jump over the puddle. Jumped puts the action in the past. Will jump puts it in the future.

Yesterday, we opened the box. Opened is simple past. Will open points to the future, which conflicts with yesterday in this sentence.

Check the child’s own writing

One possible example: Every day, I play outside. Yesterday, I played chess. Tomorrow, I will play football.

Try another day

Tell someone what you did yesterday and what you will do tomorrow. Listen for the changed verb forms.

These are starter lessons. Use the child’s explanation and independent sentences to choose what to revisit. Finishing a page is not a mastery result.