TEST Your English Grammar - Do you know the correct VERB TENSE?

Welcome back to JForrest English  training, your place to become a fluent,  

confident English speaker. Of course, I'm Jennifer  and in this lesson, you're going to test your  

knowledge of advanced English grammar. And you're  going to test your knowledge of verb tenses.  

So here's how this lesson will work. I'll  show you a question and there'll be a blank.  

And you have to decide which option, which  verb tense, best completes the sentence. Now,  

I'll only show the question for a few  seconds. So hit pause, take as much time  

as you need. And when you're ready,  hit play and I'll share the correct  

answer and I'll explain why that answer is  correct. Are you ready? Let's get started.  

Question one, my flight at 9am tomorrow. And  the answer is, my flight leaves at 9am tomorrow.  

No both B and C are future verbs. And we  need a future verb because we have the key  

word tomorrow. So I know we're in the future.  But we use the present simple in the future on  

one specific occasion. And that's with timetable  event, with scheduled events. So transportation  

runs on a schedule. You get a ticket and it tells  you the time. We can consider that a scheduled  

event. If you're going to a party, a wedding, a  meeting in the future, and there's a scheduled  

event, you can simply say, my meeting starts  at two o'clock next Tuesday. Question two,  

she two books so far this year. And the answer  is, she has written two books so far this year.  

Your key word here is this year. This year is  still in progress. If it were complete, I'd say  

last year. She's written two books so far  this year. So which verb tense am I using?  

The present perfect, has written. We use the  present perfect for actions that started in the  

past but are still in progress. So the books she  has written, those are complete. Those two books  

are sitting on her shelf. But it's possible  for her to write more books because the year  

is still in progress. The present perfect.  Number three, your eyes are red and puffy.  

And the answer is, have you been  crying? Have you been crying?  

The verb tense here is the present perfect  continuous. We need a continuous verb in this  

context because the focus is on that action. The  focus is not on the result. The focus is on the  

action of crying. I want to emphasize the action,  crying. Have you cried, the present perfect,  

that sounds awkward because there's no focus  on the action. Question 4, if I you, I'd quit.  

And the answer is, if I were you. If I were  you. Now having I and were side by side may  

sound unnatural to you. Because the past form of  the verb 'to be' with the subject 'I' is 'was',  

of course right. I was tired. I was angry.  You were tired. You were angry. She was tired.  

They were tired. But this isn't in the past  simple. This is in the subjunctive. And the  

conjugation for the subjunctive verb is 'were' for  all subjects: I, you, he, she, it, we they were.  

Now why does this question need the subjunctive?  Because it's hypothetical. I'm not you. That's a  

hypothetical situation. If I were you, but I'm not  you. I'm me, right! If I were younger, if I were  

older, if I were taller, if I were shorter, those  are all hypothetical situations. Number five,  

Dave at the bank since 2009. And the answer is,  Dave has been working at the bank since 2009.  

Now we're using the present perfect  continuous because the action  

started in the past and continues until now.  So when did Dave start working at the bank?  

Dave started working at the bank in  2009. Where does Dave work now, today?  

At the bank, right. So the action started  in the past and continues until now.  

Question six. Carmen has a hair appointment  tomorrow. Carmen her hair cut tomorrow.  

And the answer is, Carmen is getting her hair  cut tomorrow. Now the first sentence is just to  

provide context. So you know there's a scheduled  event and that's important because we use the  

present continuous, not the future simple. We  use the present continuous when we're talking  

about a scheduled event in the future. Let's  say I have a plane ticket to go to Australia  

in five years. Even though it's five years away,  it's still a scheduled event. So I would say,  

I'm going, present continuous.  I'm going to Australia in five  

years. Because it's a scheduled event. Question  seven, Samuel to Paris at least five times.  

And the answer is, Samuel has  gone to Paris at least five times.  

Now there's no indication of time in  this example. There is no past reference,  

last year last month. And there's no future  reference either. So I know we're just talking  

about in general. And we use the present perfect,  has gone. We use the present perfect to talk about  

life experience, the things we have  done or haven't done in our life.  

And the reason is because our life is unfinished.  Our life is in progress. It started in the past  

and it continues until now. So while we're alive  and still living, we use the present perfect  

to talk about our life experience. Question  eight. I think Sarah a promotion next year.  

And the answer is, I think Sara  will get a promotion next year.  

So my key word here is next year. So I know I'm  in the future. And notice the other key word,  

I think. I think. We use the future simple to  make predictions about the future. I think Sarah.  

I don't know this 100%. It's a prediction. I  think Sarah will get a promotion next year.  

Number nine. The client by the  time I checked my messages.  

The client had called by the time I checked my  messages. This is the past perfect. The past  

perfect is used to talk about a past action,  a completed past action that takes place  

before another past action. So on our timeline  we have two past events. The client called.  

I checked my messages. Now we use the  past perfect for the first past action,  

which is the older action. And we use the past  simple for this second past action, which is the  

newer action on our timeline. The client had  called by the time I checked my messages.  

And finally questions 10, I can't believe  they their baby by the time we get there.  

And the answer is, I can't believe they will  have had their baby by the time we get there.  

Which verb tense is this? The future perfect.  We don't use the future perfect too often,  

but it's still an important verb tense. We use  the future perfect to talk about a completed  

action in the future. So let's say right now  it's summer 2022. And the baby is due in the fall  

2022. So right now in summer, it's a future  action, right? Well, let's say I'm traveling  

to visit this couple in the winter of 2022. So  I'm going to take my timeline from now and I'm  

going to change the timeline to winter 2022.  And by winter 2022, the baby will have been  

born. So that action, although it's a future  action now, when I change the timeline to  

winter 2022, the action will actually be in the  past. So did you know all of these verb tenses?  

Make sure you share your score in the comments  below and do some example sentences practicing  

the verb tenses that you found most difficult.  Maybe the future perfect? So you can do that  

in the comments below. And if you found this video  helpful, please hit the like button, share it with  

your friends and of course subscribe. And before  you go make sure you head on over to my website  

JForrestEnglish.com and download your free  speaking guide. In this guide I share six  

tips on how to speak English fluently and  confidently. And until next time, Happy Studying!