The 3 Common Tenses — Notes & Supplements

📘 The 3 Common Tenses --- Notes & Supplements

Present Simple, Past Simple, Future Simple

British English pronunciation · Structure + Usage + Common Mistakes + Pronunciation Focus

1️⃣ What is Tense?

Tense /tens/ tells us when an action happens.

The three most common tenses in English are:

Tense	English	Core Meaning
Present Simple	Present Simple	Now, habits, facts
Past Simple	Past Simple	Already happened
Future Simple	Future Simple	Will happen later

2️⃣ Present Simple

Usage

Actions happening now
Actions that happen regularly
General truths and facts

Structure

Subject + base verb (I / you / we / they)
Subject + verb + -s/-es (he / she / it)

Examples

I eat noodles every day.
They play basketball.
She eats rice every day.
He plays football on Sundays.

Time markers

every day, usually, often, sometimes, always, never, on Mondays

Negatives and Questions

Negative: don't / doesn't + base verb
I don't eat meat. / She doesn't eat meat.
Question: Do / Does + subject + base verb?
Do you eat noodles? / Does she eat noodles?

Third person singular -s/-es rules

Add -s generally: play → plays
Add -es after s, x, ch, sh, o: go → goes, watch → watches
Consonant + y → change y to i and add -es: study → studies
Special: have → has

Pronunciation focus

-s/-es has three sounds: /s/ (cats), /z/ (dogs), /ɪz/ (buses)
doesn't /ˈdʌznt/
Linking: Do you → /də juː/ or /duː juː/

3️⃣ Past Simple

Usage

Actions that happened and finished in the past
Past habits

Structure

Regular verbs: verb + -ed
Irregular verbs: need to be memorised (eat → ate, go → went)

Examples

I ate rice yesterday.
They played basketball last week.
She went to school by bus.

Time markers

yesterday, last week/month/year, ago, in 2020, just now

Negatives and Questions

Negative: didn't + base verb
I didn't eat rice. / She didn't go home.
Question: Did + subject + base verb?
Did you eat rice? / Did she go home?

Regular verb -ed rules

Add -ed generally: play → played
Add -d after e: like → liked
Consonant + y → change y to i and add -ed: study → studied
Double the final consonant in stressed closed syllables: stop → stopped

Common irregular verbs

Base	Past	Past Participle
eat	ate	eaten
go	went	gone
see	saw	seen
do	did	done
have	had	had
take	took	taken
get	got	got/gotten
make	made	made
come	came	come
play	played	played (regular)

Pronunciation focus

-ed has three sounds: /t/ (worked), /d/ (played), /ɪd/ (wanted)
didn't /ˈdɪdnt/
Linking: Did you → /dɪdʒuː/

4️⃣ Future Simple

Usage

Actions that will happen later
Spontaneous decisions, predictions, promises

Structure

will + base verb
Also be going to + base verb (plans, intentions)

Examples

I will eat rice tomorrow.
They will play basketball next week.
She is going to study abroad.

Time markers

tomorrow, next week/month/year, soon, in the future, later

Negatives and Questions

Negative: won't + base verb
I won't eat rice.
Question: Will + subject + base verb?
Will you eat rice?

Pronunciation focus

will weak form /wɪl/ or /əl/
won't /wəʊnt/
Linking: Will you → /wɪl juː/

5️⃣ Verbs: Regular and Irregular

Type	Description	Example
Regular verbs	Add -ed for past and past participle	play → played → played
Irregular verbs	Do not follow the -ed rule; must be memorised	eat → ate → eaten

Note: In the teacher's notes, "played ed basketball" is a typo. The correct form is played basketball.

6️⃣ Common Mistakes

Wrong	Correct	Reason
She eat noodles.	She eats noodles.	Third person singular takes -s.
I didn't ate.	I didn't eat.	After did, use base verb.
Did you went?	Did you go?	After did, use base verb.
I will ate.	I will eat.	After will, use base verb.
He play basketball.	He plays basketball.	Third person singular takes -s.
They played ed.	They played.	Extra -ed added.

7️⃣ Driving Lesson Examples

Tense	Example	Pronunciation
Present Simple	I practice driving every day.	/aɪ ˈpræktɪs ˈdraɪvɪŋ ˈevri deɪ/
Past Simple	I practiced driving yesterday.	/aɪ ˈpræktɪst ˈdraɪvɪŋ ˈjestədeɪ/
Future Simple	I will practice driving tomorrow.	/aɪ wɪl ˈpræktɪs ˈdraɪvɪŋ təˈmɒrəʊ/

Third person singular:

He practices driving every day.

He practiced driving yesterday.

He will practice driving tomorrow.

8️⃣ One-Sentence Summary

Present Simple is used for now, habits, and facts; Past Simple is used for finished actions in the past; Future Simple is used for actions that will happen later.

Master regular and irregular verb forms, pay attention to question and negative structures, and pronounce -s/-es and -ed correctly.

Printable · Copyable · Best kept on your desk

Teacher's Script: The 3 Common Tenses

Time: About 8--10 minutes

Level: Beginner to Elementary

Topic: Present Simple, Past Simple, Future Simple

1. Greeting and Warm-up (1 minute)

Teacher:

Good morning, everyone. Today we are going to learn about tenses .

A tense tells us when an action happens .

In English, the three most common tenses are Present Simple , Past Simple , and Future Simple.

Let's start with a quick question.

What do you do every day?

(Students answer.)

Good. You just used the present simple.

What did you do yesterday?

(Students answer.)

That's the past simple.

What will you do tomorrow?

(Students answer.)

And that's the future simple.

So you see, tenses are all around us. Let's look at each one.

2. Present Simple (2 minutes)

Teacher:

The present simple is used for actions that happen now , happen regularly , or are generally true.

(Write on the board.)

Structure:

I / you / we / they + base verb

he / she / it + verb + -s/-es

Examples:

I eat noodles every day.
They play basketball.
She eats rice every day.
He plays football on Sundays.

Time markers: every day, usually, often, sometimes, always, never, on Mondays.

Negatives and questions:

I don't eat meat.
She doesn't eat meat.
Do you eat noodles?
Does she eat noodles?

Third person singular rules:

Add -s: play → plays
Add -es after s, x, ch, sh, o: go → goes, watch → watches
Consonant + y → change y to i and add -es: study → studies
Special: have → has

Pronunciation:

The -s/-es ending has three sounds: /s/ (cats), /z/ (dogs), /ɪz/ (buses).

And doesn't is /ˈdʌznt/.

Repeat after me: She eats rice. He plays football. Do you eat noodles?

(Students repeat.)

3. Past Simple (2 minutes)

Teacher:

Now, the past simple .

We use it for actions that happened and finished in the past, or past habits.

(Write on the board.)

Structure:

Regular verbs: verb + -ed

Irregular verbs: need to be memorised (eat → ate, go → went)

Examples:

I ate rice yesterday.
They played basketball last week.
She went to school by bus.

Time markers: yesterday, last week/month/year, ago, in 2020, just now.

Negatives and questions:

I didn't eat rice.
She didn't go home.
Did you eat rice?
Did she go home?

Regular verb -ed rules:

Add -ed: play → played
Add -d after e: like → liked
Consonant + y → change y to i and add -ed: study → studied
Double the final consonant in stressed closed syllables: stop → stopped

Common irregular verbs:

eat → ate → eaten

go → went → gone

see → saw → seen

do → did → done

have → had → had

take → took → taken

get → got → got/gotten

make → made → made

come → came → come

Pronunciation:

The -ed ending has three sounds: /t/ (worked), /d/ (played), /ɪd/ (wanted).

And didn't is /ˈdɪdnt/.

Repeat after me: I ate rice yesterday. They played basketball last week. Did you eat rice?

(Students repeat.)

4. Future Simple (1.5 minutes)

Teacher:

Finally, the future simple .

We use it for actions that will happen later -- for predictions, promises, or spontaneous decisions.

(Write on the board.)

Structure:

will + base verb

Also be going to + base verb for plans and intentions.

Examples:

I will eat rice tomorrow.
They will play basketball next week.
She is going to study abroad.

Time markers: tomorrow, next week/month/year, soon, in the future, later.

Negatives and questions:

I won't eat rice.
Will you eat rice?

Pronunciation:

will is often weak: /wɪl/ or /əl/.

won't is /wəʊnt/.

Repeat after me: I will eat rice tomorrow. Will you eat rice?

(Students repeat.)

5. Regular and Irregular Verbs (30 seconds)

Teacher:

Remember, verbs are either regular or irregular .

Regular verbs add -ed for past and past participle: play → played → played.

Irregular verbs do not follow this rule: eat → ate → eaten.

You must memorise the irregular ones.

(Note: In the teacher's notes, "played ed basketball" is a typo. The correct form is "played basketball".)

6. Common Mistakes (1 minute)

Teacher:

Let's correct some common mistakes together.

(Write on the board, one by one. Students correct aloud.)

She eat noodles. → She eats noodles.
I didn't ate. → I didn't eat.
Did you went? → Did you go?
I will ate. → I will eat.
He play basketball. → He plays basketball.
They played ed. → They played.

Teacher:

Remember: after did and will , use the base verb.

And don't add extra -ed.

7. Driving Lesson Examples (30 seconds)

Teacher:

Let's connect this to something practical -- driving lessons.

Present: I practice driving every day.
Past: I practiced driving yesterday.
Future: I will practice driving tomorrow.

Third person:

He practices driving every day.

He practiced driving yesterday.

He will practice driving tomorrow.

8. Summary and Homework (30 seconds)

Teacher:

Let's summarise.

Present Simple -- now, habits, facts.

Past Simple -- finished actions in the past.

Future Simple -- actions later.

Master regular and irregular verb forms, pay attention to question and negative structures, and pronounce -s/-es and -ed correctly.

Your homework:

Write three sentences for each tense: present, past, and future.

Use at least one negative and one question.

That's all for today. Thank you, everyone. See you next class!

End of Teacher's Script

📘 The 3 Common Tenses --- 笔记整理与补充

三大基本时态：一般现在时、一般过去时、一般将来时

英音标注 · 结构 + 用法 + 常见错误 + 发音重点

1️⃣ 什么是时态？

Tense /tens/ 表示动作发生的时间。

英语中最常用的三种时态：

时态	英文	核心含义
一般现在时	Present Simple	现在、经常、事实
一般过去时	Past Simple	过去已发生
一般将来时	Future Simple	将来会发生

2️⃣ 一般现在时 Present Simple

用法

现在发生的事
经常、反复发生的动作
普遍真理、事实

结构

主语 + 动词原形（I / you / we / they）
主语 + 动词 + -s/-es（he / she / it）

例子

I eat noodles every day.
They play basketball.
She eats rice every day.
He plays football on Sundays.

时间标志词

every day, usually, often, sometimes, always, never, on Mondays

否定与疑问

否定：don't / doesn't + 动词原形
I don't eat meat. / She doesn't eat meat.
疑问：Do / Does + 主语 + 动词原形？
Do you eat noodles? / Does she eat noodles?

第三人称单数加 -s/-es 规则

一般加 -s：play → plays
以 s, x, ch, sh, o 结尾加 -es：go → goes, watch → watches
辅音字母 + y 结尾，变 y 为 i 加 -es：study → studies
特殊：have → has

发音重点

-s/-es 三种发音：/s/ (cats), /z/ (dogs), /ɪz/ (buses)
doesn't /ˈdʌznt/
连读：Do you → /də juː/ 或 /duː juː/

3️⃣ 一般过去时 Past Simple

用法

过去某个时间已经发生并结束的动作
过去经常发生的动作

结构

规则动词：动词 + -ed
不规则动词：需单独记忆（eat → ate, go → went）

例子

I ate rice yesterday.
They played basketball last week.
She went to school by bus.

时间标志词

yesterday, last week/month/year, ago, in 2020, just now

否定与疑问

否定：didn't + 动词原形
I didn't eat rice. / She didn't go home.
疑问：Did + 主语 + 动词原形？
Did you eat rice? / Did she go home?

规则动词加 -ed 规则

一般加 -ed：play → played
以 e 结尾加 -d：like → liked
辅音字母 + y 结尾，变 y 为 i 加 -ed：study → studied
重读闭音节，双写末尾辅音加 -ed：stop → stopped

常见不规则动词

原形	过去式	过去分词
eat	ate	eaten
go	went	gone
see	saw	seen
do	did	done
have	had	had
take	took	taken
get	got	got/gotten
make	made	made
come	came	come
play	played	played (规则)

发音重点

-ed 三种发音：/t/ (worked), /d/ (played), /ɪd/ (wanted)
didn't /ˈdɪdnt/
连读：Did you → /dɪdʒuː/

4️⃣ 一般将来时 Future Simple

用法

将来会发生的动作
临时决定、预测、承诺

结构

will + 动词原形
也可用 be going to + 动词原形（计划、打算）

例子

I will eat rice tomorrow.
They will play basketball next week.
She is going to study abroad.

时间标志词

tomorrow, next week/month/year, soon, in the future, later

否定与疑问

否定：won't + 动词原形
I won't eat rice.
疑问：Will + 主语 + 动词原形？
Will you eat rice?

发音重点

will 弱读 /wɪl/ 或 /əl/
won't /wəʊnt/
连读：Will you → /wɪl juː/

5️⃣ 动词：规则与不规则

类型	说明	例子
规则动词	加 -ed 构成过去式和过去分词	play → played → played
不规则动词	不按规则变化，需记忆	eat → ate → eaten

你老师笔记中的 "played ed basketball" 是笔误，正确为 played basketball。

6️⃣ 常见错误

错误	正确	原因
She eat noodles.	She eats noodles.	第三人称单数加 -s
I didn't ate.	I didn't eat.	did 后用原形
Did you went?	Did you go?	did 后用原形
I will ate.	I will eat.	will 后用原形
He play basketball.	He plays basketball.	三单加 -s
They played ed.	They played.	多加了 ed

7️⃣ 驾驶课例句扩展 Driving Lessons

时态	例子	音标
一般现在时	I practice driving every day.	/aɪ ˈpræktɪs ˈdraɪvɪŋ ˈevri deɪ/
一般过去时	I practiced driving yesterday.	/aɪ ˈpræktɪst ˈdraɪvɪŋ ˈjestədeɪ/
一般将来时	I will practice driving tomorrow.	/aɪ wɪl ˈpræktɪs ˈdraɪvɪŋ təˈmɒrəʊ/

第三人称单数：

He practices driving every day.

He practiced driving yesterday.

He will practice driving tomorrow.

8️⃣ 一句话总结

一般现在时 用于现在、习惯和事实；一般过去时 用于过去已结束的动作；一般将来时 用于将来会发生的动作。

掌握规则动词和不规则动词的变化，注意疑问和否定形式，并正确发音 -s/-es 和 -ed。

可打印 · 可抄写 · 建议贴在书桌前