23 structures · CEFR A1–C1
English tenses
A tense in English carries two pieces of information at once: when something happened, and whether it is finished. That second half is the one Indian classrooms teach as a table and almost never as a meaning, which is why "I am working here since two years" survives twelve years of school. Each tense below is written as the question it answers, with the sentence an Indian-English speaker actually produces and the reason it is wrong.
Common tenses mistakes
Every one of these is a sentence Indian-English speakers genuinely produce — not a textbook example.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
He go to office daily. | He goes to the office daily. With he/she/it the verb takes -s. Present Simple → |
I am knowing the answer. | I know the answer. Verbs about states — know, like, want — do not take -ing. Present Continuous → |
I did not went there. | I did not go there. After "did", the verb goes back to its plain form. Past Simple → |
I was go to the market. | I was going to the market. After was/were the verb takes -ing. Past Continuous → |
I have gone there last year. | I went there last year. A finished time like "last year" needs the past simple. Present Perfect → |
I am working here since two years. | I have been working here for two years. "Since" needs a starting point; a length of time takes "for". Present Perfect Continuous → |
When I reached, the train already left. | When I reached, the train had already left. The earlier event takes "had". Past Perfect → |
I had been worked there for years. | I had been working there for years. After "had been" the verb takes -ing. Past Perfect Continuous → |
All 23 tenses structures
Grouped by CEFR band so you can start where you actually are, rather than at the top.
A1 · Starting
3 structures at this level.
A2 · Everyday
5 structures at this level.
B1 · Independent
7 structures at this level.
- Present PerfectB1Talk about experience and about what has changed
- be about to / be due toB1Say something is going to happen in the next moment
- Telling a storyB1Tell what happened without losing your listener
- Verbs that never take -ingB1Stop saying "I am knowing"
- for / sinceB1Say how long, without the mistake everybody makes
- already / yet / just / everB1Say whether something has happened or not, yet
- When I arrive, I will callB1Talk about two future things without saying "will" twice
B2 · Confident
5 structures at this level.
- Present Perfect ContinuousB2Say how long you have been doing something
- Past PerfectB2Make clear which of two past things happened first
- Future ContinuousB2Say what you will be in the middle of at a future moment
- Future in the pastB2Say what you had planned but did not do
- would for past habitsB2Talk about how things used to be, like a storyteller
C1 · Fluent
3 structures at this level.
Dimmed tiles are structures whose example bank is still being written. The explanation and the mistake are there; the sentences are not, yet.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns tenses into practice you can actually do: a Hindi sentence, your English answer, and one correction at a time.
Practise this, free →