Howard Area Community Center
Adult Education Department -- ESL
Teach yourself Regular and Irregular* Tenses
*Irregular means "don't follow the rule"
Blue spaces are correct; when all 12 turn blue, that set gets a √
Action words some times right now some times was going on
√ (in the present) "present continuous" (in the past) "past continuous"
play He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It a piano. plays is playing played was playing
You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They play are playing played were playing
I I I I play am playing played was playing
look He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It out the window. looks is looking looked was looking
You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They look are looking looked were looking
I I I I look am looking looked was looking
listen He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It to the radio. listens is listening listened was listening
You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They listen are listening listened were listening
I I I I listen am listening listened was listening
open He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It a box. opens is opening opened was opening
You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They open are opening opened were opening
I I I I open am opening opened was opening
walk He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It very fast. walks is walking walked was walking
You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They walk are walking walked were walking
I I I I walk am walking walked was walking
ask He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It good questions. asks is asking was asking
You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They ask are asking were asking
I I I I ask am asking was asking
rest He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It after school. rests is resting was resting
You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They rest are resting were resting
I I I I rest am resting was resting
("Irregular") -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------> Not regular in Past Tense
sing He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It sang He, She, It beautifully. sings is singing sang was singing
You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They sing are singing sang were singing
I I I I sing am singing sang was singing
stand He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It stood He, She, It in a line. stands is standing stood was standing
You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They stand are standing stood were standing
I I I I stand am standing stood was standing
write He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It wrote He, She, It letters. writes is writing wrote was writing
You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They write are writing wrote were writing
I I I I write am writing wrote was writing
read He, She, It He, She, It He, She, It read * He, She, It the newspaper. reads is reading read * was reading
You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They You,We,They read are reading read were reading
I I I I read am reading read was reading
* sounds like "red"
say The man The woman A computer said A boy prayers. says is saying said was saying
You We The priests The children say are saying said were saying
I I I I say am saying said was saying
go She goes He The dog went Mohamed home. goes is going went was going
They You Children People go are going went were going
I I I I go am going went was going
sit Teresa A cat That man sat The statue in the park. sits is sitting sat was sitting
The children Bill and Sara You We sit are sitting sat were sitting
I I I I sit am sitting sat was sitting
sleep Our baby It Fazila slept Mary on the grass! sleeps is sleeping slept was sleeping
Some cats Students Sam and Jane They sleep are sleeping slept were sleeping
I I I I sleep am sleeping slept was sleeping