Learn ALL Tenses in English: The Complete Course

Hello, everyone, and welcome to  this epic grammar video! This is  

your chance to learn all of the tenses in English.

This is basically like a full English  course. It's going to be really long,  

so grab a tea or a coffee and settle in.

I have put a quiz in the middle  to keep you on your toes.

But I understand some of you might put  this video on whilst doing something else.

I think that's a great idea. It's  better than doing nothing. But that is  

also why I have created an epic  ebook to go with this course.

It contains all of the information from  every lesson that you're going to watch,  

plus exercises to help you  practise what you've learned.

You can download it for free, and I will  also give you my B1 to C1 ebook for free  

that contains an overview of all of the  tenses you need to know at each level—B1,  

B2, and C1—plus lots of other  grammatical structures, vocabulary,  

and even some pronunciation. To receive  both of these amazing ebooks for free,

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Okay, firstly, we're going to  talk about the perfect tenses,  

from the present perfect simple  to the future perfect continuous.

Are you ready?

Today's lesson is truly perfect. We're going to  cover the perfect tenses. As I have heard you loud  

and clear, these are the tenses that you struggle  most with. Don't worry, it's not your fault! I  

often feel frustrated when I see lessons on the  perfect tenses or explanations in grammar books.

I don't feel like they're clear enough. In  this video, I'm going to teach you how to  

use the perfect tenses, and you will probably  find that the way I explain them is different  

from how you've been taught before. I promise  you that when you're done with this lesson,  

you're going to feel much more confident  about how to use the past, present,  

and future perfect simple tenses in 3 key ways.

Okay, back to the perfect tenses. Or  should I say the perfect aspect. I  

don't normally talk about tense versus  aspect in my videos, but I think it's  

important and useful to mention it today.  We only have 2 tenses in English—present:

'I go, she goes' and—past: 'I went, she went'.  Aspects add information about the way we view a  

verb. For example, an aspect can show whether  an action is complete or continuing. When we  

use the perfect aspect, we look back from  a certain point in time to another point  

in time. I'm going to explain lots more about  this, and I will give you lots of examples.

I am going to refer to them as  the perfect tenses from now on,  

because I think that's the name most of  you are familiar with. We don't have to  

overcomplicate this. So let's talk about  how we form the perfect tenses. The present  

perfect simple and the past perfect simple  have very similar forms. We form positive  

sentences in the present perfect simple with  subject + 'have' or 'has' + past participle.

And we form the past perfect simple with  subject + 'had' + past participle. 'I have  

been to London.' 'I had been to London.' To form  negative sentences, we add 'not' after 'have',  

'has' or 'had'. For example—'She has not been to  London,' 'She had not been to London'. And to form  

questions, we invert the subject and 'have',  'has', or 'had'. 'Had she been to London.'

We form positive sentences in the future  perfect simple with subject + 'will have' + past  

participle. 'I will have been to London.' To  form negative sentences, we add 'not' after  

'will'. 'I will not have been to London.' And to  form questions, we invert the subject and 'will'.  

'Will they have been to London?' In speech and  in formal writing we often use contractions.  

'Have' is often contracted to—'ve—apostrophe 've',  and 'has' is often contracted to apostrophe 's',  

pronounced /s/ or /z/ depending on whether  an unvoiced or voiced sound comes before it.

For example—'I've been to London', 'He's  been to London', 'Pat's been to London'.  

In negative sentences, we usually  contract 'have not' to 'haven't',  

and 'has not' to 'hasn't'. 'You haven't been to  London?' 'She hasn't been to London.' 'Had' is  

often contracted to apostrophe 'd'. 'He'd  been to London.' In negative sentences,  

'had not' is often contracted to  'hadn't'. 'We hadn't been to London.'

'Will' is often contracted to apostrophe  'll'. 'They'll have been to London.' Notice  

that I pronounce 'have' as /əv/ when I'm  speaking quickly. 'They'll have been to  

London.' And 'will not' is usually contracted  to 'won't'. 'I won't have been to London.' Okay,  

now all of that's out of the way, let's talk  about the uses of the perfect tenses. In very  

general terms, we use the present perfect  simple to look back from the present time.

We use the past perfect simple to look  back from a point in the past. And we  

use the future perfect simple to look  back from a point in the future. It  

all makes sense. Let's talk about the 3  key uses. First—life experiences. We use  

the perfect simple tenses to talk about life  experiences up to a specific point in time.

We don't say exactly when these life experiences  happened. When we use a perfect tense,  

we use the present perfect simple to talk about  life experiences up to now. The experiences  

happened in the past, but we are looking at  them from the present. For example—'I have  

been to New York.' That means at some point  in my life up to now, I went to New York.

You don't know when exactly, you know  it was before the present time and this  

event is completed. I am no longer in New York.

We can use the past perfect simple to talk about  

life experiences that happened  before a point in the past.

For example—'I had been to New York by  the time I was 25.' In this example,  

the point from which we are looking  back is age 25, and the sentence tells  

you that before I was 25, I went to New  York. We use the future perfect simple  

to talk about life experiences that will be  complete by a specific point in the future.

Here's that same example again—'I will have  been to New York by the time I'm 35.' Age 35  

for me is in the future. This sentence tells us  that before I am 35, I will visit New York. You  

don't know when, but the action of visiting  New York will happen before I'm 35. Okay,  

the next use I want to talk about is  four unfinished states and actions.

We can use the perfect tenses to talk  about states and actions that begin  

before a point in time and continue up to  that point. This usage often tells us the  

duration of the action up to a certain  point. We can sometimes use the perfect  

simple or perfect continuous tenses when  talking about how long something lasts.

We use the present perfect simple to talk  about states or actions that began in the  

past and continue to the present. We don't  know if they will continue in the future.  

Here is an example—'I have lived in Manchester for  

5 years.' I started living in Manchester  5 years ago and I still live there now.

We use the past perfect simple to talk about  states or actions that began in the past and  

continued up to a later point in the  past. 'I had lived in Manchester for  

5 years by the time I was 23.' This means that  I started living in Manchester when I was 18,  

and I still lived there when  I was 23, 5 years later.

You don't know if I continued living there after  that. That's not clear in this sentence. We use  

the future perfect simple to talk about  states and actions that will continue to  

a point in the future. 'I will have lived in  Manchester for 5 years by the time I'm 33.'  

In this sentence, the starting point  for living in Manchester is age 28,  

which is in the past. Five years later I  will be 33 and still living in Manchester.

Okay, time for the final use. I'm calling this  use consequences. Consequences! We can use the  

perfect simple tenses to talk about things that  happened before a point in time but are relevant  

at that point. It's like talking about the  consequences of an action or event. We use the  

present perfect simple to talk about an event  that happened in the past but is important in  

the present. For example—'I've been out every  night this week, so I'm really tired today.'

That's a past action with a present consequence. I  was out every night up to now and I am tired now.  

We use the past perfect simple to talk about an  event that happened in the past that was important  

at a later date in the past. For example—'I'd been  out every night that week, so I was really tired.'

A past action with a past consequence. I  went out every night of a week in the past,  

and the next day I was tired. Both  of those events are in the past.  

And the future perfect simple. We use  the future perfect simple to talk about  

something that will happen before a point in the  future that will be relevant at a later time.

For example—'I will have been out every night that  week, so I will be really tired.' It's a future  

action with a likely future consequence. I will  go out every night for a week in the future and  

then I will be tired. Okay, that is everything  I want to say about the perfect tenses today.

Okay, that was a perfect lesson right? Now,  you've already heard a lot of information,  

so I definitely think you need my  tenses ebook to help you remember it.

And, of course, when you get that,  you also get my B1 to C1 ebook.

Just click on the link in the description box.

Okay, are you ready for the next tenses? We are  

going to dive into the present  perfect simple and continuous.

Today, I have got a grammar lesson for you. We  are going to be looking at two very similar and  

confusing tenses. I know that a lot of my students  struggle with these. Take a look at these two  

sentences: 'I have lived in England for 3 years.'  'I have been living in England for 3 years.'

Do they mean the same thing? Today, we are looking  

at the present perfect and the present  perfect continuous. In some situations,  

they mean the same thing, and in other  situations, they mean different things.

We use the present perfect and the present  perfect continuous for both finished and  

unfinished actions. Let's take a quick look at  how we form them before we start comparing them.

So, the present perfect is 'have/has' + the past  participle. 'I have worked.' The negative—'have'  

and 'has' + 'not' + the past participle.  'I have not worked.' And, as a question,  

'have or has' + the subject + the past participle.  'Have I worked?' Now, let's take a look at how  

we form the present perfect continuous. The  positive is 'have' or 'has' + 'been' + verb -ing.

'I have been working.' The negative—we just  put in a 'not'. 'Has' or 'have', 'not', 'been',  

verb -ing. 'I have not been working.' And as  a question, we have—'has' or 'have' + subject  

+ 'been' + a verb -ing. 'Have I been working?'  It's important to note that we cannot use the  

present perfect continuous with stative verbs.  Stative verbs don't refer to a physical action.

They express something that is permanent. They  express a state or a condition. 'To like.'  

'To love.' 'To believe.' 'To know.' 'To  understand.' You can say—'I've known her  

for years.' You cannot say—'I've been knowing  her for years.' You can say—'I've been here for  

a while.' You cannot say—'I've been being  here for a while.' Just so that's clear.

We can use the present perfect and the present  perfect continuous to talk about actions,  

unfinished actions that started in  the past and are still true now.  

We often use them with 'since' and 'for'. 'I  have lived in England for 3 years.' 'I have been  

studying English since 2003.' 'I've been studying  English since 2017.' Now, sometimes, especially  

with the verbs 'study', 'live' and 'work', there  is no real difference in meaning between the two.

'I've lived in England for 3 years.' 'I've been  living in England for 3 years.' They mean the  

same thing. 'I've studied English since 2017.'  'I've been studying English since 2017.' Again,  

they mean the same thing. 'She has worked here  for 6 months.' 'She has been working here for 6  

months.' Once again, they mean the same thing.  So, I hope that clears up some of your doubts.

Unfortunately, sometimes there is a difference  in meaning between these 2 tenses, the present  

perfect and the present perfect continuous.  I'm going to discuss 4 situations where there  

is a difference in meaning. Number 1—the  present perfect continuous can be used to  

emphasise the amount or length of time that has  passed, whereas the present perfect is generally  

neutral. It might sound complicated,  but take a look at these 2 sentences.

'She's been working for hours!' 'She has  worked for hours.' 'She's been working!'  

Shows more emphasis about the hours that  have passed. It's a very subtle difference,  

but it's there. The second situation,  the present perfect is commonly used to  

talk about how much or how many, but  this is impossible with the present  

perfect continuous. Let me show you: 'She has  eaten three pieces of toast this morning.'

That sentence is perfectly fine. Let's try  it with the present perfect continuous. 'She  

has been eating 3 pieces of toast this  morning.' It doesn't work. You can't  

use it. 'He's drunk 7 cups of coffee  this morning,'—I hope not, poor guy.  

You cannot say—'He has been drinking 7 cups of  coffee this morning.' It has to be the present

perfect when talking about how much or how  many. Let's take a look at the third situation.  

The present perfect continuous often focuses on  the action itself, whereas the present perfect  

focus is on the completion of the action. Again,  it's much easier to see this written out than  

to listen to an explanation. So, I'll give you  some examples. Take a look at these 2 sentences:

'I've been watching the TV series you  recommended.' 'I've watched the TV  

series you recommended.' With the first one—'I've  

been watching'—I'm showing that I am still  watching it. I haven't finished the action yet,  

whereas with the second one—'I've watched,'  I'm telling you that I have finished  

watching it. Sometimes, it's not quite as  obvious. 'She's been seeing a therapist.'

'She's seen a therapist.' With—'She's been  seeing'—it implies that her treatment is ongoing;  

she's still seeing that therapist. 'She's  seen a therapist' means she's seen one,  

and now she may have stopped seeing one,  

or her treatment has ended. Another thing  to note is that, with the present perfect,  

we can use 'yet' and 'already'. I know lots  of you struggle with 'for', 'since' 'yet',

and 'already'. We've discussed 'for' for  instance—now, 'yet' and 'already'. 'I have  

seen the film already', or 'I've already seen  the film'. You can put 'already' at the end,  

or you can put it between 'have' or 'has'  and the participle. 'I have already seen.'  

A common mistake that I hear is—'I have  seen already the film.' That doesn't quite,  

we would understand you, but  it doesn't quite sound right.

And 'yet', this goes at the end. 'Have you  seen the film yet?' 'No, I haven't seen it  

yet.' You can put 'yet' between 'have', 'has'  and the participle: 'I haven't yet seen it',  

but it sounds quite old-fashioned. 'I  haven't yet gone.' 'I haven't yet seen  

it.' It sounds nice; it sounds very formal and  old-fashioned. Like you'd read in an old book.

In the question form, it doesn't sound right at  all. 'Have you yet seen the film?' No, don't use  

that. Sometimes we use the difference between the  present perfect and the present perfect continuous  

to talk about different kinds of results in the  present. Again, it's much easier to see this in  

an example, so I will provide those. 'I've done  all of my chores, so I can come out tonight.'

We use the present perfect when the result comes  from the action being finished. I can come out  

tonight because I've finished my chores;  it's completed. 'I've been doing my chores,  

so I'm exhausted.' We use the present perfect  continuous when the result comes from doing the  

action itself. I am exhausted from carrying  out all of my chores. Another example—'I've  

prepared a big dinner, so you can come over.'

'I've been preparing a big dinner, so all  of my pans are dirty.' My pans are dirty  

as a result of the preparation, but you can  come over because I've finished preparing  

the dinner. In the first example, with the  present perfect, you can come over because  

I've finished preparing my dinner. In the second  example, with the present perfect continuous,  

all of my pans are dirty because of  the preparation of my dinner—the action 

of doing it. Finally, we can use the present  perfect continuous to talk about situations that  

aren't permanent, things that are not usual.  'I've been sleeping badly.' I don't normally  

sleep badly, but recently I've been sleeping  badly. 'Normally, I buy lunch at the canteen,  

but I've been bringing lunch from home.'  'I've been getting up early to work out.'

I don't usually do this, but  recently I have been doing this.

So now, you've learned the  differences between those  

tenses. I want to test your knowledge with a quiz.

To do that. Download the  giant ebook I've made for you.

I've built quizzes into it.

Now, I think it's time to look  to the future. Or is it? The next  

lesson explains how to talk about the future  and whether we need to use future tenses.

You're probably a bit shocked by the title  and the thumbnail. Do you mean there's no  

future tense? Why should I stop using it? I'm  going to talk about the future tense. Are you  

intrigued? Well, just saying, the future  tense is considered incorrect. Why? Well,  

because there's no such thing as the  future tense in English. I know—mind-blown.

If you look in most grammar books, you'll  likely see a section named something like  

'talking about the future' and  not 'future tenses'. In fact,  

there are only 2 tenses in English—the present and  the past. These tenses are then further divided  

into aspects like continuous and perfect. We  tend to call each tense + aspect = a tense.

For example, the present perfect tense or the  past continuous tense. It's just simpler to  

think about them like this, and it's probably what  you've been taught at school and all through your  

English learning journey. Anyway, back to the  future. A key feature in English tenses is verb  

inflection. In the present tense, for instance,  we add 's' to third person singular verbs,  

and in the past tense, regular verbs often get an  -ed suffix. For example—'like', 'likes', 'liked'.

However, the future differs from the present  in past tenses in a significant way. We don't  

have a specific verb inflection to indicate  it, so there's no future tense technically.  

But I think it's so much easier to think  about the future as a tense in the same  

way as you think of the present and  past tenses. So I'm taking a stand.

This video is about the future tenses, and I'm  going to explain how you can use them in English.

Right, let's start with Will. 'Will' is a  very handsome man and is also a modal verb  

that can be used to talk about the future.  We use it in what we call the future simple,  

future continuous, future perfect simple  and the future perfect continuous.

The future simple—we have 'will' + base  verb. We use the future simple to make  

predictions. We also use it to talk about  decisions made at the moment of speaking,  

and we use it to make offers and promises. 'It  will be a wonderful party. I just know it.'  

'The dog's getting a bit boisterous. I'll walk  him.' The contraction there—'I will', 'I'll'.

And—'I'll get you another size to try  on.' Okay, let's move to the future  

continuous. This is 'will' + 'be' + -ing  verb. We use the future continuous to talk  

about temporary actions and events that  will be in progress at a time later than  

now. For example—'This time tomorrow, we will be  sitting down to dinner at my dream restaurant',  

or—'I'll be walking to work tomorrow,  as my car is at the mechanic's'.

The future perfect simple—'will' + have  + the past participle. We use the future  

perfect simple to talk about events that  will be finished at a certain time later  

than now. It's like we walk into the  future and then turn around and look  

back. I don't normally show you the back of  my head. Do you want to know how I do this

amazing knot. Maybe I'll show you one day,  I have to do a lesson on hair. By the way,  

we don't typically call this a 'knot'. We call  this a 'bun'. A 'knot' is not something you want  

to know. Some examples—'We will definitely have  arrived by 7 pm,' or 'They'll have already eaten  

before they come round, so  we don't need to feed them'.

And the future perfect continuous—'will' + 'have  been' + -ing verb. We use the future perfect  

continuous to emphasise the duration of an event  that will be happening at a time later than now.  

It's similar to the future perfect simple in that  we look back from a time in the future. Again,  

another opportunity to show my bun. For  example—'In 6 months' time, we will have been  

working here for 7 years,' or 'By this time next  week, I will have been travelling for 4 months.

A quick note about the future perfect  simple and continuous here. With some verbs,  

you can use either tense with no change  in meaning. One of those verbs is 'work'.  

Take a look! 'In 6 months' time, we will have  worked here for 7 years.' 'In 6 months' time,  

we will have been working here for 7 years.' They  mean pretty much the same thing in the future

perfect continuous. There is more of a feeling  of emphasis on just how long you've worked there,  

but you really can use either. Other verbs like  this include 'live', 'play', and 'teach'. However,  

with lots of verbs like 'read', you can't use them  interchangeably. For example—'By tomorrow night,  

I will have been reading this book for 2 months.'  This means that you won't have finished the book  

and you simply cannot replace, 'will  have been reading' with 'will have read'.

It's not an ongoing action. If you did, the  sentence would not be grammatically correct  

because 'will have read' means you will be  finished reading, but you are not. Okay, those  

are your 4 future tenses. Sorry grammar police!  There are of course other ways to talk about the  

future apart from 'will'. And we're going to  look at them now using my Wheel of Fortune.

Or actually, I should call it my  Wheel of Future. As you can see,  

we have 'will' in one corner, which  I've already talked about, below that,  

we have 'to be going to'. And the structure  there is 'be going to' + base verb. We used  

'to be going to' in 2 main ways—to make  predictions based on present evidence.

For example—'John is so drunk! He's going  to have a terrible hangover tomorrow,' or  

to talk about plans and intentions. 'I'm  going to spend the day at home tomorrow,  

just chilling.' When the verb  in the infinitive is 'go',  

we often shorten the sentence 'I'm going (to go)  shopping later'. Just get rid of 'to go'. Now,  

this looks like the present continuous, which is  actually the next tense on my Wheel of Future.

We use the present continuous to talk about plans  and arrangements. Yeah, plans again. We're making  

plans for the future. There is often little  difference between the present continuous and  

'to be going to' when we're talking about plans.  However, when we use the present continuous,  

we have made a firm decision to do something.  And what do I mean by a firm decision?

It usually means I know exactly what I'm  doing, where, when and with whom. Often,  

but not always. We have arranged to  do something. Look at these examples:  

'I am having lunch with my friend Claire  tomorrow,'—that's an arrangement. 'We're  

spending the summer on a yacht in Croatia.'  Probably booked, but if not very definitely  

happening. You could say—'We're going to  spend the summer on a yacht in Croatia.'

This is a plan, but it's less likely that you've  booked it. It feels just slightly less certain  

than when we use the present continuous.  We don't use the present continuous to  

make predictions when an event is outside of  our control. 'The sky is so dark it's going  

to rain in a few minutes.' We don't say—'It's  raining in a few minutes'—because the weather,  

unfortunately, is not in my control or yours,  but especially in British people's control.

It's just not. We just have no control over  the weather. It is one of the worst things of  

living in Britain. Every picnic ruined.  Every wedding. Look how British I am,  

just talking about the weather. By the way,  I'm doing something very, very British here,  

which is complaining about the weather. And  I've just said it's not in my control, yet

here I am again. I like the weather ruined  my summer this year. It can't happen  

again. Anyway, back to the lesson. Back to the  present continuous. We also don't use it to talk  

about permanent situations in the future. 'We are  going to live in the countryside for the rest of  

our lives.' We wouldn't say—'We are living in  the countryside for the rest of our lives.'

'We are going to live.' And finally, I want to  talk about the present simple. Another tense that,  

rather confusingly, we use to talk about  the future. We use the present simple to  

talk about timetabled or scheduled events.  'Our plane leaves at 2:10 tomorrow morning.'  

'The exam finishes at 7, so pick me up  then.' Right, those are the 4 future  

tenses and some different ways we can talk  about the future using other structures.

What do you think? Do you find it easier  to think of the future as a tense? Maybe  

you disagree with me and that's absolutely  fine. I'm open to hearing your opinions. Just  

leave them in the comments and everyone  just be nice to each other, please.

Yeah, that's right! There is technically no  such thing as the future tense in English.

If that was news to you, I'm  guessing you need to recap  

that video by reading the future section  in the ebook that goes with this lesson.

Okay, we've talked about quite  a few tenses already, but

you might be wondering which tenses are  the most important to learn in English?

Well, the next video has the answer. Did you  know that 5 tenses make up 90% of English?

Seriously, one of the 5 tenses is the  present simple. But what are the others?

Watch to find out!

I have got such an exciting video for you  because now there are various studies,  

various claims, but the general consensus is  that 92 up to 95% of all written and spoken  

English is done in just 5 grammar tenses. So  what are we going to do today? We are going  

to go through those 5 grammar tenses, so that  you can get that little bit closer to fluency.

We're going to improve your grammar, fluency  and accuracy in the most efficient way possible.

Okay, let's start this amazingly efficient grammar  lesson by reviewing the English verb tenses. So,  

technically, there are only 3  tenses—the present, the past,  

and the future. But we have 4 different  aspects within these tenses—the simple,  

the continuous, the perfect simple and the  perfect continuous. When we combine these 4  

aspects with the 3 verb tenses, we get what  we typically refer to as the 12 verb tenses.

Some people like to include  the conditionals in the tenses,  

I don't. You'll hear some people say there are  16 tenses. I like to set the conditionals apart.  

Let's have a look at each one really  quickly just to refresh our memories.  

The present simple is used for general  truths, habits and permanent situations.  

The present continuous is used for actions  happening now or around the present moment.

The present perfect is used for past actions with  a connection to the present or for experiences.  

And the present perfect continuous is used for  actions that started in the past and are ongoing  

up to the present. Now the pasts—the past simple  is used to talk about completed actions in the  

past, the past continuous is used for actions that  were in progress at a specific time in the past.

The past perfect is used for actions completed  before a specific time in the past, and the  

past perfect continuous is used for actions that  started in the past, continued and were completed  

before another past event. Don't worry, we'll  look at some of these in more detail. And finally,  

the future. We have the future simple used  for actions that will happen in the future.

The future continuous use for actions  that will be in progress at a specific  

time in the future. The future perfect  used for actions that will be completed  

before a specific time in the future.  And the future perfect continuous  

used for actions that will start in the future,  continue and be completed before another future  

event. Okay, that's a lot of information to  remember and I covered it very, very briefly.

Don't worry, we're going to go deeper. I  know a lot of English learners struggle  

with deciding which verb tense to use in  a given situation. Well, lucky for you,  

not all verb tenses are created equal. Let's  go ahead and look at this beautiful chart  

I made to see which are the 5 most commonly used  verb tenses in both spoken and written English.

Okay, time for the big reveal, our most  common verb tense making up nearly 60% of  

all English communication is—drumroll—the  present simple. We then have that followed  

by the past simple at close to 20%,  then the future simple at around 8%.

So that's 3 tenses, making nearly 88% of the  entire usage according to certain studies.  

Then we have the present perfect simple  at around 6% and present continuous at  

5%. And then we have this tiny sliver of pie  that contains the other 7 verb tenses. Now,  

if you're good at maths, you'll notice that's  99% for all of those tenses. In the title,

I say 90% because I don't 100% trust those  numbers. But don't let this chart fool  

you. Each and every verb tense has its time and  place, but for general day to day conversations,  

these 5 are going to be your bread and butter. So,  

let's go ahead and see how you can start using  each of these tenses to the best of your ability.

As you just learned, the present simple makes  up a large portion of daily communication and  

rightfully so. We live in the present, after  all. Let's look at some of the most common  

uses of the present simple. Firstly, we use  it to talk about facts and statements that  

are always true. 'Most people prefer to  shop online,' or 'The supermarket is busy

on Saturday mornings'. We  also use it for statements  

that are true in the present. 'You are my best  friend, Jasmine,' or 'I can't bake to save my  

life—look at this cake'. You can just show a  really rubbish cake. And we also use it for  

routine actions or habits in the present,  often used with an adverb of frequency.

'Do you always bike to work,' or 'I never  see her in yoga class these days'. We use  

it to refer to scheduled events in the  future. 'Carmine's holiday officially  

starts on the 5th of October,' or 'My stag do  kicks off at 10 pm at Boots and Brews'. And  

the last one I'll mention today—we use  it to give directions or instructions.

'Mix the flour and water together to create  a thick paste,' or 'To get to the bookshop,  

walk down to the corner and take a left'.  As you can probably tell from our examples,  

these kinds of statements and questions make  up a large portion of our daily conversations,  

so it's no wonder why the present simple topped  our list. Next up, we have the past simple.

Of course, this is the second most used  verb tense because we use it to talk about  

completed actions in the past, and we sure  do love to talk about the past. Look at a  

news article or pick up your favourite  book. Most of them rely heavily on the  

past simple tense. Let's go ahead and look  at some uses of this very versatile tense.

It's commonly used to describe actions that  occurred at a specific time in the past. 'I  

visited Greece last summer with my girlfriend.'  It's also used to narrate a series of past  

events. 'Yolanda woke up, brushed her teeth and  headed off to the office.' It's used to express  

habitual or repeated actions in the past. 'Every  morning, Ben watered his plants and fed his dog.'

And number 4, it's used to discuss past states  or conditions. 'We were so tired after our long  

hike yesterday.' All right, next up we have the  future simple tense. Let's start with spontaneous  

decisions. For example—'I'm pretty hungry.  I will order some food.' Predictions—'The  

weather forecast says it will rain  tomorrow.' Promises—'I will get to  

the office 20 minutes early  to get everything set up.'

Offers—'Mom will be happy to help you  with your project if you need it.' And  

requests—'Will you pass me the salt?'  Got it? Good, because it's time to move  

on from the future simple and talk about  the present perfect simple. Don't let its  

long and slightly confusing name fool you;  it's actually quite an easy tense to master.

We use it to talk about unfinished states or  actions that started in the past. 'He's been  

in his new position for about two weeks.'  We use it to talk about completed actions  

with relevance to the present. 'My dad  has just pulled up to the house.' We  

use it for life events and experiences.  'They have travelled around Asia and most  

of Europe.' And we use it for actions or  events at an unspecified time in the past.

'Yeah, we've tried that recipe!' See?  Not so bad. Now let's move on to our  

last verb tense of the day, so you  can get out there and start showing  

off your grammar skills. The present  continuous. We use it to talk about two  

different situations like describing things  happening right now. 'Deborah is whipping up  

some delicious banana pancakes.' We use it to  talk about activities that are not permanent.

'I'm giving this workout plan a shot for a  month to see how it makes me feel.' We use  

it for discussing plans or events that  will happen in the future. 'Mark isn't  

going to that conference next month. He  changed his mind.' We use it for actions  

happening around a specific time. 'I'm  working this morning, but I'll be free  

this afternoon.' And we use it for describing  things that are gradually changing or improving.

'The city is slowly becoming more eco-friendly,  

with new recycling programs and bike  lanes.' Right, that about does it for me.

So, those 5 tenses can get you a  long way in English. But of course  

you have to learn all the tenses to  become completely fluent in English.

Don't worry, I've put them in the ebook.

Next, I'm going to give you a taste of the grammar  you need to know at each level—B1, B2, and C1.

So, do you want to learn more about the B1 to C1  levels in English? Click on the link to download  

the ebook, and I'll give you my B1 to C1 ebook  too. It will walk you through the entire process.

We are going to compare 3  different levels in English—B1,  

B2 and C1. B1 is intermediate level,  B2 is upper-intermediate level and C1  

is that almighty advanced level  of English. More specifically,  

we're going to be looking at the grammar at  these levels. But what do those levels even mean?

Well, there are 6 language levels as defined  by the CEFR, The Common European Framework of  

Reference, and they start at A1 beginner and go  all the way up to C2, which is proficiency. Today,  

we're looking at B1, B2 and C1, and a  really common struggle for learners of  

any language is knowing which level you're at  and which level you should be working towards.

If you don't know your level, it's nearly  impossible to choose the right course,  

or learning materials or YouTube videos to help  you improve. If you're already at B2, a B1-course  

wouldn't be very helpful. If you're at B1,  a C1-course would be a pretty bad idea and  

would likely put you off learning for life. In  this video, I'm going to give you some examples  

of the different grammatical structures  you will learn to produce at each level.

I'm going to train you to really get to know  the levels, to properly understand them,  

so you know exactly where to place  yourself, and you can make a smart  

decision about the next steps that you  take on your language learning journey.

Right, let's get started with the grammar. First,  

I want to talk about making deductions.  So, we often use modal verbs like 'must'  

and 'might' to make deductions. But there  are other structures that we can use too.  

Look at these examples and see if you can  tell how they're getting more advanced.

B1—'I haven't seen Lucy for weeks.  She must be ill.' B2—'Actually,  

I think she might have gone away for  the winter.' And C1—'The odds are she's  

hightailed it to Spain for a few months. She's  always banging on about doing that.' It's true,  

I am. It's my dream to be in Spain. In the B1  example, you saw a present modal of deduction 

'must be'. In the B2 sentence, you saw a past  modal of deduction 'might have gone', and at  

C1 you didn't see a modal verb at all. I used the  structure 'the odds are' to say that something is  

very likely to be true. You can also see the  vocabulary getting much more advanced at C1,  

as well. Okay, there's lots more to learn  about that, but I think that's a good start.

Next, I want to talk about conditional  sentences. Let's go through those levels  

again and see how using conditionals  changes from B1 to B2 to C1. These  

sentences are all about fitness. B1—'If  I were you, I'd work on building muscle.'  

B2—'I know I would be in much better shape if  I'd started working out when I was younger.' And  

C1—'But for my husband's encouragement, I would  never have started going to the gym at all!'

So in the B1 sentence, I used a second  conditional to give advice. 'If I were you,  

I would work on.' Notice the use of 'were' instead  of 'was' with the pronoun 'I'. Using 'were' is an  

example of the subjunctive mood, which expresses  hypothetical situations. In the B2 sentence,  

I used a mixed conditional to say how  something in the past can affect the present.

I used 'would be' in the second conditional  and 'had started' in the third conditional.  

And in the C1 sentence, you can see a third  conditional with the structure 'but for'  

standing in for an 'if phrase'. Again, there is  so much more to learn about conditionals at each  

level. That's just a small glimpse. Next, let's  talk about the future at B1, B2, and C1 levels.

You need to be able to talk about the future in  different ways. We're going to take a look in the  

context of the environment. B1—'Sea levels will  continue to rise over the coming decades.' Nice  

and simple. B2—'By 2050, many scientists believe  that sea levels will have risen by around 30 cm in  

the US.' C1—'Some coastal communities in Louisiana  and Florida are on the brink of catastrophe.'

In B1, you can see the future with 'will' to  make a prediction, nice and simple. Notice that  

it's followed by 'continue' in the base form  and then 'continue' is followed by 'to rise',  

the infinitive. Verb patterns, -ing verbs and  infinitives are a really important element of  

B1 and the levels after that. In B2, you can see  the future perfect simple, 'will have risen'.

We use it to talk about something that will be  completed by a certain time in the future. In  

the C1 sentence, we're missing the obvious  future tense words like 'will'. Instead,  

we have the phrase 'to be on the brink  of'. At C1, you are expected to use a  

variety of expressions like this to talk  about future events. The next construction  

I want to talk about is the passive  voice, and I want to talk about sushi.

I love looking at topics like the environment,  fitness—next topic, sushi! Here we go: B1—'This  

sushi was prepared by a top chef.' The B2—'It  is widely believed that sushi originally comes  

from Japan.' And C1—'Jack recalled having been  told that sushi actually originated in China.'  

Remember, we use the passive voice to shift the  focus from the subject performing an action to the  

subject receiving an action. In the B1 sentence,  you can see a sentence in the passive voice

in the past simple 'was prepared'. For B2, we  can see an impersonal passive construction.  

'It is widely believed that', we use this  construction to say that people believe this,  

but not necessarily the speaker. It's  very diplomatic. A politician might use  

it. And at C1, we see a passive -ing form,  'recalled having been told'. The verb 'to  

recall' is followed by an -ing verb, and  by the passive voice in this sentence.

Finally, I want to talk about adjectives and  you start using adjectives right from A1 level,  

the very first beginner level. But as  you move to higher levels in English,  

you are expected to move beyond—'Flying is scary.'

So, let's talk about flying at B1, B2 and C1  levels. So, B1—'Flying is much less scary than  

I imagined.' B2—'The thought of it was utterly  terrifying.' And C1—'For me, flying is not so much  

alarming as dull.' So B1 we use words like 'much'  and 'slightly' in addition to basic comparative  

adjectives—to move beyond A2 level and show  big and small differences—'much less scary'.

At B2 level, we use adverb - adjective  collocations to add some spice to our  

descriptions. 'Utterly terrifying', not  'bitterly' or 'entirely terrifying'. For example,  

'utterly terrifying' is a lovely collocation,  they just fit together. It's what native speakers  

would naturally reach for. We talk a lot about  adverbs and adjective collocations in our B2  

programme. I'll leave information for my B1, B2,  and C1 Programmes in the description box as well,

in case you're interested. At C1 level,  we use a range of advanced comparative  

structures to compare things  'not so much alarming as dull',  

meaning it's boring not scary. Okay,  has that given you some idea of the  

grammatical structures and phrases you  typically learn at B1, B2, and C1 level?

Okay, the next video is one of the most  comprehensive videos I have ever made.  

In the next 30 minutes, you will  learn all 16 tenses in English.

I'm including "the future tenses" there.

After you've watched that video,  you'll be ready for a quiz.

I am going to teach you all of the  English tenses. So many of you have  

been requesting a tenses video. I  say 'go big or go home'. That's a  

great saying. It means either put in  all your effort or do nothing at all.

'Go big or go home.' I'd personally  rather put in all of my effort. So,  

today, in under 30 minutes we will go through  all 16 tenses, including the conditionals. You  

will walk away from this lesson with a much  better understanding of English grammar.

Today, we're learning all 16 tenses  in English, and I'm going to give you  

loads of examples so that you can learn  them and use them yourself. Firstly,  

I think it's best to have an overview and  then we can go more in-depth into each  

group. I know that going over 16 tenses all  in one lesson may seem like a lot, and it is.

This is a big lesson, but they do share a lot of  characteristics. So, seeing them all together can  

make them easier to learn and remember. Let's go  through them first. We have the present simple—'I  

eat chocolate.' The present continuous—'I  am eating chocolate.' The present perfect—'I  

have eaten chocolate.' The present perfect  continuous—'I have been eating chocolate.'

Then we move on to the past simple—'I  ate chocolate.' The past continuous—'I  

was eating chocolate.' The past perfect—'I  had eaten chocolate.' Whenever I say 'had',  

I can't help but go—'I had eaten.' And  the past perfect continuous—'I had been  

eating chocolate.' Oh, I just can't not do that.  Now, moving on to the future. We have the future

simple—'I will have a toothache after all  this chocolate.' Just kidding! 'I will eat  

chocolate.' The future continuous—'I will be  eating chocolate.' The future perfect—'I will  

have eaten chocolate.' And the future perfect  continuous—'I will have been eating chocolate.'  

Last group we have is conditionals. The  conditional simple—'I would eat chocolate.'  

The conditional continuous—'I  would be eating chocolate.'

The conditional perfect—'I would  have eaten chocolate.' And finally  

the conditional perfect continuous—'I  would have been eating chocolate.' Can  

you see how many similarities there  are between all of these tenses? Now,  

let's look a little more closely. Starting  with the present tenses, the first tense  

that you learn in English is usually the  present simple, and that's for good reason.

It's actually the tense that native  speakers use in around 50% of their  

written and spoken communication. We do use  the other present tenses quite often too,  

so they are all really, really important. The  present simple—'I work on Tuesdays.' This is  

used to talk about general statements, habits  and facts. The present continuous—'I am working  

now.' This is used to talk about  actions that are happening right now.

The present perfect—'I have worked at a pub.'  We use this to talk about past events or past  

actions that have present consequences  and the present perfect continuous—'I  

have been working for three hours today.'  This is used to talk about an action that  

started in the past and continues to the  present. Okay, the structure of the present

simple like its name, it is fairly simple. We  have the subject + the base form of a verb,  

except from in the third person singular.  And this always catches my students out  

when they're relatively new to learning  English. In the third person singular,  

we add an 's'. So for—I, you, we, they,  it's—'I work', 'we eat', 'they play', 'you do'.

But for—he, she, and it, it is—'she works', 'he  cleans', 'it smells'. Another exception is 'be',  

the verb 'to be'. 'To be' has its own  forms in the present simple. 'I am',  

'you are', 'he, she, it is', 'we  are', 'they are'. As I said before,  

we use the present simple to talk about  general statements, facts and habits.

We also use it to talk about scheduled events  like plane and train times. Here are some  

examples. 'I am a woman. My name is Lucy.' This  is a general statement or fact. 'Mary meets her  

friends on Friday evenings.' That's a habit.  'The train to London leaves at 8 pm.' That's  

a scheduled event in the future. 'Our dog  eats the cat's food', and that's a habit.

A habit—we're trying to conquer at  the moment. We don't know why he  

started doing it, but he has since we moved house.

Right, let's move on to the present continuous.

We use the present continuous to talk about things  that are happening at the moment of speaking,  

but be careful. In general, there is an exception.  We can't use state verbs. Words like 'hate',  

'love', 'want', for example. There is  an exception there, and I will mention  

it. It's to do with slang. The structure of the  present continuous is subject + be + verb -ing.

It rhymes subject + 'be' + verb -ing. You  can use that! Here are some examples—'I  

am teaching English.' 'They are baking  cookies.' We can also use this tense  

to talk about things that we think are  temporary. Compare these two sentences:  

'James lives in Manchester.' 'James is  living in Manchester.' In the first sentence,  

I use the present simple because I think  that his state is more or less permanent.

But in the second sentence, I use the present  continuous because I think his situation might  

be temporary. He's living in Manchester now,  but I don't know what might happen in a few  

weeks or months. Perhaps he's studying there,  or he's working there for a short time. Now,  

you will hear native speakers use state  verbs in the present continuous in this form

or to show this meaning—'I am loving my christmas  jumper right now.' 'Love' is a state verb. I'm not  

meant to use it, but it means right now, a trend  that I'm enjoying is my christmas jumper, which I  

must say I think is… I think this is a very nice  christmas jumper. I actually had another option  

today. It was between this one, which I wore last  year, but I got this one on a secondhand website.

Very happy with myself. Anyway, back to the  tenses. You'll also hear people say—'Oh no,  

I'm hating that song right now.' It means  it's a temporary state. For some reason,  

right now I don't enjoy that song, temporarily.  I'm hating it! So when you hear a teacher say,  

never use a state verb in the present  continuous—take that with a pinch of salt.

We also use the present continuous to talk about  arrangements. This means that we are planning to  

do something in the future and it involves another  person or business. Let me show you an example:  

'I am having my haircut on Tuesday.' 'Sarah is  meeting her parents tomorrow.' There are plans,  

but they depend on someone else.  Let's take a look at some examples:

'Kate is studying business,' temporary situation,  happening now. 'We are meeting our friend next  

Friday in Edinburgh,' arrangement involving  someone else. 'We are driving home,' we are  

doing this right now, in the moment. 'It is  snowing,' for example. It did actually snow  

the other day. It was magical. But enough about  my weather. Let's move on to the present perfect.

The structure of the present perfect is subject  + 'has' or 'have' + the past participle. There  

are 3 main ways that we use the present perfect  in English. The first is to talk about things  

that started in the past and continue  to the present. It's very important to  

remember that they are unfinished actions.  When we talk about these events or states,  

we often mention how long they've been  going on for or when they started.

For example—'I have lived in the UK all  my life,' or 'She has been at university  

since 2020.' 'William and I have  been married for two months'—oh,  

three months. Oh, it's a three month  anniversary nearly. How exciting! The  

second way that we use the present perfect  is to talk about our experiences up to the  

present. When we do this, we don't talk  about exactly when something happened.

We are just generally telling somebody about our  life experiences. For example—'She has been to  

Canada 3 times.' 'We have met the Queen.' 'I have  read all of the Harry Potter books.' Finally,  

we also use the present perfect to  talk about past events and actions  

that have consequences in the present.  For example—'I have eaten breakfast so  

I'm not hungry,' or 'Mike has lost his  keys so he's going to be late for work.'

Let's move on to the last of the presents.  The present perfect continuous. I've just  

realised I look like a present and I'm  talking about the present tenses. Maybe  

I should have just made a video about the  present tenses dressed as present. Now we  

use the present perfect continuous to talk  about something that started in the past and  

continues to the present, and that  might sound very similar to the present

perfect. But there are a few key differences.  One big difference is the structure. We use  

the structure subject + 'has/have'  + 'been' + verb -ing. 'I have been  

eating chocolate,' as we discussed before.  Now with the present perfect continuous,  

we often use it to talk about things that we  have been doing uninterrupted that haven't  

finished. We use this tense to emphasise  how long something has been happening.

For example—'I've been watching that TV  show for weeks.' I'm emphasising how long  

I have been watching the TV show. Or—'Ellen  has been replying to emails for two hours  

already.' We use it to talk about things  that have been done recently or lately. For  

example—'Look! It's been snowing!' Or—'I've been  practising my football skills a lot recently.'

That's such a lie! Remember, we generally  don't use the present perfect continuous  

to talk about states. You wouldn't say—'I  have been belonging to a band for a long  

time.' You would say—'I have belonged  to a band for a long time.' Some more  

examples—'They've been trying to call you all  day,' or 'She hasn't been feeling well lately.'

Okay, we made it through the present tenses.  Let's move on to the past tenses. We'll have a  

quick overview and then we'll go into more detail.  We have the past simple. 'I worked abroad last  

summer,' that talks about past, finished actions.  We have the past continuous. 'I was working at 2  

pm yesterday,' that describes a continuing action  at some point in the past. We have the past

perfect. 'I had worked there for two years  before I got my promotion.' That's used to  

describe past actions that happened  before another past action or time,  

and we have the past perfect continuous. 'I  had been working there for two years before  

I finally got my promotion.' Very similar to the  previous one, but we'll go into more detail. We  

use the past perfect continuous to talk about past  actions that continued to a past point in time.

Let's start with the past simple. This one  is nice and easy. It's the second most common  

tense that English speakers use. We use it  to talk about events that happened before  

the present moment. These must be finished  events or actions and we often say when they  

happened. Although that's not obligatory, the  structure is the subject + regular verb -ed.

However, lots and lots of verbs are  irregular, and I do actually have a video  

on some of the most common irregular  verbs that could be really useful,  

so I will leave that link down in the  description box. An example—'I went to  

bed at 10 pm last night,' or 'Denis ate a box of  chocolates for breakfast.' Live your life, Denis!

That sounds like my kind of breakfast.  Another example—'My husband bought me  

flowers last week.' Not true, though. Not  true. Maybe next week. Okay, let's move  

on to the past continuous—the structure of this  tense is subject + 'was' or 'were' + verb -ing.  

We can use this tense to talk about actions  or states. One way in which we use the past  

continuous is to say what was happening  at a specific moment in the past.

For example—'Tom was cooking dinner at 7 pm  yesterday.' We can also use it to give background  

information about something. For example—'Will  was speaking to me whilst I was trying to  

record a video,' or 'It was snowing when I went  outside.' We also use it to say that an ongoing  

action was interrupted by another action. In this  case, it's usually paired with another clause.

in the past simple. 'We were eating dinner when  he arrived.' We were eating dinner over this long  

period of time and he arrived right then.  Or—'They were chatting about their holiday  

when Ben called them.' Let's move on to the past  perfect. The past perfect tense is used to talk  

about events that happened before another  event or up to a certain time in the past.

Again, it is often used with the past  simple. The structure is as follows:  

subject + 'had' + past participle. And  if you don't do that when you say 'had',  

you're not my student. Let's take a look at  some examples. 'When I arrived at the bus stop,  

the bus had already left,' already happened.  Or—'You had travelled to ten countries before  

your second birthday,' or—'She had worked at  the company for 5 years before it closed,'  

or 'We had already eaten dinner so we  weren't hungry when dinner was served.'

Finally, let's discuss the past perfect  continuous. The structure is subject + 'had  

been' + verb -ing. Now, the past perfect and  the past perfect continuous, what a mouthful,  

are often used interchangeably  by native English speakers,  

there's no difference in overall meaning.  Take a look at these 2 sentences. There's  

no real difference in overall meaning.  'I had worked there for 5 years when  

the company closed,' or 'I had been working  there for 5 years when the company closed.'

No real difference, we can say either. However,  you should use the continuous form in these 2  

situations. If you are talking about an  action in the past that continued up to  

a certain time and continued after it, or  if you're talking about a repeated action  

that happened in the past up to a certain  point, let's take a look at some examples.

'They had been walking for hours before  they decided that they were lost,' or 'The  

orchestra had been practising for months before  the concert happened.' In the words of Bon Jovi:  

'I think we're living on a prayer,'  because we are officially halfway  

there. It's time to move on. If you're  still here, you're doing really well,  

really, really well. Let's have a  quick overview of the future tenses.

We use them to talk about events after the  present moment. We have the future simple,  

'I will work in the summer.' This is used to  talk about events or actions that we believe  

will happen in the future. We're nearly  certain. We have the future continuous—'I  

will be working at 2:00 tomorrow.' We use this  for actions at a specific moment in the future.

We have the future perfect—'I will have  worked there for 2 years on Sunday.' We  

use this to talk about an event or an  action that is planned or expected to  

happen before a certain time in the future,  and we have the future perfect continuous—'I  

will have been working there for 2 years  on Sunday,' very similar to the last.

We'll talk about that, we use this to  talk about an action that will continue  

up to a certain point in the future. Let's  take a closer look now. The future simple.  

The easiest way to talk about the future.  The structure is subject + 'will' + base  

form of the verb. We can use it to talk about  things that we think will happen in the future.

'I think it will rain tomorrow.' 'I'm sure  you'll love this book.' We can also use it  

to make offers or promises. 'I'll help you  carry those boxes.' 'Richard will call you  

tomorrow.' And finally, we can use it to  talk about facts in the future. 'It will  

be our first wedding anniversary next year,'  or—'Our house will be 300 years old soon.'

Let's move on to the future continuous  as the structure is subject + 'will  

be' + verb -ing. This tense is used  to talk about actions that will be in  

progress at a certain point in time. These  actions will start and end in the future,  

but we don't know when. 'I will be eating dinner  at 8 pm tomorrow.' I don't know when I'll finish.

It also indicates that an action will  be carried out over a period of time,  

not simply in an instant. 'I'll  be playing tennis tomorrow.' That  

will be a considerable amount of  time. Maybe 30 minutes to an hour,  

not just a second. We also have the future  perfect. We use the future perfect to talk  

about actions or states that will be completed  before a certain point of time in the future.

We often use time clauses with the future  perfect like 'bye' or 'when I'm older',  

I'll show you lots of examples. But first  the structure subject + 'will have' + past  

participle. Some examples—'I will have  retired by the time I'm 65.' We're using  

'by' there to show that final point,  or—'You will have finished the popcorn  

before the film starts,' or 'Come over at  9 pm, my parents will have left by then.'

Finally, we have the future perfect  continuous. This tense describes  

actions that will be continuing at a certain  point in the future. When you use this tense,  

you're thinking about the duration of  that action up to a certain point in  

time. This structure is subject + 'will  have been' plus verb -ing. 'She will have  

been living in Cardiff for 3 months in  August,' or 'When I retire next month.'

'I will have been working here for 3 years.'  Like with most other continuous tenses,  

we don't usually use state verbs. It should  be. 'I will have had my cat for 5 years this  

Christmas,' rather than 'I will have been  having my cat for 5 years this Christmas.'  

You also can't use the future perfect  continuous to talk about finished actions.

You just have to use the future  perfect instead. Finally,  

the last 4 tenses are the conditional tenses,

we use these tenses to talk about  hypothetical situations or an  

event that depends on another event or state.

These conditional tenses often  form part of conditional sentences,  

but they don't always have to. Let's have  a brief overview. We have the conditional  

simple—'I would work abroad if I could.' We  use this to talk about hypothetical actions  

in the present. We have the conditional  continuous—'I would be working abroad  

now if I wasn't stuck here.' We use this to  talk about hypothetical continuous actions 

in the present. We have the conditional perfect—'I  would have worked abroad last year, but I didn't  

get my visa.' We use this to talk about  hypothetical actions in the past, and we have  

the conditional perfect continuous—'I would have  been working here for longer if I had got my visa  

earlier.' We use this to talk about hypothetical  actions that started in the past and continued.

It's formed with the subject + 'would'  + the base form of the verb. 'I would  

travel in first class.' 'She would walk to  work.' Now, these sentences don't really  

have a lot of meaning on their own, so  they're usually coupled with another  

idea. 'I would travel in first class if  I won the lottery,' or 'She would walk  

to work if she lived closer.' 'Would' can be  replaced with 'could', 'should' or 'might'.

But this does change the meaning, I am  currently considering creating another  

video on modal verbs. There's one from years  ago, but I feel it needs updating. If you'd  

like a lesson on modal verbs, let me know in the  comment section down below. If I see enough of  

you then I'll know it's worth making. Some  examples—'He could get a dog if he wanted.'

'You should see a doctor.' 'I might go to  the beach tomorrow.' Let's take a look at  

the conditional continuous. When we use the  conditional continuous, we put the focus on the  

duration of a hypothetical action. This means  that we use this tense to talk about a longer  

action. When we want to emphasise, when we want  people to focus on how long an action would take.

The structure is subject + 'would be' + verb  -ing. It expresses an unfinished or continuing  

hypothetical action, an action which is the  probable result of an unreal condition. It's  

easier if I just show you examples here because  it can sound a little "grammary". "Grammary" is,  

is not a word. Don't use that! But  actually, I think that's quite good.

If we hear a grammatical explanation that  we don't like, I think we should call it  

"grammary". I think it's quite fun! Nope,  that's way "too grammary" for me.' I would  

be writing emails if I was at work,' but I'm not  at work, so I'm not writing emails. 'He would be  

walking his dog right now if he hadn't broken his  ankle,' but he has broken his ankle so he's not.

You can use 'could', 'should' and  'might' in these sentences, but again,  

it changes the meaning. 'You should be  unpacking the shopping I just bought.'  

Or—'I could be sitting on a beach in Jamaica  right now.' Now let's take a quick look at  

the conditional perfect. When we want to  change the past, we use the conditional  

perfect tense. Of course, we can't really  change the past so this is hypothetical.

We talk about what we would have done. The  structure is subject + 'would have' + past  

participle. 'I would have told John not to  come.' 'I would have bought that house,'  

but I couldn't afford it at the time.  'She would have cooked a bigger meal,  

but she didn't know you were coming.' Again, you  can replace it with 'could', 'should' or 'might'.

'I could have bought that house,' but I  didn't. 'You should have told me.' 'We  

could have gone if we'd known about it.' 'They  might have said, but I can't remember.' Finally,  

the last tense that brings us to tense 16. It  is the conditional perfect continuous. We use  

it to talk about the hypothetical results  of an action that started in the past.

We use the continuous tense to focus  on the duration. As I said before,  

we look at conditional grammar in way  more detail in my conditional video,  

which I have linked in the description box.  But just as a brief overview, the structure  

is subject + 'would have been' + verb -ing.  'I would have been wearing my red dress if I  

had washed it.' 'He would have been working in  Dubai if he hadn't taken the job in London.'

Again, you can use it with 'could',  'should' and 'might'. 'You should  

have been feeling better yesterday.'  'She could have been living in Japan  

if she had taken that language course  at university.' Right? That is it for  

today's lesson. I can't believe we've  covered the 16 tenses. That's amazing!

Okay, I promised you a quiz.  Are you ready for this video?

It's not just about the tenses, but  there are questions in there about  

tenses. I'm going to test  you on your English level.

Today is an incredibly important lesson. We are  finally going to work out what your English level  

is A1, A2, B1, B2 or even C1 or the top level  C2. It's so important to know and understand your  

level of English, because it helps you decide  how to proceed with your learning journey.

In this lesson, we are going to go  through a couple of questions at each  

level so you can understand your English ability.

Quickly,

let's just revisit what the CEFR levels actually  are. This is the Common European Framework of  

Reference. It divides English into 6 levels.  We have A1 and A2. The beginner levels with  

A1 considered absolute beginner. We have B1 and  B2, the intermediate levels, and then C1 and C2,  

the advanced levels. C2 is a native  level of language. All right,

let's get started with this test. We'll  start with the beginner questions and  

work our way up to the advanced  questions. I'll give you a few  

seconds to think about each answer  before revealing the correct answer.

Okay, A1 question one—'She  _ to read books every day.'

It should be b 'likes'.  

'She likes to read books every day.' Number 2—'I  have 2 _ and 1 brother. Which answer is correct?

It should be d 'sisters'. 'I have 2  sisters and 1 brother.' And number  

3—'I can't see very well. Have  you seen my _?' What should it be?

It should be c 'glasses'. Okay.  If you pass those 3 questions,  

it's likely you have an A1 level. But let's  test for A2. One—'My mum is _ than my dad.'

It should be b 'taller'. 'My mum is taller than  

my dad.' 'If you study you _  the test, what should it be?'

It should be a 'will pass'. 'If you study,  

you will pass the test.' And number three.  Which of these sentences is is correct.

I'll give you a bit of extra time here.

It should be c. 'They want to go  with us.' Did you get everything  

right? If so, it's likely you have an A2 level!

Let's move on to the intermediate levels. Firstly  B1. Number one—'Jared early _ in the afternoon.'

Which one's correct?

It should be b 'will be arriving'.  'Jared will be arriving early in the  

afternoon.' Let's try number two—which  question was most likely asked based on  

this response? 'I have never been to Paris.'  Here are the options. Which question was it?

It should be d. 'Have you ever  been to Paris.' And three,  

report this sentence correctly. 'I have  to work tomorrow.' Which one should it be?

It should be d. 'He said he had to  work the following day.' Did you get  

all of those right? If so, it's  likely that you have a B1 level.

Okay, let's try B2 upper-intermediate. This  is where it starts to get really challenging.

Number one—'He _ have said that to you, but  at least he apologised.' Which should it be?

It should be b 'shouldn't'. 'He  shouldn't have said that to you.'  

But at least he apologised. Two—choose  the relative clause in this sentence here?

It should be b 'who moved to the  country 3 years ago'. And number 3,  

choose the correct sentence out of these 4.

It's a 'if you had learned the lyrics,  you would be singing in the choir'. Did  

you get all of them right? If so,  it's likely you have a B2 level.

Okay, it's time we move on to the  advanced levels, the C levels.

We'll start with C1. Number  one—'After 9 years of marriage,  

we decided to get a divorce, but  we separated _.' What should it be?

It should b 'on good terms'. 'We separated  on good terms'. Number two—'We have  

developed several new _ the market research to  streamline our ongoing _.' Which should it be?

It should be a 'criteria and  analysis'. 'We have developed  

several new criteria to streamline  our ongoing analysis.' And number  

three—which of these sentences uses the  passive perfect infinitives correctly?

It should be d 'Alejandro should  have been informed of these changes.'  

Did you get all of them right? If so, it's  likely that you speak English to a C1 level.

Let's move on to our final highest  level, proficiency level C2.

Number one—'His lack _ of and general  unhappy nature contrasted sharply with  

the extreme composure and humour of  his brother.' Which should it be?

It should be c 'charisma'. 'Charisma'. Extra  points for correct pronunciation. 'Charisma'.  

Number two—which idiom could replace  the underlined portion of the sentence?

It's b 'to go back on his word', 'to go back on  his word', 'to not fulfil a promise'. And number  

three—'The department head of finance assured  me that this matter _ as quickly as possible.'

It should be 'would be dealt with', 'would  be dealt with'. Did you get all of those  

correct? If so, it's likely that you have a C2  level or you are a native speaker. Although,  

I assure you lots of native speakers would not be  able to achieve this level, especially in an exam.

That's it for today's lesson.  I hope you enjoyed it. I hope  

you learnt something. I hope you  learnt what your level might be.

How did you do? Do you know your English  level, or are you still not sure?

Taking a look in the B1 to C1 ebook will  definitely help you. You can see what  

vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation  you'll need to know for each level.

Pronunciation is important for the tenses.

I weave pronunciation throughout all my  courses, so this complete tenses course  

is no different. It's time for you to learn how  to pronounce -ed endings perfectly every time.

You'll never have to think about whether  it's 'danced, danced or danced' ever again.

I am going to teach you how  to pronounce words like these,  

words that end in -ed, d because  it's not so straightforward.

We have 'wanted, danced and saved', 'wanted,  danced, saved'. So there are 3 different ways  

that we pronounce -ed at the end of a word. And  there are so many words that end with -ed. We have  

the regular past simple verbs. We have the regular  past perfect verbs, and we have many adjectives.  

So it's a bit frustrating that we have 3 different  ways of pronouncing -ed at the end of words.

But I have a very simple trick that you can  use to instantly know whether you end the  

word with /ɪd/, whether you end it with /t/,  or whether you end it with /d/—/ɪd/ /t/ /d/.

So, let's get started with the lesson. I'm  going to go through the method with lots of  

examples. And then I have got an activity,  which is a story, which will allow you to  

put into practice what you've learned. It's a  bit of a challenge. So let's see how you do.

Let's take a look at some root  words. We have -part, -end,  

-test and -need all of these end in /t/ or /d/.  So, you're going to notice with this method,  

it all depends on how the root word ends  with which phoneme or sound does it end.  

In this case /t/ and /d/, which are nearly always  represented by the letter 't' or the letter 'd',  

if a root word ends in /t/ or /d/,  the -ed is pronounced as /ɪd/.

This means that it adds on an extra syllable  'part, parted', 'end, ended', 'test, tested',  

'need, needed.' That is the easy part. But what  if a root word does not end /t/ or /d/? Well,  

does it end with a vowel, a voiced consonant,  or an unvoiced consonant? If the root word ends  

with a vowel sound or with a voiced consonant  sound, then the root word ends with voice,  

meaning that when you produce that last phoneme,  you can feel the vibrations in your throat.

If it ends with an unvoiced consonant, you cannot  feel the vibrations in your throat. Look at these  

4 root words. We have -dine, -love, -comply,  -remember. Dine, I can feel the vibration. Love,  

I can feel the vibration. Comply, that ends  with a vowel sound. And remember, still with  

voice. Remember that in Received Pronunciation if  a word ends with 'r', the 'r' is not pronounced.

In American English, you might say 'remember',  but in Received Pronunciation 'remember',  

all of these root words end with voice. And  the great thing is that we match voice with  

voice. If a word ends with voice apart  from /d/, then we match it with voice.  

So we added /d/ onto the end. Loved. Dined.  Complied. Remembered. It would actually be  

more difficult to use /t/ at the end because  you're moving from voiced to unvoiced, dined.

Okay, so moving on to the root words that end  with an unvoiced consonant. Take a look at  

these 4. We have clap, kick, dance and wash—/p/,  /k/, /s/, /ʃ/. None of the endings have voice in  

them. Just like we matched voiced with  voiced before. We match unvoiced with  

unvoiced. So in this case -ed is pronounced  as /t/. Clapped. Kicked. Danced. Washed.

Try ending these words with  the /d/ sound. In my opinion,  

it's a lot more difficult. So that's the  theory behind it all. Looking at the last  

sound in the root word and then working out what  the next sound should be. With root words that end  

in any sound other than /t/ and /d/, There is  no extra syllable. Love is not loved or loved.

It's loved. Kicked isn't kicked or kicked. It's  kicked. No extra syllable. But decide is decided,  

extra syllable. Test is tested, extra  syllable. Some students prefer to learn  

words through studying them in lists, and  other students prefer to hear them spoken  

and to practise to learn them in practice. We're  going to go through both ways of learning them.

First, let's look at the list version. And then  I will tell you a story using the words. And you  

have to guess what the pronunciation is. Here  are the sounds that come before /ɪd/ as -ed.

/t/, wanted, /d/, decided. And here we have  the sounds that come before the /d/ as -ed.  

We have /b/ as in robbed. /v/ as in lived. /z/  as in amazed. /g/ as in rigged. /n/ as in fined.  

/m/ as in climbed./ƞ/ as in winged. /dʒ/  as in judged. /ð/ as in soothed. /l/ as  

in called. And then I've included  /r/ just so you know for American  

English pronunciation that it  would be followed by the /d/.

For RP it isn't pronounced remembered,  remembered. It's pronounced with /d/  

because it ends with a schwa vowel sound,  which is voiced. But in American English,  

the 'r' is pronounced at the end of words  and it would sound something like remembered,  

remembered. And then we have the sounds that come  before /t/ as -ed, the unvoiced sounds. We have  

/p/ as in helped, /f/ as in sniffed or laughed,  /s/ as in missed or danced, /k/ as in asked.

I know some of my students struggle with that  sound. The combination of /s/ /k/ /t/, asked,  

asked. We have /tʃ/ as in matched. /ʃ/ as in  washed. /θ/ as in unearthed. There aren't many  

-ed words with the /θ/ at the end of the root  word. Now, this rule also applies to adjectives,  

but there are many more exceptions. So,  some adjectives ending in /t/ or /d/,  

we have insulted or beaded adjectives  ending in a voiced consonant or a vowel.

We have soothed or moved and unvoiced consonants  distressed, astonished. There are lots of  

irregular adjectives that don't follow this rule,  and they favour /ɪd/ at the end. Naked. Wicked.  

Jagged. Rugged. There is normally a /g/ or /k/  sound at the end of the root word, but there  

are exceptions to the exceptions. For example,  beloved. Okay, now it is time for the activity.

I am going to read a story to you.  It's filled with words that end in -ed,  

and each time I reach a word that ends in -ed,  I'm going to stop for a couple of seconds to give  

you the chance to say how you think it might be  pronounced, what ending you think it might have.

'As I've told you before,  I loved living in Seville.

I always envisioned myself living  there long term. I had also

lived in Madrid, but for some

reason Seville really inspired me. It had  nearly everything I wanted. So I promised to  

myself that I would move there in the future.  I moved back to the UK to finish my studies.

When I finished, I rented a room from my parents

and started my teaching business. One day  

I was invited to a New Year's Eve party. I didn't  want to go but I pushed myself. I noticed a very  

handsome man there, but we mostly ignored  each other the whole night. One day, this man  

messaged me and asked me if I would participate  in a charity dating show that he had.

organised. I responded with a 'yes'  and prepared for the event. In the end,  

that man won a date with me and I postponed  my plans to move to Seville. Eventually,  

I simply cancelled them. I discovered

that home is not a place — it's  a person. I have visited Seville  

every year since. And that's  enough for me.' True story!

I will see you soon for another lesson. Muah!

Okay, you've got the pronunciation of regular  past forms of verbs down. Well done! Make sure  

you don't forget any of that information.  Don't worry, I've put it all in the ebook.

However, there are lots of irregular verbs in  English, so let's learn how to pronounce those.

Now, I've got a mixture of a  grammar and a pronunciation  

and a vocabulary lesson for you today. Today,  we're going to be talking about the 25 most  

common irregular verbs in the English language.  Honestly, learning the irregular verbs isn't a  

very exciting experience. But if you want to  learn to speak English, you have to do it.

If you can master the pronunciation and the  correct form of the top 25 irregular verbs, then  

you will be a step closer to fluency and a step  closer to speaking English like a native speaker.

I'm going to pronounce the infinitive form,  

the past simple, and the  participle twice for each verb.

And I'll give you time to repeat  after me. Now, I've said before,  

the absolute best way of learning to  speak like a native is by imitating. So,  

I want you to copy or to imitate me.  So I'm going to say the 3 forms. And  

I want you to repeat them with me. I'll  say them again and then you repeat again.

Now, the reason I'm saying all three together  is because I want you to get them stuck in your  

head—I want you to learn them in that order.  You will be much more likely to remember them  

if you learn all 3 together. So let's get  started. Number 1—to be—be was/were been, be  

was/were been. Then we have—to have—have had had.

Have had had. The next one. Number 3—to do—do  did done. Do did done. Number 4—to say—say  

said said. Say Said Said. Number 5—to go—go went  gone. Go went gone. Number 6—to get—get got got.  

Get got got. Number 7—to make—make made made.  Make made made. Number 8—to know—know knew known.

Know knew known. Number 9—to think—think  thought thought. Think thought thought.  

Number 10—to take—take took taken. Take took  taken. Number 11—to see—see saw seen. See saw  

Seen. Number 12—to come—come came  come. Come came come. Number 14—to  

give—give. gave given. Give gave given.  Number 15—to tell—tell told told. Tell

told told. Number 16—to feel—feel felt felt.  Feel felt felt. Number 17—to become—become became  

become. Become became become. Number 18—to  leave—leave left left. Leave left left. Number  

19—I like this one, to put—put put put. Put  put put. Number 20—to mean—mean meant meant.  

Mean meant meant. Number 21—to keep—keep kept

Kept. Keep kept kept. Number 22—I  also like this one—to let—let  

let let. Let let let. Number 23—to  begin—begin began begun. Begin began  

begun. Number 24—to show—to show showed shown.  Show showed Shown. And number 25—to hear—hear  

heard heard. Hear heard heard. Okay, so those are  the 25 most common irregular verbs in English.

How is that? I hope you're feeling more  confident in your pronunciation now.

Pronunciation is weaved throughout  my B1, B2 and C1 programmes,  

meaning that you always learn how to  say something as well as what to say.

But now I think it's time to look  at some tense adjacent grammar,  

because the classic past tenses aren't  the only way to talk about the past.

And believe me, most of my students need to  watch this video. Let's learn about used to,  

would be used to and get used to.

Today we are going to talk about used to,  

use to. How are they different? Would,  to be used to and to get used to.

If you have any doubts about the use of these  then this lesson is for you. And of course,  

I have a quiz. There will be a quiz at the end of  

this lesson for you to test your  learning. So stay till the end.

Okay, let's talk about used to and use to.  Firstly, let's focus on the pronunciation  

because I know this is very confusing for many  students because when we say used on its own,  

we use the /z/ sound and the /d/ sound, used.

But to say used to is quite a mouthful.  So, you will hear speakers of English  

saying /'juːs(t) tuː/, use to. That means  that both used to and use to are pronounced  

in the same way in normal conversation,  used to, used to. This makes it slightly  

easier for you in spoken English, but in  written English you do have to be careful.

Let's focus on used to. We use 'used  to' to talk about past habits that we  

don't do in the present or past  states that are no longer true.  

Used to with the base form of a verb,  also called the bare infinitive,  

but I'm going to call it the base verb hit. 'I  used to do yoga.' But now I don't have time.

'I used to go to a language school, but  I finished the course.' 'I used to live  

in Seville', but now I live in England.  'I used to be a waitress,' but now I'm  

a teacher. And that's an example of  a state that's not talking about a  

habit. Something like—'I used to have short  hair,' that wasn't a habit that was a state.

So, that's using 'used' with the 'd' at  the end. But you will see that people  

use 'used' with no 'd' at the end. This  is a point of confusion for many of my  

students. In questions and negatives, we use  use instead. 'I didn't used to like avocados',  

but now I love them. 'Did you  used to work at the corner shop?'

He didn't used to care about his appearance,  but now he takes pride in it. 'Did they used  

to go to the same school as us?' It's  worth noting that when you use never,  

you do use 'used' with the 'd'. 'He didn't used  to care about his appearance.' 'He never used to  

care about his appearance.' We will do lots  of testing of this in the quiz at the end.

But now it's time to talk about would. When  somebody is telling a story about the past,  

you might hear them use would  + base verb. 'When I lived in  

Seville, we would eat lunch at 4  pm.' 'When I was studying Spanish,  

I would watch Spanish TV shows.' Now you might  think, ah, so it's the same as you used to.

Not exactly! We can't use would + base verb  to talk about past states. Only past habits.  

An example—'I would have short hair,' does  not mean the same thing as—'I used to have  

short hair.' Or—'I would live in Seville.' Does  not mean the same thing as—'I used to live in  

Seville.' So, remember would + base verb is only  appropriate for past habits or repeated actions.

Let's move onto 'to be used to'. When we want  to talk about things that we are accustomed to,  

or things that feel normal to us. We  use to be + used to + verb -ing. An  

example—'I'm used to running in cold  weather, so I don't mind it.' I'm  

accustomed to running in cold weather. It  feels normal to me to run in cold weather.

Another example—My fiance Will is used to  working hard, so when we go on holiday he  

becomes restless.' Working hard is normal  to him. It's what he is accustomed to. We  

can also use 'to be used to' + noun or  pronoun. 'I live in the countryside,  

so I am used to mud.' For example, wet soil. 'He  is very handsome, so he is used to compliments.'

He is accustomed to compliments. 'My sister is  annoying, but I'm used to her.' Remember that  

here, the verb 'to be' can be put into  any tense. 'When I started waitressing,  

I wasn't used to carrying trays of drinks.'  True story, I dropped so many trays of  

drinks. 'Soon I will be used to taking public  transport, so it won't be so intimidating.'

Finally, we have 'to get used to'  different to 'to be used to'. Here  

you can think of to get as to  become, to become used to. You  

form it in the same way as to be used  to. We used to get used to + verb -ing,  

or to get used to + noun or pronoun. We use it to  talk about a change in what we are accustomed to.

Again, this can be used in any tense. 'At  first I didn't like stretching after running,  

but I got used to it.' Or—'I am getting  used to public speaking.' I am becoming  

accustomed to public speaking, or—'I hope  I will get used to driving in London soon.'  

True story. I have been driving for 4 years  and I still am not used to driving in London.

I need to do it more to become  more accustomed to it. Okay,  

I hope this lesson clarified some of your doubts,  

but to make sure it's fully in your brain, I now  have a quiz for you. It's a multiple choice quiz.

Number 1—'When I started waitressing,  

I needed help with carrying trays,  but now I _ them by myself.'

'When I started waitressing, I needed help  with carrying trays, but now I am used to  

carrying them by myself.' Number 2—'I _  every day, but now I don't have time.'

'I used to read English every day,  but now I don't have time.' Number  

3—'Don't worry. This grammar is  easy. You _ do it in no time.'

And—'Don't worry, this grammar is  easy. You will get used to it in  

no time.' Number 4— 'I was surprised to  see her running—she _ when I knew her.'

'I was surprised to see her running.  She didn't used to run when I knew  

her.' Number 5—'When I had to get  the train to work, I _ very early.'

'When I had to get the train to work. I used to  get up very early.' Number 6—'When I was younger,  

I _ to the shop with my grandma to buy sweets.'

'When I was younger, I would go  to the shops with my grandma to  

buy sweets.' Number 7—'Whenever we went to  London, we always _ in the Grand Hotel.'

'Whenever we went to London, we  always used to stay in the Grand  

Hotel.' Number 8—'When you were a  teenager, did you _ to rap music?'

'When you were a teenager, did you  used to listen to rap music?' Number  

9—'She didn't _ about fashion, but now  she spends a lot of money on clothes.'

'She didn't used to care about fashion,  but now she spends a lot of money on  

clothes.' Number 10—'I don't like  revising for exams, but I _ it.'

'I don't like revising for exams,  but I am getting used to it.'

How is that? Do you feel more  confident about when to use  

'used to' and 'would' to talk about your past?

We're going to move on to something really tricky,  

but incredibly important have  been, has been and had been.

Learning these will really help you when

using perfect tenses.

Today, I have a grammar lesson all  about have been, has been and had  

been. I receive questions about have, has and  had been, all the time. I'm going to clarify,  

nearly, all of the ways we use them. Now,  this is going to be quite a long video. So,  

before we start, I'm going to tell you  exactly what I'll be talking about,

so that you know what to expect. The lesson  will begin with which subjects we use with have,  

has and had. Then, I am going to show you how  to form positive and negative sentences and  

questions using have, has and had been.  After that,, we are going to discuss the  

pronunciation of these words and the use  of contractions. Really important part.

Do not miss it! And then, we're going to go over  4 of their key uses. We're going to discuss how  

to talk about travel experiences. That's a source  of some really common mistakes. Will also discuss  

how to describe unfinished states and actions  with an additional focus on 'for' and 'since'  

because that gets a lot of you. I'm going to show  you how to talk about 2 past events or actions.

And then finally we will focus on how to  focus on the object of a sentence with  

the passive voice. That might sound  complicated, but I'm going to make it  

really clear for you. At the end of the  video, I'm going to give you some extra  

information about when we use have been,  has been and had been in other situations.

And then we will end this lesson with  a short quiz. So that you can see how  

much you remember and retain from this  video. I haven't done such an in-depth,  

long grammar lesson on this channel before. I want  you to feel like you're in a classroom with me  

going through the full process of learning  about have been, has been and had been.

Let me know if you like it. Now, let's start with  some tenses and constructions. In this lesson,  

I am going to mention the present  perfect simple. The present perfect  

continuous. The past perfect simple,  the past perfect continuous, and the  

passive voice. And I'm not going to explain  these tenses and constructions in detail,  

because the focus today is on using  have been, has been and had been.

Okay, first I'm going to talk about the basics we  

use 'have been' and 'has been' in  the present perfect tenses—I, you,  

we, they and plural nouns go with have been—I  have been, you have been, the books have been.

My parents have been. He, she, it  and singular and uncountable nouns  

go with has been—she has been, it has  been, London has been. The bread has  

been. Bread is uncountable. We use had  been with all subjects, nice and easy,  

in the past perfect tenses. I had been. He had  been. Our children had been. The tea had been.

How can I not bring up tea? I'm British. All  subjects in the past perfect tenses. Now,  

let's move on to positive and negative  sentences and questions. In positive sentences,  

the structure is subject + have/has or had been,  nice and simple. In negative sentences, we put  

'not' between have, has or had and been—subject  have/has or had not been. In questions,

we invert the subject word order and we put,  have, has or had before the subject. Have,  

has or had + subject + been. Now, I want to  note here that we can use been to be as a main  

verb or an auxiliary verb. As a main verb, it  expresses the state or action being described.  

It is not followed by another verb, and you will  see this later in the video in sentences like—'I  

have been to France'—as an auxiliary verb, it  adds grammatical information to a sentence.

It's followed by a main verb. You will also see  this later in the video in sentences like—'I have  

been studying English for 3 years,' in this  sentence 'studying' is the main verb. Okay,  

we're doing well, but there's more  to do. And before we get started  

with how these words are used, we  need to go over the pronunciation.

'Been' is pronounced, /biːn/ or /bɪn/ or been,  with a long 'e' sound, been with a short 'e'  

sound. Both are correct, but /bɪn/ is very  common and faster, informal speech. It's also  

very common for speakers to use contractions  with have, has or had been. For example,  

I have been often becomes 'I've /biːn/' or  'I've /bɪn/' with the shorter 'e' sound.

So, listen out for contracted forms—I've, you've,  

we've and they've. The same thing happens to 'has  been' which reduces to /z/ or /s/. For example,  

he's been, she's been and it's been. And 'had  been,' which contracts to /d/. For example,  

I'd been and he'd been. There's an exception  with the contraction of it had, it had been  

which contracts to it'd, it'd. Notice the extra  schwa sound there, which adds an extra syllable.

It'd, it'd. Finally, we often contract a noun  with have, has or had been. For example—'The  

books have been,' or 'London's been,' or  'Children had been'. Okay, we're ready for  

uses. Let's talk about the first and easiest  use of have been, has been and had been. This  

might be the easiest, but this is where a lot  of my students get confused and make mistakes.

We often use have been, has been, and had been  when talking about travel experiences. For  

example—'Will has been to London many times.'  This means that Will has visited London many  

times in his life up until now. Note, that it's  been to London, but it's just visited London  

without to. That's a common mistake to insert  a 'to' where it's not wanted after visited.

Here's another example—'I've been to  France3 times.' I have visited France  

3 times in my life until now, and I  might go again in the future. Here  

are some more examples—'Has Verity been to  Cardiff? Yes, she has been to Cardiff. No,  

she hasn't been to Cardiff.' 'Have you been  to Australia? Yes I have. No I haven't.'

So these answers are usually  shortened to 'yes I have',  

'no I haven't'. Please note that we can't talk  about specific times with have or has been to  

talk about general travel experiences. If you  want to say exactly when something happened,  

use the past simple. It would be wrong to  say—'I have been to Australia last year.'

It should be—'I went to Australia last year.'  Now, I'd like to mention something that lots  

of learners find confusing, have or has  been versus have or has gone. We use,  

have or has been to say that someone  went to a place and then returned. We  

use have or has gone to say that someone  went to a place and has not returned.

Look at these examples—'Alisha has been to  Mumbai.' She went to Mumbai and then she  

came back. 'Alisha has gone to Mumbai. She  will be back next week.' She went to Mumbai  

and she is still there. You can also use had  been when talking about travel experiences.  

We use 'had been' to say that we travelled or  didn't travel to a place before another event

in the past. For example—'I had never  been to the US before I visited New  

York last year.' There are 2 past  tenses here. I had never been and  

I visited. Both refer to the past.  The sentence means that the first  

time in my life that I visited the US  was when I went to New York last year.

Here's another example—'I was excited  to receive an invitation to their  

wedding in Barcelona. I had been to Spain before,  

but only to Madrid.' This sentence means that  I received the invitation to the wedding in the  

past. I visited Spain at some point before  I got the invitation, but not Barcelona,  

where the wedding was. Okay, we're ready for  usage number 2—unfinished states and actions.

We use have been and has been in the present  perfect simple to talk about states that  

started in the past and continue up  to the present. For example—'He has  

been a nurse for almost a year, or—'He  has been a nurse since last March.' He  

started working as a nurse last March  and has had the job for almost a year.

He is still a nurse now. We use have and has  been + -ing in the present perfect continuous  

to talk about actions that started in the past  and continue up to the present. For example—'I  

have been studying English since 2021,' 2021  was my starting point for studying English. So,  

I started in 2021 and I have continued  for 3 years until the present day.

You don't know if I will continue studying  English in the future. Using have been or has  

been doesn't give you any information about  the future. We often use the words 'for' and  

'since' with the present perfect tenses when  we use 'for', we're talking about the duration  

of the activity or the period of time. So, 3  years is how long I have been studying English.

When we say 'since,' we are talking about the  starting point. So I started studying English  

in 2021. Here are some more example sentences.  'William has been watching TV since midday.'  

'William's been watching TV for 3 hours,'  presuming it's 3 in the afternoon. In the  

first sentence, William started watching TV  at midday and he's still watching TV now.  

In the second sentence, he started watching  TV 3 hours ago and he is still watching now.

Another example—'We've been together for  7 years. We've been together since 2017,  

so we got together 7 years ago in  2017 and we are still together now.'  

That's actually true. I can't believe 2017  is seven years ago. Okay, use number 3.  

We're going to take a closer look at 'had  been'. I'm going to take the sentences that  

we used to learn 'have been' and 'has been'  and show you how they used with 'had been'.

And this is going to help you see how the meaning  changes. Let's start with our sentence about  

studying English, because it's nice and relevant  for you. Here it is with 'had been' in the past  

perfect continuous. 'I had been studying English  for 3 years when I went to London last year.'  

There are 2 past actions here, one continuous  past action—'I had been studying English.'

And a single finished action—'I went  to London.' Now, I want to compare  

that sentence with our previous one with  'have been'. 'I have been studying English  

for 3 years.' Here, there is one action  that continues up to the present. We use  

'had been' or 'had been' + -ing.  When there are 2 past events,  

the action with 'had been' began in the past and  continued up to a more recent point in the past.

We use the past simple to talk about the action  or event that happened second. In this case,  

the more recent point was last year  when I went to London. We use the  

past perfect continuous for the action  which happened first. We don't know if  

the action of studying English continued  beyond the visit to London, but I hope so.

Never stopped studying English! I haven't  stopped studying English. Let's have a look  

at the other example sentences and change them  to had been. We have—'William had been watching  

TV for 3 hours when he stopped to do some  housework.' The action 'had been watching',  

began first and continued until William  realized it was time to start the housework.  

Another example—'He'd been a nurse  for 11 months when he quit his job.'

In this case, he became a nurse and continued  in the job for 11 months then he quit. This is  

an example of the past perfect simple.  And the last example is a sad one. 'We  

had been together for 7 years when we  broke up.' We were in a relationship  

for 7 years before we broke up. I'm not  referring to my relationship, by the way.

Last lesson I didn't wear my wedding ring  because it was having some maintenance and  

there were rumors. Okay, let's move  on to the fourth and final use that  

I want to talk about in this video of  have been, has been and had been. They  

are used in the passive voice. So, I buy  lots of things online for my dog Diego.

And when I complete a purchase, I get an  email saying—'Your order has been received.'  

This sentence is in the passive voice. In the  active voice, it would be—'We have received  

your order.' The website uses the passive voice  because we, the seller, isn't important to this  

situation. The order is more important,  so the focus of the sentence is on that.

After I've bought something, the shop sends  my purchases to me. I often get a message  

from the courier—notice the pronunciation of  courier. Courier. With the sound /ˈkʊriə/,  

I always want to say courier or courier, but  it's courier. Distracted by pronunciation,  

I get a message from the courier  saying—'Your parcel has been delivered,' or  

because I usually buy several things at  once—'Your parcels have been delivered.'

The parcels are more important than the  company or person who delivered them,  

hence the passive voice. So, how do we  use 'had been' in the passive voice?  

This is quite advanced, but it's important  that you know it because I'm sure you will  

hear it. We use 'had been' in the passive  voice when there are 2 actions in the past.

For example—'My van had been repaired by  the mechanic so it was as good as new.'  

Both of the events or actions were  in the past. The first event that  

occurred is indicated with 'had been'  and the second with the past simple. So,  

first the mechanic repaired my car and then it  was as good as new. Let's look at another example.

'By the time we arrived at the hotel, all the  rooms had been booked for the night.' Again,  

we have 2 events in the past. First, people  booked all of the rooms and then we arrived  

at the hotel. Very poor planning. Okay, extra  bits, extra info. In this final section I want  

to give you some extra information about when you  will see have been, has been and had been used.

I'm not going to explain these uses in  great detail, but I just want you to  

be aware of them. We have 3 to go for. A  number 1, 'have been' after modal verbs.  

We see 'have been,' but not 'has been'  appear after modal verbs like 'might' and  

'must' using 'have been' with different modal  verbs could be a whole new video in itself.

So, here are just a couple of examples.  'Maria might have been in Ghana last  

month.' She goes every year in January.  Or—'He must have been at work when you  

tried to call him.' Number 2, the  third conditional you will also  

see 'have been' after a modal verb in  the third conditional. For example—'I  

would have been happy if you had come.' And we  use 'had been' in the third conditional too.

'If I had been to Greenland before, I  would have told you about it.' Number  

3—'has-been' as a noun. Can you notice  anything weird with this one? There is  

a hyphen between has and been a has-been,  a noun, is a person who was important,  

famous, or very good at something  in the past but isn't anymore.

It's not a very nice thing to call someone,  but you should recognise the word even if  

you don't use it. Okay, quiz time! I'm going  to show you five sentences and I want you to  

decide how to fill in the gaps. Choose from  have been, has been, or had been. Are you  

ready? Here's number 1—'She _ _ waiting for  her friends to arrive for over 30 minutes.'

I'll give you 5 seconds.

Has been. 'She has been waiting.' Why? Because he,  

she, it, and singular and uncountable nouns  go with has been. Number 2—'Andy _ _ a  

teacher for almost 50 years when  he retired.' You have 5 seconds.

Had been. 'Andy had been a teacher for almost 50  

years when he retired.' Okay. Number  3—'_ you ever _ to London?' 5 seconds.

A nice question here—'Have you ever been to  London?' Number 4—'My bike stolen _ _! How  

am I going to get home?' 5 seconds.

Has been. 'My bike has been stolen! How am  I going to get home?' This is in the passive  

voice. And number 5—'Karim _ never to Mongolia,  but he's planning to go next year.' 5 seconds.

'Karim has never been to Mongolia,  but he's planning to go next year.'

That brings me to the end of  this video. About have been,  

has been and had been. There is more to learn  about these words and the tenses we use them in,  

but this has been a really solid  overview of some common uses.

Now, let's move on to adverbs. I have  a video about some of the most useful  

ones here—'just,' 'already,'  'still' and 'yet'. Let's go!

It's already time for another grammar  lesson. Are you still watching me? Are  

you not bored of me yet? Did you notice  that I just—whoops—used already, just,  

still and yet in those sentences. Those  words are the topic of today's lesson  

because they are words that learners  of English usually struggle with.

But once you learn them, they are easy to use.

All right, let's get started with the lesson. So,  

you're likely familiar with  adverbs. These are words that  

add extra details to verbs. They describe  verbs—words like slowly, quietly, quickly.

An example—'I slowly walked through the park.'  Or—'The little girl sat quietly in her room.' Now,  

the 4 adverbs that I'm going to discuss with you  today are a little different. They are adverbs  

of time, meaning they generally describe  when something happens. There are a few  

exceptions and don't worry, we will go through  those as well. To understand them visually,

take a look at this timeline. We can see the  past, now and the future—already and just are  

used to talk about actions in the past that are  finished. They're not ongoing, they're finished,  

completed, done. Yet is used to talk about  things that are planned to happen in the future,  

and 'still' is the tricky one. It can have  different meanings depending on the usage.

These adverbs of time are mostly used  with the present perfect—have done,  

I have done. This is because they're used  to describe actions that are related to the  

present in terms of their timing. I'm going to  give you a couple of examples to demonstrate the  

timing now. With just we have—I've just finished  my homework. I've just finished my homework.

I finished my homework a short while ago. With  already—I've already watched that movie. I've  

already watched that movie. I watched that  movie some time in the past. So 'just' is a  

short while ago and 'already' some time in the  past. It could be a few days ago, it could be  

a few months ago. We don't know. But what we do  know is that it happened longer ago than 'just'.

I've just watched that movie. I very recently  watched it. I've already watched that movie,  

a bit further back in time. Let's take a look  at yet. I haven't been to the supermarket yet.  

I haven't been to the supermarket yet. This  means that it's planned, but not done. You've  

planned something, but you haven't done it  yet. See? Perfect place to use that word.

And still—I still haven't called my teacher. I  still haven't called my teacher. In this context,  

it also means that it's planned but not done.  This meaning is very similar to the third example,  

the previous example. The difference  is that this implies, the ;still' here,  

implies that this action should have already been  completed, but you still haven't done it yet.

The 'still' here focuses a little bit more  on that. You should have already performed  

that action, but you still haven't.  Maybe you've been procrastinating.  

Maybe you downloaded Candy Crush. I did  that once. I know that's a very old game,  

it's ridiculous. Anyway, moving on. So, we've  got the basic outline. Let's dive a little  

deeper and look at them as individuals.  Already, already has 3 basic usages.

First, usage—it's used to describe something that  happened in the near past as we discussed before.  

You don't need to wash up. I've already  done it. I'm very recently washed up. The  

action likely happened several minutes ago.  Second usage—we use it to describe an action  

that happened longer ago. I don't want to  travel to Spain. I've already been there,

that is the biggest lie I've ever said. I always  want to travel to Spain. In this sentence,  

the meaning of already could be months or  years in the past. It's much further in  

the past than the first example. The  third use of already. And this is an  

important one—is to express the idea that  something happened quicker than expected.

The test started 10 minutes ago, but  she's already finished it. That is way  

quicker than I expected. Maybe the test  was meant to be 30 or 60 minutes long,  

but the student finished it in 10 minutes.  This action took place sooner than expected.  

I can't believe you finished it already. Let's  have a quick test to check your understanding.

I'm going to show you 2 sentences, and I want  you to think about the meaning of 'already'  

in that sentence, whether it's the first  usage, the near past, the second usage,  

longer ago, or the third usage, quicker  than expected. First one—I don't want to  

see that concert. I've already seen them  live. I don't want to see that concert.

I've already seen them live, 1, 2 or 3?  Near past, longer ago or quicker than  

expected. If you chose number 2, then you  are correct. Number 2—It's 11:00 am and he's  

already eating his lunch. It's 11:00 am and  he's already eating his lunch. I can relate  

hard with this sentence. I can really relate with  this sentence. Whenever I have a packed lunch,  

I just can't stop thinking about  it until I'm finally eating it.

Which usage, 1, 2 or 3? If you  chose 3 then you are in…, joking,  

you're correct. Did that make your jump? Yeah,  he's eating his lunch sooner than expected,  

but he knows his body clock so he can do  what he wants. Let's move on to the next  

word. Just. 'Just' has a very similar meaning  to 'already,' as we have already discussed a  

short while ago, but it expresses that  something happened much more recently.

I've just finished dinner. Now it's  time for dessert! I finished dinner  

moments ago and now I'm ready for dessert.  However, 'just' can talk about something  

that happened a little longer ago. It could  be used to describe something that happened  

recently. For example—William has just come  back from America. William could have come  

back several days ago rather than moments  ago, but this is still considered recent.

I've also got 3 more usages of the word  'just'. They all have a similar general  

meaning in that they express a strong feeling  towards something. An example—That's just what  

I wanted to say. That's exactly or  precisely what I wanted to say! So,  

'just' here is used to express a precise or  exact meaning. That's just what he thought.

That's exactly, precisely what he thought.  Another example—She is just an amazing singer.  

She is just an amazing singer. It's like saying  simply, she is simply an amazing singer. So,  

just here is used to show a strong feeling  about something. I strongly feel that she is  

an amazing singer. What about this? Just  finish the task as quickly as you can!

Just finish the task as quickly as you can!  'Just' here is used to express impatience  

when giving orders. Just do it! Do it  now! So, those were all about having  

a strong feeling towards something. We  now have 2 more meanings. These are used  

very frequently. If I phone my husband and  he's at work and he says—what do you need?

I might say—I just wanted to tell  you that I love you. I just wanted  

to tell you that I love you. We use 'just'  here to reduce the force of a statement,  

and almost to suggest that it's not important.  Oh, it's not important. I just wanted to tell  

you that I love you. Another example—Can  I just borrow your phone for 1 minute?

Can I just borrow your phone? That's all I want.  It's not much. Please, can I borrow your phone?  

And lastly, we can use it to mean simply or only.  I'm just a student, so I can't afford it. I'm  

simply or only a student, so I can't afford  it. Okay, so we have those 7 usages. Let's  

test you once again to check your understanding  what is just being used for in this sentence.

You should call Tom. He is just the man for the  job. I might have given it away with my hand. You  

should call Tom. He's just the man for the job.  It's the third one to express a precise or exact  

meaning. He is the exact man for the job. And the  next sentence—I don't want to hear any excuses.

Just be quiet! I don't want to hear any  excuses. Just be quiet! Which meaning is  

it? It's usage number 5 to express impatience  when giving orders. So, we've already spoken  

about 'already' and 'just'. But we still  haven't spoken about 'still' or 'yet'. So,  

let's move on to these last 2! I mentioned  earlier that 'still' can be a little bit tricky.

This is because it can have various applications.  Let's take a look. We can use it to describe  

something that is going to happen in the near  future. In this case, it's used in a negative  

context. I've been waiting for 20 minutes. But  he still hasn't arrived! 'Still' is often used  

with continuous grammar, describing an action  that is continuing and hasn't finished yet.

He is still washing his car. He is continuing to  do so. He hasn't finished yet. This can imply that  

somebody is taking longer than they should, or  something is taking longer than it should. He's  

still cleaning his car. He's still out there. He  loves that car. The last use of still is to talk  

about habits, in particular habits that have not  changed, even if they maybe should have changed.

An example—He's 35, but he still lives with his  mum. Obviously, it's absolutely fine to live with  

your mum when you're 35. Whatever works for you. I  mean, the housing price is now—moving on. However,  

there is an implication that it's not normal  to do that. It's a habit that should have  

been broken according to society. Another  example—Do you still go to that nightclub?

Oh, we stopped going ages ago. It's implying.  Oh, you still do that? We stopped that ages  

ago. It doesn't always have to be negative.  Do you still work for Google? For example?  

Do you still work for Google? Yes. Cool! So  there's 'still' for you. It's used to describe  

something that's going to happen in the near  future, or likely to happen in the near future.

An action in progress that still hasn't finished,  or to talk about a habit that hasn't changed  

sometimes with an implication that it should  have changed. I hope that's clear for you.

Finally, let's talk about 'yet'. This  adverb of time has a couple of meanings,  

but the most common one is to express  that something's going to happen soon.

Have you finished your homework yet? I expect  you to finish it soon, but I don't know if  

you've completed the task or not. Comparing  this to 'already'—Have you already finished  

your homework? It implies a little bit more  that I'm shocked that you've done it so soon.  

Have you already finished your homework? If  I say—Have you finished your homework yet?

There's no strong implication that you've  done the homework quicker or slower than  

expected. Have you still not finished your  homework? That implies that your homework  

is being completed at a much slower rate than  expected. There is another meaning of 'yet',  

and it's similar to the meaning of  nonetheless. Nonetheless, what a great,  

great word to say, nevertheless, was  always a favourite of my students.

Nonetheless means despite  what has been said or done,  

it's similar to 'but'. Nonetheless.  He's retired, yet he still continues  

to work. He's retired nevertheless, or  nonetheless, he still continues to work.

Okay, if you're still watching. Well  done! We are now going to get into  

some really advanced grammar. In this  video, you're going to hear about the  

tenses and many other structures you  will need for the C1 level of English.

What do you think? Are you ready for C1—

to learn more about this level—and B1 and  B2? Don't forget about the B1 to C1 ebook!

It's free to download. The  link is in the description box.

Have you ever heard someone boast about having  this level of English? The C1 level. This is also  

known as the advanced level of English. For  most English learners, the C1 advanced level  

is the ultimate goal. But when students  approach me and say I want to reach C1,  

if I ask them, well, do you know what C1 is?  Do you know what their advanced level is?

They often can't tell me. In this video,  I'm going to go through all of the grammar  

that you need to master to be able to say  that you have a C1 level of English. There  

is also so much to cover in vocabulary. I have  so much to share with you. Things like humour,  

paraphrasing, word formation. Today  we're going to focus on the grammar.

Okay. I'm going to tell you about the grammar  that you need to master to be able to say—I  

am at C1 level in English. But first, let's look  a little deeper into what a C1 level of English  

actually is. If you reach B2, you are said to  be fluent in English, but C1 takes this further.

This is why C1 is the ultimate goal in my opinion.  C1 is fluency with a deep understanding of the  

nuances of the English language. When you  achieve C1 and I truly believe you will  

be able to, you will express yourself with  phrases that native speakers naturally use,  

and you'll be able to do it without thinking,  

which means saying things like—I can't  wait to put my own stamp on this place!

Instead of—I can't wait to redecorate. You use  English as if it's part of your instinct. You'll  

be able to express yourself spontaneously without  reaching for or searching for words. Don't worry,  

all of us get stuck sometimes.  Even in our native language,  

we can all relate. But I have got a  really good trick for that. One of my  

favourite parts of the C1 level is that you'll  be able to understand subtle jokes in English.

This means complete participation  in conversations in everyday life.  

I've learned multiple second languages, and I  know what it's like to be in a group situation  

where someone says something that's seemingly  meaningless and everyone laughs apart from you,  

it feels bloody lonely. So, this  might sound like complete and utter  

native like fluency. You might be  wondering what is off after C1 like?

What could C2 possibly be? We'll C2 is  the highest level of English. Here you  

have a near native understanding. You can  comprehend and summarise almost everything  

you read and listen to, including  colloquialisms or regional language,  

and you can express yourself with an  understanding of the finest nuances of  

English in just about any situation. Oh,  and you need to know around 16,000 words.

Obviously, this is just a rough guide. As  a teacher, I encourage all of my students  

to aim for a B2 level of English. I encourage my  students who are truly passionate about English,  

British culture, the students who want  to excel—I recommend that they go for the  

C1 level of English. With B2, you  would be able to work in English,  

but C1 is about reaching that  level of comfort and relaxation.

Well, you don't have to reach for words.  You know them as part of your instinct. So,  

let's talk about grammar.  When you do A1, B1 and B2,  

you have a lot of grammar to learn. In my  B1 programme, there is loads of grammar,  

a big focus on tenses. In B2—there's still a lot  of grammar. C1 is less about learning entirely new  

grammatical structures, because you should have  already learned most of that at B2 and below.

Instead, C1 is about learning grammatical nuances,  so it's adding to your repertoire of phrases and  

building your instincts for English grammar. B1  and B2 are about introducing big new topics. C1  

is about fine tuning and tweaking. Let's take  a look at the grammar that you need to know for  

this C1 level. We'll start with the tenses. If  you feel ready to study at C1 level in English,  

you should already have a strong  foundation in the English tenses.

However, a C1 programme or course will  provide you with revision of the past,  

present, and future tenses with a focus on  their advanced uses. And this is exactly what  

we will do in my beautiful British  English C1 programme. For example,  

you should know how to use the future perfect  tense to make assumptions about the present.  

For example—I'm sure my husband will have  noticed that I used all the milk this morning.

If you're studying at C1, you should also learn  how to talk about the future using some advanced  

structures, like 'to be set to' and 'to be on  the verge of', and you need to know when it is  

appropriate to use these structures. Let's move on  to modals. At C1 level, you should be comfortable  

with using modal verbs, and you should know some  advanced structures for speculation and deduction.

And you'll also be comfortable with using modal  verbs with adverbs that collocate with them,  

like—'They could conceivably have  driven all that way in one night,  

but it's unlikely. You'd also know how to  use structures such as 'the odds are'. Or—'I  

dare say.' For example—I dare say I'll have to  brush up on my grammar before I do a new course.

Conditionals. At C1 level, you should already  be familiar with the basic conditionals and the  

mixed conditionals, but when you're at C1, you're  going to learn about a range of words and phrases  

to replace 'if' and take your conditionals  to a more advanced level. For example,  

this is quite advanced—But for a wonderful trip  to Spain when I was younger, I would never have  

decided to learn the language. Or—Given that  I'd like to achieve the C1 level of English,

I'm going to have to study harder. Can  you see how it's kind of like B2 on  

steroids—C1? What about the passive  voice? Again, if you've reached C1,  

you should be well-versed in how the passive  voice is used. But at C1 that will be more of  

a focus on using the passive infinitive  and passive -ing forms. For example—Lucy  

recalled having been taught about the  passive voice at some point in the past.

You'll also need to learn about the subtle  differences between phrases like 'there's  

nothing to do' and 'there's nothing to be  done', just a subtle difference in meaning  

between the 2. But important! You'll also  need to have a strong understanding of how  

to use negative inversion to add emphasis and  variation to your writing and your speaking.  

Inversion is used widely in literary contexts,  so understanding this structure will help you to  

comprehend and analyse a wide range of texts more  effectively, particularly those with complex or  

literary styles. For example—Never  have I seen such a beautiful sunset.

Or—Such was the commotion that I can barely hear  myself think. I love inversion in English. I think  

it sounds bloody beautiful. Never have I  come across such a beautiful grammatical  

structure. Oh, we have to mention hedging  and boosting! Those who have a C1 level  

should be familiar with hedging and  boosting when writing and speaking.

So hedging is a linguistic strategy that allows  speakers to soften or downplay the force of their  

statements, often by using hedging verbs  like 'to seem,' or the passive voice and  

adverbs like 'presumably.' This is something  we do a lot in British English. Hedging  

is part of our culture. For example—It  seems like this might be a good solution.

Boosting, on the other hand, involves using  language to increase the force or impact  

of a statement, often by using adverbs like  'undeniably' or strong verbs like 'to prove'.  

For example—This has been proven to be the  best solution to our problem. Another really  

important aspect of achieving a C1 level  of English is understanding the various  

meanings of a number of phrasal  verbs, depending on the context,  

phrasal verbs can take on different meanings,  but to effectively communicate and understand  

advanced conversations, you will need  proficiency in using phrasal verbs,

there's no escaping them at this point.  I'll show you a quick example using the  

phrasal verb—'to set up'—We have  to set up—meaning to organise or  

arrange—to set up a time for a meeting.  We can also set people up on a date. We  

can put 2 people together with the  intention of them forming a romance.

My friend set me up with her cousin.  We could also have to set someone up  

meaning to trick someone to put them  in a situation where they're going  

to be humiliated or tricked. You set me  up when you told me it was a fancy dress  

party. Everyone else was in black tie. We also  have 'to set up' as to put things into place.

I need to set up my filming studio so I can  make some lessons. Some of the most important  

grammatical tools that C1-level students  need to master are the use of coordinating  

correlative and subordinating conjunctions and  connectors, because they enable you to form more  

complex and varied sentence structures  enhancing your ability to express ideas  

and arguments. These tools also help you to  establish logical connections between ideas,  

making written and spoken communication  more coherent, persuasive and fluid

overall. Now, these should have been learned  at B1 and B2 level, but a demonstrated level  

of proficiency is really necessary at the C1  level. Okay, that in general is the majority  

of the grammar that you need to know to  say that you're at a C1 level of English.

That's all for me today. I hope  you found this lesson useful.

Okay, back to my first love now—pronunciation.  In the next lesson, you're going to learn  

about how to pronounce contractions. We  use so many contractions in the tenses  

from 'I'm' to 'it'd'. Let's listen.

Oh, this video is a bit of a mix of  everything. It's going to be about  

pronunciation and a little bit of grammar too.  And it's going to help your vocabulary. Today,  

we're going to talk about contractions.  Contractions are perfect for informal  

situations. For conversational English,  native speakers use them all the time.

Today, I'm really going to be focusing on how to  pronounce them because lots of students struggle  

with that. A contraction is when we take 2 words  and we shorten them into one word. For example,  

I will—I'll. In today's lesson, we are  going to discuss positive contractions.  

And maybe in another video, I'll talk  to you about negative contractions.

Let's get started with the lesson! So let's take  a look at that—I will example again—I'll. You'll  

notice that we use the apostrophe to replace  some missing letters. To form contractions,  

we usually combine a verb or auxiliary  or modal with a pronoun. However,  

there are always exceptions because it's  English, we just love exceptions. The most  

common contractions are formed with—am,  is, are, has, had, and would, will.

So, I think to start, we'll take a look at how to  pronounce contractions that include the 'be' verb,  

as in—am, is and are. First we have 'I am',  which is written and pronounced as—I'm,  

I'm—I'm sorry I'm late. There's so much  traffic today! We also have—he is. And  

this can be pronounced in various  ways. The most common one is—/hiz/.

You can also hear /his/. That's a very short  sort of weak form. Sometimes people will even  

drop the 'h' the sound /h/ and they'll say /iz/.  This is only in certain dialects. Most commonly,  

you'll hear /hiz/ or /his/. He's at the store.  He'll be back soon. We also have she is,  

which is pronounced as 'she's'—'she's'  or the weak form—she's, she's.

'She's' the smartest in the group. 'It is'  is nice and easy. It's pronounced it's,  

it's. It's not supposed to go in the cupboard.  It goes in the refrigerator. We also have you're,  

you're. And there's another way of  pronouncing this. You can also say you're,  

you're. But 'you're' is a bit simpler, a bit  easier to say I think. You're right about that.

We also have we are as in we're, we're.  This can be a tough one to pronounce—we're,  

we're. We're off to the cinema. See you  in a few hours. And finally they are,  

makes they're. I know that /eə(r)/ sound  can be quite challenging too /eə(r)/,  

/eə(r)/. Some students find it easy to just  pronounce the 'e' sound and elongate it.

They're still here. Do you want me to get  them for you? Let's move on and focus on  

the contractions including has, had and  have. They can be used as contractions,  

but only when they are auxiliary verbs. This  part's really important. We can't use have,  

has, or had as a contraction if it  is the main verb in the sentence.

Take a look at these 2 examples. They  should clarify it for you. I had just  

heard the news when you called me. 'Had'  in that sentence is an auxiliary verb.  

We can use it as a contraction there. I  just heard the news when you called me,  

and this next sentence—I had a cup of coffee  this morning. It's the main verb of the sentence.

We can't contract it—I'd a cup of coffee this  morning. It just doesn't sound right. I had  

a cup of coffee this morning. Let's take  a look at 'has' first because it can be  

quite confusing. Firstly we have ;she has,'  she's. 'She's', we also have the weak form,  

'she's'. She says she's been working  late most nights. We have, he has.

He's, he's or the weak form he's.  He's got a meeting at 10. And finally,  

'it has' contracted to 'it's, it's.  It's been sitting out all night. Now,  

these 3 are confusing because they have the same  pronunciation and spelling as the contracted  

form of she is, he is and it is. How do you know  the difference? Well, it should be fairly clear  

from the context, but if you have a doubt, you  need to see how the sentence has been conjugated.

If you can see a past participle after the  contraction, it means that the contraction  

represents has. If you see—been, eaten or  seen, then usually the apostrophe 's' will  

be has. Let's take a look at the easier  ones we have—to have, I have is I've,  

I've. I've been here all day. You have  is you've, you've. You've come all this  

way just to break up with me. And we  have is we've, we've or the weak form

we've. We've taken the dog to the vet.  And we have had. I had becomes I'd,  

I'd. I'd been studying English for 3 years  before moving to Leeds. You had becomes you'd,  

you'd. You would have passed if you'd studied. She  had becomes she'd, she'd. She'd been sleeping all  

day when he called her. He had becomes he'd,  he'd. He'd left before us but was still late.

We had becomes we'd, we'd. We'd seen him around  the office, but we didn't know he was the new  

boss. And they had becomes they'd they'd.  They'd eaten before coming over. Let's take  

a look at would, the contractions for would.  You'll notice they are very similar to the  

contractions for had. I will show you a couple  of rules after we've covered the pronunciation.

I would, I'd—I'd like to visit London. You would,  you'd—You'd look good in this dress. He would,  

he'd—He'd like to spend time with  his family. She would, she'd—She'd  

like to go on holiday. It would, it'd—It'd be  great to see you when you're back. We would,  

we'd—We'd love to come to your wedding. And  they would, they'd—They'd take the train,

but the tickets are too expensive. So, how  do we know if contractions like I'd and  

we'd are representing had or would? Here  are some rules to follow. Would is followed  

by an infinitive. She would go, I would  love, she'd go, I'd love. Would can also  

be followed by the present perfect tense.  They'd have slept, I'd have given. With.

had a past participle follows—I'd eaten,  I had eaten. He'd gotten. He had gotten.  

Let's move on to our penultimate section,  Will, before we move on to some extra ones.  

These ones are fairly simple. We have I will,  I'll—I'll come round later today. You will,  

you'll. I'm a great cook. You'll see. He  will, he'll. He'll put it on his credit card.

She will, she'll. She'll sleep on the  sofa. It will, it'll. It'll need some food  

and water in the morning. We will, we'll—We'll  see you next week. And they will, they'll—They'll  

move your luggage for you. Finally, I have 5  more positive contractions that don't follow  

the same patterns, but you'll probably hear them  quite frequently. We have—should have, should've.

We can also sometimes pronounce this as  should've. This is way more informal. We  

should've left much earlier. Would and could  follow that same pattern. I actually have a  

video on this, I'll make sure I link it in  the description box. All about should have,  

would have and could have. She would've  been so angry, they could've come.

Finally, we have want to and going to. We  shorten these wanna and gonna. I have a  

video all about these, again I'll put  it in the description box for you. I  

want to go to yoga in the morning.  I'm going to finish this project.

Okay, you've made it a long way. Do you  want to have some fun? Well, we're gonna!

We're gonna learn how to use wanna  and gonna correctly in this video.

I have got a seriously important lesson  for you today. And this lesson is going  

to help you understand native speakers  and sound more native yourself. So,  

what are we going to talk about  today? Well, we're going to talk  

about reductions. I'm going to show you how  to correctly use words like wanna and gonna.

I use them all the time in daily conversations.  It's not "good" English, but it is colloquial,  

conversational English—and you will hear  it—and you probably will want to learn  

to use it. Because saying—'I want to' and 'I'm  going' to all the time can be pretty tiresome.

So you've probably heard native speakers  use words like wanna and gonna. Now,  

because it's a colloquial word,

there are some variations in spelling.  I have seen it written wanna,  

which is what I would tend to use, and  also wonna, and I've seen gonna and gunna,  

as well. But the pronunciation  stays the same wanna, gonna. Not  

gonna it's gonna not wanna it's wanna. Now, the  first word that I want to talk about is wanna.

Now, wanna means want to, want to. I  wanna go home. I want to go home. Now,  

this is fine. When we use it with I, you, we and  they—I wanna go home. You wanna go home? We wanna  

go home. And they wanna go home. That's fine. The  problem arises when we want to use he, she or it.

Why? Well, because we have to use the third person  singular. Now, I want to, but she wants to. So,  

wanna changes to wansta, wansta. So, he  wansta go home. She wansta go home. It  

wansta go home. So you must remember, that if  it's he, she or it. It's not wanna. It wansta.

You have to make sure that the  verb and the subject agree. Now,  

moving on to gonna. Gonna means going  to. And the biggest mistake that I  

hear is that students forget to use it  with the verb 'to be'. I am going. You  

are going to be going. So I always  hear, I gonna go. She gonna to go.

We gonna do. That's wrong. It needs to be I'm  gonna go. She's gonna go. We're gonna do. Now,  

the other error that students tend to make with  gonna is to do with the pronunciation of the third  

person singular again. I'm gonna go. You're gonna  go. We're gonna go. They're gonna go. It's fine.

But as she and he both finish with a  vowel sound which is voiced. We need  

to use /z/ sound. She's gonna go. He's  gonna go. If you want to sound native,  

you must do that. If you say she's gonna go  or he's gonna go. I immediately recognise  

that you're not a native speaker. Of  course, people will understand you.

But if you want to speak like a native,  then that's what you need to do. Now,  

with it, on the other hand, as /t/ is an  unvoiced consonant, we use the /s/ sound  

after it. So, she's gonna, he's gonna, it's  gonna. Now, I hope that clarified your doubts  

about the reductions. Wanna and gonna. Remember  not gonna, it's gonna not wanna, it's wanna.

Remember, there are various different  spellings, but I would advise against using  

them in written English. It's something  that we tend to use more speaking. Now,  

remember that your subject has to agree with  the verb, wanna, I wanna, he or she wansta. Then  

remember to use the verb to be with gonna, and the  pronunciation—She's gonna. He's gonna, it's gonna.

Okay, I know you're gonna be sad,  

but we've reached our last video.  But it's a really good one!

Before you watch, this isn't  a tense. This is a mood.

We're going to learn about the subjunctive  mood. It's used in different tenses.  

It's very important, so watch  the video to learn more.

I have an advanced grammar lesson  for you today. We are going to  

cover the subjunctive of mood. And  if I were you, I'd pay attention.

Right? Let's get started with the lesson.  You probably already used the subjunctive  

mood at certain times when you're speaking  English, particularly in some conditional  

sentences. If you have ever said—if I  were you, you have used the subjunctive.

I want to help you expand your knowledge  with a few different verbs we use in the  

subjunctive mood. But firstly, what is the  subjunctive mood? We use it to express wishes  

and imagined situations and to make proposals and  suggestions. Let's look at wish, if only and would  

rather. They often have this construction.  I wish he were here. If only I were taller.

I would rather he played outside more often  instead of always sitting on the computer.  

These are examples of the subjunctive mood.  Now, you will often hear native speakers say,  

I wish he was here, for example. The subjunctive  mood, in general, is slowly falling out of use,  

but it's imperative that you learn it if you  want to pass any exam or test in English,  

you will hear lots of native speakers using it,  

and you'll especially want to use it in  more formal situations and in writing.

Let's talk about the subjunctive verb forms.  The present subjunctive uses the base form  

of the verb with all subjects. We use the  present subjunctive to talk about a present  

or future hypothetical. For example—I suggested  he stop eating out so often if he wants to save  

money. You can see that I used the base  form of the verb 'stop' and not 'stops',  

as would normally follow a  third person singular subject.

It is often tricky to see that the  subjunctive is being used if the  

sentence doesn't contain a third person  singular subject. If I said—I suggested  

they stop eating out so often if they want  to save money. You can't see that the verb  

stop is in the subjunctive form, but this is a  subjunctive sentence. In the past subjunctive,

we use the past simple form or with  'be,' we use 'were' with all subjects.  

We use the past subjunctive to talk  about things that we wish were true,  

or that we wish had happened in the past. I  wish you were here. Again, we use 'were' and  

not 'was' to indicate that this is something  imagined. We often use the past subjunctive in  

subordinate clauses that begin with as though,  as if, and if, as well as with the verb 'wish'.

Some examples—He looked straight through me as  if I were invisible, or—Dylan seemed so confident  

as though he knew he would win from the very  beginning. In the second example, it's difficult  

to see the subjunctive being used, but it is  there. Now, let's talk about that and phrases that  

are followed by the subjunctive. Sentences in the  subjunctive mood often contain multiple clauses.

Here are some of the phrases and verbs  that can be followed by the subjunctive  

with examples—suggest. I suggest he go  home immediately and check on his mum.  

Recommend. I recommend you take 2 tablets per  day. Request. We requested that she come an  

hour earlier to help us set up. Demand. He  demands they clean their rooms, right now.

Ask. I ask that we change the time  of the event as so many people can't  

make it. Insist. They insisted he move his  car as it is blocking the road. Propose.  

She proposes the team continue training  for as long as possible tonight. It is  

important that. It is important that she  be given priority. It is advisable that.  

It is advisable that they stay outside  for as short a time as possible.

It is imperative that. It is imperative that  work stop immediately while we wait for the  

inspector. Finally, I would like to show you  some common phrases in English that contain  

the subjunctive. Suffice to say. Suffice to  say, Ellen wasn't very happy when they arrived  

2 hours late. Be that as it may. Be that  as it may, we can't wait for them forever.

One of my favourites. Heaven forbid. Heaven  forbid anything happened to them. And—so be  

it! We use that on its own. So be it! This is  an expression of acceptance or resignation.  

So be it! I'll let you have the job. Come what  may. They're pushing ahead with the new road,  

come what may. And finally, far be it. Far  be it for me to tell anyone what to do with.

Far be it for me to tell anyone what to  do. It's saying that I'm not intending to  

tell anyone what to do. If I say, far  be it for me to criticise. I might be  

preceding something that might sound  like criticism, but I don't want it  

to be criticism. All of these phrases sound  incredibly formal and quite old-fashioned.

I personally like them. I think they  sound very eloquent and interesting.

Okay, that's it. We're done. If  you got this far, congratulations!

Now is the time to download the full tenses ebook  

and I will give you my B1  to C1 ebook for free, too.

It contains everything we've discussed in  this video, plus quizzes and activities.

The link to get your ebooks  is in the description box,

or you can scan the QR code, or  even type in the link on screen.

I really hope you enjoyed the course today.

I really enjoy making these videos for you.  I will see you soon in the next video. Muah!