Grammar – Present, Past And Future Actions (Tenses) Basic 2 English Studies Lesson Note

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

1. Explain the concept of tense
2. Identify tenses by circling them in sentences
3. Make songs with tenses with action
4. Write sentences using past, present, or future tense

Content

What is Tense?

Tense tells us when something happens. It shows if an action is happening now, before, or later.

Think of tense like a clock:

• Past = Yesterday (what already happened)
• Present = Today (what is happening now)
• Future = Tomorrow (what will happen later)

PRESENT TENSE (Happening Now)

What it means: Actions happening right now, today, or things that happen regularly.

Present Tense Words:

• am, is, are
• do, does
• have, has
• go, goes
• play, plays
• eat, eats
• run, runs
• walk, walks

Present Tense Examples:

• I am happy today.
• She is reading a book.
• We are playing outside.
• The bird sings every morning.
• My mother cooks dinner.
• Children go to school.
• The sun shines brightly.
• Dogs bark at strangers.

Present Tense Rules:

• For I, you, we, they → use the base form: I play, you run, we eat
• For he, she, it → add ‘s’ or ‘es’: he plays, she runs, it eats

More Present Tense Examples:

• I brush my teeth every day.
• You speak English very well.
• We love our teacher.
• They dance beautifully.
• He writes with his right hand.
• She drinks milk in the morning.
• It rains during the wet season.
• The cat sleeps on the mat.

PAST TENSE (Already Happened)

What it means: Actions that happened yesterday, last week, or before now.

Past Tense Words:

• was, were
• had
• went
• played
• ate
• ran
• walked
• did

Past Tense Examples:

• I was sick yesterday.
• She was at school this morning.
• We were happy last week.
• The bird sang beautifully.
• My mother cooked rice for lunch.
• Children went home after school.
• The sun shone brightly yesterday.
• Dogs barked all night.

Regular Past Tense (Add -ed):

• play → played
• walk → walked
• cook → cooked
• help → helped
• jump → jumped
• wash → washed
• clean → cleaned
• paint → painted

Examples with Regular Past Tense:

• I played football yesterday.
• She walked to the market.
• We cooked together last night.
• They helped their mother.
• He jumped over the fence.
• You washed your clothes.
• The children cleaned their room.
• My sister painted a picture.

Irregular Past Tense (Changes completely):

• go → went
• eat → ate
• run → ran
• see → saw
• come → came
• take → took
• give → gave
• make → made

Examples with Irregular Past Tense:

• I went to the park yesterday.
• She ate an apple for breakfast.
• We ran to catch the bus.
• They saw a beautiful rainbow.
• He came home late.
• You took my pencil.
• My father gave me money.
• Mother made delicious soup.

FUTURE TENSE (Will Happen Later)

What it means: Actions that will happen tomorrow, next week, or later.

Future Tense Words:

• will
• shall
• going to
• tomorrow
• next week
• later
• soon

Future Tense Examples:

• I will go to school tomorrow.
• She will eat lunch later.
• We will play games tonight.
• They will visit grandmother next week.
• He will read a story soon.
• You will help me tomorrow.
• The sun will shine tomorrow.
• Birds will sing in the morning.

Future Tense with “Going to”:

• I am going to visit my friend.
• She is going to buy new shoes.
• We are going to have a party.
• They are going to plant flowers.
• He is going to write a letter.
• You are going to learn new songs.
• It is going to rain tonight.
• The children are going to perform a play.

Time Words for Each Tense:

Present Tense Time Words:

• now, today, always, usually, every day, sometimes, often

Past Tense Time Words:

• yesterday, last week, ago, before, earlier, last night, this morning

Future Tense Time Words:

• tomorrow, next week, later, soon, in the future, tonight, next year

Tense Songs with Actions

Song 1: “The Tense Song” (Tune: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”)

Present tense is happening now, (point to watch)

I am walking, show me how! (walk in place)

Past tense happened yesterday, (point behind)

I walked home without delay! (walk backwards)

Future tense will come tomorrow, (point ahead)

I will walk and never sorrow! (march forward)

Song 2: “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow”

Yesterday I played outside, (act out playing)

Today I am learning with pride, (sit up straight)

Tomorrow I will help my mother, (pretend to help)

Past, present, future – one after another! (clap hands)

Song 3: “Action Tense Song”

I was running (past tense action), (jog in place)

I am jumping (present tense action), (jump up and down)

I will dancing (future tense action), (dance moves)

Tenses help us understand! (point to head)

Identifying Tenses in Sentences

Practice Sentences – Circle the Tense:

1. The cat is sleeping on the chair. (Present)
2. We went to the zoo last Saturday. (Past)
3. She will visit her cousin tomorrow. (Future)
4. I am eating breakfast now. (Present)
5. They played games yesterday. (Past)
6. You will learn new things next week. (Future)

More Practice: 7. Birds sing sweetly every morning. (Present) 8. My father drove us to school. (Past) 9. We are going to have a test tomorrow. (Future) 10. The children were very excited. (Past)

Writing Practice with Tenses

Present Tense Sentences: Write what you do every day:

• I wake up at 7 o’clock.
• I brush my teeth after breakfast.
• I go to school with my friends.
• I play during break time.
• I come home in the afternoon.

Past Tense Sentences: Write what you did yesterday:

• I woke up early yesterday.
• I brushed my teeth quickly.
• I went to school on time.
• I played with my best friend.
• I came home and did homework.

Future Tense Sentences: Write what you will do tomorrow:

• I will wake up early tomorrow.
• I will brush my teeth carefully.
• I will go to school happily.
• I will play new games.
• I will come home and rest.