12 English VERB Tense QUIZ Can you pass
Vanessa: Hi, I’m Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.
Do you know all 12 verb tenses in English?
Let’s talk about it.
Have you ever thought, “Should I say, ‘I was
speaking,’ or, ‘I had spoken’?”
Verb tenses in English can seem to be a little
bit confusing, but do you know what?
I have some good news.
I have a feeling that you know more about
verb tenses than you think you do.
A few months ago, I made this lesson, a preposition
quiz in English, and we talked about different
prepositions, like in, on, at, for, and these
are generally seen as some of the most confusing
parts of English or really of any language.
But in that video, I said the same thing:
that you probably know more about prepositions
than you think you do.
It’s really just a mind game.
You think prepositions are really tricky or
confusing, but actually, you probably know
more than you think you do.
And it’s the same with verb tenses.
Verb tenses can seem overwhelming.
It can often make us feel really nervous or
frustrated when we speak.
But in the end, you probably know more about
verb tenses than you think you do, and that’s
what we’re going to talk about today.
So in today’s lesson, I want to quiz you on
the 12 English verb tenses.
I want you to search within your heart for
what you feel like is the best answer.
In my opinion, the best way to learn something
is to try it for yourself.
So, I want you to be active.
Don’t just wait for me to give you the answer.
In this lesson, I want you to, first of all,
guess what you think the correct verb tense
will be for each question.
Then, number two, I’m going to give you the
correct answer.
And finally, I’ll give you a quick explanation
about how to use that verb tense.
Special notice time.
I do not want you to stress about the names
of each verb tense.
I’m going to say it again.
Do not stress about the name of each verb
tense.
Do you know what the future continuous tense
is in your own language?
Maybe not, and it’s okay.
In this lesson, I’m going to be using the
names of each verb tense, but the only reason
I’m going to do that is because, when you
find a verb tense that’s a little bit tricky
for you, I want you to simply search on YouTube
“future continuous lesson in English.”
Okay?
Having a name for the verb tense just helps
you to find more information about it so that
you can study it a little bit deeper.
Having said that, let’s take a deep breath
and get started with the first quiz question.
When I was little I and with my sister every
day.
“When I was little, I had played and had fought
with my sister every day.”
Or, “When I was little, I played and fought
with my sister every day.”
What do you think is the correct answer?
I’ll give you three seconds and choose which
one you think is the best.
Three, two, one.
The correct answer is, “When I was little,
I played and fought with my sister every day.”
This is the past simple.
It’s simply something that happened in the
past.
Let’s not make it more complicated than that.
“When I was younger, I played and fought with
my sister.”
Fought is the past tense of the verb “to fight.”
This is the past simple.
Let’s go to the second question.
“Do you coffee every day?
Do you drink coffee every day?
Do you drank coffee every day?”
Which one of these feels the best in your
heart?
Search within yourself.
I’ll give you three seconds.
Three, two, one.
“Do you drink coffee every day?”
This is the present simple.
We use this for habits, things that are regular
in our lives.
I drink tea every morning.
I do not drink coffee every morning.
So here, we’re going to use the present simple.
I drink.
What about you?
What’s something that you do every day.
Can you just use the present simple in that
sentence?
Give it a try question.
Number three.
“When we again?
When will we travel again?
When are we going to travel again?”
Which one feels the best to you?
I’ll give you three seconds.
Three, two, one.
This is a trick question.
I’m sorry, but not really sorry because that’s
fun.
There are two correct answers.
“When will we travel again?
When are we going to travel again?”
This is the future simple.
We use both will and going to, to talk about
simple things that are going to happen in
the future.
It’s not more complicated than that.
That’s why it’s called the simple future.
It’s something that’s going to happen in the
future.
Before we go on to the fourth question, let’s
review all of the simple verbs.
I want you to say them out loud with me.
Are you ready?
Let’s say them.
I drank yesterday.
I drink today.
I will drink tomorrow.
I’m going to drink tomorrow.
You played yesterday.
You play today.
You will play tomorrow.
You are going to play tomorrow.
Question number four.
“They down the street when it started raining.
They were running down the street when it
started raining.
They ran down the street when it started raining.”
which one feels the best in your heart?
Three, two, what?
“They were running down the street when it
started raining.”
This is the past continuous, and a continuous
tense always uses -ing, were running, and
it’s talking about a continuing action in
the past.
Usually, we use this when a continuing action
in the past is interrupted by something else.
So, here we have some people who were running
down the street and what happened to interrupt
that action?
Boom!
It started raining.
So here, we’re going to say they were running
down the street.
Boom!
When it started raining.
I also want you to take a nice deep breath.
We are diving into some of the more complex
verb tenses, but do you know what?
I don’t want you to get hung up on the specific
rules of all the different verb tenses.
This phrasal verb “to get hung up on something,”
means that you’re so obsessed with something
that you stop doing other things.
So, what I want you to do is I don’t want
you to get hung up on specific rules of verb
tenses, because probably this will stop you
from speaking, and the goal of language is
to use it, to write with some friends, to
speak with some people.
You want to be able to use this, so don’t
get hung up on specific rules.
Instead, take a deep breath.
Don’t worry about the specificness of it and
instead enjoy it, and let’s move on.
Question number five.
“I, the verb tenses in this video.
I have studied the verb tenses in this video.
Or, I am studying the verb tenses in this
video.”
Which one feels the most correct to you?
Which one is the most correct?
Three, two, one.
Technically, both of these are grammatically
correct, but only one of them is contextually
correct.
Right now you are watching this video.
So, what does that mean?
We need to use, “I am studying the verb tenses
in this video,” because that’s something that’s
happening right this moment.
So, we’re going to use the present continuous.
It’s an action that is continuing in the present.
Right now, I am studying the verb tenses in
this video.
It is true for this moment.
It’s something that you’re doing.
Question number six.
“I, at the conference next week.”
Is it, “I will be speaking at the conference
next week,” or, “I’m going to be speaking
at the conference week”?
Which one do you think is the best?
Three, two, one.
I hope you didn’t get tricked by this verb.
Both of these are correct.
This is the future continuous.
We use this when something will happen in
the future, specifically for an expected length
of time.
So, it’s something that will happen next week,
and then it will last for one hour.
I will be speaking at the conference for one
hour next week.
I’m going to be speaking at the conference.
Just a quick note, because this is used with
actions that can happen for an expected length
of time, you need to use an action verb.
You cannot use other verbs.
For example, you cannot say, “I will be being
at the conference next week.”
That doesn’t work.
If you’re going to talk about being at the
conference, we would just say, “I will be
at the conference next week.”
Simple.
But if you want to use an action verb, you
could say, “I will be going to the conference
next week.
I will be speaking at the conference next
week.”
Great.
Before we go on to the next test questions,
let’s review the continuous tenses.
I want you to speak these sentences out loud.
Use your pronunciation muscles.
You can do it.
Let’s say them.
They were running.
They are running.
They will be running.
They are going to be running.
I was studying.
I am studying.
I will be studying.
I am going to be studying.
Test question number seven.
“He three languages by the time he was 10
years old.
He will learn three languages by the time
he was 10 years old.
He had learned three languages by the time
he was 10 years old.”
Which one feels the most correct here?
Three, two, one.
In the sentence, we need to say he had learned
three languages by the time he was 10 years
old.
This is the past perfect.
All perfect tenses use some form of “to have”
in their verb tense, and the past perfect
is going to be used when something happened
in the past before something else in the past.
So here, our key indicator is the end of the
sentence, “before he was 10 years old.”
So, at the moment, this boy is more than 10
years old, and this is something that happened
in the past.
He had learned three languages before he was
10 years old.
Recently, there was a big storm where I live,
and during this storm, there was a lot of
wind and the wind pushed one of our trees
over.
It’s bent.
It’s not broken.
It’s not cracked in any way, but it’s bent.
It’s very strange.
I hope it will correct itself, I’m not sure
if it will.
You can see in this picture here, it’s kind
of a weird situation.
I’m not sure if this had happened before we
moved here.
Maybe this had happened in the past, during
other storms, but I’ve only lived in this
house for one year, so I don’t know.
Maybe this had happened before I moved here.
I’m using this past perfect tense to talk
about something in the past with another action
in the past.
So, before we moved here, well, maybe this
had happened.
So, this was something in the past before
another action in the past.
Question number eight.
“You, me 20 times in the past hour.
Is something wrong?
You have called me 20 times in the past hour.
Is something wrong?
You had called me 20 times in the past hour.
Is something wrong?
Which one feels the best to you?
Three, two, one.
You have called me 20 times in the past hour.
Is something wrong?
This is the present perfect.
“Have,” that’s our indicator that it’s a perfect
tense, “have called me.”
This is something that’s happened in the past,
but it’s connected to the present.
Let’s take a look at another example.
“Do you want coffee?”
“No.
I’ve had coffee already.”
This contraction “I’ve” really is, “I have
had coffee already.”
So, in the past, I drank coffee, but this
is connected to the present because someone
is asking me if I want more coffee.
So, I’m going to say, “No, I’ve had coffee
already.”
It’s a past action that is still connected
to the present.
Test question number nine.
“Don’t worry.
I, the project way before the deadline.
Don’t worry.
I will have finished the project way before
the deadline.
Don’t worry.
I’m going to have finished the project way
before the deadline.”
Which one feels the best to you?
Three, two, one.
I hope you weren’t tricked because both of
these are not correct.
Oh, English.
Why are you so strange sometimes?
In this situation, we’re only going to use
“I will have finished.”
I’m not exactly sure why we don’t say “I’m
going to have finished.”
Maybe it’s because it’s a little bit wordy.
It’s so many words together.
“I’m going to have finished.”
So, instead, we’ll stick with, “I will have
finished.”
Or you can make it the contraction, “I’ll
have finished the project before the deadline.”
This is the future perfect, so we’re going
to use have here.
“I will have finished the project.”
And we use this for something that’s going
to be completed in the future before something
else in the future.
So, we have a deadline.
Maybe the deadline is 5:00 PM.
Okay, well, right now, it’s 11:00 AM.
So, I only have a couple hours to finish the
project.
But if I assume that I’m going to finish the
project at 3:00 PM, I can say, “Don’t worry.
I’ll have finished the project way before
the deadline.
You’ll have two hours to spare.”
Okay, great.
This is an action in the future that’s happening
before another action in the future.
Before we go on to our final quiz questions,
let’s review the perfect verb tenses.
I want you to say these sentences out loud
with me, exercise those pronunciation muscles
and speak out loud.
Let’s go.
He had learned three languages before the
age of five.
He has learned three languages in his life.
He will have learned three languages before
he turns five.
I had finished the project before the meeting.
I have finished the project for the meeting.
I will have finished the project before the
meeting.
Quiz question number 10.
“I, for two hours before my baby woke up.
I have been sleeping for two hours before
my baby woke up.
I had been sleeping for two hours before my
baby woke up.”
Hmm.
Which one feels the most correct?
If you have ever had a baby, you know what
this is like, waking up every couple hours
in the middle of the night.
It’s tough, but it’s only a short period of
time.
Which verb tense feels the best for this sentence?
Three, two, one.
“I had been sleeping for two hours when my
baby woke up.”
This is the past perfect continuous.
This is combining a lot of things that we’ve
already talked about.
It is a continued action in the past.
We know that because there’s -ing had been
sleeping.
Sleeping has that -ing.
That’s a continuous.
And then, do you see a version of, to have
here?
Yep.
I had been sleeping.
So, that means that it’s going to be a perfect
tense.
That’s why we call it the past perfect continuous.
I had been sleeping.
And we use this for something that’s happening
in the past that’s interrupted by something
else that’s happening in the past.
So, it’s something continuous, “I had been
sleeping, boom, until my baby woke up.”
So, this happens quite frequently.
Every night, in fact.
Hopefully not for too much longer, but I had
been sleeping for two hours, boom, when my
baby woke up.
Quiz question number 11.
“It feels like you, this lesson for only five
minutes.
Time flies when you’re having fun.
It feels like you have been teaching this
lesson for only five minutes.
Or, It feels like you had been teaching this
lesson for only five minutes.”
Which one’s the best?
Three, two, one.
“It feels like you have been teaching this
lesson for only five minutes.
Time flies when you’re having to fun.”
This is going to be the present perfect continuous.
We have an -ing verb, teaching, which shows
us it’s continuous, and then there is the
verb “have” at the beginning, and that’s going
to tell us it’s a perfect tense.
When do we use this present?
Perfect.
Continuous.
We use this when there’s an action in the
past that’s continuing in the present.
This video didn’t just start.
You’ve been watching this video for a while.
So, we could say that it has been going on.
“Has” is the present, been going on for a
little while now.
Thank you for your patience and for your interest
in English.
So, we’re going to use the present perfect
continuous in action from the past that’s
continuing in the present.
Are you ready for our final quiz question,
number 12?
All right.
“In December, 2020, I, YouTube videos for
five years.
In December, 2020, I will have been making
YouTube videos for five years.
In December, 2020, I am going to have been
making YouTube videos for five years.”
Which one feels the most correct?
Are you going to get tricked?
Let’s see.
Three, two, one.
I hope you were not tricked because the same
rule applies that we talked about before.
The correct answer is, “In December, 2020
will have been made YouTube videos for five
years.”
Why don’t we say, “I am going to have been
making”?
Holy cow.
That is such a mouthful of words.
“I am going to have been making.”
That is so many verbs.
It is too wordy.
Let’s stick with will.
“I will have been making.”
This is the future perfect continuous.
Do you see that -ing verb, making?
And then the have verb, “I will have,” that
indicates it’s a perfect tense and a continuous
tense, and it is in the future.
We generally use the future perfect continuous
when an action is continuing in the future
for a specific period of time.
So, that’s why I said for five years.
I will have been making YouTube videos for
five years.
That’s not true right now.
Right now, it’s only been four and a half
years.
But when we talk about the future, December,
2020, is when I will have been making YouTube
videos for five years.
Okay.
Let’s practice the perfect continuous verbs.
I want you to say them out loud with me.
Let’s go.
I had been sleeping for two hours when I woke
up.
I have been sleeping for only two hours.
Go back to sleep.
I will have been sleeping for only two hours
when my baby wakes up.
You had been studying this lesson for 20 minutes
when your dog barked.
You have been studying this lesson for 20
minutes.
You will have been studying this lesson for
over 20 minutes soon.
Wowie!
Great work using all 12 verb tenses.
Take a deep breath.
Congratulate yourself.
You did it.
I know that this is a lot to learn, but like
I mentioned before, it is way better to have
general knowledge about all of the verb tenses
and use English than to remember every single
little rule, but then not speak because you’re
too afraid of using the incorrect verb tense.
So, please take this as some extra knowledge
in your English toolbox and use English.
Did you notice that I didn’t use any modal
verbs in this quiz?
Words like could, would, and should are like
royalty.
They can’t be with other regular verbs.
They deserve their own video.
So, I recommend checking out this quiz up
here about how to use modal verbs, like could,
would, and should.
And now, I have a question for you.
What was your score on this quiz, and which
verb tense was the most difficult for you?
Whichever one was the most difficult, I challenge
you to try to create your own sentence in
the comments using that verb tense.
Write it, read it out loud, and try to use
it the next time that you speak English.
Well, thank you so much for learning English
with me, and I’ll see you again next Friday
for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel.
Bye.
The next step is to download my free ebook,
Five Steps to Becoming A Confident English
Speaker.
You’ll learn what you need to do to speak
confidently and fluently.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel
for more free lessons.
Thanks so much.
Bye.